Newsday (New York)

July 2, 1997, Wednesday, NASSAU AND SUFFOLK EDITION

ARREST IN HARASSMENT OF DOCTOR

BYLINE: By Brett Johnson. STAFF WRITER

SECTION: NEWS; Page A25

LENGTH: 229 words

A Rego Park psychiatrist was arrested Monday in Mineola for harassing his former supervisor with threatening and anti-Semitic remarks.
Dr. Alexander Sporn, 45, of 63-33 98th Place, was charged with aggravated harassment, a second-degree misdemeanor, for comments he repeatedly made over the telephone after being fired from St. Johns’s Hospital in Far Rockaway in December, 1996, according to police reports.
Beginning in May until his arrest, Sporn made eight documented calls to his former boss, a Cedarhurst doctor who is Jewish, and expressed ill will because of perceived poor treatment while working at the hospital, Det. Gary Shapiro of the Bias Crime Squad said. Shapiro said Sporn tried to disguise his voice on at least one of the calls, but the police investigation led them to Sporn. Police would not identify the victim.
Sporn could not be reached for comment.
Elenora Bernard, a hospital spokeswoman, said Sporn was dismissed due to poor job performance after failing to adequately complete a probationary period all new doctors must pass before becoming permanent employees at the hospital.
Sporn had no record of prior misconduct, according to a spokeswoman at the New York State Department of Education’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct.
Sporn was released on an appearance ticket and is due in First District Court on July 9.