Two more doctors have pleaded guilty in a long-running bribes-for-test referrals scheme involving a northern New Jersey firm.
Federal prosecutors say Eugene DeSimone, a 60-year-old Eatontown resident who practiced in Secaucus, and Douglas Bienstock, a 48-year-old Wayne resident who practiced in Hawthorne, each pleaded guilty Tuesday to accepting bribes.
Each man faces a five-year prison term when they are sentenced Dec. 16. DeSimone and Bienstock also agreed to forfeit a combined total of $339,000.
Prosecutors say the pair got the bribes from Parsippany-based Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services in exchange for unnecessary test referrals. Bienstock also was paid more than $2,500 per month under a sham service contract.
The two doctors acknowledged generating a total of at least $1.6 million in lab business for the firm from their respective practices.
Twenty physicians, along with 11 employees and associates of the lab, have now pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme. Its organizers have admitted the scheme involved millions of dollars in bribes and resulted in more than $100 million in payments to BLS from Medicare and various private insurance companies.
Prosecutors say the investigation has recovered more than $10.2 million so far through forfeiture. Several people connected with the lab have pleaded guilty, including president and part-owner David Nicoll and his brother, Scott, a senior employee.
Source: newsday
