Geoffrey Edelsten
Encyclopedia
Geoffrey Walter Edelsten (born 2 May 1943) is an Australian medical entrepreneur. He was the first private owner of a major Australian football team when he bought the Sydney Swans
Football Club in 1985. Edelsten was formerly a general practitioner
, but was deregistered in New South Wales in 1988 and also in Victoria. In 1990, Edelsten spent a year in jail for soliciting an underworld figure, Christopher Dale Flannery
, to assault a former patient and for perverting the course of justice
.
Edelsten was known as a flamboyant entrepreneur in the 1980s, transforming the idea of what a doctor's surgery was with chandeliers, grand pianos and 24 hour opening. He also had mink-covered examination benches, mansions and a fleet of Rolls-Royces and Lamborghinis sporting number plates such as Macho, Spunky and Sexy.
In 2005, Edelsten, together with a business partner, founded Allied Medical Group, which by 2010 administered 17 medical centres and employed close to 250 general practitioners. Edelsten is not, however, a shareholder or owner of the company.
, an inner suburb of Melbourne
, and attended Princes Hill Public School and, later, Mt. Scopus Memorial College, Australia's first Jewish co-educational school, where he graduated with honours in 1960. He then entered the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery at the University of Melbourne
, which he graduated in 1966.
.
In 1966, he claimed a co-writing credit on the songs "I can't stop loving you, baby" and "A woman of gradual decline" for the group The Last Straws, whose singles were released on Edelsten's short-lived Scope label.
In 1967, Edelsten's Hit Productions company signed the group Cam-Pact. Their first single "Something Easy"/"Michael" charted in Melbourne in early 1968.
Later in 1968, Edelsten co-produced the single "Love Machine" for the studio group Pastoral Symphony, comprising Glenn Shorrock
and his band, The Twilights, Ronnie Charles of The Groop
, and other musicians.
before entering general practice and working in rural and remote regions of New South Wales
and Queensland, most notably the towns of Wauchope
, Aramac
and finally Walgett
, where he bought his first private practice. He obtained a private pilot's licence in order to provide services to remote communities, often at no cost to patients as they could not afford to pay for their medical care.
In 1969, he set up a new medical practice with a colleague at the Sydney suburb of Coogee
. After training an assistant doctor to perform the work at Walgett, he devoted more time to the Sydney practice, and it soon expanded to Liverpool
.
In 1971, Edelsten and colleague Tom Wenkart formed Preventicare. The Sydney-based company provided diagnostic tests and computerised history-taking for doctors throughout Australia, using new equipment from the United States which could quickly and cheaply process pathology specimens. Preventicare had initially incurred debts because some of its operations were not economically sound and because of slow payment of patients' accounts, totalling far more than the company owed. In July 1971, a provisional liquidator appointed by the Equity Court would act as a temporary business manager to straighten out the company's affairs. By August 1971, General Manager of Preventicare Mr Brian Wickens said the organisation's severe cash-flow problems had been remedied and now felt it was on a sound financial footing. By 1975 (under the new name of Morlea Pathology Services) its annual profits were reportedly $2.5 million to $3 million. Macquarie Professional Services is the successor to Preventicare Pty Ltd. During this time, Edelsten and his colleagues had established eight practices in the Sydney area, and performed obstetrics at three western Sydney hospitals. After three years resident in Los Angeles, California
, where he worked in essentially similar fields and endeavours, Edelsten returned to Australia in 1978, resuming his general practice, surgical and obstetric commitments.
From February 1984 onwards, following the establishment of Medicare
by the Hawke
government, Edelsten became famous for running multi-disciplinary, 24-hour medical centres that featured chandeliers and white grand pianos. His clinics were innovative and the forerunners of corporate medical practices, and were the first in Australia to bulk-bill
patients to Medicare so they incurred no direct cost.
Within four months, the first clinic was seeing 2,000 patients a week. Edelsten's empire grew to thirteen medical centres, with around 200 doctors seeing more than 20,000 patients each week.
Edelsten's medical practices featured in a Four Corners television program broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
on 3 November 1984. The program was called Branded and was about tattoo
s and tattoo removal but also discussed entrepreneurial medicine and Edelsten, who was regarded as a "highflying practitioner of the day".
