An Illinois eye surgeon is in hot water after allegations surfaced that he had been secretly videotaping female employees in the restroom.
Richard Weiss, 58, was caught after a female employee noticed a hole in the porcelain of the toilet tank in the women’s restroom. The employee removed the top of the tank and discovered that a small camera had been affixed to the inside of the tank, with its lens pointed out the hole.
Recordings on the memory card uncovered that four female employees had been unknowingly videotaped while using the restroom. Authorities were able to link Weiss to the crime when surveillance tapes recorded the doctor with the camera in hand.
Weiss faces four charges of unauthorized videotaping and is being held in lieu of $75,000 bail. A spokesperson for Illinois Masonic said Weiss is “no longer providing patient care at the hospital while the investigation continues.”
Weiss has been a licensed physician in Illinois since 1990, but that could change with a conviction. He is scheduled to make his next appearance on April 15.
Sean Sullivan comments
If the allegations are true, not only is this doctor facing criminal charges, he could also be facing disciplinary actions towards his medical license.
A lot of medical professionals are not aware, but conviction of a crime violates the protections guaranteed in the Illinois Professional Licensing Acts. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) has the authority under the licensing acts to discipline practicing professionals for criminal conduct.
I used to work for IDFPR along with enforcement prosecutors. Now I try to use my expertise to help defend people with their licensing issues. If someone is a licensed professional in the state of Illinois, they need to be aware that anything that leads to criminal charges will likely lead to disciplinary action being taken against their license as well.
Related source: Chicago Tribune
Illinois Criminal & Civil Defense Blog 