A DOCTOR based in Cork was yesterday found guilty of professional misconduct by the Irish Medical Council for not disclosing a previous conviction in the US after he had used false Central Intelligence Agency identification to buy a gun.
The inquiry by the fitness to practise committee heard that American-Polish medical practitioner Dr Michael Obrowski (54) had failed to disclose a US conviction for possessing the false identification in his January 2011 application to register with the council.
Dr Obrowski contacted Dublin medical recruitment agency Locumotion in December 2010, shortly after he completed a 15-month internship in Warsaw, barrister JP McDowell for the council said.
Dr Obrowski was registered with the council in March 2011 but the agency had deemed him not suitable to hire. Locumotion later discovered his conviction and informed the council in May 2011.
A former assistant US attorney for California, known to the hearing as Mr S, gave evidence yesterday about the prosecution of Dr Obrowski for possessing false CIA identification in 2006.
Dr Obrowski had pleaded guilty to charges of possessing false identity and was found guilty of a misdemeanour, spent five months in jail and three years on supervised release, Mr McDowell said.
Dr Obrowski did not appear before the inquiry and was not represented yesterday. He used to be a policeman and had owned a medical clinic in California in 1995, the inquiry heard.
In correspondence with the council Dr Obrowski said it was an “innocently made” toy ID card with CIA written on it for when playing “James Bond” with his son. However, Mr S said this was “never a defence” he had made.
The inquiry heard Dr Obrowski had answered “no” to questions about prior convictions on forms for the council and Locumotion.
In correspondence Dr Obrowski had alleged the council and Locumotion had told him not to list this conviction. Such allegations were denied by representatives of both parties. The committee found not disclosing the conviction was professional misconduct. The penalty for Dr Obrowski will be decided at a later date.