On 31 July 1985, for what was thought to be $6.3 million, Edelsten bought the Sydney Swans
football club. In reality it was $2.9 million in cash, with funding and other payments spread over five years. A period of relative on-field success followed, however, success on the field was not translated to financial security, membership or a sustainable structure. Edelsten resigned as chairman after less than twelve months.
In July 1986, Edelsten attempted to buy the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks rugby league
team but his offer was refused by the game's administrators. His former wife, Leanne, claimed that Edelsten intended to buy the Sharks team as a present for her.
.
Edelsten was convicted on 27 July 1990 for perverting the course of justice
and also for soliciting an underworld figure, Christopher Dale Flannery
, to assault a former patient. A taped conversation of Edelsten was used as evidence in his trial. Edelsten had obtained an adjournment of the trial of Flannery, which had been fixed for 31 January 1984 by providing a medical certificate that Flannery was unfit for trial, claiming his tattoo removal operation had resulted in an infection in order to avoid Flannery being tried by a particular judge. Edelsten was jailed for one year. He and Mr Flannery's wife both testified to a later Victorian Medical Board hearing that Mr Flannery had been genuinely ill and in hospital at the time, and said Flannery had not had contact with him before or at the time of the assault.
In 1992, New South Wales
politician Fred Nile
said in Parliament that Edelsten was a "fairly prominent doctor" and that since he was deregistered in New South Wales, he moved to Victoria
where he was able to practise. Edelsten was subsequently struck off the Victorian medical register; his application for re-registration in that state has been rejected on four occasions.
In 2001, Edelsten operated a company called "Gene E" which offered paternity testing
by mail order
.
Edelsten has on a number of occasions sought readmittance as a doctor in New South Wales but has been unsuccessful each time. In 2003, he told the NSW Medical Tribunal that he was regretful about his conduct and unreservedly expressed contrition and remorse. Referring to Edelsten's doctorate in philosophy from the Pacific Western University
, counsel assisting the Tribunal said people could be misled, in that use of the words "professor" and "doctor" could lead people to think Edelsten was entitled to practise medicine. Edelsten said if the commission told him he should stop using the doctor honorific, he would. In 2004, the same Tribunal banned Edelsten from making any further applications for four years.
In 2008, the Herald Sun
reported that Edelsten still owned three medical clinics. Edelsten says he registered the word 'superclinic' as a trademark and is challenging the use of the word by the Federal Government's Health Department
initiative to establish "GP Super Clinics" in 31 localities across Australia.
In January 2009, Edelsten announced his intention to marry Brynne Gordon, at the time a 25-year-old fitness instructor from California.
The Edelsten-Gordon wedding was held on Sunday, 29 November 2009 in Melbourne, Australia at the Crown Casino
. Alleged to have cost approximately $3 million, it featured a helicopter, Bentley
, 550 guests, circus performers, Tom Burlinson
and other headline acts. Invitees were sent a pre-wedding DVD about Edelsten and Gordon. The DVD featured narration by actor Jason Alexander
, who also gave an address at the wedding. Fran Drescher
from The Nanny
also attended. Neither Alexander nor Drescher had met the couple before, but were nonetheless paid by Edelsten to appear. Brynne Edelsten subsequently appeared in Series 11 of Dancing with the Stars
. She was eliminated on 12 June 2011.
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
Football Club in 1985. Edelsten was formerly a general practitioner
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
, but was deregistered in New South Wales in 1988 and also in Victoria. In 1990, Edelsten spent a year in jail for soliciting an underworld figure, Christopher Dale Flannery
Christopher Dale Flannery
Christopher Dale Flannery, aka Mr. Rent-A-Kill is alleged to have been an Australian hitman. Flannery was born in Brunswick, Victoria.- Juvenile Crime:...
, to assault a former patient and for perverting the course of justice
Perverting the course of justice
Perverting the course of justice, in English, Canadian , and Irish law, is a criminal offence in which someone prevents justice from being served on himself or on another party...
.
Edelsten was known as a flamboyant entrepreneur in the 1980s, transforming the idea of what a doctor's surgery was with chandeliers, grand pianos and 24 hour opening. He also had mink-covered examination benches, mansions and a fleet of Rolls-Royces and Lamborghinis sporting number plates such as Macho, Spunky and Sexy.
