Frank Buonanotte, CEO of Honeymark International

After losing his business to political corruption, entrepreneur, Frank Buonanotte rebuilds his life and career as a business owner.

Treating individuals for alcohol and drug addiction is a big business on Long Island, NY. Frank Buonanotte is the former CEO of Crossings Recovery Centers, which was the largest provider of substance abuse treatment on Long Island and possibly even New York State. Crossings had a particular program that provided housing and treatment to homeless individuals who were addicted to drugs and/or alcohol. This program helped to rehabilitate these individuals and by the time they completed the program, they were off drugs and alcohol, off public assistance, provided job readiness training and placed in permanent housing where they weren’t draining the system of tax payer’s funds. More importantly, this program transformed homeless alcoholics and drug addicts into healthy, working, tax paying citizens.

It was a wonderful program that helped many people get back on their feet and recover from the destructive grasp of addiction. Most of these individuals were insured by Medicaid, which is of course a State-funded health insurance plan. Since there were so many people on Long Island that needed these services, the program found itself on the radar of politicians in charge of maintaining State funds. Even though Crossings was providing a legal and much needed service to the community, it cost the State money.

New York State bulldog, Henry Zwack, was put in charge of eliminating the problem. Since Crossings wasn’t doing anything illegal, Zwack had to devise a series of diabolical schemes to wipe Crossings from existence. Being well versed in abusing the political power that he was given, Zwack and his staff were able to distort the law in order to shut the clinics down. As a result, many patients were put out on the street but the State saved the money. This was a tragic day in New York history but well covered up by Henry Zwack.

Since then alcohol and drug related crimes and deaths have significantly increased on Long Island but nobody has been able to put together that maybe it’s because the largest provider of addiction treatment was unjustly shut down by New York State. Crossings also ran the only dual focus substance abusing sex offender program on Long Island. To date, this population has gone untreated on Long Island to the extent that they were at Crossings.

Despite the unfortunate set of circumstances that occurred back in 2http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif006, Frank Buonanotte has founded another company which imports a particular type of medicinal honey from New Zealand. This company is called Honeymark International. In addition to the importation of this honey into the U.S., Honeymark also manufactures medical, personal care and skin care products containing this honey.

Manuka honey from New Zealand has become world renowned for its ability to eradicate antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria that are responsible for causing life threatening infections, such as MRSA and VRE. Manuka honey is also considered to be a natural treatment solution for certain conditions such as stomach ulcers, acid reflux disease, gastrointestinal disorders and a wide range of skin conditions.

Frank Buonanotte is still in the business of helping people, but this time in an industry that is less corrupt and susceptible to interference by politicians that abuse power. Honeymark products can be purchased online at www.HoneymarkProducts.com or in retail stores across the country.

Frank Buonanotte Sues OASAS and Henry Zwack for $90 Million

In one of the most horrendous cases of political corruption, the lives of over 1500 patients were put at risk. Henry Zwack, a notoriously corrupt New York State official closed a group of alcohol and drug rehab clinics in an effort to retaliate against its CEO, Frank Buonanotte, after the two were engaged in a verbal altercation. In the most iniquitous manner, Zwack single handedly destroyed one of the most well respected treatment agencies on Long Island that provided tremendously needed services in that area.

As a result, Long Island has been crippled by its completely out-of-control substance abuse problem. With DWIs on the rise, drug related crimes at an all-time high and not nearly enough treatment services on Long Island to accommodate the growing number of addicts, closing down the largest provider of substance abuse treatment may not have been the wises decision for the State. Especially since Crossings, the victimized agency, had previously enjoyed the luxury of a squeaky-clean reputation. This means more bad press for Henry Zwack, who is already known as a nefarious character.

It's unknown as to exactly how many lives have been affected by this act of vengeance. The New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Services (OASAS) estimates that statistically, 15 percent of any given population usually requires some type of alcohol and/or drug addiction treatment. Given the fact that Long Island is home to over 3 million residents, it's safe to assume that nearly half a million people on Long island are in need of help. Because of the political nature of this situation, New York politicians have been disregarding the huge gap of substance abuse treatment services that Zwack's stunt caused.

Frank Buonanotte is now bringing legal action against Henry Zwack and New York State under Section 1 of the Civil Rights Act and the due process clause and equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. The lawsuit cites 16 causes of action and states that Frank Buonanotte is seeking compensatory damages in the amount of $15 Million and punitive damages in the amount of $75 Million plus interest and attorneys fees. Hopefully this lawsuit will put an end to the reckless type of political corruption that endangers the lives of so many people without being made public. Especially from a repeat offender like Henry Zwack. To see a copy of the lawsuit, go to www.FrankBuonanotte.com.

