I guess it was a good life while it lasted

March 12, 2006 at 12:35 pm (Domestic Violence)

Dr. Ira Klein owned the medical group Gastroenterology Associates of Memorial City and the Liver Institute of Texas, at 10565 Katy Freeway, had been awarded four patents on drugs used to treat hepatitis C.

He purchased a home in an exclusive part of Fla. for his wife Gabrielle Puccini Klein, 34. He also had homes in Houston appraised at $1.87 million, and Vail, Colorado appraised at $216,000..

Gabrielle and Ira married about a year ago. She didn’t know that being generous to the women who were important in his life, was a trait that Ira had shown before.

She didn’t know that in 1994, Ira’s then wife Yolande,  had sued him for divorce and listed as the reason that Ira had given his mistress $144,000 per year, with an apartment and a Porsche. But they were able to work things out, and came to an agreement that Ira would take turns staying with his wife and his mistress on alternating days.

However, Yolande sued for divorce again in 2000, upset about her husband giving a a $204,000 annual salary, an $840,000 house and a Lexus 650 to his newest second mistress.

Ira boasted about how successful his medical practice was. And about the success of his investment firm. But evidently these successful enerprises weren’t enough for Ira.

In 2004 the medical board fined Ira and ordered him to stop selling medications. In Dec. he voluntarily gave up his medical license. Then last week Ira recieved an indictment for 46 counts alleging mail fraud, insurance fraud, health-care fraud and false claims for billings to insurance companies totaling $16 million over the last six years. Klein is accused of making $10 million from false claims by billing for injections he never gave and improperly retailing drugs to his patients instead of sending them to pharmacies.

Gabrielle and Ira had been having problems recently, a friend has recounted an incident where Gabrielle was talking to him on the phone, and Ira took the phone from her. The friend claims that Gabrielle was afraid of Ira. And that Ira had threatened to kill himself. However, they were attempting to reconcile, and had planned a trip to Hawaii in order to faciliate this. However, the latest indictment put a stop to Ira doing any traveling.

Gabrielle left Ira Thurs. And upon learning that she was  leaving, Ira flew to the home in Fla. given to Gabrielle, then called her on the phone, leaving messages that he hired a locksmith to open the doors to the home. Then he called and told her that he was going to kill himself.

Police allege there was an odor like kerosene strewn throughout the home. Ira was found in the garage, and a security guard broke in and pulled him from the burning home.

Police debated sending Ira to a hospital, then finally they arrested him for arson and took him off to jail. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3716296.html