Fine Ex-Hospitals VP $9G for Having City Vendor Give Girlfriend Training

A former Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at New York City Health + Hospitals was slapped with a $9,000 fine for helping his partner receive a certification from a private software company that had a $300-million contract with the city.

Norberto Robles, who held that position from 2010 to 2015, contacted the executive vice-president of the electronic medical records storage firm, Epic Systems Corporation, to help his partner—a non-H+H employee—be enrolled in the same certification course required to use the program that he planned to take. He also asked two of his employees to help his girlfriend obtain an H+H ID card, which she needed to enter the agency’s headquarters, according to the city Conflicts of Interest Board. Because Mr. Robles used his position multiple times in 2014 to help her take the certification exam, including arranging for her to use H+H office space and computer terminals, the COIB imposed the financial penalty.