{"id":13699,"date":"2009-12-02T17:09:31","date_gmt":"2009-12-03T01:09:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=13699"},"modified":"2010-01-05T22:55:01","modified_gmt":"2010-01-06T06:55:01","slug":"montefiore-hospital-whistleblower-advised-to-hire-a-bodyguard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=13699","title":{"rendered":"Montefiore Hospital Whistleblower Advised To Hire A Bodyguard"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York mashgiach Robert Frank<\/a> calls me Thursday evening. “Some of the workers said I should hire a bodyguard. People here are going to kill you if we get fired and they close the place down. Not direct threats. One worker told me, if we all get fired, we are all going to come get you. <\/p>\n

“You can see by my latest write-up that they are worried that I am telling their secrets. The Orthodox Union doesn’t want to assist me in any way. Writing up disciplinary notices for the mashgiachs who are working for them is OK with the OU as long as the OU gets their pay checks. <\/p>\n

“Now I am not allowed to tell anybody that it is kosher or not kosher. I have to refer them to a non-Jewish manager about the kosher status.”<\/p>\n

There’s a woman in the background yelling our entire conversation. She says, “They’re setting you up!”<\/p>\n

Robert: “I don’t want to lie. I’m not responsible. Go talk to a manager. I don’t want to take responsibility for this place. I feel it’s out of control. Meat and dairy get mixed. I saw them cooking chametz on Pesach.” <\/p>\n

According to Eliyahu Kitov: “Chametz is any flour of the five species of grain, which is mixed with water and allowed to ferment before being baked, comes under the definition of chametz according to the Torah. The five species of grain are wheat, spelt, oats, barley, and rye.”<\/p>\n

Robert Frank emails me this afternoon: “MR FORD, ENCLOSED IS A LETTER THAT I WROTE TO MY LAWYER AND A COPY OF MY NEW WRITE UP<\/a>, AND THE HOSPITAL RELEASE NOTE<\/a> AND A PHOTO<\/a> OF THE SKIDS NOT PUT AWAY THAT I TOOK BEFORE I LEFT WORK TODAY.”<\/p>\n