After loosing his business to political corruption, Frank Buonanotte fights back by suing NYS OASAS and Henry Zwack personally in an effort to defend his constitutionally protected right to due process.

Political Corruption In New York State

State officials take down a respected health care facility because they were too successful.

Despite the recent atrocities in New York that caused the removal of a now former Governor, Eliot Spitzer, what most people are unaware of is that the corruption doesn't stop there. The State of New York has been trying to lower its Medicaid spending for a while. The Medicaid system provides a health care benefit to the indigent population, funded in part by the State. However, behind closed doors, the State recognizes that the indigent population is predominately a population that doesn't vote, so depriving them of benefits usually doesn't have many consequences to politicians.

When figuring the majority of the Medicaid expense, it doesn't take too much to determine that most of the money is going toward paying for substance abuse treatment. Statistics indicate that a large portion of the Medicaid population require some type of alcohol and/or drug treatment. Therefore, State politicians found that an inordinate amount of Medicaid dollars were going to substance abuse treatment facilities. These facilities aren't billing Medicaid illegally. It just so happens that a great number of patients covered under the Medicaid program require alcohol/drug treatment.

Since politicians are not known for their business skills or ability to properly manage money, New York State officials, in their infinite wisdom, felt that the only way to control Medicaid spending was the take down the medical facilities that were billing the most. It didn't matter to the State that these facilities were billing Medicaid legally, nor did it matter to them that patients were actually getting better by receiving the treatment services that they needed. Behind the scenes, the State launched a diabolical plan to systematically destroy large alcohol and drug treatment centers in New York in an effort to cut spending.

Crossings Recovery Centers was one of the State's victims. Crossings was the largest provider of outpatient substance abuse treatment on Long Island up until 2006 when the New York State of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) conjured up some bogus charges, devising an excuse to shut the agency down. Up until then, Crossings had not had any blemishes on its record in the almost 2 decades that their clinics had been in existence. In an effort to justify their unlawful actions, the State of New York had to claim that Crossings had numerous violations but the fact is, Crossings was targeted in accordance with the State's efforts to bring down agencies that were successful.

Frank Buonanotte, the former CEO of Crossings Recovery Centers is in the process of suing OASAS, the State of New York and Henry Zwack, who was the State's spin doctor. At the time, Zwack was the head of the General Counsels office at OASAS. Prior to that, Zwack was ousted from his position as County Executive of Rensselaer County as a result of several counts of corruption. Henry Zwack had 15 indictments under his belt before he participated in the deliberate destruction of Crossings. Now Zwack is a judge in the New York State Court of Claims. Who knows how much havoc he's causing there.

Buonanotte won his first bit of success in his lawsuit against the State when a Federal Court judge dismissed the State's motion to dismiss the case. The Judge felt that there was enough evidence of wrong doing on the State's part to proceed with a trial. Buonanotte expects depositions to begin this summer and plans on being in front of a jury in the fall of 2008. Buonanotte is suing Henry Zwack and the former Commissioner of OASAS, Shari Noonan in Federal Court and is suing OASAS in the New York State Court of Claims. The irony of this case is that Buonanotte's lawsuit against the State is to the tune of $90 Million which is far more than Crossings had ever billed Medicaid for treatment.

Neither Frank Buonanotte nor Crossings were charged with Medicaid fraud. Only petty paper violations that Buonanotte describes as "dotting i's and crossing t's" citations. Such citations could be found in any medical facility across the State. It also appears as if the State of New York has targeted other substance abuse treatment agencies in the same corrupt manner in which they did Crossings. There is now a 6-8 week waiting period before patients can be treated at any of the existing alcohol and drug treatment centers on Long Island. Oddly enough, no one has been able to realize that this is the reason why DWIs and alcohol/drug related crimes and deaths are at an all-time high on Long Island.

Everyone wants their taxes to be lower but at what expense? Another question is how much more will it cost taxpayers in terms of crime and wrongful deaths to have alcoholics and drug addicts go untreated? An even better question is how much will it cost taxpayers to pay for the State's unlawful actions if Buonanotte wins his lawsuit?