In 2005, Edelsten, together with a business partner, founded Allied Medical Group, which by 2010 administered 17 medical centres and employed close to 250 general practitioners. Edelsten is not, however, a shareholder or owner of the company.
Early life
Edelsten was born in CarltonCarlton, Victoria
Carlton is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne...
, an inner suburb of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, and attended Princes Hill Public School and, later, Mt. Scopus Memorial College, Australia's first Jewish co-educational school, where he graduated with honours in 1960. He then entered the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
, which he graduated in 1966.
Music career
During the second half of the 1960s, Edelsten branched into the Melbourne music scene, his family owned the Edels record retail chain. Edelsten's company, Hit Productions, had a deal with the music publishers Festival RecordsFestival Records (Australia)
Festival Records was an Australian music recording and publishing company which was founded in Sydney in 1952 and operated until 2005....
.
In 1966, he claimed a co-writing credit on the songs "I can't stop loving you, baby" and "A woman of gradual decline" for the group The Last Straws, whose singles were released on Edelsten's short-lived Scope label.
In 1967, Edelsten's Hit Productions company signed the group Cam-Pact. Their first single "Something Easy"/"Michael" charted in Melbourne in early 1968.
Later in 1968, Edelsten co-produced the single "Love Machine" for the studio group Pastoral Symphony, comprising Glenn Shorrock
Glenn Shorrock
Glenn Barrie Shorrock is an English-born Australian singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of pop groups The Twilights, Axiom and Little River Band as well as being a solo performer....
and his band, The Twilights, Ronnie Charles of The Groop
The Groop
The Groop were an Australian folk, R&B and rock band formed in 1964 in Melbourne, Australia and had their greatest chart success with their second line-up of Max Ross on bass, Richard Wright on drums and vocals, Don Mudie on lead guitar, Brian Cadd on keyboards and vocals, and Ronnie Charles on...
, and other musicians.
Medical career
Following his graduation in 1966, Edelsten worked as a resident medical officer at Royal Melbourne HospitalRoyal Melbourne Hospital
The Royal Melbourne Hospital , located in Parkville, Victoria an inner suburb of Melbourne is one of Australia’s leading public hospitals. It is a major teaching hospital for tertiary health care with a reputation in clinical research...
before entering general practice and working in rural and remote regions of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and Queensland, most notably the towns of Wauchope
Wauchope, New South Wales
-People from Wauchope:* Iva Davies - Musician, Icehouse* Alison Langdon - Channel Nine News Reader - Today Show* Phil Jamieson - Musician, Grinspoon* Andrew Stoner - NSW National Party of Australia leader, Member for Oxley...
, Aramac
Aramac, Queensland
Aramac is a small town in Western Queensland, Australia, lying north of Barcaldine, and by road from the state capital, Brisbane. It is situated on Aramac Creek, which flows into the Thomson River west of town. At the 2006 census, Aramac had a population of 341.The predominant industry is grazing...
and finally Walgett
Walgett, New South Wales
Walgett is a town in North-West New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Walgett Shire. It is at the junction of the Barwon and Namoi rivers and near the junction of the Kamilaroi and Castlereagh Highways...
, where he bought his first private practice. He obtained a private pilot's licence in order to provide services to remote communities, often at no cost to patients as they could not afford to pay for their medical care.
In 1969, he set up a new medical practice with a colleague at the Sydney suburb of Coogee
Coogee, New South Wales
Coogee is a beachside suburb of local government area City of Randwick. It is located 8 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is also a part of the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney....
. After training an assistant doctor to perform the work at Walgett, he devoted more time to the Sydney practice, and it soon expanded to Liverpool
Liverpool, New South Wales
Liverpool is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Liverpool is located 32 km south-west of the Sydney central business district, and is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Liverpool...
.