Robert Frank emails his lawyer:<\/p>\n

DEAR MR KUTNER, TODAY ON 12-02-02 I WAS ISSUED A NEW WRITE-UP , BY RABBI BARRY KWIATKOVSKY , THE CHARGES WERE AS FOLLOWS , IT IS ALLEGED THAT I TOLD A HOSPITAL VISITOR THAT THE HOSPITAL IS NOT KOSHER , BUT THIS WHAT TOOK PLACE WAS, WHEN THE HUSBAND OF A PATIENT ASKED ME IF THE HOSPITAL WAS 100% KOSHER, SINCE I HAD PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE THAT I HAVE WITNESSED NON KOSHER FOOD BEING BEING COOKED AND SERVED TO PATIENTS AND HOSPITAL PATRONS, I DID NOT WANT TO LIE TO HIM. SO I TOLD HIM THAT THE KITCHEN HAS A LOT OF KOSHER PROBLEMS, AND I ADVISED HIM TO REQUEST A MEAL MART KOSHER TV DINNER DIET FOR HIS WIFE, I THEN WENT INTO THE DIET OFFICE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PATIENT HAD A REGULAR DIET AND CAN HAVE THE MEAL.
\nI THEN HEATED UP 2 MEALS ONE FOR THE PATIENT AND ONE FOR HER HUSBAND.
\nACCORDING TO JEWISH LAW A PERSON IS FORBIDDEN TO DECEIVE ANOTHER PERSON.
\nAND SINCE I HAVE PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OF KOSHER FOOD VIOLATIONS I CAN NOT DECEIVE ANYONE.
\nTHE SECOND CHARGE ON ON THE WRITE UP, ALLEGED THAT I MADE A DISTURBANCE, IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM,
\nON 11-16-09 I WAS ISSUED ANOTHER DISCIPLINE WRITE-UP BY RABBI BARRY KWIATKOVSKY AFTER ISSUED ME THE WRITE-UP I STARTED TO GET VERY SICK, I ASKED RABBI BARRY KWIATKOVSKY
\nFOR A NOTE TO RELEASE ME FROM DUTY SEEK MEDICAL TREATMENT.
\nRABBI BARRY KWIATKOVSKY REFUSED SO I ASKED ANOTHER MANAGER FOR A NOTE AND SHE ISSUED IT TO ME.
\nWHEN I WENT DOWN TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM, THERE WAS A LOT OF PEOPLE WAITING FOR TREATMENT.
\nI FELT VERY SICK AND ASKED FOR IMMEDIATE TREATMENT I WAS TOLD THAT I MUST WAIT MY TURN, I THEN STARTED TO ASK THEM TO GIVE ME A RELEASE NOTE SO I COULD GO TO MY OWN PRIVATE DOCTOR FOR IMMEDIATE MEDICAL TREATMENT THEY REFUSED THAT ALSO , THATS WHAT THE DISTURBANCE WAS ABOUT I HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO WAIT 3 HOURS TO BE SEE A DOCTOR, AND THEN I WAS ISSUED A RELEASE NOTE.
\nI DID NOT MAKE A LOUD DISTURBANCE, BUT I WAS FEELING SICK AND WANTED IMMEDIATE TREATMENT WHICH WAS REFUSED TO ME.
\nI WOULD LIKE TO REPORT TO YOU WHAT TOOK PLACE THIS MORNING IN THE HOSPITAL.
\nRABBI BARRY KWIATKOVSKY REFUSED TO COMPLY WITH RABBI DOV SCHREIER OF THE ORTHODOX UNION NEW REGULATIONS AS STATED BELOW CONCERNING CHECKING OF NEW DELIVERIES IN THE HOSPITAL KITCHEN WHICH WERE PUT IN PLACE ON 12-1-09 .
\nTHIS MORNING AT 6:10 AM I WAS GIVEN A HELPER TO CHECK THE DELIVERIES THE ENTIRE FOOD SKID WAS NOT BROKEN DOWN IN FRONT OF ME PIECE BY PIECE AS I REQUESTED FROM RABBI BARRY KWIATKOVSKY , I WAS TOLD THAT I WOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO CHECK THE FOOD SKIDS PIECE BY PIECE SO I COULD BE SURE THERE WAS NO NON KOSHER FOOD ON THE SKIDS , I COULD NOT PROPERLY CHECK FOR NON KOSHER FOOD , SO I AM NOT SURE IF AN NON KOSHER FOOD CAME IN, ALL I COULD DO WAS TO CHECK ANY UNMARKED BOXES TO SEE IF EVERYTHING WAS KOSHER, BUT IF THERE WAS ANY NON KOSHER FOOD ON THE BOTTOM OR THE SKID I WOULD HAVE NO WAY TO KNOW.
\nANOTHER INCIDENT TOOK PLACE AT 7:50AM , I WAS ASKED BY ONE OF THE COOKS TO PUT DAIRY STICKERS ON NEW PANS, WHEN I ASKED HIM WHERE THE PANS ARE, HE REPLIED, TO GO ASK RABBI BARRY KWIATKOVSKY , WHEN I WENT TO RABBI BARRY KWIATKOVSKYS OFFICE TO INQUIRE WHERE THE PANS ARE , HE SLAMMED THE DOOR IN MY FACE.
\nWHEN I TOLD THE COOK WHO ASKED WHO ASKED ME FOR THE STICKERS THAT I COULD NOT FIND THE PANS, HE THREATENED TO COOK THE DAIRY ITEMS THAT HE HAD TO COOK IN MEAT PANS.
\nI WOULD ALSO LIKE TO REPORT YOU THAT I HAVE RECEIVED THREATS OF BODILY HARM AND DEATH THREATS FROM A FEW EMPLOYEES TELLING ME THAT BAD THINGS WOULD HAPPEN TO ME IF I DID NOT STOP CAUSING RABBI BARRY KWIATKOVAKY TROUBLE, BY REPORTING THE KOSHER VIOLATIONS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New York mashgiach Robert Frank calls me Thursday evening. “Some of the workers said I should hire a bodyguard. People here are going to kill you if we get fired and they close the place down. Not direct threats. One … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[186,20702],"tags":[20218,20219,1023,20122,20220,30356,8892,20217,20221],"class_list":["post-13699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kashrut","category-robert-frank","tag-bodyguard","tag-checks","tag-kosher-food","tag-kosher-status","tag-kutner","tag-orthodox-union","tag-rabbi-barry","tag-robert-i","tag-tv-dinner"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t