Senators unanimously passed a resolution to hold Ralph de la Torre, CEO of troubled hospital operator Steward Health Care, in criminal contempt of Congress on Wednesday.
From the Tower failed to appear at trial where he was called to testify on Capitol Hill earlier this month, and the Senate resolution referred the matter to the Justice Department for prosecution. It is the first time since 1971 that the Senate has held someone in criminal contempt.
“Dr. de la Torre is not above the law,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, said on the Senate floor before the election. “If you disrespect the congressman you will be held accountable no matter who you are or how connected you are.”
“Ten years ago, Steward, led by the founder and CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre and his business assistants looted hospitals across the country for their own benefit. And while they got rich, the workers, patients and the community suffered,” said Sen. . Ed Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts.
First declaring bankruptcy earlier this year, Steward owned more than 30 hospitals across eight states. CBS News earlier found the company failed to pay for life-saving equipment at its facilities after de la Torre and the private investors he partnered with siphoned hundreds of millions of dollars from the company.
Last month, the Dallas-based company has closed two hospitals in Massachusettsleaving about 1,200 workers without jobs, according to the government.
As Steward’s hospitals struggled, CBS News found evidence of lavish spending by de la Torre, including the purchase of a $40 million yacht in 2021, a $7 million horse ranch in Texas in 2022, and the two business jets that the senators made a total of $95 million.
The contempt decision comes after senators spent months trying to get de la Torre to publicly answer questions about his management of the company. De la Torre was called to testify on Sept. 12 before the Senate committee investigating the bankruptcy, but he did not appear.
De la Torre’s lawyer previously asked senators to postpone his client’s testimony until after Steward’s case is resolved. Last week, while the committee was reviewing the contempt decisions, de la Torre sought to invoke his Fifth Amendment right not to testify.
In the letter, de la Torre’s lawyer wrote that the legislators “wanted to establish Dr. de la Torre as criminally responsible for the failure of the health system of Massachusetts.”
In addition to filing criminal contempt charges against de la Torre, the Justice Department has opened a separate criminal investigation into Steward. A federal grand jury in Boston is investigating the compensation, spending and travel of the company’s top executives, including de la Torre, a person familiar with the matter told CBS News.
Through a spokesman, de la Torre denied wrongdoing.
“Dr. de la Torre did everything in his power to help Steward Health Care overcome many of the challenges and challenges of the industry, including purchasing the necessary equipment and supplies to address the needs of patients and guaranteeing the company’s loans with his assets,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
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