In 1971, Edelsten and colleague Tom Wenkart formed Preventicare. The Sydney-based company provided diagnostic tests and computerised history-taking for doctors throughout Australia, using new equipment from the United States which could quickly and cheaply process pathology specimens. Preventicare had initially incurred debts because some of its operations were not economically sound and because of slow payment of patients' accounts, totalling far more than the company owed. In July 1971, a provisional liquidator appointed by the Equity Court would act as a temporary business manager to straighten out the company's affairs. By August 1971, General Manager of Preventicare Mr Brian Wickens said the organisation's severe cash-flow problems had been remedied and now felt it was on a sound financial footing. By 1975 (under the new name of Morlea Pathology Services) its annual profits were reportedly $2.5 million to $3 million. Macquarie Professional Services is the successor to Preventicare Pty Ltd. During this time, Edelsten and his colleagues had established eight practices in the Sydney area, and performed obstetrics at three western Sydney hospitals. After three years resident in Los Angeles, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where he worked in essentially similar fields and endeavours, Edelsten returned to Australia in 1978, resuming his general practice, surgical and obstetric commitments.
From February 1984 onwards, following the establishment of Medicare
Medicare (Australia)
Medicare is Australia's publicly funded universal health care system, operated by the government authority Medicare Australia. Medicare is intended to provide affordable treatment by doctors and in public hospitals for all resident citizens and permanent residents except for those on Norfolk Island...
by the Hawke
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
government, Edelsten became famous for running multi-disciplinary, 24-hour medical centres that featured chandeliers and white grand pianos. His clinics were innovative and the forerunners of corporate medical practices, and were the first in Australia to bulk-bill
Bulk billing
Bulk billing is a payment option under the Medicare system of universal health insurance in Australia. The health service provider, usually a Doctor is paid 85% of the scheduled fee directly by the government by billing the patient via their Medicare card. The service provider receives only 75% of...
patients to Medicare so they incurred no direct cost.
Within four months, the first clinic was seeing 2,000 patients a week. Edelsten's empire grew to thirteen medical centres, with around 200 doctors seeing more than 20,000 patients each week.
Edelsten's medical practices featured in a Four Corners television program broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
on 3 November 1984. The program was called Branded and was about tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
s and tattoo removal but also discussed entrepreneurial medicine and Edelsten, who was regarded as a "highflying practitioner of the day".
Sydney Swans
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
football club. In reality it was $2.9 million in cash, with funding and other payments spread over five years. A period of relative on-field success followed, however, success on the field was not translated to financial security, membership or a sustainable structure. Edelsten resigned as chairman after less than twelve months.
In July 1986, Edelsten attempted to buy the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
team but his offer was refused by the game's administrators. His former wife, Leanne, claimed that Edelsten intended to buy the Sharks team as a present for her.
Late 1980s and onward
Edelsten was struck off the New South Wales medical register in 1988 for overservicing and for having unqualified people carry out laser surgeryLaser surgery
Laser surgery is surgery using a laser to cut tissue instead of a scalpel. Examples include the use of a laser scalpel in otherwise conventional surgery, and soft tissue laser surgery, in which the laser beam vaporizes soft tissue with high water content...
.
Edelsten was convicted on 27 July 1990 for perverting the course of justice
Perverting the course of justice
Perverting the course of justice, in English, Canadian , and Irish law, is a criminal offence in which someone prevents justice from being served on himself or on another party...
and also for soliciting an underworld figure, Christopher Dale Flannery
Christopher Dale Flannery
Christopher Dale Flannery, aka Mr. Rent-A-Kill is alleged to have been an Australian hitman. Flannery was born in Brunswick, Victoria.- Juvenile Crime:...
, to assault a former patient. A taped conversation of Edelsten was used as evidence in his trial. Edelsten had obtained an adjournment of the trial of Flannery, which had been fixed for 31 January 1984 by providing a medical certificate that Flannery was unfit for trial, claiming his tattoo removal operation had resulted in an infection in order to avoid Flannery being tried by a particular judge. Edelsten was jailed for one year. He and Mr Flannery's wife both testified to a later Victorian Medical Board hearing that Mr Flannery had been genuinely ill and in hospital at the time, and said Flannery had not had contact with him before or at the time of the assault.
