Doctor pleads guilty in nurse-retaliation case

November 07, 2011 6:41 PM

BY STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

LUBBOCK A doctor who pleaded guilty Monday to retaliating against two nurses for reporting him to state medical regulators will spend two months in jail and be on probation for five years.

Prosecutor David Glickler said Dr. Rolando G. Arafiles Jr., 59, pleaded guilty in a Kermit courtroom to retaliation and misuse of official information as part of a plea agreement that also includes surrendering his medical license. Arafiles, who had been charged with two counts each of felony misuse of official information and retaliation in Winkler County, did not return a call seeking comment afterward.

His plea is among the final steps in a case that outraged nursing associations nationwide and led to convictions against the West Texas sheriff and prosecutor who investigated the nurses.

Nurses Anne Mitchell and Vickilyn Galle had filed an anonymous complaint with the medical board in 2009, writing that Arafiles used herbal remedies and attempted to use hospital supplies to perform at-home procedures.

Arafiles asked a friend who was then the Winkler County sheriff to investigate the complaint. The nurses were fired from their jobs at a hospital in Kermit and charged with felonies. Mitchell was acquitted last year and charges were dropped against Galle.

Arafiles has said the nurses’ letter was intended to harm him personally.

His plea came three days after he surrendered his medical license to the Texas Medical Board. He had been licensed in Texas since 1998.

Arafiles’ probation comes with a deferred adjudication aspect, meaning if he complies with all the terms during his probation his conviction will not be on his record. He also received a $5,000 fine.

As part of the plea deal, he no longer faces a felony aggravated perjury charge in Andrews County for allegedly lying under oath at Mitchell's trial when he denied knowing how Winkler County Sheriff Robert Roberts obtained names and contact information of patients for questioning about who complained about Arafiles.

He previously waived his right to an attorney after having trouble paying his hired lawyer.

Arafiles, Roberts, Tidwell and former hospital administrator Stan Wiley were indicted in Winkler County almost a year after Mitchell’s trial, and turned themselves in to the county jail.

Wiley was charged with two counts of felony retaliation. Arafiles was indicted on two counts of retaliation and two counts of felony misuse of official information. Tidwell and Roberts were charged with the same four felonies as Arafiles, as well as two misdemeanor counts of official oppression.

Wiley pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of abuse of official capacity in March and was sentenced to 30 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Roberts was found guilty of four felonies and two misdemeanors in his June trial. He was sentenced to 100 days in jail, four years probation, was forced to give up his position and permanently surrendered his peace officer’s license.

Tidwell was found guilty of the same charges in his October trial. He was sentenced by Judge Robert Moore to 120 days in jail and 10 years probation.

Tidwell, who is appealing his conviction, has been suspended from office.

Mitchell and Galle sued the county, the hospital, Roberts and other officials alleging that their First Amendment rights had been violated and that the prosecutions had been vindictive. In August 2010 they won a $750,000 settlement.

“The case highlights the importance of nurses as patient advocates,” said Mari Robinson, the Texas Medical Board's executive director. “It led to legislation that strengthens protections for nurses in their role as whistleblowers. That said, concerns remain that a case like this can create fear about reporting physicians to the board.”

Earlier this year, lawmakers passed a bill that adds protections from retaliation when nurses advocate for patients. The bill provides immunity from criminal liability for reporting unsafe care and increases administrative fines to up to $25,000.

The board complaint against Arafiles was not the first. In 2007, he was prohibited from supervising physician assistants and nurse practitioners after he failed to properly supervise them at a weight-loss clinic in Victoria where he was working.