Hospitals

Was MetroHealth, board member warned of corruption?

An IRS audit lead to the discovery - and now indictment- of former MetroHealth executive John Carroll. But rival contractors say they complained about corruption five years ago to MetroHealth's former chief executive, its general counsel at the time, and Donna Kelly Rego, a trustee who at the time was the chairwoman of the board.

By Chris Seper on August 18, 2009 9:01 am

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Public corruption probes throughout the Cleveland area ensnared a former vice president at MetroHealth Medical Center. But were some top hospital executives — including a current, longtime trustee — warned of wrongdoing beforehand?

The Plain Dealer reported on Sunday that a construction company complained about corruption five years ago to MetroHealth’s former chief executive, its general counsel at the time, and Donna Kelly Rego, a trustee who at the time was the chairwoman of the board. Former MetroHealth executive John Carroll has been charged in federal court and is accused of taking $600,000 in bribes to push construction contracts to certain firms. He is expected to plead guilty.

An IRS audit more than a year ago caught Carroll. But The Plain Dealer reports that in 2004 members of the Brewer-Garrett Corp. complained to county prosecutors, hospital officials and eventually filed a taxpayer lawsuit after losing out to Reliance Mechanical, one of the companies caught up with Carroll in the corruption case.

MetroHealth’s chief executive at the time, John Sideras, has since left the hospital. The hospital’s general counsel, William West, retired in June. Rego is the only person remaining at the health system who the contractors claim to have told.

But MetroHealth’s management said it’s impossible to expect them to catch the errors and they say the record proves it. The court eventually found in MetroHealth’s favor in the taxpayer suit. Also, Reliance was the low bidder in that case.

It seems unlikely this will have any impact on Rego’s position on the board. The hospital system, through a spokeswoman, said Rego didn’t recall the conversations with Brewer-Garrett and said, even so, a board member’s duty would be to refer such an issue to hospital management. “It is not a board member’s responsibility to get involved with the bidding process,” according to a letter distributed to hospital staff about the controversy.

Rego’s term finishes in 2013, and hospital executives said there are no plans to discuss the Carroll issue at its upcoming board meeting.