June 30, 2018
Greetings,
Thank you for taking the time to read and contemplate the information below.
As many of you know by coming to this page, I have maintained for several years now that I was a victim of a little known dubious practice within the world of medicine called “sham peer review”. (references 1, 2, 3) This sickening, underhanded, and moreover, intentional doctor on doctor crime, (perpetrated outside the Constitutional protections of due process, never mind due cause), is certainly not something we ever learned about in Medical School along any lines of medical ethics.
It all started back in 1998 when I moved to Syracuse to join a prestigious practice comprised of two physicians who were exceptional at what they did. They were busy and soon thereafter, I too was a regular on the scene. It didn’t take long, however, before I realized that the quality of medicine being practiced in the Department of Ob/Gyn at Crouse Hospital, was a different story than what would be otherwise expected. This was the same department who oversaw the training of Resident Physicians, whose lack of adequate training and oversight was a big part of the problem.
After months of repeated occurrences of deficient care and improper governance of labor and delivery, mainly by the resident staff, I felt it necessary to at least open a few things up for discussion in a department meeting one day regarding some concerning first-hand observations and experiences. It not only wasn’t received in the pertinent manner it was meant given the real clinical risk to patients, I was apparently seen, by unscrupulous men who have driven the Ob/Gyn department into the ground for decades, as a trouble maker.
You see, in the world of business, politics, medicine, you name it, (though naive of such childish idiocy at the time), someone who dares to speak out about quality or the status quo (even if the current condition is utterly devoid of anything meritorious), that person is labeled as a whistle blower. Such a term would usually spark an association to that of something good. Someone who is trying to expose something that needs fixing or change for the better.
Well, that's what it's supposed to imply and there are even laws protection one's ability to actually "whistle blow" without retaliation. But despite every good intention behind the concept of enabling one to actually "whistle blow", such a person in industry/business is, (in reality), heavily frowned upon. And once identified, all efforts to silence or even destroy them is then often enacted.
In my case, the concept of "whistle blowing" was the furthest thing on my mind. All I was trying to do is openly and collegially encourage and nurture the same level of excellence we had etched into our medical minds during my own training....something I thought was the expected norm at every ACGME accredited training program and certainly not something that ought to be frowned upon for someone wanting to openly discuss.
Thus, asking to openly examine real clinical issues that were far from, (but readily remedied by), the same level of clinical performance quality we had imparted to us during my (retrospectively) exceptional training was now considered worthy of condemnation and professional bullying. I was quite surprised at the reaction rather than recognizing the clinical significance of the issue to begin with.
This bullying tactic went on for the next two years, where I was abruptly, randomly and aggressively (not colleagially at all) confronted by certain unscrupulous department "leaders" regarding my management of certain oddball cases (all: aptly documented, well within the standard of care and with favorable outcomes), only for them to be "schooled" (for lack of a better word) by an otherwise "non-game-player". I've sadly come to learn that game players with power and authority don't like non-game-players and thus often abuse that power and authority upon such individuals as a result. Have you not yet figured this out?
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In 2001, I had an unfortunate outcome of a delivery where there was a stillborn. During the case, the delivery was assisted using the Obstetrical instrument known as forceps. This is where my story seems to get hung up in the minds of many who either haven’t read about it thoroughly or have merely heard about it through hearsay.
This horrible journey began at the hospital level when the above mentioned miscreants within my hospital department immediately siezed this opportunity to launch a sham peer review at me. I was not only blindsided, I was completely ignorant of this process at the time and thus walked right into their trap. Once they imposed a baseless and aggressive sanction upon me which affected my ability to safely practice as well as sully my national record, I pushed back within the administrative ranks of the hospital.
After a contentious confrontation with four unscrupulous men from my department who banded together to uphold the lie now being challenged, I suddenly found myself being investigated by the New York State Department of Health and their notorious Office of Professional Medial Conduct, (OPMC) for a litany of charges of professional misconduct, with Obstetrical forceps being the central theme of their (otherwise illegitimate) prosecutorial angle. It took them over thirteen years of lying and cheating in order to ultimately put me out to pasture for daring to fight back, though they did plenty of damage to my life, career, family, name and future along the way.