Frank Buonanotte vs the State of New York

Frank Buonanotte is the former CEO of Crossings Recovery Centers. Up until February of 2006, Crossings was the largest provider of outpatient substance abuse treatment on Long Island with offices throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Unfortunately, Crossings was unjustifiably shut down by the state of New York. The diabolical actions that led to the demise of the company were executed by Henry Zwack, General Counsel for the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) in Albany. Zwack's wrong doings were co-conspired by the acting commissioner of OASAS, Shari Noonan.

This was a classic example of political corruption. Zwack and Buonanotte had a verbal dispute over the telephone and, in retaliation, Zwack abused his political power by executing a series of unlawful events that led to the destruction of one of the most valuable and respected treatment agencies on Long Island. Since the State closed Crossings, local newspaper articles have indicated a drastic increase in DWIs and drug related crimes. In the May 15, 2001 issue of Newsday, Suffolk County was quoted by saying, "With the recent closing of privately owned chemical dependency clinics, Suffolk County is experiencing a shortage of treatment services." The article also indicated that the county is asking the Governor and the State Legislature to provide additional funding to help them keep up with the growing demand for substance abuse problems on Long island. Sadly enough, if Henry Zwack hadn't closed Crossings, all of the needs of the community would have continued to be met at no cost to tax payers. Since Crossings was a private agency owned by Frank Buonanotte, no tax subsidized funding was necessary to allow it to operate. So not only are Zwack's power hungry ways costing taxpayers more money, they have increased the ongoing drug and alcohol problem on Long Island.

Long Island is home to over 3 Million residence. OASAS' own statistics indicate that about 15% of any given population usually requires some type of alcohol and/or drug treatment. That means almost a half a million people on Long Island are struggling with substance abuse problems. How could this man have been allowed to deprive so many people these extremely needed services? What kind of politician are we dealing with? Why hasn't anyone brought this man to justice? It seems as if Henry Zwack has a long history of political corruption. All you have to do is Google his name to read all of the trouble he has caused.

Jaspan Schlesinger Hoffman, the attorneys representing Frank Buonanotte in his lawsuit against the State, have filed the Civil Action with the United States District Court. Below are just a few of the complaints filed against OASAS, Zwack and Noonan:

Violation of Due Process

Violation of Equal Protection

Breach of Contract

Breach of Fiduciary Duty as Receiver

Breach of Statutory Duty as Receiver

Fraud

Interference with Contract

Defamation of Character

Libel

Slander

Injurious Falsehood

Abuse of Process

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out in court. Frank Buonanotte and Crossings have the benefit of their good reputation of being an outstanding health care provider in the community. Zwack and Noonan have a long history of political corruption and OASAS is already being viewed as an incompetent regulatory agency. Let's hope the good guys win this time and prevent Zwack from causing any more harm to the public. Buonanotte is hopeful that he'll get Zwack and Noonan indicted for their unspeakable actions that have left so many lives on Long Island without the clinical care that was so desperately needed.

Henry Zwack, Up to His Old Tricks

New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services unjustly shuts down respectable alcohol/drug treatment agency and leaves over 1500 patients in the dust.

Up until February of 2006, Crossings was the largest provider of outpatient substance abuse treatment on Long Island with offices throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Unfortunately, Crossings was unjustifiably shut down by the state of New York. The diabolical actions that led to the demise of the company were executed by Henry Zwack, General Counsel for the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) in Albany. Zwack's wrong doing was co-conspired with the acting commissioner of OASAS, Shari Noonan. We have reason to believe that the Governor himself, George Pataki had his hand in it as well.

Crossings Recovery Centers had been in operation for almost 20 years and never had a blemish on its record. The New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (which is the licensing division for all substance abuse treatment providers in New York) had audited Crossings every year and had renewed its license with no issue. In late 2005, OASAS approved the acquisition of Passages Counseling Center, making Crossings the largest provider of outpatient substance abuse treatment on Long Island, with more outpatient clinics than any other provider, possibly even in the State. Only a few months later, OASAS issued a Determination to Revoke Crossings' operating license. If OASAS had concerns about Crossings' operations, why would it approve such an acquisition just months before?

In addition to providing substance abuse treatment to over 1500 patients on Long Island, Crossings also providing housing services. These housing facilities provided shelter to hundreds of homeless individuals who were in recovery from some type of an alcohol and/or drug addiction. Facilities such as these are commonly referred to as Sober Homes.

The community has been opposed to sober homes for many years. It was a classic case of NIMBYism. No one wants a house with recovering addicts on their block. It didn't matter that Crossings wasn't breaking any laws. It was all about the bias that people have towards that particular population. The community had complained to the local politicians, despite the fact that there had never been any reports of disturbances caused by the residents at Crossings' housing facilities. The politicians, wanting to be re-elected had to do something about it so they applied pressure to their counterparts in Albany...OASAS.

