Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio's close ties to Jamaica Hospital are reflected in this photo showing him (2nd from l.) with several hospital executives, including CEO David Rosen (c.). Photo: Queens Courier
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Jamaica Hospital is the mysterious med center that paid Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio $390,000 in "consulting fees" over the past eight years, sources said Friday.
Seminerio, who twice helped save Jamaica from fiscal ruin, once bragged that he'd "arranged" for the unnamed hospital to get "millions of dollars" in state aid.
One source close to the probe said Jamaica Hospital was the unnamed facility at the center of this week's FBI investigation that netted Seminerio on corruption charges.
Jamaica Hospital spokesman Mike Hinck declined to comment, saying only, "We're well aware of being linked to it, but we can't confirm that or comment any further."
Prosecutors say Seminerio created Marc Consultants to collect more than $500,000 in illegal payoffs in exchange for help in securing millions of dollars in state funding.
Prosecutors contend the hospital and its Medicaid-managed care plan have paid Marc Consultants $390,000 since 2000.
"I am at your disposal. You tell me what you want....I'll take care of you," Seminerio, who has been in the Assembly 30 years, tells an unnamed hospital official in one taped conversation.
According to the complaint, the rotund Queens lawmaker bragged that before establishing Marc Consultants in 2000, he "had arranged for the hospital to receive millions of dollars of funding from New York State."
In 1985, the Legislature passed a bill that bailed out two nonprofit hospitals tottering on the edge of bankruptcy. One was Jamaica Hospital.
Last year, Seminerio told the Daily News the measure was his greatest legislative accomplishment.
"I helped several hospitals survive," he said. "That same bill has helped more than 60 hospitals statewide."
After that bill expired, lawmakers passed another bill in 2006 that helped Jamaica Hospital financially. The new bill allowed Jamaica Hospital, Bronx-Lebanon Hospital and Interfaith Medical Center in Brooklyn to refinance some debt.
Last March, Jamaica Hospital hosted a fund-raiser for Seminerio.
Over the years, Seminerio has received nearly $37,000 in campaign donations from individuals tied to the hospital. Jamaica Hospital CEO David Rosen was the biggest campaign donor, coughing up $10,000 since 1999.
In IRS filings in 2001, Jamaica reported it had established close ties with several Queens elected officials, including Seminerio, adding, "We continue to strengthen these relationships."
