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Sunday, November 2, 2014

For Man in Ebola Virus Cleanup, a History of Fraud



Today's post is shared from nytimes.com/
The chief safety officer of the hazardous-materials company that cleaned the apartment of New York City’s first Ebola patient was, in a past career as a mortgage negotiator, accused of fraud in 2009 by the attorney general at the time, Andrew M. Cuomo.
In recent days, the safety officer, Sal Pane, has been the public face of the company, Bio-Recovery Corporation, which cleaned both the apartment of the patient, Dr. Craig Spencer, as well as a bowling alley that he had visited the night before he was taken to the hospital.
An investigation in 2009 by Mr. Cuomo’s office found that two mortgage companies run by Mr. Pane had deceived property owners and violated New York’s consumer protection laws. As a result of the investigation, a State Supreme Court judge in Manhattan in 2010 issued a permanent injunction against the illegal operations of Mr. Pane and his mortgage companies. He was also fined. The office of the current attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, discovered Mr. Pane’s past legal problems on Monday and alerted city officials.
City officials have said that they followed the standard vetting protocol for the cleanup contract given to Bio-Recovery Corporation, and that health officials had reviewed the company’s work and determined that it was successfully completed.
Mr. Pane, who acknowledged his past legal problems, said on Saturday that they had no bearing on his work as an employee for Bio-Recovery. The revelations were first...
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