DOI ARRESTS AN EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN ON FORGERY CHARGES

(converted from PDF content)  The City of New York Department of Investigation ROSE GILL HEARN COMMISSIONER  80 MAIDEN LANE           Release #22-2009 NEW YORK, NY 10038           nyc.gov/html/doi 212-825-5900  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                   CONTACT: DIANE STRUZZI FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2009                                     
(212) 825-5931
DOI ARRESTS AN EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN ON FORGERY CHARGES  ROSE GILL HEARN, Commissioner of the Department of Investigation ("DOI"), announced the arrest today of PAUL CASSON, an Emergency Medical Technician ("EMT") employed by the New York City Fire Department ("FDNY"), on charges that he forged a nurse's signature and then left his five-year-old patient at the Lincoln Hospital Emergency room in the Bronx. The office of Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson is prosecuting the case.
CASSON, 28, of the Bronx, was charged with Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree and Forgery in the Second Degree, class D felonies, and six misdemeanors. Upon conviction, a class D felony is punishable by up to seven years in prison.  CASSON has been employed as an EMT since November 2002, is assigned to Station 17, on Ogden Avenue in the Bronx, and receives an annual salary of approximately $44,520.  DOI Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said, "Forging another person's signature, especially on a medical report, is unacceptable conduct for an individual entrusted with taking care of medical emergencies. Anyone who engages in such foolish and illegal behavior will face the consequences."  DOI's investigation began after it was notified by the FDNY about an allegation that CASSON forged the signature of a triage nurse at Lincoln Hospital.  According to the criminal complaint, on Dec. 31, 2008, CASSON transported a five-year-old child to the Emergency Room at Lincoln Hospital on E.149th St. for treatment. To properly transfer the patient from the EMT's care to another appropriate professional in the hospital, an EMT must fill out a Patient Care Report ("PCR") and have it signed by a designated hospital "receiving agent". DOI's investigation found that the hospital official's signature on the form was forged, according to the complaint, and that the official heard CASSON say he signed the official's name on the PCR because he didn't want to wait.  Commissioner Gill Hearn thanked FDNY Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta and Lincoln Hospital for their assistance and cooperation in this case.  This investigation was conducted by DOI's Office of the Inspector General for FDNY.  A criminal complaint is an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.