What's sad is that very few within the community (lay and medical) have any clue as to the Truth of what happened, how dastardly it all was and how any one of them could just as readily be affected by this illicit practice at the highest levels of State government. What's more, those who perpetuated it at the hospital level made sure to corrupt the Truth of the matter all the more across the community.
So, apparently the word on the street is that Dr. Caputo, “lost his license because he did something inappropriate or unauthorized with forceps.” I have heard many versions including supposedly having performed them when I wasn’t allowed to. In fact, the information got so corrupted that in one instance, I learned that the common understanding of that case at a local hospital just across town was that I pulled the head off of a baby with forceps. How preposterous! Again, all of these stories couldn’t be further from reality and only stand to dishonor the clinical Truth as well as the tragic loss to the family in this case.
First of all, as for Obstetrical forceps, by the time of this case in 2001, I had definitively established myself in the hospital as one being highly proficient with their use and without any untoward incident. I wasn’t some sort of show-off, as the State would have you believe in the fictitious conviction documents (1 & 2) they had to write in the absence of anything legitimate to prosecute. In fact, I was highly judicious with the use of Obstetrical forceps and made sure when teaching them to residents (as truly the only instructor in the department) to really emphasize proper indication and the overall seriousness of their implementation.
For the record, Obstetrical forceps were only offered and performed when the medical circumstances were completely within the guidelines set forth by the American College of Ob/Gyn with the indication of usage and actual clinical application documented in the patient record every time.
Furthermore, my technique has always been to apply Obstetrical forceps only in order to bring the baby’s head to a crowning position and then safely remove them, whereafter the mother can then delivery the baby naturally by her own efforts from that point on. In so many instances, such deliveries have been accomplished without any injury (or stitches) to the mom. The case that started ALL of this was no different as far as clinical indication with the subsequent implementation being well within the standard of care.
You see, the forceps used in this case were simply an ancillary component of the delivery, but because they are an uncommonly used modality these days, (even back in 2001), along with the inherent confusion surrounding their use, they were an easy target for those who had already been operating under an agenda to cause me trouble and further, who were skilled in the “art” of sham peer review. I have more than established the True cause of that stillbirth and it remains a subject that absolutely needs to be brought to light within the world of Obstetrics. The forceps in that case had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the outcome. Nothing. And the State knows this even though their entire prosecution danced around their insinuation of forceps being causal for the outcome while saying that “the outcome of this case is not what we are prosecuting.”
No, that’s not the angle they took. Once OPMC realized that they were barking up the tree of a doctor who’s clinical performance record was literally spotless, (including the use of forceps), while simultaneously maintaining the best quality-of-care profile in the department, what they ended up having to prosecute were the thoughts that were apparently going on in my mind when I “decided to use the forceps” in the three (out of literally dozens upon dozens in my clinical history of) forceps cases that were drummed up and distorted in order to “create the illusion” of wrongdoing. This was all completely counter to the actual medical records themselves, not to mention the well-established standards of care on the use of these instruments. In other words, they just made it all up.
You see, this is how it works within the ranks of State government and specifically amongst individuals with significant authority but who lack any ounce of integrity or honesty and who feel a need to stroke whatever part of their ego that gives them gratification by destroying someone who dares challenge one of their lies on top of calling them out on their misdeeds. Such "officials" act in such a destructive manner because they have both the power to do it to the likes of any New York Physician they so choose, as well as the malevolent will to actually execute it all the way to their fraudulant end. Rather than let something illegitimate go when challenged, their unchecked pride takes over to the extent that they then ramp up their contrived lies and deceit in order to win at all costs. This is no joke. This is precisely what this agency does, and everyone who knows about them knows this about them.
I have been claiming for years now that not one bit of this entire prosecution, conviction, or destruction of my practice/career/life/family, or the public shaming, you name it, had any basis in truth. None of it.
