North Jersey Mayor Indicted On Bribe, Kickback Charges

A North Jersey mayor has been indicted for referring patients to a medical imaging company in exchange for cash bribes and other kickbacks, authorities said.

West New York Mayor Felix Roque allegedly referred patients to Diagnostic Imaging Affiliates in exchange for those kickbacks, Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman and the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor announced Tuesday.

The 59-year-old Roque, who operates the Pain Relief Center medical practice in West New York, was indicted by a state grand jury on three charges: second-degree healthcare claims fraud, second-degree commercial bribery and third-degree running, according to authorities.

The indictment alleges that, from 2007 to 2012, Roque participated in a scheme by which he agreed to refer patients needing MRI and CT scans to medical diagnostic imaging centers controlled by Rehan Zuberi in exchange for cash and election campaign contributions, according to authorities.

Zuberi allegedly delivered cash kickbacks to Roque on a monthly basis and made several payments to Roque at the mayor’s office in West New York Town Hall. Zuberi and his associates allegedly paid Roque approximately $250,000, according to authorities.

Zuberi, 46, of Boonton, pleaded guilty last month to charges that he led a criminal enterprise that paid several million dollars of bribes and kickbacks to dozens of doctors from 2008 to 2014. The plea agreement calls for Zuberi to receive a 10-year state prison sentence with a four-year non-parole eligibility stipulation, according to authorities.

“By allegedly taking approximately a quarter-million dollars in bribes, Mayor Roque put his personal wealth and political career ahead of his patients’ needs,” Hoffman in a release. “As evidenced by this multi-phased prosecution, we are intent upon ensuring that a medical practitioner’s professional opinion is not for sale in New Jersey and that all medical advice is given with only a patient’s best interests in mind.”

Second-degree crimes carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a criminal fine of up to $150,000, while third-degree crimes carry a sentence of three to five years in state prison and a criminal fine of up to $15,000.