Former Chief Physician Arrested in Benevento: Bribes on “Unnecessary” Prostheses. Antonio Piscopo, Chief of Orthopedics at Fatebenefratelli in Benevento, Arrested
He pocketed a percentage for each prosthesis from his 'favorite' company that he implanted in patients. Investigations coordinated by the Benevento prosecutor's office, this morning and delegated to the Guardia di Finanza of Naples and Benevento, led to the execution of a precautionary measure in prison with the benefit of house arrest and a preventive seizure of assets up to 576.486,25 euros against the Neapolitan doctor Antonio Piscopo, 64 years old, who must answer for corruption and issuing invoices for non-existent operations.
At the time of the events, the doctor was the head of the Orthopedics department of the Sacro Cuore di Gesù Fatebenefratelli Hospital in Benevento, and systematically received money and gifts from two local representatives of companies that supplied surgical materials; in exchange, he purchased, for the operations he planned and performed between 2014 and 2019, orthopedic prostheses made by those companies, ensuring that the orthopedic prostheses and medical devices used by the hospital had almost exclusively that provenance.
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Telephone and environmental interceptions, searches at the homes of the suspects and the offices of the companies involved, the questioning of people informed of the facts, acquisition and analysis of accounting, banking and administrative documentation, have allowed us to reconstruct the donations and benefits illicitly received by the doctor.
On a monthly basis, the professional received a total of 315.000 euros, justified with letters of assignment for fictitious consultancy and training that were never actually provided; another 185.779 euros, equal to 8% of the value of the prostheses sold; renovation work on a property in Maiori (SA) for 72.712 euros; the use of a scooter and a car.
The doctor also kept a personal account of all the legitimate activities carried out at the hospital and of private visits, but also of the illicit activities received under the table and of the 'donations' from companies, with an accurate count of both incoming and outgoing sums, operations that corresponded to the handwritten notes of one of the bribers, where the donations of money were highlighted, justified with artfully packaged accounting.
The consultations and training courses that were supposed to justify the 'bribes' were documented with invoices for non-existent operations. Among the acquired documentation, there were also the messages exchanged between the doctor and one of the suspects to comment on the progress of the illicit business. Seals were placed on the financial resources found and also on the property in Maiori.
Article published on 4 October 2022 - 10:21
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