In 1992, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
politician Fred Nile
Fred Nile
Frederick John "Fred" Nile is an Australian politician and clergyman. Nile has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since 1981, except for a period in 2004 when he resigned to contest the Australian Senate at the 2004 federal election...
said in Parliament that Edelsten was a "fairly prominent doctor" and that since he was deregistered in New South Wales, he moved to Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
where he was able to practise. Edelsten was subsequently struck off the Victorian medical register; his application for re-registration in that state has been rejected on four occasions.
In 2001, Edelsten operated a company called "Gene E" which offered paternity testing
Paternity testing
Parental testing is the use of genetic fingerprinting to determine whether two individuals have a biological parent-child relationship. A paternity test establishes genetic proof as to whether a man is the biological father of an individual, and a maternity test establishes whether a woman is the...
by mail order
Mail order
Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...
.
Edelsten has on a number of occasions sought readmittance as a doctor in New South Wales but has been unsuccessful each time. In 2003, he told the NSW Medical Tribunal that he was regretful about his conduct and unreservedly expressed contrition and remorse. Referring to Edelsten's doctorate in philosophy from the Pacific Western University
Pacific Western University
California Miramar University , is a nationally accredited private proprietary institution of higher learning and is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the United States Department of Education...
, counsel assisting the Tribunal said people could be misled, in that use of the words "professor" and "doctor" could lead people to think Edelsten was entitled to practise medicine. Edelsten said if the commission told him he should stop using the doctor honorific, he would. In 2004, the same Tribunal banned Edelsten from making any further applications for four years.
In 2008, the Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
reported that Edelsten still owned three medical clinics. Edelsten says he registered the word 'superclinic' as a trademark and is challenging the use of the word by the Federal Government's Health Department
Department of Health and Ageing (Australia)
The Department of Health and Ageing is an Australian Government department. Its role is to oversee the running of Australia including supporting universal and affordable access to medical, pharmaceutical and hospital services, while helping people to stay healthy through health promotion and...
initiative to establish "GP Super Clinics" in 31 localities across Australia.
Personal life
He met and married his first wife Leanne Nesbitt when she was a 19-year-old model, and he was associated in the public mind with pink cars and a pink helicopter (although Leanne insisted in later interviews it was blue and white) as well as buying a football team.In January 2009, Edelsten announced his intention to marry Brynne Gordon, at the time a 25-year-old fitness instructor from California.
The Edelsten-Gordon wedding was held on Sunday, 29 November 2009 in Melbourne, Australia at the Crown Casino
Crown Casino
Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a large casino and entertainment precinct located on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia. Crown Casino is a unit of Crown Limited....
. Alleged to have cost approximately $3 million, it featured a helicopter, Bentley
Bentley
Bentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer of automobiles founded on 18 January 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley known as W.O. Bentley or just "W O". Bentley had been previously known for his range of rotary aero-engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later...
, 550 guests, circus performers, Tom Burlinson
Tom Burlinson
Tom Burlinson is an Australian actor and singer.He attended Pittwater High School on Sydney's Northern Beaches and was the School Captain in his final year...
and other headline acts. Invitees were sent a pre-wedding DVD about Edelsten and Gordon. The DVD featured narration by actor Jason Alexander
Jason Alexander
Jay Scott Greenspan , better known by his professional name of Jason Alexander, is an American actor, writer, comedian, television director, producer, and singer. He is best known for his role as George Costanza on the television series Seinfeld, appearing in the sitcom from 1989 to 1998...
, who also gave an address at the wedding. Fran Drescher
Fran Drescher
Francine Joy "Fran" Drescher is an American film and television actress, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer, author, singer, talk show host, political lobbyist and health activist...
from The Nanny
The Nanny (TV series)
The Nanny is an American television sitcom co-produced by Sternin & Fraser Ink, Inc., and Fran Drescher in association with TriStar Television for the CBS network...
also attended. Neither Alexander nor Drescher had met the couple before, but were nonetheless paid by Edelsten to appear. Brynne Edelsten subsequently appeared in Series 11 of Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars (Australian Season 11)
The 11th Season of Dancing with the Stars premiered on Sunday 8 May 2011 at 6:30pm on Channel Seven. Daniel MacPherson and Sonia Kruger returned as hosts, along with judges Todd McKenney and Helen Richey. Australian dancer Joshua Horner joined the judging panel as a replacement for Mark Wilson...
. She was eliminated on 12 June 2011.