As struggling Steward Health Care navigates bankruptcy, CEO Ralph de la Torre has said he will not answer questions from lawmakers. A bipartisan group of senators has sent a subpoena to de la Torre, asking him to appear on Capitol Hill next Thursday to be questioned about the bankruptcy. However, his attorney said committee members “seem determined to turn the hearing into a pseudo-criminal proceeding in which they use the time, not to gather facts, but to condemn Dr. de la Torre in the eyes of the public.” Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said she was not surprised de la Torre did not show up next week. “He should go to jail for what he did, and he should have to pay back the money he spent on the houses, the horses, the boats and everything else — the education of his children. Because what he did to the people of the state is terrible.” It’s terrible, and sometimes the wheels of justice take a while to turn, but I know they’re on that track. “I will continue to call for that and denounce what he did as truly reprehensible and unforgivable,” Gov. Healey said. It will be up to the Senate committee and a vote in the Senate to determine whether de la Torre should be held in contempt of Congress. “The United States Senate must bring contempt charges against Ralph De La Torre.” “That means the Senate Health Committee must vote to hold De la Torre in criminal or civil contempt, or both,” said Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, a member of the committee. But De la Torre’s attorney said the committee members “…seem intent on turning the hearing into a pseudo-criminal proceeding in which they use the time, not to gather facts, but to condemn Dr. de la Torre in the eyes of the public.” Meanwhile, on Wednesday, a bankruptcy judge approved the sale of Steward’s six remaining hospitals. The judge said Steward and the lenders still need to iron out some differences, which is expected to be done by the end of the month. Steward announced last week that it was finalizing the sale of four hospitals. Rhode Island-based Lifespan will buy Morton Hospital and Saint Anne’s Hospital, and Lawrence General Hospital will buy Holy Family Hospital in Methuen and Holy Family Hospital in Haverhill. The parties are finalizing an agreement to sell Good Samaritan Medical Center and St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center from Steward’s operations to Boston Medical Center.
As struggling Steward Health Care enters bankruptcy proceedings, its CEO Ralph de la Torre said he would not take questions from lawmakers.
A bipartisan group of senators has sent a subpoena to de la Torre, demanding that he appear on Capitol Hill next Thursday for questioning about the bankruptcy.
However, his lawyer said that the members of the commission “seem determined to transform the hearing into a pseudo-criminal procedure in which they use the time, not to gather facts, but to condemn Dr. de la Torre in the eyes of public opinion.”
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said she was not surprised that de la Torre would not be in attendance next week.
“He should go to prison for what he did, and he should pay back the money he spent on houses, horses, boats and everything else, including educating his children. Because what he did to the people of this state is terrible. It’s terrible, and sometimes the wheels of justice take a little while to get into place, but I know they’re on that track. I’m going to continue to call for that and denounce what he did as truly reprehensible and unforgivable,” Governor Healey said.
It will be up to the Senate committee and a vote in the Senate to determine whether de la Torre should be held in contempt of Congress.
“The United States Senate must bring contempt charges against Ralph De La Torre. That means the Senate Health Committee must vote to hold De La Torre in criminal or civil contempt, or both,” said Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, a member of the committee.
De la Torre’s lawyer, however, said that the committee members “…seem determined to turn the hearing into a pseudo-criminal proceeding in which they are using the time, not to gather facts, but to condemn Dr. de la Torre in the eyes of public opinion.”
Meanwhile, a bankruptcy judge on Wednesday approved the sale of Steward’s six remaining hospitals. The judge said Steward and creditors still need to resolve some disputes, which should be done by the end of the month.
Steward announced last week that it was finalizing the sale of four hospitals.
Rhode Island-based Lifespan will buy Morton Hospital and Saint Anne’s Hospital, and Lawrence General Hospital will buy Holy Family Hospital-Methuen and Holy Family Hospital-Haverhill.
Parties finalize agreement to sell operations of Steward’s Good Samaritan Medical Center and St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center to Boston Medical Center.
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