ministrator has been indicted by a
Charles County grand jury on multi-
ple counts of theft and fraud, includ-
ing allegedly bilking the local nurs-
ing home out of thousands of dollars
nearly a decade ago.
Scott Colver, 48, of Hagerstown,
has been indicted and charged with
six counts of felony Medicaid fraud,
five counts of felony theft and one
count of felony theft scheme. The
indictment alleges that over a period
of time in 2004 and 2005, Colver
made false representations and at-
tempted to defraud the Maryland
Medicaid program in connection
with nursing home expenses.
Berlin Nursing and Rehabilitation
Center during his time as an admin-
istrator from 2004 to 2005. Accord-
ing to the indictment, Colver wrote
checks from Berlin Nursing and Re-
habilitation Center accounts for per-
sonal use. It is uncertain from the
Maryland attorney general's prepar-
ed announcement just how much
Colver allegedly stole from the Ber-
lin facility, but reports indicate it
merchandises and services totaling
approximately $82,000. Further-
more, the board has evidence that
these merchandizes and services
were, in fact, not provided to Berlin
Nursing Home, but were instead
provided to me for my personal ben-
efit."
the Berlin Nursing and
Rehabilitation Center was far more
extensive than the $82,000 refer-
enced in his letter of resignation.
For example, according to a pub-
lished report of a separate civil suit
involving Colver's alleged embez-
zlement from Mid-Atlantic Health
Care, Colver refused to respond to
questions about over $460,000 in
payments made by the Berlin
Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
to a company controlled by the indi-
vidual who sold Colver a house for
$490,000 in 2005.
years' incarceration and up to a
$100,000 fine. The felony theft sta-
tute provides for a maximum possi-
ble sentence of 15 years' incarcera-
tion and up to a $25,000 fine. The
case against Colver is being prose-
cuted by the Medicaid Fraud Con-
trol Unit of the Maryland Attorney
General's Office with assistance
from the Maryland State Police.
al hundred thousand dollars.
iners of Nursing Home Administra-
tors officially surrendering his li-
cense to practice in the state in light
of an investigation into his malfea-
sance. In the letter, Colver said he
was surrendering his license to
avoid prosecution at the time.
ministration in the state of Maryland
to avoid prosecution of the discipli-
nary charges that are now pending
before the board," the letter reads. "I
acknowledge that the board initiated
an investigation of me based on al-
legations that I misappropriated
funds from the Berlin Nursing and
Rehabilitation Center from 2004 to
2005 where I served as a nursing
home administrator."
administrator in Maryland, Colver all
but acknowledged the theft scheme
promulgated on the Berlin nursing
home facility.
from the Berlin Nursing Home from
2004 to 2005," the letter reads.
"Specifically, the board has evi-
dence in the form of 16 cancelled
checks, written from the Berlin Nur-
sing Home account, signed by me,
way as the basketball courts and
rain garden have been completed
and a ADA compliant kayak launch
among other assets are planned.
chase a 50-foot by 100-foot vacant
residential lot on Cannon Street
behind the Public Works building
and across the street from Town
Hall to turn it into a recreational ex-
tension of the Fenwick Island Com-
munity Park located in front of the
Public Works building on Coastal
Highway.
ing path, a gazebo, picnic table and
bench seating. The Cannon Street
Park will add recreational uses,
such as a basketball court that is
now open to the public as of July 4
and a kayak launch.
cally with ADA [Americans with Dis-
ability Act] accessibility. Everything
from the parking, walking path,
staging area to the kayak launch will
meet ADA requirements," Town
Manager Merritt Burke IV said.
Delaware. The DTF Grant Program
is administered by the Delaware Di-
vision of Parks and Recreation, De-
partment of Natural Resources & En-
vironmental Control.
tween park projects and greenway
and trail projects. The grant pro-
gram is designed to assist local gov-
ernments and Park Districts by pro-
viding matching grants for the plan-
ning, acquisition, and development
of parks, greenways and trails.
launch will be a trail head for a
greenway water trail in the Town of
Fenwick Island through Little Assa-
woman Bay to the Assawoman Bay
State Wildlife Area.
other general landscaping has been
completed. Left to go is the con-
struction of a 16-foot by 25-foot kay-
ak launch with a 16-foot by 25-dock
with life rings as well as a 10-foot by
10-foot staging area of pervious
pavement, a walking path, an irriga-
tion system, sod, signage, and park-
ing. The Cannon Street Park will
also include a picnic table and seat-
ing as the community park does.
Day.
town's park district, followed by
Fenwick applying for a State of Del-
aware Land and Water Conserva-
tion Trust Fund (DTF) grant. The
town received the grant for $50,000
to help with the project's costs.
take it from $50,000 to $70,000 with
a one-to-one match, so the State of
Delaware would contribute $35,000
and the Town of Fenwick con-
tributes $35,000 with a projected
budget of $70,000.
to purchase a vacant residential
property adjacent to Town Hall
years ago for the price of land in the
area and to develop a park out of it,
that is unheard of," Burke said. "The
lot is not that big to begin with but to
put all these uses into one lot has
been quite the challenge but by the
end of the project it is going to be a
community asset, and one that fits
in with the comprehensive plan,
especially relating to recreation and
parks."
provide an annual source of funding
for the acquisition of open space and
the development of outdoor recre-
ation projects. Since that time, the
Trust Fund has provided over $15
million in matching grant assistance
hood. The second phase of the
project includes installing new
drainage pipes along both sides
of Route 13 Business north of
London Ave. The entire project is
scheduled for completion by fall
2014.
Piland, a zoo administrator since
the 1970s, has accepted the
city's offer to become the new di-
rector of the Salisbury Zoological
Park and spent his first day at
the facility on Monday.
background in animal care, ad-
ministrative management, and
park operations. Starting in the
late 1970s as a senior keeper in
Columbia, S.C., Piland has
worked in various capacities with
several zoological facilities.
ical Society for over 20 years
where he eventually became op-
erations director.
he started as the deputy director
and later became the vice presi-
dent and director of operations
and capital plan implementation.
He has extensive experience in-
teracting with Boards of Trust-
ees, as well as local, county and
state level officials. He also has
spent more than 20 years work-
ing with the Sarasota Dolphin
Research Program where he
has assisted in numerous re-
search efforts including support
for the evaluation of the impact
of oil spill pollution in the Gulf of
Mexico.
Salisbury and look forward to the
leadership and experience he
will bring to the zoo," said acting
Public Works Director Amanda
Pollack.
dination with the National Asso-
ciation of Town Watch, will be
celebrating the 30th anniversary
of the National Night Out pro-
gram on Tuesday.
police and community partner-
ships and now involves over 37
million people in 15,000 commu-
nities all over the country. The
Ocean City National Night Out
festivities will take place at
Fiesta Park in Caine Woods and
at Gullway Villas on Lark Lane
from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday.
the department's relationship
with the community," said OCPD
Chief Ross Buzzuro. "We believe
that the number one crime pre-
vention tool is having a great
relationship with our community
and this event really helps pro-
mote that."