FL doc gets 4 year prison term for public corruption

U.S. District Judge William Zloch slammed a respected Broward County physician with a four-year prison sentence this week, sending a strong message against the corrupting influence of special-interest lobbyists who raise millions for politicians in Tallahassee -- in exchange for favors. Zloch told Alan Mendelsohn, MD, 53, a politically connected ophthalmologist, that the hefty sentence was warranted because his pay-to-play misconduct was like a "cancer" with "tentacles" that thwarted good government from South Florida to the state capital. Mendelsohn was the key figure in a public corruption and tax case that saw him secretly divert $700,000 from campaign donations and other income to himself, his family and his mistress. He did not report that money to the IRS.