March 5, 2004
New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer today announced that a nurses aide has been sentenced to six
months in jail for failing to list his criminal convictions on job applications he filed with Schenectady
County.
Schenectady County Court Judge Polly A. Hoye sentenced John Reese, of 250 Third Avenue in Troy, to six months in jail on one count of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, and ordered him to refrain from seeking employment in the health care field for the next three years on a second count.
Reese was convicted of lying on job applications when applying for a position as a certified nurses aide at the Glendale Home, a Schenectady County-run nursing home located in Scotia. When asked on the county applications if he had ever been convicted of a crime, Reese indicated that he had not.
In fact, Reese had been convicted numerous times, including for Assault in the Second and Third Degrees and Attempted Assault in the Third Degree. On one application. Reese also failed to reveal that he had previously been terminated from a health care facility for reasons relating to unsatisfactory work performance.
This case illustrates the need for criminal background checks on applicants for non-licensed direct care nursing home and home care staff, said Spitzer. The victims of job application-related crimes are not just the facilities that hire them but the patients under their care. Each facility should have the opportunity to properly assess an applicants qualifications before placing them on staff with responsibilities that include caring for elderly residents.
