By David Seifman
The New York Post
NEW YORK — The former head of the Emergency Medical Service — demoted following the city’s bungled response to the Christmas blizzard — has agreed to pay a $12,500 fine for signing a secret deal with a city vendor in 2009, officials said yesterday.
In a settlement with the Conflicts of Interest Board, John Peruggia admitted violating ethics rules when he entered into a consulting agreement with Masimo, Inc., a California firm peddling a device that could read carbon monoxide levels in the bloodstream.
Peruggia was a member of the committee charged with evaluating equipment purchases for the EMS, including the carbon-monoxide reader. Without asking anyone’s permission, Peruggia said he became a Masimo consultant in March 2009.
He received a $1,500 “honorarium” on each occasion and had all his travel costs covered by the firm.
Peruggia was demoted to oversee EMS “logistics” on Jan. 5, after 200 ambulances were stranded in the December storm and the backlog for medical emergency calls at 911 reached 1,400. He kept his $153,895 salary.
Copyright 2011 N.Y.P. Holdings, Inc.
All Rights Reserved