When State officials analyzed the sober housing situation on Long Island, they also determined that in addition to public hysteria, Sober Housing, in conjunction with Treatment proved to be fairly lucrative to the treatment agency that was providing the services. This is when they got Henry Zwack involved. Zwack has a long history of corruption dating back to his time as the County Executive of Rennsalaer, a county just outside of Albany. Zwack was forced to resign due to charges of perjury, conspiracy, corruption and other legal atrocities. Zwack had proven himself to be a real political trouble maker. However, because of his relationship with the Bruno brothers, he landed a nice, cushy position at NYS OASAS.

Zwack's first lame attempt at destroying Crossings was to attack its sober housing system. Realizing that Crossings wasn't breaking any laws and that OASAS had no jurisdiction over sober homes at that time, he sent his attack dogs on Crossings' treatment clinics. OASAS auditors began what they called a Targeted Inspection in a desperate attempt to find anything they could use against the company.

Zwack conjured up minor violations as a means in which to bring the company down. Under normal circumstances, OASAS would issue routine citations requiring an agency to implement a corrective action plan within 30 days. In fact, an OASAS representative also cited, under oath, that their scoring mechanism indicated that Crossings would have received license renewals.

Zwack started participating in unethical and illegal actions such as contacting State agencies that referred patients to Crossings and ordered them to cease all referrals as well as contacting the NYS Attorney General's Office to inform them that due to the alleged violations, his intentions were to revoke the operating license. Because of this, Medicaid had imposed a 100% withhold on all payment to Crossings, making it impossible for Crossings to meet operating expenses. He also issued cease and desist orders to Crossings that he did not have the authority to issue and sent them through the mail, which is considered to be mail fraud.

Zwack had violated Crossings' right to due process by participating in these illegal actions. He, in effect, took a back door approach to shutting the company down without giving Frank Buonanotte, the company's CEO, an opportunity to challenge his accusations. This, among other things, was a violation of Buonanotte's constitutional rights.

Because of the Medicaid withhold and Crossings' inability to meet expenses, OASAS requested court approval to appoint itself as a receiver. A NYS Supreme Court Judge allowed OASAS to be appointed as a receiver since Crossings was having difficulty paying its bills. It apparently didn't matter to the Judge that the reason Crossings couldn't pay its bills was because New York State was unjustly withholding its Medicaid payments. However, the judge claimed that his ruling was in the best interest of the patients and indicated that the terms of the receivership were that OASAS had to maintain all business operations, run the agency and pay bills until all legal proceedings were finalized.

On the first day of the receivership, despite judicial orders, Zwack began dismantling the agency by referring patients to other healthcare providers and not allowing for new admissions. Within a matter of a week, the entire company was destroyed. As part of the fiduciary responsibility of the receivership, Zwack and OASAS were required to pay staff, rent and other operating expenses for the entire term of the receivership. OASAS paid for nothing. In fact Zwack had lied to the employees of Crossings by saying that because Frank Buonanotte didn't sign a particular document, he was unable to pay them. This obviously was a blatant lie considering that the terms of the receivership were decided by the judge, not by Frank Buonanotte.


There are many articles that were written about Frank Buonanotte and Crossings and posted on the Internet that are 100% untrue. The stories were all fabricated by Henry Zwack and the State in an effort to discredit the reputation of Buonanotte and his company and justify their own unlawful actions. The fact remains that Crossings was an important part of the community helping thousands of people recover from addiction. Frank Buonanotte is a respectable business person with no prior record before the States slander. Buonanotte expects to have his day in court and will attempt to have Henry Zwack indicted for his unspeakable actions. As a result, the drug and alcohol problem has risen to an all-time high on Long Island with drug related deaths and DWIs at their peak. Wake up Long Island! Call your local politicians and make them aware of what is going on.

Frank Buonanotte is currently suing the State of New York, as well as Henry Zwack and Shari Noonan personally under the RICO Act for corruption, racketeering, violation of his constitutionally protected right to due process, etc. The most disgusting part of the State's illegal actions was that they displaced over 1500 patients, all because of their own political agenda.

