tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395646.post1651257904265681572..comments2024-03-06T19:21:15.708-05:00Comments on RealChoice: Safe and legal in CaliforniaChristina Duniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04785550737493692252noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395646.post-6660017292006332472008-02-25T22:53:00.000-05:002008-02-25T22:53:00.000-05:00Disgraced doctor charged againGynecologist convict...Disgraced doctor charged again<BR/>Gynecologist convicted in sex case arrested for illegal practice<BR/>By Rick Coca, Staff Writer<BR/>Article Last Updated: 02/22/2008 09:09:37 PM PST<BR/><BR/><BR/>A gynecologist who surrendered his medical license in 2005 after being convicted of sexually exploiting patients has been charged with three felony counts of practicing medicine without certification. <BR/>Laurence Reich, 62, was arrested and released from custody last week after posting a $60,000 bond, said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. <BR/><BR/>Although a protective order has been issued in the case, it is related to the arrest last summer of Bertha Bugarin, 48, the manager of at least six abortion clinics throughout Southern California, including one in Panorama City, where Reich was allegedly performing "unlicensed medical procedures," a source said. <BR/><BR/>Reich, an unlicensed osteopathic physician, was arrested following an investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the Health Authority Task Force, a multiagency county arm that investigates the illegal practice of medicine and other health-related crimes. <BR/><BR/>Repeated calls to Reich were not returned. <BR/><BR/>In August 2007, authorities served search warrants at the clinics - Clinica Medica Para La Mujer De Hoy or Community Medical Clinic for Today's Woman - with locations in Baldwin Park, Chula Vista, Huntington Park, Los Angeles, Panorama City and San Diego. <BR/><BR/>For Reich, this isn't the first time he's faced criminal charges. <BR/><BR/>In December 2002, after two former patients accused him of touching them inappropriately and <BR/><BR/><BR/>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR/><BR/>Advertisement<BR/><BR/>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR/>asking inappropriate sexual questions, Reich entered a no-contest plea of misdemeanor exploitation of patients, which is equivalent to a guilty plea in a criminal case. <BR/>Reich was sentenced to a day in jail and a year's probation, but was allowed to continue his practice while awaiting a disciplinary hearing delayed by bureaucratic wrangling. <BR/><BR/>The governor-appointed Osteopathic Medical Board of California investigates consumer complaints but does not have the authority to suspend a physician's license. The state Attorney General's Office prosecutes disciplinary matters before an administrative law judge. <BR/><BR/>Following a Daily News report showing that Reich continued to practice long after his no-contest plea, Reich surrendered his medical license Feb. 14, 2005. <BR/><BR/>In 1984, Reich was placed on medical probation for a decade by the board after allegations by six women, four accusing of him of sexual impropriety and two of incompetence. During his probation, he was required to have a nurse present while treating patients, court records show. <BR/><BR/>In the latest charges, Reich faces a maximum sentence of four years, four months in state prison if found guilty. <BR/><BR/>The three days that prosecutors allege that Reich committed his offenses in 2007 - Feb. 24, March 1 and March 3 - are also among those listed in the criminal complaint brought against Bertha Bugarin. <BR/><BR/>Bugarin faces 16 felony counts of practicing medicine without certification and other misdemeanor charges. Her sister, Raquel Bugarin, 50, has been charged with six felony counts of practicing medicine without certification. The pair have pleaded not guilty to all charges. <BR/><BR/>If convicted on all counts the sisters face "significant jail time," Gibbons said. <BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>Print Email Return to Top <BR/> <BR/> SHARE YOUR COMMENTS GOT A QUESTION? 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