Broward Health Chair Refuses to Discuss Political Motives Behind Board Transformation

• OK, it seems that because Fernandez' company did business with the district before he came on board, the standard conflict principles don't apply, so there would be no problem unless he were actively involved, which he isn't (which would otherwise not be relevant ordinarily). That leaves Fernandez' behavior obstructing and then terminating the Goldberg investigation, and the curious referral of it for burial in Tallahassee. Cobo himself? Even if the SA closed the case tomorrow (there are tons of reasons a prosecution can be declined regardless of the subject's behavior) his continued service is absurd. He is finally recusing himself on all medical staff affairs (making him half a commissioner at best) and that's overlooking the fact that it appears he has used the office to further his personal interests in the past. The governor can't defer to the SA for the reasons I mentioned. He should respond to the referral of the report to him one way or the other, or at a minimum tell us whether he intends to do anything.

• @ Republican Taxpayer You have no facts. You have no law. You have no brain. All you have against Fernandez is smear and innuendo.

• A. Straight Talk is obviously a close friend of Fernandez, Cobo and Nask and has not had the pleasure of getting to know Bernstein. Actually I doubt he would ever want to give you the time of day. B. The NBHD Board has a Charter as well as Governance that was passed by the legislature into law. C. These laws are for all the Commissioners not just those you may not like, i.e. Fernandez and Cobo are subject to these laws....which Cobo wanted to have removed from the Charter when he became a Commissioner. D. You may all want to check out those laws before continuing to spout about Fernandez' innocence, a little knowledge goes along way.

• Straight Talk: my reference to the IRS conflicts policy describes a process analogous to that applicable to the bar rule you cite. Assuming that Fernandez did nothing at all, but that anyone knew that Sonosite was his employer when choosing a vendor, what we probably have is an absence of the process that should have been followed in order for the district to have done business with Sonosite. But process matters.

• @ Judge Sirica: Your last point is well taken. There should be a very high standard.

• @ Judge Sirica: You are confused. Of course Fernandez may have a conflict of interest, which is conceded in my posts, and it is not likely that a simple answer exists as to how to handle this conflict. Without a simple resolution, the fairness of the transactions will need to be reviewed as part of the process of analyzing any disclosure and/or waiver of the conflict of interest and there is significant precedent for this. For example, Rule 4-1.8 of the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar applies a fair and reasonable test for the waiver of certain conflicts of interest between lawyers and clients. But the most important point is ending the smear campaign until these issues can be handled professionally. The consistent history of the transactions posted on this website seems to rule out any serious impropriety, but it must be examined closely to rule out the possibility.

• For those who really care. Check out the IRS conflict of interest policy which is practically mandatory for tax exempt entities. Before such an entity could even do business with an employer of a trustee, it would have to put all kinds of stuff on the record, and make a finding that no comparable vendor was able to supply a comparable product at a comparable price. That's the kind of ethical standard that taxpayers should expect.

• StraightTalk: my point is simply that your point is wrong. Same with Joe Citizen. I haven't researched exactly what applies to Fernandez' situation and how it should have been handled. Presumably Goren will figure it out. I am merely pointing out that fair market value is not relevant, nor is the fact that Fernandez isn't the Broward sales rep, and that those, including Fernandez and you, who keep saying it is, are just diverting attention from the only issue, the existence of the employment relationship and the proper handling of that vis a vis his status as a commissioner, whatever that entails. nothing more, nothing less.

• @ Joe Citizen: You raise a good point. If the deals are fair and reasonable and Fernandez did not exert any improper influence or otherwise act improperly, this is a complete waste of time, especially because there are absolutely no allegations of impropriety. Of course there is no problem with special scrutiny of these transactions, but the baseless innuendo of some of the lunatics posting here is absurd.

• @ Judge Sirica: There is no doubt there is a potential conflict of interest, but what is your point? Is there a Florida law that prohibits his serving on the Board? Is so, he must resign. If not, what is Fernandez required to do under Florida law? In addition to any technical requirements, he must act with honesty, integrity and full disclosure. Notwithstanding your hypotheticals and vivid imagination, there is no allegation that he did anything wrong and there is no need to smear him with rumor and innuendo.

• @ republican blogger: I researched your comment and, not surprisingly, it is obvious you are clueless. The 2009 Florida Statutes Title X PUBLIC OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND RECORDS Chapter 112 PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES: GENERAL PROVISIONS View Entire Chapter 112.31 Travel expenses of employees of other governments.--A receiving agency in this state may, in accordance with the travel regulations of such agency, pay travel expenses of persons assigned thereto under this part during the period of such assignments on the same basis as if they were regular employees of the receiving agency. History.--s. 7, ch. 65-524.

