January 18, 2008

 

Honorable Eliot Spitzer

Governor, State of New York

State Capitol

Albany, NY 12224

Subject: Appointment of Independent Special Prosecutor to Oversee

Criminal Cases Versus Filipino Immigrant Nurses and their Lawyer

People of the State of New York vs. Felix Vinluan et al.

(Indictment No. 00769A-K-07)

 

Dear Governor Spitzer,

 

I join the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), the Philippine Nurses Association – New York (PNA-NY), the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON), the Migrant Heritage Commission, and the National Federation of Filipino American Associations of America (NaFFAA) in urging you to appoint an Independent Special Prosecutor to handle the criminal cases filed in Suffolk County, NY against ten (10) Filipino immigrant nurses and their lawyer for alleged conspiracy to endanger the welfare of children and disabled patients.

 

I believe in the fairness and impartiality of the American Judicial System. This is what makes America truly great. But when the scales of Justice are tilted unfavorably towards special interests, especially when said special interests are represented by no less than the Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota, then I am left with no alternative except to cry out for help.

 

I am very disturbed by the following series of revelations featured in Newsday, detailing the “ready access to power enjoyed by Sentosa Care”, namely: (1) That after meeting in private in June 2006 with Sentosa Care’s Principals (Benjamin Landa and Bent Philipson) and its lawyer (Howard Fensterman), Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota immediately agreed to investigate the 10 immigrant nurses who used to work at Avalon Gardens Rehab and Health Care Center, a Smithtown nursing home; (2) That Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota is the beneficiary of a $1,500.00 campaign donation from the law firm of Sentosa Care Attorney Howard Fensterman, said donation reputedly being one of the larger donations to Spota’s campaign by a nonunion organization. (3) That Sentosa Care Attorney Howard Fensterman is Senator Chuck Schumer’s Long Island finance chairman and also a leading fundraiser for Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozi, and that Schumer wrote letters in support of Sentosa Care to Filipino government officials. (4) That Howard Fensterman taps Sentosa Care and its principals in his fundraising efforts. (5) That in the last decade, Sentosa Care executives, investors and subcontractors have donated more than $750,000.00 to political campaign funds, with nearly $198,000 of the largesse going to Schumer’s re-election campaign and the Schumer-led Democratic Senatorial campaign in 2006, and; (6) That Sentosa Care has a reputation as a company that elected officials listen to, if for no other reason than sheer size, according to health care industry observers, as it controls 25 nursing homes in New York, 10 in Long Island.

 

I find even more disturbing the revelation that Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota continued to pursue his investigation against the 10 Filipino immigrant nurses, which resulted in an indictment handed down on March 22, 2007, notwithstanding the fact that no less than some 5 months earlier the New York State Education Department on September 13, 2006, CLEARED the nurses of wrongdoing, stating that “all cases have been CLOSED, and this Department will take no action against any of the licensed nurses accused of abandoning patients. In addition, we will not institute any moral character proceeding against any of the non-licensees who are seeking a permit or license”.

 

For the reasons above-stated, I believe that Mr. Spota’s actions on behalf of his campaign contributors indeed present an ethical conflict of interest. The allegations are severe enough that any side that is favored in the slightest way will harm the fair dispensation of justice. It will only further the notion that no justice is available to those who have no means of tilting the scales of justice in their favor.

 

Furthermore, indicting the nurses’ lawyer for alleged conspiracy to endanger the welfare of patients sends a chilling effect on all lawyers and other professionals in the advice-giving professions. There was no other reason to have him indicted except to silence him from representing other Filipino nurses working at various Sentosa-affiliated facilities who had earlier expressed their willingness to file discrimination charges against their respective contracting employers, as what the ten nurses did. The lawyer merely advised the nurses their rights as immigrant workers and as aggrieved parties to breached contracts. That a lawyer can be indicted for giving legal advice infringes on a basic right of each individual to secure legal counsel and representation. If this were allowed to happen, lawyers will shirk from their obligation to render legal advice if they so fear reprisal from politically-connected and financially-influential adversaries of their clients. I fear that this lawyer’s indictment ominously spells the end of the rule of law, whereby the scales of justice are unfavorably tilted in favor of the economically powerful.

 

On behalf of the 10 Filipino immigrant nurses, and all Filipino immigrant nurses who in decades past and up to the present have put their nursing skills, dedication and integrity at the service of thousands of New Yorkers¸ as well as on behalf of their pro-bono lawyer, I, the undersigned, strongly urge you to grant my request and appoint an independent special prosecutor to handle the criminal cases instituted by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

 

Sincerely,

Zenei Triunfo-Cortez, RN

Member, Council of Presidents

California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee