The Wall Street Journal | September 26, 2017 | By Peg Brickley
A one-time Florida state prosecutor, David Di Pietro, alleges in a whistleblower lawsuit that bankrupt 21st Century Oncology Inc. raked in well over $100 million through a sweetheart deal with one of the largest public health-care systems in the U.S., North Broward Hospital District, or Broward Health.
Filed last year, the complaint surfaced Monday on the bankruptcy docket of Fort Myers, Fla.-based 21st Century Oncology, an operator of an array of cancer treatment centers that is trying to rework its debt load under chapter 11 protection.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions declined on Sept. 21 to pursue the lawsuit, which focuses on alleged influence peddling by an associate of Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican.
The federal government’s refusal to handle the prosecution means it is up to Mr. Di Pietro to continue the litigation, which seeks to claw back federal tax dollars. A lawyer in Fort Lauderdale, Mr. Di Pietro was for some time a member of Broward Health’s board of commissioners, a body that oversees the massive health system.