Clinic owner, employee investigated in patient-file case

Published: 2010-09-02 17:21:11
Author: Victor Whitman | Times Herald-Record | April 27, 2010

MONTICELLO — Deputies are investigating the roles of a New Jersey chiropractor and a Sullivan County physical therapist in the case of patient files found dumped outside the closed DRC Physical Therapy Plus in Monticello. Officials on Saturday seized hundreds of records after they were found in the parking lot of the Thompson Square Mall.

The files, some dating to 1998, included sheets with names, addresses and birth dates of patients and, in some cases, Social Security numbers.

DRC closed last year under the weight of lawsuits and debts. Gunnar Henning, a chiropractor from Flemington, N.J., bought the business in 2005.

Michael Parlapiano, a physical therapist licensed in New York, was working in the offices around the time they closed.He is now employed at Catskill Regional Medical Center in Harris.

Henning and Parlapiano didn't return calls.

"The sheriff's department is trying to determine whether Henning or Parlapiano are on the hook for abandoning those records," Undersheriff Eric Chaboty said. "The sheriff's office had to act quickly to prevent identity thefts from happening."

Chaboty also said even if they do determine responsibility, it's still unclear if any crime has been committed. Deputies were researching rules regarding the retention of patient records.

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