Dr. Richard Glunk is in trouble again.
Last year, a Philadelphia jury in civil court ordered the King of Prussia plastic surgeon to pay $20.5 million to the family of a Delaware County teenager who died following a liposuction procedure.
Now, Glunk is accused of attempting to bribe Rabbi Solomon Isaacson, a Philadelphia political insider and a member of the Pennsylvania Board of Medicine.
The complaint against Glunk, filed last month by the state's Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs, involves the Hasidic rabbi, the plastic surgeon and a car salesman in the days leading up to a January 2007 fundraiser at a Russian nightclub for then-mayoral candidate Bob Brady.
According to the complaint:
Isaacson had contacted Gary Barbera, owner of the Roosevelt Boulevard car dealership, seeking a contribution for Brady's campaign. Barbera told the rabbi he had already contributed $5,000, but said he would try to get others to come to the fundraiser and mentioned Glunk's name.
"I only hooked the rabbi with Glunk because Glunk was in that arena," Barbera told Pennsylvania Department of State investigators.
During a meeting with Isaacson at his synagogue, Glunk allegedly mentioned that he might have a case coming before the state medical board and wrote him a $5,000 check for Brady's campaign.
Glunk was facing disciplinary action for three liposuction procedures that sent his patients to the hospital - including Amy Fledderman, 18, a Penn State freshman who died in 2001 of liposuction complications. Isaacson sits on the board that was preparing to hear Glunk's case.
Isaacson told investigators that Glunk sent a second $5,000 check - made out to the synagogue - a few days after their first meeting. He said he felt uncomfortable about the checks and returned both to the doctor.
Glunk's attorney, Thomas Bergstrom, acknowledged the contribution to the Brady campaign, but said there was no evidence that the second check had been written.
"Nobody has seen it; nobody has found it," Bergstrom said yesterday. "It's an interesting twist, but there's no check to the rabbi or synagogue that anybody has seen."
The state Attorney General's Office has investigated the matter, Bergstrom said. No charges have been filed.
"I'm hopeful that they have decided not to pursue it," he said.
The state Board of Medicine ultimately sided with Glunk in the liposuction cases and did not take any disciplinary action against him. Isaacson recused himself from the case, according to Glunk's previous attorney.
But the board could suspend or revoke Glunk's medical license, and possibly impose up to $20,000 in fines, if the doctor is found guilty of attempting to influence a member of the board.
The latest charges were filed Sept. 11. Glunk has 30 days to respond. Bergstrom plans to file a response next week.
"We're going to defend this," Bergstrom said. "I think it's not well-founded, and I think it's inaccurate."
Isaacson, who is not accused of any wrongdoing, said yesterday that he hadn't seen the complaint and declined to comment.
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