Dr. Harvey Levin: ‘Operation Tooth Fairy’ fiasco may reveal rot on Dentistry Board

When I opened my Jacksonville dental practice in 1968, Florida’s Board of Dentistry included the best, brightest and most well-respected professionals in the state. I would like to think that’s still the case, but I’m reserving judgment until I see if and how they will weigh in on the most outrageous abuse of power I’ve seen in 56 years of practice.

It began with husband-and-wife dentists in Miami who got sour about a business deal they made with a company that bought out part of their practice. The relationship turned so ugly the two were fired for violating their employment agreements. In turn, they sued.

It’s what happened afterward that makes me wonder if the Board of Dentistry is even paying attention. That’s because one of the dentists teamed up with a wealthy political donor and poured $52,000 into the political action committee of Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis. I’m sure it was a coincidence that Patronis then had his henchmen from the Department of Financial Services (DFS) arrest five employees of the dental practice for Medicaid fraud – and drag a respected Jacksonville dentist into the mix.

What does this have to do with the Board? It turns out the dentist who made the contribution is Dr. Jose Mellado, its current Chair. That should be alarming to any dentist in Florida. But it’s especially galling to me because the dentist whose reputation was damaged by this mess is my son-in-law, Dr. Howard Fetner. He was hired after the Board terminated Mellado and had nothing to do with Medicaid or patient billing.

Fortunately, prosecutors in Miami reviewed and rejected the bogus investigation, which should have ended the matter then and there. However, Patronis and company shopped it to the Office of the Statewide Prosecutor (OSP), who handed them another rejection. Then they tried to get Jacksonville’s state attorney to take it, but she recused herself.

Undeterred by the law or common sense, they asked the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to file charges but were sent packing again. It then landed on the desk of the state attorney in Gainesville who finally put a nail in the coffin of this politically motivated charade.

You’d think after all this, Mellado would resign in shame or be ousted by his colleagues, but that hasn’t been the case. Instead, it appears he has simultaneously orchestrated a Board investigation of Dr. Fetner, keeping a dark cloud over this fine man with an impeccable record.

I don’t know if Mellado is driven by greed or vengeance or some combination of the two, but it certainly seems like he is using his official position and his political connections to destroy his opponents in his civil lawsuit. That alone should trigger an investigation of this whole mess. But what’s worse is that his actions have effectively prevented the clinic from treating many children who rely on Medicaid and other insurance plans.

This despicable series of events is not just devastating to my family, it’s also a dark stain on my profession. And it can only be resolved when the Florida Board of Dentistry shows the courage to clear the good name of Dr. Howard Fetner – and state (or federal) investigators turn their focus to the unethical and possibly criminal actions of Dr. Jose Mellado and his associates.

I once had a great deal of respect for the men and women on the Board of Dentistry. The current members will demonstrate by their action or inaction whether that respect is still deserved.

___

Dr. Harvey R. (Ron) Levin graduated from the University of Maryland School of Dentistry and has served patients in Jacksonville since 1966. For the past 30 years, his daughter, Dina Fetner, has practiced alongside him in an office he opened in 1968.