Trial of Broward Health leadership months away

More than six months after a grand jury indicted the leadership of Broward Health, a trial remains far off, and the case still lacks a permanent judge.

The judge temporarily presiding over a brief hearing on the case Wednesday agreed to a defense request for a continuance and scheduled another status conference for Sept. 26. Two previous judges removed themselves from the case because they knew some of the defendants, which include two lawyers and a prominent Republican political figure.

The Dec. 7 indictments named Broward Health General Counsel Lynn Barrett, board Chairman Rocky Rodriguez and board members Beverly Capasso, Linda Robison and Christopher Ure. Since then, Rodriguez and Robison left the board, and Capasso was appointed by the board to be chief executive officer, with salary and bonuses that could reach $1.125 million. All have pleaded not guilty.

All were accused of misdemeanor violations of the state open-meetings law, which requires that the boards of public agencies conduct their business in public. The five were accused of circumventing that law by participating in individual meetings arranged by Barrett that led to the dismissal of interim chief executive officer Pauline Grant, amid kickback allegations. Grant filed a series of lawsuits against Broward Health, and the cases are pending.

The criminal case will be pending at least through the fall and possibly into next year.

“So far we have no permanent judge which in itself has created problems,” said Bruce Lyons, attorney for Rodriguez, in an email. “Also scheduling a trial that could last a week will also be challenging.” Broward Health, legally known as the North Broward Hospital District, operates five hospitals and various treatment centers that serve Broward County north of Griffin Road. The system, which is partially supported by property taxes, is run by a board appointed by Gov. Rick Scott.

Andrew Klein, chairman of the Broward Health board, who was not yet on the board during the events involved in the indictments, said he didn’t think the criminal case was affecting morale or the ability of Broward Health’s hospitals to attract patients.

More important, he said, was the recent hiring of new managers who have begun dealing with long-standing institutional issues.

“I think what’s having more impact is addressing systemic issues in the system and getting new leadership at the executive level,” he said.