Law Med Blog

Arafiles Giulty In Sweetheart Plea Deal: 2 Months Jail Time

November 07, 2011 lawmed No comments

Former Winkler County Memorial Hospital physician Rolando Arafiles has plead guilty in a Texas courtroom in exchange for a sweetheart of a deal with the prosecution. As we predicted, Arafiles will be doing jail time. Here are the stipulations and sentence:

2 months in jail

Surrender of his medical license (which he did Friday)

5 years probation

$5,000 fine

If Arafiles complies with all the terms of his probation the conviction will be expunged from his record, an important consideration if he plans on getting his medical license back. This deferred adjudication agreement makes the whole plea deal worth it for Arafiles. Had he gone to trial and been convicted by a jury, the chances of his having this option were far from certain.

Arafiles guilty plea brings to a close the saga of the Winkler County Nurses. Arafiles was charged with two counts of felony misuse of official … (Continued…)

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Dr. Arafiles Represents Himself In Court: His Client Is A Fool

October 14, 2011 lawmed 1 Comment

A bizarre preliminary hearing was held Thursday in the criminal case against Rolando Arafiles. The doctor is charged with 2 counts of misuse of information and 2 counts of retaliation, all felonies in the 3rd degree and punishable by up to 10 years behind bars. What should have been a routine hearing in a Winkler County courtroom resulting in the setting of a trial date, turned into a surprising event when Arafiles showed up representing himself.

Apparently the judge spent a good hour trying to convince the nervous doctor that should he represent himself his client will be a fool. Arafiles left the courtroom a number of times, asking for breaks, but in the end signed a waiver stating he understood that he was allowed to hire an attorney but declined to do so despite being advised to.

Next came a behind closed doors meeting, which Arafiles requested, with prosecutor … (Continued…)

WINKLER SHERIFF GUILTY ON ALL SIX COUNTS

June 14, 2011 lawmed No comments

A jury in Midland Texas has just found Winkler County Sheriff Robert Roberts GUILTY on all six counts. The jury deliberated for about two hours before delivering their verdict. Roberts faces up to 10 years in prison when the penalty phase begins later today or Wednesday.

Law Med predicted a guilty verdict based on the mountain of damning evidence and testimony provided against the sheriff. He mounted a flimsy “I’m a good guy” defense. He had no choice since his actions were indefensible. Dr. Rolando Arafiles and county attorney Scott Tidwell must be seeing the writing on the wall today as they await their turn in the dock.… (Continued…)

Hear The Story of the Winkler County Nurses from Those Involved [AUDIO]

June 14, 2011 lawmed No comments

A production from WBEZ’s This American Life on the “Old Boy’s Network”. Hear Anne Mitchell, the Winkler Nurse prosecuted and found innocent after being arrested and charged with a felony, her co-author of the complaint to the Texas Medical Board, Vickie Galle, their attorney John Cook, and various other co-workers and patients of Dr. Rolando Arafiles, telling their stories in their own words. Read all about the saga on our Winkler County Page.

In a small west Texas town called Kermit, two nurses were accused of harassment after they complained to the medical board that a doctor was putting patients in danger. The nurses were fired and then arrested, facing ten years in prison. Reporter Saul Elbein found that a group of powerful men in Kermit went to extreme and sometimes ridiculous lengths to try to bring down these nurses. Saul wrote a version of this story for the

… (Continued…)

Winkler Sheriff Trial Day 5 BLOCKBUSTER! 3rd Nurse Sent Complaint

June 11, 2011 lawmed No comments

The prosecution rested their case in The State of Texas v. Robert Roberts yesterday but not before a heretofore unknown 3rd nurse took the stand and testified she also sent a letter of complaint to the Texas Medical Board concerning the medical practice of Dr. Rolando Arafiles.

Winkler County Memorial Hospital nurses Anne Mitchell and Vickie Galle, who were responsible for Quality Assurance and Medical staff credentialing at the facility sent an anonymous letter to the Board (though they revealed themselves to the Board and the Board kept the letter anonymous) listing specific patient care incidents involving Arafiles. After his golfing buddy and former business partner, Dr. Arafiles, came to him complaining someone was making trouble for him with the Board, Sheriff Roberts began an investigation complete with search warrants for computers and deceptive representations to the Board. As a result he arrested Mitchell and Galle and charged them with … (Continued…)

Dr. Arafiles Working At Cozby Germany Hospital In Texas

June 10, 2011 lawmed No comments

Healthcare in Grand Saline, Texas has been a major concern to local residents of late…..and with very good reason. The local Cozby Germany Hospital used to be owned by the citizens of Grand Saline. Dr. Tariq Mahmood now leases the facility and in February he fired the chief of staff, Dr. Richard Ingrim, and a number of employees, under controversial circumstances. From KMOO 99.9:

