A private investigator claims Nabil El Sanadi, MD, the late president and CEO of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Broward Health who killed himself Jan. 24, hired him last spring for an investigation into the public system that led to FBI involvement, according to a Sun Sentinel report.
The corporate private investigator, Wayne Black, wrote an email to Broward Health's general counsel detailing his correspondence with Dr. El Sanadi. The email was produced to the Sun Sentinel in response to a public records request.
In his note, Mr. Black claims Dr. El Sanadi hired him in April to investigate several matters, including one involving security services and another involving alleged kickbacks. Because Dr. El Sanadi feared his office was bugged, the two met in restaurants and at Dr. El Sanadi's home. They used Dr. El Sanadi's wife's email account to communicate.
Mr. Black alleges that evidence produced during this investigation led to a probe by the FBI, which is reviewing evidence and interviewing witnesses. In his email to the general counsel, the investigator contends that Broward has been hindering the federal investigation by withholding evidence and information, according to the report.
The FBI neither confirmed nor denied an investigation, according to the Sun Sentinel.
Broward Health contests Mr. Black's claims and credibility. "Over the course of his work, Mr. Black failed to fulfill his obligations, acted unprofessionally and was belligerent to Broward Health personnel," the system said in a statement released Tuesday. "Mr. Black was asked to cease all services on behalf of Broward Health in early October."
The statement did not address whether the FBI was investigating the hospital district.
The alleged investigation would not be the only one occurring at the hospital district. The day of Dr. El Sanadi's funeral, Florida's chief inspector general sent a letter to Broward Chairman David Di Pietro saying she planned to review every contract the organization has entered into since July 2012 "based on reported allegations." Mr. Di Pietro said he learned of the probe only after Dr. El Sanadi's death.
Mr. Black's website states he has more than 36 years of professional investigative and security experience in public and private sectors. He has offices in Miami and New York. He declined comment to the Sun Sentinel.