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Union boss accused in health care fraud caseBy GRAHAM BRINK, Times Staff Writer© St. Petersburg Times published July 22, 2003 TAMPA - Lenny Perez, a longtime postal union leader with many local political connections, faces a 33-count indictment that accuses him of conspiring to swindle the federal health care system. Perez, and Tampa private investigator Joseph A. Gonzalez, received illegal kickbacks for referring dozens of injured union members to health care providers from 1998 to 2001, according to the indictment. Neither Perez, 57, nor Gonzalez, 59, could be reached for comment. Both men are free on $10,000 bail. Federal law forbids anyone from soliciting kickbacks to provide patient referrals to medical providers, who submit claims for reimbursement to the Office of Worker's Compensation Programs. The indictment, filed last week, accuses the two men of soliciting kickbacks from chiropractor Wendell Martin Underwood, massage therapist Louis Talavera, two unnamed doctors and an unnamed director of a Tampa medical care facility. In return, Perez and Gonzalez referred injured postal workers to the various medical care providers knowing the medical bills would be submitted to the government for reimbursement, the indictment stated. They also allegedly counseled Talavera, Underwood and one of the doctors on how to submit the claims to increase the likelihood that the worker's compensation program would issue a reimbursement. The indictment lists dozens of postal workers Perez and Gonzalez allegedly referred to the health care providers in return for kickbacks. Perez was president of Local 599 of the National Association of Letter Carriers from 1991 to 2002. This is Perez's first arrest, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records. But his name has come up in other investigations. In the mid 1980s, an investigation centered on whether then-Circuit Judge Robert Bonanno accepted bribes to release defendants from the Hillsborough Jail without their having to post bail. According to complaints received by Hillsborough sheriff's detectives, Perez would contact Bonanno on a bail bondsman's behalf to arrange the release of certain defendants. Then the three would split the payoff from the defendant. Sheriff's reports indicated that "Lenny" was written next to some names on Bonanno's log of defendants he had ordered released. Neither Perez or Bonanno ever faced any formal charges in connection with that case. In 2000, an FDLE inquiry delved into allegations that Public Defender Julianne Holt used her office to help friends take care of traffic violations, not something the Public Defender's Office normally handles. In particular, they asked about Perez, Holt's friend, and his requests for help to clear up tickets and other traffic violations for his carriers and other acquaintances. No one was arrested in connection with that case. - Graham Brink can be reached at 226-3365 or brink@sptimes.com
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