Eye Doctor Busted In Mutual Benefits Probe

BY BUDDY  NEVINS

Alan Mendelsohn, a Hollywood eye doctor who was once one of Florida’s biggest GOP fund raisers, has been arrested on charges connected with the Mutual Benefits insurance scam.

He is charged with an eye-popping (I couldn’t help myself) 27 counts of wire and mail fraud and five counts of lying to federal agents.

Mendelsohn is alleged to have used false solicitations to raise some of the $2 million in political contributions he collected over the past decade.  He is charged with falsely claiming he had brokered a deal to stop the investigation into Mutual Benefits, a multi-million dollars insurance Ponzi scheme.

 

This comes from Jay Weaver at The Miami Herald.

Weaver says the charges relate to Mendelsohn’s alleged efforts “to thwart a 2000-05 state investigation into Mutual Benefits Corp., a Fort Lauderdale life insurance company.”

The Herald story is here.

I’ve known Mendelsohn, 51,  for years.  He is my opthomologist and was a source when I worked for the Sun-Sentinel.

He used to be part of a large practice, but in the past several years opened his own office at 4651 Sheridan Street called Eye Surgeons & Consultants. He is a specialist in cataract and corneal surgery

The feds say several public officials remain under investigation. Other well-known figures in Broward have been cooporating with federal agents in the investigation of Mutual Benefits.



13 Responses to “Eye Doctor Busted In Mutual Benefits Probe”

  1. broward reader says:

    First, Mendelson takes the perp walk. Next comes Steve Geller.
    Geller and Mendelson did everything together. Mendelson was one of Geller’s major supporters. In return, Geller helped Mutual Benefits in Tallahassee.

  2. Hi Ron says:

    Once again, Ron to the immediate smear of Geller. It’s so funny. I think you must have an automated response to each post Buddy makes about Mutual Benefits.

    If Mendelson and Geller were doing “everything together,” as you claim, then why were they both not indicted at the same time? DUH.

    You make absolutely no sense and people can see through your charade.

  3. The Truth says:

    You had better get a new eye doctor, Buddy. He is going away.

  4. Let's clear the facts says:

    Dear Broward Reader (or should is it Ron?),

    Once again you try to link a good man, and out next Commissioner to Mutual Benefits. You claim that Geller did everything for mutual benefits in Tallahassee. Please offer some proof.

    I have searched the bills relating to Mutual Benefits and Geller did not sponsor any of them. In fact, the only relation I found was that Geller was 1 of 38 affirmatives on a bill that did nothing more than determine where companies like mutual benefits would be regulated.

    If I were you, I’d be more concerned, about you and Sue Gunzburger being indicted by the feds next.

  5. Get a Grip says:

    To: Let’s clear the facts

    You are clearly delusional and uninformed when you refer to Steve Geller as a “good man”.

    Steve Geller is a pompous, arrogant and a self-serving pig.

    He has enriched himself through his “public service” and there is no way in hell he will be your next County Commissioner.

  6. Let's clear the facts says:

    Dear Get A Grip,

    You are right, Geller isn’t a good man, he’s a great man. He worked to ensure that children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder will have the services needed to live a “normal” life. He passed a bill to make sure that amusement rides had strict and regular inspections thus saving thousands of lives in Florida. I could go through the hundreds of bills Geller has written and sponsored to benefit Floridians, but it would take to long.

    Let me as you, what has Gunzburger done? Hollywood (her home city) is one of the worst cities in Broward County. South Broward as a whole has been neglected and ignored by the county. I blame the inactivity of Sue Gunzburger for that.

    I believe we need new faces and new ideas on the commission…I believe we need Steve Geller!

  7. The Reader says:

    The Mendelsohn indictment makes for interesting reading. Let’s see ……… “Accomplice #1” is described as “a lobbyist and businessman working in Florida and other placed” …….. and who “caused the creation of a series of political organizations” tied to “Contributor #2” (Mutual Benefits). Does that mean “Accomplice #1” is R.K.?

