I just received this e-mail from my state executive director:
Subject: Optician flees, then turns self in
In case you have not seen this article yet. We started filing complaints about him back in August.
Mark
Optician flees, then turns self in
By Kenneth Lim
Staff Writer
Posted February 6 2002
West Boynton · An optician facing license-related charges tried to escape from sheriff’s deputies when they turned up at his workplace to arrest him about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.
David A. Cantor of Boynton Beach turned himself in to an off-duty Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputy near his office about three hours later, said Enrique Torres, chief investigator at the state Health Department’s Unlicensed Activities Office.
Cantor, who owned Apple Eye Care west of Delray Beach from 1997 to June with his aunt, June Cantor, was charged with one count of unlicensed practice of optometry and four counts of dispensing an optical device without a prescription, all felonies. He also faces one count of operating an optical establishment without a license, a misdemeanor.
Each felony carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and $5,000 in fines. The misdemeanor has a maximum penalty of six months and $500. If convicted, Cantor may face even harsher sentences if the courts find him guilty of victimizing the elderly.
"He may be looking at some serious time here," Torres said.
Torres said deputies were not expecting Cantor’s actions when they arrived at his new eye-care center, Eyesotica.
"He looked out the window, saw the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office cars and ran out the back door like a jackrabbit," Torres said. "I’ve never seen a fleeing optician."
Officials said deputies called out K-9 units and search helicopters after Cantor fled.
Cantor had been under investigation for six to seven months, Torres said. The Health Department alleges that Cantor continued performing eye examinations on patients even when a licensed optometrist working for him was off from work, Torres said.
Opticians may make and sell optical items, but only optometrists are allowed to prescribe lenses or eye exercises.
in a civil lawsuit, investigated by the state Attorney General’s Office, accusing him of cheating seniors and giving wrong prescriptions. June Cantor is named in the civil suit but is not facing any criminal charges.
Cantor remained in the Palm Beach County Jail late Tuesday with bail set at $3,000.
The Health Department asks people who think they may have undergone eye exams at Apple Eye Care to call the unlicensed activities hotline at 877-425-8852.
Copyright © 2002, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Mark A. Miller
Executive Director
markm@pof.org
1947 Greenwood Drive - Tallahassee, FL 32303
Mark A. Miller
Executive Director
markm@pof.org
1947 Greenwood Drive - Tallahassee, FL 32303
:finger: Jerry
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