Judge Upholds FDNY
Private Ambulances Can Stay Under 9/11
By GINGER ADAMS OTIS

A Manhattan Supreme Court Justice ruled Sept. 26 that the Fire Department can continue its practice of using volunteer ambulances within the city's emergency 911 system.

ROBERT A. UNGAR: Bloomberg saw the light.

A legal challenge to the city's use of non-FDNY ambulances was filed in 2000 on behalf of several elected officials and residents who charged the Giuliani administration with violating the city's franchising laws by allowing private, for-profit ambulance companies and volunteer ambulances to function within the FDNY emergency dispatch system that's supported by taxpayer funds.

Cites Shortage

Justice Barbara R. Kapnick last week dismissed that argument. Ceasing voluntary hospital participation would have an exceedingly adverse impact on the availability of ambulances for 911 calls, she noted. Approximately 40 percent of the ambulances currently responding to medical emergencies come from voluntary hospitals, according to court documents.

Robert A. Ungar, the attorney for District Council 37 Local 2507, which represents Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics who work for the FDNY, said the union "was currently reviewing the decision and weighing its options."

Local 2507 was not one of the plaintiffs, but its vice president, Donald Faeth, had joined the suit in his capacity as a taxpayer. Union officials believed their members would benefit if non-FDNY ambulances were prohibited, however, and backed the lawsuit. Mr. Ungar said the union supported the litigation, mainly because it objected to the introduction of commercial, for-profit ambulances into the system - not because it had a problem with the volunteer network.

'Get Profit Motive Out'

"Our beef was with the commercial factor, because we believe that in life-saving operations, there is no room for concerns about profit motive," he said. "The for-profit ambulances were a Giuliani administration and [former Fire Commissioner] Thomas Von Essen program - thankfully, the Bloomberg administration has figured out that FDNY ambulances bring in revenue to the city through the insurance billing we do, and in some areas of the city, FDNY ambulances have regained territory lost under the Giuliani administration."

The lawsuit grew out of a decision by former Mayor Rudy Giuliani to allow MetroCare, a private ambulance fleet run by Steve Zakheim, to install 911 radios in his vehicles in 1999.

Mr. Zakheim was later arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and charged with making illegal contributions to Mr. Giuliani's aborted run for U.S. Senator.

Allege $32M Fraud

Shortly after that, Federal attorneys filed a civil fraud complaint against Mr. Zakheim and MetroCare, alleging that the company stole more than $32 million from Medicare through improper billings and forged records.

Mr. Zakheim denied most of the charges involving illegal campaign contributions, but pled guilty to one misdemeanor and got six months' probation.

The charges related to the alleged Medicare fraud are still pending. Mr. Zakheim has denied any wrongdoing and has tried to get the case dismissed.

In 2004 he was forced to resign from MetroCare after several female employees filed a sexual harassment suit. It was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount, with his departure part of the deal. Mr. Zakheim was convicted in 1984 of sexual misconduct and three times has tried unsuccessfully to overturn that verdict.