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June 21, 2006

Giordano pleads guilty to skimming from nursing homes / Photo

Journal photo / Mary Murphy
Antonio L. Giordano arrives at U.S. District Court in Providence this morning to enter the guilty plea.

PROVIDENCE -- Nursing-home operator Antonio L. Giordano and a top employee, John J. Montecalvo, pleaded guilty in federal court in Providence today to skimming $780,539 from three Rhode Island nursing homes from 1998 to 2004.

The crime, a felony count of "equity skimming,’’ involved diverting the money from nursing homes that were in the red to an employee-relations firm run by Giordano’s two daughters for services that were not reasonable or necessary.

The company, My Place, provided services to boost nursing-home employee morale, including throwing holiday parties and organizing raffles and arts and crafts and handing out "nominal'' gifts with employee paychecks.

The nursing homes were the defunct Hillside Health Center in Providence, the former Coventry Health Center and the financially ailing Mount St. Francis Health Center in Woonsocket, which Giordano sought yesterday to place in receivership.

U.S. District Judge Mary M. Lisi accepted the plea and set sentencing for Sept. 15. Giordano and Montecalvo each face up to five years in prison and a $500,000 fine. Federal prosecutors plan to ask the judge for prison time, though less than the maximum as part of the agreement under which the two men agreed to plead guilty.

-- Journal staff writer Mike Stanton

Posted by Andrea Panciera  at 1:49 PM | Permalink

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