The Medford Multicare Center at 3115
Horseblock Road in Medford is shown on July 31, 2014.
Photo Credit: Kevin P. Coughlin
A former Medford nursing home worker and three nurses were found guilty Thursday in the death of a resident.
Christine Boylan, 50, of Mastic, former director
of respiratory therapy; and nurses Victoria Caldwell, 52, of Medford;
Marianne Fassino, 54, of Shirley; and Kimberly Lappe, 33, of Southold,
were convicted on charges that included neglect and falsifying business
records.
Prosecutors said the workers attempted to cover
up the death of Aurelia Rios and their roles in her death by lying to
investigators from the state Health Department and the nursing home,
Medford Multicare Center for Living, which launched separate inquiries.
Rios'
daughter, Michelle Giamarino, hugged her attorney and lawyers
representing the attorney general's office after the verdicts were
handed down.
"That was my mom and I don't want to see anybody
go to jail or be found guilty of something like this but justice was
served," said Giamarino, 53, of Pennsylvania.
"Maybe this makes a statement that this won't be tolerated."
The Riverhead jury's finding comes after
respiratory therapist Kethlie Joseph, 63, of Brentwood, was found guilty
Wednesday of criminally negligent homicide in Rios' death. The crime is
punishable by up to 4 years in prison.
Prosecutors said Joseph failed to attach Rios, 72, to a ventilator, leading to the woman's death on Oct. 26, 2012.
An attorney for one of the nurses said he was surprised by the conviction.
"Based on what Victoria Caldwell did, responding
to an emergency, reacting immediately -- I'm very shocked by the
verdict," said Caldwell's attorney, Ray Perini of Hauppauge, who said he
planned to appeal.
The Rios' family attorney, Andrea Camacho of
Manhattan, said: "Our elderly and our disabled are not throwaways. They
need to be cared for and they [nurses] can't treat them as though their
lives are somehow less important because they're elderly or they're sick
or they're disabled."
Boylan's attorney, William Kephart of Garden
City, said he also planned to appeal. "I will pursue any and every
defense for her on her behalf as we go forward. We just disagree" with
the verdict, he said.
In an email Thursday evening, Lappe's attorney,
Scott Gross of Garden City, said: "While we always respect the greatest
system of justice that exists, sometimes it gets it wrong. This is truly
one of those times."
Gross said he will appeal the verdict.
The prosecutor from the attorney general's office declined to comment after court.
The four women were asked to surrender their passports and face up to 4 years in prison at sentencing on Sept. 15.
State Supreme Court Justice John B. Collins
conducted one trial but with two juries, one for Joseph and one for the
four co-defendants.
Joseph's jury also convicted her of failing to
report the circumstances surrounding Rios' death to state regulators.
They acquitted her of three other charges of neglect, endangering the
welfare of a disabled person and falsifying business records.
Joseph will remain free until she returns to court for sentencing on Sept. 15.