I have lost literally thousands of hours of time with my children trying to fight this lie for the future benefit of those very children. As it stands today, take away the lost memories, the lost joy, the mental anguish caused to so many people in my world, my monetary losses alone are more than $7M. In all honesty, the Truth rising to victory is way more valuable than any lost income. For anyone who knows me, I have never been about “the money” in medicine. I was a highly clinically successful surgeon and healer with metadata on thousands of cases to prove it, with a comfortable standard of living as a result.
Yet, when you live below the poverty level for (greater than) eight years now, you start to get a little irritated over the lost peace one has by simply being able to pay their own bills, forget about a home. Yes, the level of damage across every spectra is that bad as a result of being labeled with multiple counts of "professional misconduct". Just think about it. Then add being done even dirtier by one's own wife (at the time) and mother of your five children for now being "damaged goods". What an awesome experience, not.
I could go on and on with all that I would like to say concerning the fallout from this ordeal as a result of the utter dishonesty and abuse of power that persists to this day at OPMC, but short of having actual DOH internal documents, I believe this entire site more than establishes the veracity of my claims.
As many know, my most recent endeavor to rectify this situation was the Petition for Vacatur submitted to OPMC in January of 2015. I don’t suspect that many have read it along with the extensive exhibits to go along with it. That’s totally fine, as I didn’t expect that to be the desire of too many. But let me assure you that the argument presented in that brief is bullet-proof as to my position of complete innocence and they know it. This is why they acted in a most cowardly manner and simply ignored it for over eight months and only answered after an inadvertent email response from them confirmed their receipt of the document. Ignoring a formal petition is NOT something they are allowed to do, especially as the agency charged with overseeing profession behavior by professionals. Is their blatant hypocrisy as obvious to the reader? What’s more, when the supposed oversight agency for OPMC was contacted so as to act in authority, they (The Office of Inspector General) too have chosen to ignore the issue without so much as a single return correspondence. What's going on here?
The response that was ultimately received by OPMC was right on par with all else received from them regarding any degree of modification or restoration based on the actual facts, Truth and decency. It was written by the unscrupulous Director of OPMC himself (Keith Servis) and was, frankly, nothing more than a sickening display of evasiveness of the issues. This official response to a formal Petition for Vacatur is the epitome of hypocrisy from the head of an agency who dares to police physicians concerning their adherence to performance standards when he, himself, put forth such a dutifully deficient document as this, all while being the saddest excuse of upright leadership imaginable. Look for this document to be scanned and uploaded with commentary.
Therefore, in the meantime, what more can one do to further try and make this agency uncomfortable enough to do their job properly and honestly in this matter? What else can I do other than make a formal public challenge to the bandits who continue to sit in their ivory towers and who, with the stroke of a corrupt pen, can literally destroy any physician they want in the State without a single legitimate basis and moreover, without any recourse whatsoever? I know this to be truth. I have lived this for over eighteen years. They chose to impose their lies and deceit upon my life in order to utterly destroy it and this was definitively proved in 2015's Petition for Vacatur.
Thus, as a result of a criminal level of dishonesty and abuse of power by OPMC that has stolen my life and career as a top performing physician in New York State, I James R. Caputo, M.D. do hereby formally challenge you, OPMC, to a public hearing on ALL of these matters so that the taxpayers of New York, who funded this charade, can see just exactly what you have done to desecrate the facts and truth of every patient case in this matter as well as Obstetrical and Gynecological medicine as it pertained to my closed door tribunal and malicious prosecution/conviction.
What say you, OPMC? Can you defend your lie in public, as the title of this page asks? Are you so confident in a prosecution that saw the first hearing in 2005 thrown out due to your very own corruption in the process being found out by planting an infiltrator on my first jury, to name but one of many improprieties cited on appeal?
