Judge to allow videotaped testimony of dying hepatitis C victim
Life isn’t easy for Rodolfo Meana as the hepatitis C virus works to shut down his body.
But prosecutors won Meana a victory Wednesday that will allow him to go back to the Philippines to die knowing his voice will be heard in the criminal case against Dr. Dipak Desai, the physician charged in the outbreak that infected him.
District Judge Donald Mosley on Wednesday gave prosecutors permission to take Meana’s videotaped deposition before he leaves the country so that it can be used, if needed, at the trial of Desai and two of his nurse anesthetists. The case stems from the 2007 hepatitis outbreak at clinics run by Desai, 62.
After a brief hearing, Mosley set a March 13 deposition date for Meana, 76, who has bought a one-way ticket to the Philippines for later that month.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Mike Staudaher told Mosley at the hearing that he also wants to take the deposition of a second Desai victim crucial to the criminal case, Carole Grueskin, 72.
The prosecutor said she is having “mental problems” because her hepatitis C infection.
Staudaher told Mosley that he would provide more details about Grueskin’s deteriorating health in court papers. As of late Wednesday, the papers had not been filed.
Mosley set a Feb. 29 hearing on whether to allow the deposition to move forward.
Officially, Desai’s trial is set for March 12, but it is not going to take place on that date. Mosley, who has been presiding over the case the past 18 months, is retiring March 2. Chief District Judge Jennifer Togliatti has not named a judge to take over the case.
Staudaher filed court papers this month disclosing that the hepatitis C virus has left Meana terminally ill, with only 5 percent of his liver function. Staudaher said Meana is expected to pass away “sometime within the next year.”
Meana came to the United States in 1997 from the Philippines after a decorated career in the military, where he rose to the rank of colonel. He later became a U.S. citizen.
His daughter has been caring for him since early 2011 “when he started to fall ill due to complications created by hepatitis C,” according to Staudaher’s court papers.
The hepatitis C cases of both Meana and Grueskin are among seven the Southern Nevada Health District has genetically linked to Desai’s lead clinic, the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada.
Meana, Grueskin and four other patients contracted the deadly virus through unsafe injection practices on Sept. 21, 2007, the health district concluded in its lengthy investigative report on the hepatitis outbreak. Another patient was infected on July 25, 2007.
All seven patients, who testified before the grand jury, are named as victims of felony criminal neglect in a 28-count indictment against Desai and nurse anesthetists Keith Mathahs, 75, and Ronald Lakeman, 64.
The three defendants also face felony charges of racketeering, insurance fraud and obtaining money under false pretenses.
Contact reporter Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135.
