Shasta County District Attorney Jerry C. Benito, who also has jurisdiction over the hospital, said his office did not have the resources to pursue its own criminal investigation. He added that the statute of limitations had run out on many possible charges.
Benito said he learned of the impending settlement a few weeks ago from FBI agents who were "not pleased" about it. Later, he said, the U.S. attorney's office asked him to join the settlement, but he declined.
Moon retired three years ago. His lawyer, Jim Brosnahan, praised U.S. Atty. McGregor W. Scott for allowing defense lawyers to meet with prosecutors on four occasions and mount a detailed defense of several disputed surgeries.
The lawyers compiled medical records and obtained expert testimony supporting their clients' actions in each case, Brosnahan said.
"What's a little frightening is the different points of view that different doctors have," he said. "That's why it's not a criminal case. It's a complex medical decision.... The Department of Justice didn't want to intervene in that decision making."
Realyvasquez said he agreed to the settlement to put the case behind him.
"This settlement ends an investigation that has been flawed from the beginning," the surgeon said in a statement.
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Surgical outcome
* Oct. 31, 2002: The FBI says it is investigating whether two doctors at a Tenet Healthcare Corp. hospital in Redding performed unnecessary heart procedures on Medicare patients.
* Jan. 28, 2003: Chae Hyun Moon, the head of the cardiology department at Tenet's Redding Medical Center, says he is suspending his practice because he is losing his malpractice insurance.
* May 27, 2003: Tenet Chief Executive Jeffrey C. Barbakow resigns amid government investigations into the Redding surgeries and company billing practices.
* Aug. 6, 2003: Tenet agrees to pay $54 million to settle government allegations of unnecessary heart surgeries at Redding Medical Center.
* Aug. 15, 2003: Attorneys for 366 former patients at the Redding hospital sue the company and eight doctors.
* April 16, 2004: Tenet agrees to sell Redding Medical Center to Hospital Partners of America Inc.
* Dec. 21, 2004: Tenet says it will pay $395 million to compensate patients treated at Redding Medical Center.
* Nov. 15, 2005: Tenet and doctors agree to pay an additional $38 million, tying the case's loose ends and ending the possibility of federal criminal charges.
Source: Times research
Los Angeles Times
