Las Vegas NowSixth Medical Center Closed, DA Looks At Criminal Charges
If charges of criminal neglect go forward, they could see a potential of thousands of years in prison.
The city said the clinic demonstrated a willful failure to be sanitary and called it a public nuisance.A sixth gastroenterology center in the valley has shut down. The latest one is in North Las Vegas and was closed late Tuesday afternoon.
The City of North Las Vegas sent out a cease and desist letter to one of the clinics, shutting it down until the at least March 19, 2008.
UMC Offering Help to Medical Center Patients
The city said the clinic demonstrated a willful failure to be sanitary and called it a public nuisance.
The following centers are now closed:
It now has to stop all operations or face arrest. Management must go before the North Las Vegas City Council on the 19th to appeal.
Read the Health District letter sent to patients
Tuesday at the fifth clinic, a Henderson city inspector met with staff and went out to his car for contact information and paperwork. When he came back, the doors were locked and management told everyone to leave before the inspection even began.
The City of Henderson then pulled the license.
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City employees used the clinic, so now they must also be tested. City Manager Mary Kay Peck says the City of Henderson will pay for those tests, but she is furious the clinic and that its doctors could be so bold.
"It's ill advised. It's difficult to understand why they would do that, why they would not cooperate, why they would lock our inspector out. It's very difficult to understand," she said.
District Attorney David Roger also updated us on the criminal investigation. He says his lawyers, Metro, the county and state health districts are all working together to see if any charges need to be filed.
If charges of criminal neglect go forward, Roger believes it could be one to six years for each infected patient -- meaning a potential of thousands of years in prison for the doctors.
He hopes workers from the clinics cooperate with the investigation, "Those people should step forward and contact detectives. It's a lot better to be a witness as opposed to a defendant."
Doctors must go before the Henderson City Council in two weeks to see if they will be able to reopen. If they try to open up between now and then, it is a misdemeanor with possible fines and jail time.
