Bernard Bergman
Encyclopedia
Bernard Bergman was an Orthodox
Rabbi who was best known for his operation of a large network of nursing homes and his conviction of Medicaid fraud in 1976. Bergman turned an inheritance of $25,000 into an empire of nursing homes valued at $24 million.
Bergman was born to Shlomo Bergman and Gittel Leifer on September 2, 1911, in Romania. Shlomo was the son of Rabbi Avraham Tzvi Bergman (1849–1918), Rabbi of Yasinya, a small town in what was then Maramureş
, Hungary, now part of Zakarpattya
, Ukraine
. Gittel descended from a long line of Hasidic rabbi
s, most famous of whom was her grandfather, Rabbi Mordechai Leifer of Nadvorna
. A Grand Rabbi, thousands flocked to him in order to receive his blessing and bask in his holy presence. The family immigrated to the United States in the 1920s, living in Brooklyn. Bergman went to what was then Palestine. There, he attended the Hebron Yeshiva in order to pursue his religious studies. He received his rabbinic ordination from the academy's Dean, Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein
, on October 22, 1933. He married the former Anne Weiss in 1937. Back in New York City, he took a position as a rabbi at a nursing home on the Lower East Side
of Manhattan
and served as editor and publisher of the Yiddish-language daily The Jewish Morning Journal and head of Hapoel HaMizrachi
.
He started to build his network of nursing homes in the 1960s, with the former New York Cancer Hospital
on Central Park West
at 106th Street was acquired in 1955 and operated by Bergman as the Towers Nursing Home. The home became the center of federal and state fraud charges. Claims were made that patients in the home were abused and neglected, with residents testifying that they had not been given adequate heat and had been subjected to physical abuse and pest infestations. The site was closed in 1974 as a nursing home.
A New York State Senate
investigation in 1975 brought witnesses who testified of patients lapsing into comas due to untreated dehydration, bedsores caused by coarse sheets and failure to notify authorities of an epidemic of diarrhea. An unannounced inspection of a home found unsanitary conditions, including milk used a week past its expiration date and excrement on the floors in patient rooms. Bergman vigorously denied the charges, claiming that the homes he operated were well run. However, this evidence was against nursing homes in general, and not specifically against the ones that Bergman was running.
In 1976, Bergman was sentenced to serve four months in a Federal correction center after his conviction on Medicare and tax fraud charges. Under a plea bargain, he was supposed to not serve additional jail time. However, the lead prosecutor, Charles Hyne, compromised the plea agreement by publicly informing the media that he wanted the presiding judge (Judge Melia) to sentence Bergman to more jail time. Eventually, Bergman ended up serving an eight-month sentence for convictions on state offenses.
The case was infamous for the media "witch hunt" that occurred. Major media outlets demonized Bergman, made personal attacks against his lawyers, and widely criticized the judge's sentence as too lenient. Prominent media sources, such as Time magazine, New York Times, and the New York Post, repeatedly "convicted" Bergman despite there being little evidence of Bergman's actual guilt.
"Bergman only controlled a handful of nursing homes, not the 117 attributed to him by the press; that the allegations of patient abuse
were based on a report about conditions in nursing homes in general some eighteen years earlier; that the special prosecutor-after an investigation- "was unable to produce even a single current allegation against Dr. Bergman involving patient care"..."
In February 1989, New York State's special nursing-homes prosecutor received payment of almost $1.4 million as the final payment of penalties and interest that Bergman was obligated to pay New York State after he pleaded guilty to Medicaid and tax fraud.
Bergman died of a heart attack at Mount Sinai Medical Center on June 16, 1984, and had residences in both Israel
and Manhattan at the time of his death, spending his time at both homes. His body was transported to Israel for burial.
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
Rabbi who was best known for his operation of a large network of nursing homes and his conviction of Medicaid fraud in 1976. Bergman turned an inheritance of $25,000 into an empire of nursing homes valued at $24 million.
Bergman was born to Shlomo Bergman and Gittel Leifer on September 2, 1911, in Romania. Shlomo was the son of Rabbi Avraham Tzvi Bergman (1849–1918), Rabbi of Yasinya, a small town in what was then Maramureş
Maramures
Maramureș may refer to the following:*Maramureș, a geographical, historical, and ethno-cultural region in present-day Romania and Ukraine, that occupies the Maramureș Depression and Maramureș Mountains, a mountain range in North East Carpathians...
