Connecticut Post (Bridgeport, CT)

April 29, 2003 Tuesday

State lifts license of spouse to ‘fake doc’;
Trumbull man faces criminal charges today

BYLINE: By DANIEL TEPFER dtepfer@ctpost.com

SECTION: LOCAL/REGIONAL NEWS

LENGTH: 482 words

BRIDGEPORT
The other shoe dropped Monday in the case of a Trumbull man accused of pretending to be a doctor and molesting female patients when the state suspended the license of his psychiatrist wife.
Stating that Dr. Liane Leedom represents a clear and immediate danger to public health and safety, the state Department of Public Health summarily suspended her license.
In the order, state health officials cited allegations that Leedom misled patients into believing that her husband, Barry Lichenthal, was a licensed physician and allowed him to examine female patients.
Leedom, who lives with her husband on Old Dyke Road in Trumbull, could not be reached for comment.
Leedom was medical director of Noah’s Ark Foundation, a methadone treatment center at 3715 Main St. She also ran a mood disorder clinic in the same office.
A hearing on the suspension of Leedom’s license is scheduled today, ironically the same day her husband is to be arraigned in Superior Court on criminal charges. The hearing will take place at 9 a.m. at the state Department of Public Health in Hartford.
Lichenthal, 58, who also used the name Dr. Michael Taylor, was arrested April 10. He was charged with second-degree sexual assault, fourth-degree sexual assault and practicing medicine without a license.
He is being held in lieu of $1.7 million bond at the Bridgeport Correctional Center.
Lichenthal conducted examinations of women who came to the clinic, performing breast and gynecological exams without using gloves, police said.
One woman told police that Lichenthal had her and another women come into an examining room and disrobe. He then began attaching wires to the women’s bodies, telling them he had to determine whether they were heterosexuals or lesbians before he could prescribe methadone. After a few minutes of doing this so-called “Alpha test,” he proclaimed they were “straight” and gave them methadone, police said.
Another woman recounted that when she asked Lichenthal why he was massaging her breasts, he replied he was also a sex therapist and had studied at the Masters and Johnson Institute, police said.
State health officials charge that from approximately August 2002 through March of this year Leedom consistently aided her husband in the unlicensed practice of medicine.
“Despite being apprised of patient allegations regarding her husband’s alleged sexual misconduct during the course of his ‘examinations,’ respondent continued to permit her husband to treat patients at the facility as ‘Dr. Michael Taylor,’ ” the charges against Leedom state.
Police said the investigation is continuing and Leedom may face criminal charges in the case. In addition, police said they expect to file additional charges against Lichenthal as more victims come forward.
Daniel Tepfer, who covers state courts and law enforcement issues, can be reached at 330-6308.