I have certainly been spouting off for quite some time now. For anyone still following, wouldn’t you like to see if what I speak of is actually meritorious? Am I just blowing smoke about all of this and simply can’t handle the truth about myself? Am I that deluded or do I lack that much insight into my own fantasy world to know that I am, in fact, really a bad doctor despite the numbers and demonstrable history to the contrary?
Or am I speaking the truth about myself as well as a corrupt State agency who, after being called out on their lies and malevolence in a formal Brief released to the public, has no other response but to cower under their collective desks and evade and/or obfuscate the Truth rather than strap a pair on and admit that they were wrong in what they did?
Wouldn’t you like to see such a showdown? I know I would. And if you couldn’t care for me or think I am full of it, then wouldn’t you like to see me get squashed by big bad OPMC in front of my colleagues and the public? How about cspan even? Even I would love to get humiliated on that level, should I prove to be self-deceived. Doesn’t everyone like to see a battle where you know one of the parties is going to lose badly? Especially after so much public discourse?
Come on OPMC, show everyone, including the Albany Times Union that when you bring the “goods” on any given doctor that the public can rest assured that you actually have the “goods”. Come on! With how nasty those conviction documents of mine read, this should be a piece of cake for you. Surely your prosecutorial wherewithall can easily overcome any criticism or accusation from one measely doctor along with the assertions contained in his lengthy rebuttal to your lie about him that you printed on Offical New York State Department of Health Letterhead and then disseminated to the public while also fraudulantly taking away his livelihood.
Heck, you have probably got so much evidence on me while having so thoroughly comprised it all over those thirteen years, you could send an intern to do the job. Then you could show everyone that you actually are legitimate, and that your official documents along with all the extensive research you did into this very topic and subsequent prosecution essentially speak for themselves. If you're going to take away someone's life and career, surely you have whatever documents necessary to justify it, right?
While this open public challenge might well be a pipe dream at the moment, your vote on the petition at change.org brings this dream one step closer to being reality. Imagine, a real life David vs. Goliath story where Goliath is actually showing himself to be too scared to come out and battle. What’s the matter Goliath, are you “ascared”? Are you afraid of what might be in my slingshot aimed right at you? I’ll tell you up front what I have loaded in it ready and waiting for you so as not to be hiding any surprises. Psssst. Come closer, I’ll whisper it into your ear so that we can keep it on the down-low as to what apparently frightens you. Ok, here it is..…......Truth
Did you get that? Was it clear enough? Perhaps it might not be, so I guess maybe I’ll have to just be direct hoping that you can handle my weapon being revealed to you along with anyone else reading this. It’s called Truth, alright? I’m bringing the Truth if you are enough of a giant to actually engage in this battle. The big question, can your past prosecution of my license and destruction of everything thereafter handle the Truth?
My money (so to speak) is on you NOT being able to handle it, especially when the added element of it now being in public is considered. Closed door tribunal where there is no oversight and where anyone can lie and not be called out on the public carpet? Of course you would win in that setting, Goliath. So long as no one was watching, you have shown this course of action already where you were willing to do whatever it took (including shaming your own existence) in order to win.
No, I’m talking a fair playing field where rule, order of law and actual material facts get their rightful due instead of being ignored to suit some predetermined agenda. You are a fair player, aren’t you Goliath? Don't you play fair, especially if all those who fund your war machine were watching? No? Well, let’s hope that all those tax paying funders reading this are a little curious to know if their money has indeed gone to support such alleged scandalous activities or actually does work in their interest through lawful operation and integrity worthy of the State of New York.
Please go to, read and sign the change.org petition to help see this formal challenge to OPMC come to fruition. Thanks for reading and following what hasn’t been quite what I expected when working my rear end off in school, training and practice only to have that wonderful haven for patients falsely taken away on a well orchestrated lie that couldn’t stand the most superficial level of public scrutiny. Want to see that last statement get proven beyond what I have already written and formally submitted? Then please sign the petition and let's make OPMC defend what they did in this case to the very people who technically pay their salaries and who, (ironically), are collateral victims themselves from such malevolent abuse of power. Thank you.
Sincerely,
James R. Caputo, M.D. |
