Appeals court reduces three sentences in Medford nursing home death

A state appeals court in Brooklyn has cut the sentences of three former Medford health care workers who were convicted in 2015 of various crimes stemming from the death of a patient, saying the punishments imposed by the Suffolk trial judge were excessive.

The Appellate Division Second Department, however, left intact the convictions of Kethlie Joseph, a respiratory therapist, and nurses Kimberly Lappe and Marriane Fassino, former employees of Medford Multicare Center for Living in Medford.

In three separate decisions, issued on Feb. 20, the judges said they modified the sentences “in the interest of justice.”

The three women were among nine employees charged in connection with the death of Aurelia Rios, 72, a patient who died at the nursing facility on Oct. 26, 2012.

State prosecutors had said that Joseph did not follow a physician’s order and failed to put Rios, who had a tracheotomy, on a ventilator while Rios was in bed. Joseph, along with staff members, including Lappe and Fassino, ignored visual and audible alarms signaling that Rios was in respiratory distress, they said.

Prosecutors said the women and others attempted to cover up Rios' death or their roles in her death by lying to investigators from the nursing home and the state Health Department, which launched separate inquiries.

The circumstances surrounding Rios' death came to light when Stephen Shanahan, a respiratory therapist at the nursing home, reported her death to the state regulators on Nov. 5, 2012.

The four-judge panel cut Fassino’s jail term in half, reducing it from 6 months to 3 months.

The judges reduced Lappe’s sentences from 9 months to 3 months on the conviction of first-degree endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person and from 6 months to 3 months on the conviction of first-degree falsifying business records.

The panel also eliminated the probation period for all three workers: three years of probation for Joseph and five years of probation for Lappe and Fassino.

All the women are scheduled to appear before State Supreme Court Justice John Collins in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead on March 11, so Collins could impose the new sentences.

Joseph had been sentenced to 9 months for the conviction of criminally negligent homicide and 30 days and 3 years of probation for the conviction of willful violation of the public health law.

Fassino was sentenced to six months and five years of probation for the conviction of falsifying business records in the first degree, six months for the conviction of endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person in the first degree, six months for the conviction of willful violation of the public health law for neglect and 30 days for the conviction of willful violation of the public health law for failure to report.

All the sentences run concurrently.

Lappe had served four months while her appeal was pending, said her attorney, Scott Gross of Garden City. Fassino has served 9 days in jail and Joseph has not served any jail time.

Lappe declined to comment, Gross said. Attempts to reach attorneys for Joseph and Fassino were unsuccessful.

A spokeswoman for Suffolk County court said it was “inappropriate” for Collins to comment on cases before him.

Records at the New York State Office of the Professions, which regulates certain jobs that require licenses in the state, show that Fassino is still registered as a nurse. Lappe is no longer registered as a nurse and Joseph’s status as respiratory therapist is listed as inactive.