LACKAWANNA, N.Y. (WKBW) — Five months after the 7 News I-Team exposed a Lackawanna dentist, for mishandling a patient's case, Governor Hochul is responding.
The dentist, Dr. Richard Charlap, is now under investigation by the State Education Department.
Charlap is accused of using a local anesthetic with epinephrine on a pregnant patient, without her knowing. She had a doctor's note that said no epinephrine, yet Charlap admits to using it anyway on a secret recording.
"What I did isn't allowed," Charlap said on the recording. "But is it going to do anything to the fetus? The answer is no."
You can watch our original report below.
Despite that admission, Charlap is still seeing patients and still practicing.
Days after our 7 News I-Team investigation, State Senator Patrick Gallivan called for the State Education Department to open an investigation into Charlap.
Five months later, NYSED has not released any information and refuses to because of confidentiality statutes.
NYS law specifically prohibits us from commenting on the specifics of any case beyond the publicly available record. By law, we can only act upon a complaint to investigate specific allegations of unprofessional conduct.
The patient is frustrated nothing has been done.
We followed up with her in July, you can watch the report below.
We also spoke to Gallivan again in July, he said he had a message for Governor Hochul, saying "ask the head of your agency what is going on with this. When's it going to be done?"
So when Gov. Hochul was in town, I asked her for some answers.
Drantch: Are you satisfied with the length of the investigation and are you satisfied there are a number of people to investigate?
Hochul: Am I satisfied with the rate of investigation, no! But I can't make the change because my hands are tied and that is frustrating for me as well.
Hochul told me, she doesn't have jurisdiction over any investigation into the licensing of professionals, like the investigation into Dr. Charlap. That's handled by the State Education Department. The state legislature would have to change laws before she had any oversight.
"I think that all health professions should be regulated by the Department of Health that I oversee. Then I would have the accountability that you're asking for," Hochul said.
We've once again reached out to Dr. Charlap, giving him a chance to have his voice heard. He has not returned our calls for comment.
