Opinion: Ralph is in a hurry, his yachts are waiting

The charming cardiac surgeon always seemed like a man in a hurry.  Ralph de la Torre,  Steward Healthcare System CEO, had no time to waste.  He wanted to conclude the lucrative deal with disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat as quickly as possible.

Armin Ernst, CEO of Steward Healthcare International, urged the company lawyer on 27 January 2018 to seal the deal because “Ralph does not want to wait,” emails revealed.

By April 2018, de la Torre was feted in Castille by Joseph Muscat, who deftly duped the country: “The relationship (between Steward and Malta) will bring excellent results to Malta’s healthcare”.

De la Torre added his two cents: “Steward will be providing a transparent service”.

Reporters weren’t allowed to ask questions as Muscat escorted de la Torre away.

Those reporters were only allowed in for five minutes – after that, Muscat and de la Torre met behind closed doors.

Meanwhile, Muscat’s Deputy, Chris Fearne, was busy reinforcing Muscat’s lies.  Steward, he told us, was “the real deal”.

Fearne now faces a criminal trial for his part in the biggest fraud in Malta’s history. Never since then has he apologised for duping the nation, and not once has he expressed any regret for lending his credibility to Muscat’s con.

Even after Muscat was ousted, Fearne continued to approve hundreds of millions of euro to be funnelled to Steward.

A joint investigation between the OCCRP, The Shift and The Times of Malta revealed the contents of filings before the US Securities and Exchange Commission.  These allege that Ralph de la Torre offered Joseph Muscat a seat on the Steward board after he left office.

De la Torre is busy hitting the headlines. He’s being blamed for Steward’s bankruptcy.

Steward hospitals are being shut down.  Workers were left unpaid.

A Steward hospital in Florida was infested with 3,000 bats.  Another in Phoenix, sizzling at 30 degrees Celsius, was forced to transfer patients out after its air-conditioning system was left to fall apart.  Its kitchen was closed for health violations, and the state ordered it to cease operations.

Massachusetts set aside US$80 million per year and paid US$30 million in advance to try and save some of the Steward hospitals in the State. Governor Maura Healey used her power as State Governor to take over St Elizabeth’s medical centre for public use, costing the State another US$4.5 million.

Two other hospitals, Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Centre, which treated 23,000 patients and employed 1,250 people, are due to shut down.

Another two hospitals were closed in July. The New England Sinai Hospital closed its doors in April.

The American Prospect reported that Steward had been on an inevitable path to financial collapse since its previous owners, Cerberus Capital, looted the company of US$1.26 billion in 2016.

Steward was already in deep trouble when Muscat shook hands with de la Torre in Castille in 2018.

De la Torre made over US$100 million by selling all of Steward’s hospitals to a real estate investment trust called Medical Properties Trust (MPT) in a sale-leaseback deal which bound the hospitals to pay MPT extensive rent.

With that money, de la Torre bought a 190 foot yacht worth US$40 million dollars called Amaral and a US$15 million dollar sport fishing boat.

As Steward was losing hundreds of millions of dollars a year, de la Torre was paid at least US$250 million dollars.

No wonder he purchased a US$7.2 million, 500 acre ranch in Texas, and a massive mansion in Dallas.

A Steward affiliate, majority owned by de la Torre, purchased two private jets at a cost of us$95 million, the Boston Globe reported.

While Prime Minister Robert Abela was pumping hundreds of millions of our money to Steward, Ralph de la Torre married his 29-year-old second wife Nicole Costa in an elaborate ceremony on the Amalfi Coast.

At around the same time Steward paid US$3 million to Greenhill School in Texas where de la Torre’s two teenage sons from his first wedding were admitted to high school.

The health minister at the time the Vitals Global Healthcare deal was shifted to Steward, the health minister at the time, Chris Fearne, tried to convince us that Steward was “the real deal”.  Meanwhile, The Washington Post called Steward “the biggest hospitals failure in decades”.  Massachusetts’ Governor called Steward “a really bad operator”.

Massachusetts governor Maura Healey said, “I am disgusted by Ralph de la Torre”.

She said: “He basically stole millions out of Steward on the backs of patients and workers and bought himself fancy yachts, mansions and now lavish trips to Versailles”.

De la Torre was filmed attending an Olympics dressage event even as Steward hospitals were being closed down and he was subpoenaed to appear before Congress. “I hope he gets his just dues and that federal investigators will come after him”, she added.

Senator Bernie Sanders said, “Ralph de la Torre, Steward CEO is the poster child for the type of the outrageous corporate greed that is permeating our for-profit healthcare system.” He was right.

De la Torre kept spinning lies to the American public promising that his hospitals would continue to operate when he knew they were doomed to fail.

“Steward does not expect any interruptions to its day to day operations,” he said in May.  Steward kept trying to attract patients because they were its only source of income.  But Steward had stopped paying its suppliers and was short on everything – from medical supplies, toilet paper, to medical equipment. Just days later Steward hospitals were closing down or being possessed by the State.

Steward is now under federal investigation for fraud and corruption.  De la Torre will be dragged before Congress next month. He might yet be charged in Malta too.

A federal grand jury in Boston is investigating Steward to determine whether it violated anti-bribery laws in Malta.

Governor Healey laid the blame for Steward’s financial meltdown squarely at the feet of Ralph de la Torre. “Good riddance and goodbye,” was her parting shot.

Joseph Muscat told his friend de la Torre: “I am confident your involvement in this project and country will yield exceptional results”.

Robert Abela defended Steward’s record in parliament and attacked the magistrate who uncovered the shocking fraud in Labour’s Vitals-Steward deal.

When will Labour finally apologise to the country?