Twenty-two medical professionals, including nine surgeons, were indicted by federal prosecutors in Texas in a bribery/kickback scheme that rocked the health care community. Nine went to trial. Only one person, Dr. Nick Nicholson, was found not guilty.
On Monday, Texas Lawbook correspondent Bruce Tomaso, who provided gavel-to-gavel coverage of the seven-week trial, provides readers with an exclusive, in-depth look into the groundbreaking case and trial through the eyes of Dr. Nicholson and Tom Melsheimer, the lawyer who defended him.
Together, Dr. Nicholson and Melsheimer provide extraordinary behind-the-scenes details about critical decisions they made together – from hiring a lawyer, considering whether to plead guilty or go to trial and developing a successful courtroom strategy.
In a video interview, Dr. Nicholson, a world-renown bariatric surgeon, vividly describes the anxious moments standing before the jury as the verdict was delivered wondering if he would spend the next several years in prison or practicing the medicine he loves.
“Thank you. You’ve given my life back…”