Pat G. was upset about one thing, however--that federal investigators had her confidential files and were using the information to question her.
The psychiatric scandals of the early 1990s had a chilling effect on the entire mental-health field. The intensive inquiries and subsequent changes made needed improvements. Other changes were overkill and caused some doctors to refuse to do any work with hospitalized patients.
Other doctors, like Gross, thought about leaving psychiatry altogether.
By 1994, the federal investigation into his practice had made it difficult for him to continue in the field. He also says he was somewhat bored with doing strictly outpatient work. PIFW and Bedford Meadows had canceled his five-year contract to do community education in August 1991, when the hospitals started to come under scrutiny. Gross sued NME for breach of contract and subsequently lost his admitting privileges.
In 1994, after spending so much time in lawyers' offices, he decided to go to law school while still maintaining a limited outpatient practice. He attended Texas Wesleyan University School of Law in Fort Worth, where he made law review. He was six months away from graduating when he became a fugitive.
"I've thought a lot about my decision to leave," he said in a recent phone call from his home in England. "I regret it now. I'm sorry I left, but I wasn't thinking straight. I put my family through a lot of pain I shouldn't have."
Last fall, Gross sent U.S. Attorney Paul Coggins a letter attacking the fairness and integrity of his office's investigation and explaining in detail why he believes he is innocent. In a letter to Gross' barrister, Coggins replied: "The proper forum to address any concerns relevant to the pending indictment is during a trial before the United States Court for the Northern District of Texas. I urge fugitive Gross to return to the United States as soon as possible so that the validity of his claims may be evaluated before the proper tribunal."
Gross fully expects that will happen. He does not think he will win his extradition appeal, which will be heard by the British High Court--the English equivalent of the U.S. circuit court of appeals--next week. If the justices rule that he should be extradited, the British home secretary then decides whether to surrender him to the American authorities. Gross can make a last-ditch appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.
Jarvis recently offered him a plea agreement asking him to plead guilty to one count of fraud worth $750, which is punishable for up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He would also be required to surrender his medical license. But Jarvis also wanted to reserve the right to introduce the alleged "sham" contracts during sentencing, no doubt in the hopes of getting a maximum sentence.
Gross refused the deal. "Why should I plead guilty to something I didn't do?" In a letter to Coggins, he offered a counterproposal in which he says he was willing to pay back the $3,500 in questionable billings and a moderate fine. He does not want to surrender his medical license.
"It's difficult just revisiting all of this," Gross said, after he began recounting the ordeal of the last 10 years. "I've never gotten over the sudden change. One minute I'm in Texas with a job and friends and going to law school. Now, every part of my life has been uprooted. I still feel like it's a nightmare, that I'm going to wake up and it's going to be back the way it was. But I know better than anyone that's never going to happen.