    If that’s true then who is the “now-former public official” that Mendelsohn and this intermediary funneled $87,000 to disguised as other payments? Could that be now former Senators K.P. or S.G.?

    Inquiring minds want to know.

    FROM BUDDY: I have never known Klenet to set up PACs,which Accomplice #1 did. But we will find out soon.
    Mendelsohn usually only gave big money to Republicans, so I don’t believe the person getting the money is S. G. (Steve Geller?).

    “I have never been contacted on any level — city, state, federal or pan-galatic level– about Mendelsohn or Mutual Benefits. I’m not involved in any way in this. Not involved,” Geller told me Wednesday.

  8. The Reader says:

    ………. the fact that “Accomplice #1” was not picked up today with Mendelsohn hint this mystery man was quietly snagged long ago and was cooperating with the FBI.

  9. Compare & Contrast says:

    Steve Geller 9/30/09: “I have never been contacted on any level — city, state, federal or pan-galatic level– about Mendelsohn or Mutual Benefits. I’m not involved in any way in this. Not involved.”

    Joe Eggelletion 8/25/09 on whether he was planning to resign over corruption allegations: “Absolutely not. For what reason would I resign? … [The corruption rumors are] awfully low and awfully irresponsible.”

    http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2009/08/eggelletion_denies_rumors_that.html

  10. Question for Compare and Contrast says:

    Has Geller hired a lawyer in his defense of Mutual Benefits?

    FROM BUDDY: I have no idea. I’ll ask him.

  11. Hi Ron says:

    dateline: RNN (Ron News Network)

    We here at RNN can confirm that Steve Geller actually HAS NO ALIBI against charges that was the real assassin of Abraham Lincoln. Furthermore Geller DENIES that he was the second gunmen on the grassy knoll when Kennedy was shot. Although Geller claims that he was only 5 Kennedy was shot, unnamed but reliable sources confirm that he once thought about visiting Dallas, the site of the assassination. Finally, although Geller claims to be a good Democrat, we have it on good authority that he has actually visited both Arizona, the home of Republican Presidential Candidate what’s his name, AND Alaska, the home of that Ditzy nasty woman who was the Republican Vice Presidential candidate.

    Isn’t it time for this anonymous lying crap to stop? There’s no “there” there. No involvement with Mutual. No mention of any involvement in any of this stuff in the real papers. Just Ronnie and Norman continuing the politics of lying personal attacks.

  12. The Reader says:

    Maybe the reason Bob Norman keeps implicating Geller in this Mutual Benefits corruption is because The Bob Norman knows something you don’t know. He’s been right so far about Wasserstrom, Gallagher, Eggelletion, Cappellini, and others ….. way back when those crooked clowns were telling everyone that if there was “anything real” that they had done illegally it would be reported in a “real newspaper” and not just Bob Norman’s column. But, if you want to know more about Geller, read the published Bob Norman columns that explain Geller’s deep connections to this crooked Mutual Benefits scheme:

    http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2009-03-05/news/broward-county-s-first-man-admits-deep-ties-to-mutual-benefits/

    http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2009-01-29/news/mutual-benefits-may-have-collapsed-but-the-fallout-for-south-florida-politicians-is-still-coming/

  13. Bob is wrong on this one says:

    Bob Norman is usually on point about this stuff, but he is not on point about Geller.

    Bob’s stories about Eggelletion and Gallagher were corroborated by the SunSentinel and Herald. Bob has never been able to implicate Geller aside from an introduction. Nothing else. In fact, Bob himself implicates Bogdanoff more so than Geller. He has even said that she received far more in campaign contributions than he did.

    “Reader” is just a Geller hater who has no proof on any of this Mutual stuff and simply hates him and says whatever lies Ron spits in Bob’s ear. For this fact alone, Bob’s journalistic integrity is compromised on Geller.