NEW YORK (AP) -- A former executive director of a hospital has been indicted on charges of receiving bribes from a company owner who was trying to get a service contract with the medical facility.
Carlos Perez, who worked at Bellevue Hospital, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Manhattan's state Supreme Court to two counts each of bribe receiving in the second and third degrees. He was released without bail and told to return to court April 16.
If convicted on the second-degree bribe receiving charge, Perez, 56, would face up to 15 years in prison.
Justice Ruth Pickholz ordered Perez, a U.S. citizen who is a native of the Dominican Republic, to relinquish his passport.
The charges against Perez, who ran Bellevue from 1997 to 2005, stem from his efforts to help Professional Transcription Co., which transcribes and files medical records, get a hospital contract in 2000, prosecutors said.
The company's owner, at Perez' suggestion, gave Perez' girlfriend a marketing job while trying to get the hospital contract, prosecutors said.
Besides creating a two-page brochure and a two-page marketing plan for the company, prosecutors said, the girlfriend did no marketing work and was paid $25,000, $5,000 of it in cash.
Bellevue soon opened competitive bidding for a medical transcription service. While Perez' subordinates were considering the bids, prosecutors said, Perez asked the company for two loans, one for $1,500 and another for $1,000, which he didn't repay.
Professional Transcription Co. did not get the contract, prosecutors said. The investigation began as a result of a tip from a hospital employee.
Perez' lawyer, Michael Berger, said after the arraignment that ``whatever happened was not criminal.''
Perez spokesman George Arzt issued a statement saying his client served the city ``with distinction for 30 years'' and is ``absolutely innocent of these charges.''
Perez was the only person charged in the case.
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