Separate trials sought in Medford nursing home death

The nine Medford nursing home employees facing charges stemming from the 2012 death of a resident have asked a judge to try them separately.

The request cited several objections, including the fact that otherwise the number of defendants and attorneys -- nearly 20 in all -- would make it logistically impossible to do business.

"When you have nine or 10 attorneys questioning witnesses, it can turn a two-week trial into a two-month trial," said Brian Griffin, of Garden City, attorney for David Fielding, 57, of Lido Beach, administrator of the Medford Multicare Center for Living in 2012.

State Supreme Court Justice John B. Collins, who presides over all nine cases, did not issue a decision Thursday when the defendants and their attorneys came to Suffolk County Court in Riverhead to discuss pretrial matters.

Collins is expected to issue a ruling in January.

Thursday, a prosecutor with Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman's office offered deals to the defendants if they agree to plead guilty, the attorneys said. However, neither the attorneys nor the prosecutor divulged any details of the offers.

Aurelio Rios, 72, a retired dental assistant from Central Islip, died Oct. 26, 2012, of a heart attack because, prosecutors said, she wasn't attached to a ventilator at night as ordered by her doctor. For nearly two hours, the nursing staff ignored audible and visual warnings indicating that Rios was in serious danger with a faint pulse and low blood-oxygen level, prosecutors had said.

The nine employees were arraigned in June on charges that include patient neglect and abuse, and falsifying business records. The nursing home was not charged criminally but Schneiderman's office contends the firm is criminally liable for its manager's actions.

The employees indicted are: Fielding, the facility's administrator; Christine Boylan, 50, of Mastic, director of respiratory therapy; Kethlie Joseph, 62, of Brentwood, a respiratory therapist; nurses Victoria Caldwell, 51, of Medford, Marianne Fassino, 53, of Shirley, and Kimberly Lappe, 32, of Medford; and nurse's aides Christina Corelli, 37, of East Patchogue, Patricia DiGiovanni, 63, of Port Jefferson and Leona Gordon, 35, of Medford.

Joseph -- who prosecutors said never attached Rios to a ventilator because Joseph failed to review the doctor's order -- was charged with criminally negligent homicide, the most serious crime.

It would be unfair to try Joseph with the other defendants, said her attorney, Jonathan Manley, of Hauppauge. "None of the defendants are charged with acting in concert with any other co-defendant," Manley said.