Henry Zwack Disgraces New York...Again

It was an apparent political agenda. Repeat offender of political corruption, Henry Zwack, conjures up bogus violations out of thin air to drive well-respected treatment agency, Crossings Recovery Centers, out of business. This could very well possibly be one of the single most heinous acts carried out by a New York State official. Crossings Recovery Centers had an impeccable reputation in the community as an outstanding provider of substance abuse treatment. In addition, Crossings had provided specialized services that no other treatment provider on Long Island offered. This has left the community scrambling for alternatives that are nowhere to be found.

Henry Zwack was ousted from his position as Renssalaer County Executive due to an array of illegal atrocities. Zwack's long, ugly history of offenses include purgery, consiracy, various scandals, violation of civil rights, etc. In fact, he still faces 15 felony and misdemeanor counts alleging that he was behind a civil service scam in return for political support and votes. Renssalaer County's former computer chief and former county personnel director have filed a $35 million federal lawsuit for wrongful prosecution against both Zwack and Rensselaer County.

Now as the Executive Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS), Henry Zwack has acted irresponsibly by crushing the largest provider of substance abuse treatment services on Long Island, merely because of his own political agenda. This corrupt act has left Long Island in shambles without enough services to care for the ever growing population of alcoholics and drug users. Since the demise of Crossings, statistics indicate that drug-related crimes are up on Long Island as well as fatal DWI accidents. What is it going to take before someone realizes that this man should not be in a position that can negatively effect the lives of so many people?

Frank Buonanotte, the former CEO of Crossings Recovery Centers is now suing the State of New York and Henry Zwack personally. Given Crossings' outstanding reputation, the State will have difficulty coming up with an excuse for their actions.

What Political Corruption Has Done to Long Island

Corrupt politicians have done a serious injustice to the residents of Long Island by closing well-respected health care facilities.

With a population of over 3 million residents, Long Island is home to more people than even some states. Statistics indicate that about 15% of any given population usually requires some sort of alcohol and/or drug treatment. Based on that statistic, about a half a million people on Long Island need to be enrolled into some type of substance abuse treatment program. Sadly enough, there are not enough facilities on Long Island to service all of these people.

In February of 2006, the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) was successful in unjustly shutting down one of the largest and most respected treatment agencies on Long Island, Crossings Recovery Centers. Crossings had 9 clinics that spanned across both Nassau and Suffolk Counties treating over 1500 patients at any given time. Since their inception, Crossings hadn't had a single blemish on its record. However, out of nowhere, the State conjured up enough ridiculous, alleged violations to revoke Crossings' license and shut them down.

What's the result of this unspeakable act? Since the untimely demise of Crossings Recovery Centers, there has been a significant increase in alcohol and drug related deaths and crimes. There has also been a significant increase in DWIs in both Nassau and Suffolk Counties. In addition, existing substance abuse treatment centers on Long Island now have a 6-8 week waiting period before admitting new patients. Whether people realize it or not, all this has left Long Island in a state of turmoil.

Who is responsible for these atrocities? His name is Henry F. Zwack. At the time Crossings was closed, Henry Zwack was the Head of the General Councils Office at OASAS, which is the licensing division responsible for regulating substance abuse treatment centers in New York. Zwack has a long history of political corruption, dating back to when he was County Executive of Rennselaer, which is a County just outside of Albany. There were reports of a verbal dispute between Zwack and Frank Buonanotte, CEO of Crossings Recovery Centers and in an act of retaliation, Zwack systematically destroyed the treatment agency by revoking their operating license and participating in a number of slanderous accusations that have not yet been handled in court.

Frank Buonanotte is now suing the State of New York, OASAS and Henry Zwack personally for unjustifiably destroying this treatment agency that so many people on Long Island counted on. The lawsuit is posted on Buonanotte's personal website (www.FrankBuonanotte.com) and lists the following causes of action:

(1) deprivation of their rights to property, liberty, due process and equal protect; (2) violation of due process; (3) violation of substantive due process; (4) violation of equal protection; and (5) Fifth Amendment-Taking. Plaintiffs also asserted several related State court causes of action, including: (1) breach of contract; (2) breach of fiduciary duty as receiver; (3) breach of statutory duty as receiver; (4) fraud; (5) interference with contract; (6) conversion; (7) defamation, libel and slander; (8) injurious falsehood; (9) abuse of process; (10) contribution and indemnification; and (11) an accounting.

"For as horrible as it was for me to lose my company," says Buonanotte. "The biggest loss was to the people on Long Island who truly need these services that are now no longer available to them." Crossings also offered the only dual focus program on Long Island for substance abusing sex offenders. Since these services are no longer available, reports have indicated that incidents of sex offences on Long Island have increased significantly. It's time people start to become aware of how political corruption effects all of us.