, Hungary, now part of Zakarpattya
Zakarpattia Oblast
The Zakarpattia Oblast is an administrative oblast located in southwestern Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Uzhhorod...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. Gittel descended from a long line of Hasidic rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
s, most famous of whom was her grandfather, Rabbi Mordechai Leifer of Nadvorna
Nadvorna
Nadvorna may refer to:*Nadvirna is a city located in the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast in southwestern Ukraine.*Nadvorna is a Hasidic rabbinical dynasty within Orthodox Judaism....
. A Grand Rabbi, thousands flocked to him in order to receive his blessing and bask in his holy presence. The family immigrated to the United States in the 1920s, living in Brooklyn. Bergman went to what was then Palestine. There, he attended the Hebron Yeshiva in order to pursue his religious studies. He received his rabbinic ordination from the academy's Dean, Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein
Moshe Mordechai Epstein
Moshe Mordechai Epstein was Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Knesseth Yisrael in Slabodka, Lithuania and is recognized as having been one of the leading Talmudists of the twentieth century.-Childhood:...
, on October 22, 1933. He married the former Anne Weiss in 1937. Back in New York City, he took a position as a rabbi at a nursing home on the Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and served as editor and publisher of the Yiddish-language daily The Jewish Morning Journal and head of Hapoel HaMizrachi
Hapoel HaMizrachi
Hapoel HaMizrachi |Mizrachi]] Workers) was a political party and settlement movement in Israel and is one of the predecessors of the National Religious Party.-History:...
.
He started to build his network of nursing homes in the 1960s, with the former New York Cancer Hospital
New York Cancer Hospital
The New York Cancer Hospital in New York City was a cancer treatment and research institution founded in 1884 . The hospital was located at 455 Central Park West between 105th St and 106th St...
on Central Park West
Central Park West
Central Park West is an avenue that runs north-south in the New York City borough of Manhattan, in the United States....
at 106th Street was acquired in 1955 and operated by Bergman as the Towers Nursing Home. The home became the center of federal and state fraud charges. Claims were made that patients in the home were abused and neglected, with residents testifying that they had not been given adequate heat and had been subjected to physical abuse and pest infestations. The site was closed in 1974 as a nursing home.
A New York State Senate
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...
investigation in 1975 brought witnesses who testified of patients lapsing into comas due to untreated dehydration, bedsores caused by coarse sheets and failure to notify authorities of an epidemic of diarrhea. An unannounced inspection of a home found unsanitary conditions, including milk used a week past its expiration date and excrement on the floors in patient rooms. Bergman vigorously denied the charges, claiming that the homes he operated were well run. However, this evidence was against nursing homes in general, and not specifically against the ones that Bergman was running.
In 1976, Bergman was sentenced to serve four months in a Federal correction center after his conviction on Medicare and tax fraud charges. Under a plea bargain, he was supposed to not serve additional jail time. However, the lead prosecutor, Charles Hyne, compromised the plea agreement by publicly informing the media that he wanted the presiding judge (Judge Melia) to sentence Bergman to more jail time. Eventually, Bergman ended up serving an eight-month sentence for convictions on state offenses.
The case was infamous for the media "witch hunt" that occurred. Major media outlets demonized Bergman, made personal attacks against his lawyers, and widely criticized the judge's sentence as too lenient. Prominent media sources, such as Time magazine, New York Times, and the New York Post, repeatedly "convicted" Bergman despite there being little evidence of Bergman's actual guilt.
"Bergman only controlled a handful of nursing homes, not the 117 attributed to him by the press; that the allegations of patient abuse
Patient abuse
Patient abuse or neglect is any action or failure to act which causes unreasonable suffering, misery or harm to the patient. It includes physically striking or sexually assaulting a patient. It also includes withholding of necessary food, physical care, and medical attention...
were based on a report about conditions in nursing homes in general some eighteen years earlier; that the special prosecutor-after an investigation- "was unable to produce even a single current allegation against Dr. Bergman involving patient care"..."
In February 1989, New York State's special nursing-homes prosecutor received payment of almost $1.4 million as the final payment of penalties and interest that Bergman was obligated to pay New York State after he pleaded guilty to Medicaid and tax fraud.
Bergman died of a heart attack at Mount Sinai Medical Center on June 16, 1984, and had residences in both Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Manhattan at the time of his death, spending his time at both homes. His body was transported to Israel for burial.