By Nick Buglione
Once Christine Kopec, the hearing officer who presided over the inquiry, renders her decision, both Turan's attorneys and the state Ethics Commission attorney's will have 10 business days to respond, said Walter Ayres, state Ethics Commission spokesman.
"Those responses and the decision then go to the members of the commission," Ayres said. That five-member board will decide whether to accept, reject or return Kopec's decision back to her for further consideration.
There is no time frame on how long it make take the Ethics Commission to reach a decision.
In April, the state Ethics Commission alleged that Turan and six other Nassau Health Care Corporation officers had received gifts from several vendors vying for a multi-million dollar information technology contract, a possible violation of state ethics law.
The Nassau Health Care Corporation runs the Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, the A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility in Uniondale and six community health centers.
The ethics charges deal with violations of the public officers law, which prohibits public employees from accepting gifts over $75 from anyone seeking to do business with that entity. Administrators of the quasi-public Nassau Health Care Corporation are bound to the law.
Turan was charged with three infractions, including flying to Kansas City, Mo. at the expense of the Cerner Corporation and receiving an $85 ticket to an Islanders game from Siemens. The commission also charged that Turan not only received the gratuities, but actively solicited them.
Proceedings on the charges began in Albany Oct. 20 and concluded Monday, Dec. 8.
Gail Blanchard, sales vice president of the Cerner Corporation, testified during the case that hospital attorneys tried to get her to sign an affidavit stating she insisted to pay for a dinner that she took Turan and other officials to last year. She said she refused to sign the affidavit because it wasn't true.
During the proceedings, Turan's lawyers vehemently argued that he was unaware state ethics law applied to him and the other Nassau Health Care Corporation officers.
Turan insists he has paid for the gifts and that the corporation even notified the commission of the transactions.
Ayres said the state Ethics Commission often takes it easy on officers that self-report violations. He also noted, however, that the corporation only reported the violations after it learned the commission had launched an investigation.
For each gift received over $75, Turan and his colleagues face a fine of up to $10,000.
Even after the Ethics Commission makes its final decision on the matter, Turan can opt to take the commission to court. "He can take us to court and claim, for whatever reason, that they have some legal grounds to disagree [with the commission's decision]," Ayres said.
He's also noted in the past that the Ethics Commission has never had an "agency put up such a fight" as the Nassau Health Care Corporation is in this case. It's also rare that an agency pay for the defense of an accused administrator, Ayres said.
The Nassau Health Care Corporation is paying for the lawyers defending Turan.
