Bernard Bergman

Bernard Bergman (born 1911 - June 16, 1984), was an Orthodox Rabbi who was best known for his operation of a large network of nursing homes and his conviction of Medicaid fraud in 1976. Bergman turned an inheritance of $25,000 into an empire of nursing homes valued at $24 million.

Bergman was born to Shlomo Bergman, a Hasidic rabbi, and Gitel Leifer, in 1911 in Hungary. The family immigrated to the United States in the 1920s, living in Brooklyn. Bergman went to what was then Palestine and received his rabbinic ordination, and married the former Anne Weiss there in 1937. Back in New York City, he took a position as a rabbi at a nursing home on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and served as editor and publisher of the Yiddish-language daily "The Jewish Morning Journal" and head of Hapoel HaMizrachi. He started building his network of nursing homes in the 1960s.Sullivan, Ronald. [http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F70614F63C5D0C718EDDAF0894DC484D81 "BERNARD BERGMAN, NURSING-HOME FIGURE, IS DEAD"] , "The New York Times", June 22, 1984. Accessed September 8, 2008.]

The former New York Cancer Hospital on Central Park West at 106th Street was acquired in 1955 and operated by Bergman as the Towers Nursing Home. The home became the center of Federal and state fraud charges. Claims were made that patients in the home were abused and neglected, with residents testifying that they had not been given adequate heat and had been subjected to physical abuse and pest infestations. The site was closed in 1974 as a nursing home. [Rasenberger, Jim. [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/23/nyregion/thecity/23feat.html "Shadows on the Wall"] , "The New York Times", January 23, 2005. Accessed September 8, 2008.]

A New York State Senate investigation in 1975 brought witnesses who testified of patients lapsing into comas due to untreated dehydration, bedsores caused by coarse sheets and failure to notify authorities of an epidemic of diarrhea. An unannounced inspection of a home found unsanitary conditions, including milk used a week past its expiration date and excrement on the floors in patient rooms. Bergman vigorously denied the charges, claiming that the homes he operated were well run. [Staff. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,946484,00.html "Nursing Homes Under Fire"] , "Time (magazine)", February 3, 1975. Accessed September 8, 2008.]

In 1976, Bergman was sentenced to serve four months in a Federal correction center after his conviction on Medicare and tax fraud charges. [Hess, John L. [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60A14FD3D59157493CAA8178DD85F428785F9 "Bergman Given 4 Months; BERGMAN DRAWS A 4-MONTH TERM"] , "The New York Times", June 18, 1976. Accessed September 8, 2008.] He served an eight-month sentence for convictions on state offenses.

In February 1989, New York State's special nursing-homes prosecutor received payment of almost $1.4 million as the final payment of penalties and interest that Bergman was obligated to pay New York State after he pleaded guilty to Medicaid and tax fraud. [Roberts, Sam. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DEEDD1439F930A25751C0A96F948260 "Metro Matters; Bergman Legacy: $1,376,032 Check And 110 Auditors"] , "The New York Times", February 13, 1989. Accessed September 8, 2008. Accessed September 8, 2008.]

Bergman died of a heart attack at Mount Sinai Medical Center on June 16, 1984, and had residences in both Israel and Manhattan at the time of his death, spending his time at both homes. His body was transported to Israel for burial.

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