Pittore put on paid leave from UMDNJ

City Councilman Ronald Pittore is managing director for legal management at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, which is undergoing a federal investigation.

By: Linda Seida
   LAMBERTVILLE — City Councilman Ron Pittore has been placed on paid administrative leave from his job at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey while an ongoing federal investigation continues of his employer.
   According to UMDNJ spokeswoman Anna Farneski, Mr. Pittore will remain on paid administrative leave "pending the outcome of all investigations into the cardiology program."
   Mr. Pittore is managing director for legal management at UMDNJ and is paid $146,955 a year. He was hired in July 1993.
   Jerrold Ellner, physician in chief at University Hospital, also was placed on administrative leave, according to Ms. Farneski.
   UMDNJ is operating under a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. attorney’s office for Medicaid fraud. The agreement went into effect in December 2005.
   Under the terms of the agreement, retired federal Judge Herbert Stern is acting as the school’s monitor and providing oversight of the institution.
   A report from the monitor in November found alleged illegal patient referrals with cardiologists referring patients to UMDNJ’s cardiology program while not performing any actual work, yet receiving millions of dollars in payment from UMDNJ.
   Ms. Farneski was asked to clarify whether Mr. Pittore is simply on paid leave while the investigation continues into the cardiology program or if he also is under investigation as one recent published report stated.
   She replied in an e-mail, "On paid administrative leave while the investigation continues."
   A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, Michael Drewniak, said, "We do not, as a rule, confirm whether anyone is under investigation."
   Mr. Pittore said he was constrained from speaking about the situation by UMDNJ policy. He referred all inquiries to the university and Ms. Farneski.
   He was elected to the City Council in 2005 and began serving the first year of a three-year term in 2006. His father, Philip Pittore, was mayor of Lambertville during the 1970s.