• Joe citizen: you know less about conflicts than Straighttalk. Fair market value does not have a thing to do with the existence of a conflict of interest, and does not cleanse it. Even if Fernandez never voted, the mere fact that folks in procurement might steer purchases to Sonosite because they assume Fernandez will be pleased is a problem.

• StraightTalk: thanks for repeating Fernandez' talking points, but his role at Sonosite is utterly irrelevant to the existence of a conflict of interest. As anyone who has ever seen a conflict disclosure statement can attest, all that matters is that you are an owner of, lender to, or employee of, an entity that does business with the entity that you are a fiduciary of. Fernandez could run the Sonosite mailroom and the conflict would be exactly the same.

• The lynchpin of the Fernandez allegation by Bernstein would be if Sonosite sold the equipment at a below or above market price to NBHD. However if the district paid FAIR MARKET PRICE for the equipment there is no conflict or impropriety. Anything else is a harmless error which should have no bearing on Fernandez and his relationship with NBHD. Bernstein is just slinging mud for no good reason and the Governor saw through this BS. I'm voting for Crist for divesting himself from the South Florida MOT. First Rothstein now Bernstein!

• straight talk, So as long as you only break the law a little bit, it is OK? I doubt most taxpayers think $450,000+ in business over a few years is "small business", and the issue is not whether Fernandez disclosed the relationship or not. It is illegal for a commissioner to work for an employer who has an ongoing business relationship with the district. The good news is Bernstein is no longer the issue and now it is just Fernandez vs. Florida statute 112.31 etc. When the new commissioners get ethics training from the General Counsel, I bet he will not tell them it is OK to break the law, only just do it a little bit like Fernandez and we will not bother you. This is the same Fernandez who admitted in the Goldberg investigation that he told his friends to tell the investigator to "fu-k off". Fernandez is a real class act. But hey, he is your friend so I guess anything he does wrong is OK, or maybe like him you don't know right from wrong?

• The Commissioner Fernandez ethical charge is just a Bernstein desperation smear, and he knows it. Keep in mind that the allegation by Bernstein is that a �conflict of interest� exists, however, there is no allegation that Commissioner Fernandez ever acted improperly or unethically. Commissioner Fernandez is an employee at Sonosite, a large company that has sold a modest amount of sonogram equipment to Broward Health since 2001. Commissioner Fernandez is not a principal, director or officer of Sonosite and his responsibility relates to sales in South America. Commissioner Fernandez was appointed as a Commissioner to the North Broward Hospital District in the fall of 2007, many years after the business relationship began. There is no allegation that Fernandez acted inappropriately or interfered in the small business relationship. In fact, the business relationship was so small that the Board of Commissioners has never voted on any matter affecting Sonosite since 2001. If the Board was required to vote on any matter pertaining to Sonosite, there is no doubt that Fernandez would be required to officially and publicly disclose the relationship and recuse himself from any votes, discussions or deliberations. Since this never happened and Bernstein has no evidence that Commissioner Fernandez ever acted improperly, this is a complete waste of time. Bernstein�s single goal is to destroy Commissioner Fernandez and anyone else in his way. Governor Crist should be applauded for removing this megalomaniac from the Board, especially considering the fact that Bernstein contributed so much money to help elect Governor Crist. Remember, Bernstein paid for the �Crist for Governor� sign on top of his dilapidated building next to I-95.

• Hi I'm so excited I could tinkle. So whatever you do, don't you dare miss My Special Welcome to the North Broward Hospital District's four new commissioners at john-degroot.com

• I knew Bernstein from OCMA. He is nothing less then a con artist, one who would screw his own mother (May) if he got a chance. Actually she was no better then him, I guess that's where he learned it from. The governor did the right thing here by getting rid of him. He is no "ethical saint" he is an egomaniac who thinks he is better then everyone because he managed to acquire some money by screwing a lot of people (including his immediate family members). He took people's kindness as a sign of weakness and took advantage of them. His thinking was that was once you make money you don't need friends because you can buy friends. I personally know of one friend who loan him money so he can put "food on the table" but it was really to pay his bookmaker off. The only thing he is sorry for right now is that the other commisioners out smarted him. It's called KARMA.

• Hitting the reset button can indeed be a healthy thing, and sometimes simpler than trying to rehash, but "forgive and forget" ain't gonna cut it. It will be interesting to see what they do with the Fernandez conflict. And even if the SA closed the Cobo criminal investigation tomorrow, since prosecutorial decisions can turn on lots of issues having nothing to do with whether the subject did anything wrong or not, the governor should still (and should already have) decided one way or the other about Cobo's continued service. He now recuses himself on nearly everything related to the medical staff (finally), but a commissioner who can only do half the job has no business serving even if his outside business weren't a problem and even if he had done none of the things outlined in the Goldberg report. And it's not like a whole bunch of issues are still unresolved. So fresh start? Not just yet.

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