According to Dr. Ingrim both Mahmood and the hospital Administrator, Sean Astolfo are behind the firings. Ingrim said he was fired directly by Mr. Astolfo who told him he was being terminated “because of what [Astolfo] thought had been inappropriate actions because [they] had been actively trying to move things in more of a positive manner at the hospital.” [Emphasis added in light of who they have now hired as a physician]

Ingrim said that he believes that the terminations are

… (Continued…)

Winkler Prosecutor Seeks Change of Venue For Trial of Sheriff

April 19, 2011 lawmed No comments

A hearing was held Monday in Winkler County District Court on a motion by prosecutor David Glickler seeking to change the venue of the trial of county Sheriff Robert Roberts. Roberts is charged with a number of felonies and misdemeanors for his role in the arrest and prosecution of two Winkler county nurses in retaliation for their reporting a local physician to the state medical board.

Winkler County district clerk Sherry Terry said Judge Robert H. Moore did not immediately rule on the motion and issued a gag order Monday. He could rule on a venue change later this week. Glickler cited local jury pool favoritism towards Roberts as the basis for his motion.

Of the other 3 local gold ol’ boys facing the same charges, county attorney Scott Tidwell and Dr, Rolando Arafiles are also awaiting trial and former hospital administrator Stan Wiley turned state’s evidence in exchange for … (Continued…)

There He Goes Again: Winkler County Hospital Administrator Wiley Resigns

October 05, 2010 lawmed No comments

I wonder if Donna Paehl, RN, Director of Nursing has yet seen the light after her glowing endorsement of Stan Wiley and delusional rant about how persecuted her poor Winkler County Memorial Hospital has been in the media and the court of public opinion. Apparently hospital administrator Wiley has somehow come to Jesus.

Wiley, 67, resigned suddenly on Monday, effective immediately and without explanation. After his charade in August when he announced his upcoming resignation and then when the time came did an about face after the hapless hospital Board refused to accept it, this time it appears it might stick. His previous attempt was chalked up to ‘having a bad day’ apparently. Leaving the Board out of it while he slips out the back door is the best decision we have seen come out of the administrative offices at the hospital in the last 2 years.

In an interview … (Continued…)

If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes: And So It Goes At Winkler Memorial Hospital

August 25, 2010 lawmed 1 Comment

If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes:

And So It Goes At Winkler Memorial Hospital

Let’s recap.

1. The Winkler County Memorial Hospital enacted a policy which forbid (quite contrary to state law) their staff from reporting concerns over the professional clinical performance of a member of the medical staff without first obtaining approval from administration.

2. Two nurses, Anne Mitchell and Vickie Galle, who worked there for decades and were in positions specifically responsible for Quality Improvement, Risk Management and Medical Staff Credentialing, brought serious documented concerns over one of the few physicians at the small hospital, to the administration and the chief of the medical staff. Dr. Rolando Arafiles had been recruited by the hospital, since physicians are often difficult to find for small, rural facilities. The hospital has 25 beds. He had already had a restriction placed on his Texas medical license, imposed by the State Medical Board

3. … (Continued…)

PAY UP WINKLER COUNTY: $750,000 FOR BEING ASSHOLES

August 13, 2010 lawmed No comments

I must admit, placing “ASSHOLES” in a headline for a blog we pride on being a bit professional might seem anything but. Yet when it comes to Kermit Texas in Winkler County, ‘asshole’ is a compliment if you are describing hospital administrators, the county attorney, local prosecutor, sheriff, and chief medical quack….or at least one of the nicer adjectives applicable.

Over a year after we called shenanigans on the Winkler County assholes, the county commissioners have agreed to cough up $750,000 of taxpayer funds to pay for the outrageous conduct of multiple county officials. Too bad they sat with their yaps shut while it was all going on. The nurses will get some, in my view small, compensation for the hell they have been put through. The medical board will hopefully yank the license of the quack the hospital refuses to fire, despite his bizarre testimony in open court… (Continued…)

The Unbelievable, But True Story of the Nurses of Winkler County: Part 4

April 28, 2010 lawmed 3 Comments

After the Grand Jury was led down the path in the garden of good and evil by county attorney Tidwell, Mitchell and Galle were arrested and charged with Misuse of Official Information under Section 39.06(b) of the Texas Penal Code: “A public servant commits the offense of Misuse of Official Information if with the intent to harm another he uses information for a nongovernmental purpose that (1) he has access to by means of his employment and (2) has not been made public.”

Because Mitchell and Galle were employed by a county hospital they are considered public servants for the purposes of this criminal statute. Since the information they sent to the Texas Medical Board was accessed by means of their employment and was not public information, it is considered ‘Official Information’. So all that was left to be guilty of the crime was to use the information for … (Continued…)

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