Owner of Fall River assisted living facility has come under legal scrutiny in the past
But two Superior Court judges ruled in 2013 and 2015 that then-Attorney General Martha Coakley's office had obtained some financial records improperly and barred them from being used against Etzkorn during a trial, according to court documents.
In the aftermath of the judicial rulings in Etzkorn's favor, prosecutors permanently ended the case against him in 2015, records show.
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'As reasons therefore, the Commonwealth states it is in the interests of justice,' prosecutors wrote in court papers.
Etzkorn,
In addition to owning Gabriel House, he owns the Plymouth Center for Behavioral Health and a company called Accurate Care, located in Rhode Island and Connecticut, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Etzkorn has been a steady donor to Republican candidates in Massachusetts, including a donation he made while under indictment to then-gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker
in 2014. Baker returned that money,
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In another court case, Etzkorn was found to have wrongly fired a female Gabriel House worker in 2010 when she spoke up in support of a co-worker facing disciplinary action by managers at the Fall River facility, records show.
According to Bristol Superior Court records, Etzkorn and Gabriel House managers wanted health care professionals to sign non-compete agreements. The fired employee told co-workers that non-competes were illegal but was fired only after she vowed to testify on behalf of a co-worker if necessary.
The original allegation dated to 2010 and wound its way through a Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination hearing officer and then to the full MCAD, which ruled in 2019 that Etzkorn had retaliated against the employee, records show.
Etzkorn then challenged the MCAD decision in Bristol Superior Court where Judge Merita A. Hopkins concluded
in 2021 that Etzkorn wrongly fired the employee and agreed the female worker had been retaliated against, records show.
Etzkorn was ordered to pay the woman $17,500 in lost income, $20,000.00 in damages, and $25,552.50 in attorney's fees at 12 percent interest, records show.
It was not immediately known if Etzkorn paid the woman.
Etzkorn is a Medfield resident whose home is currently assessed at $1.3 million, town records show.
John R. Ellement can be reached at
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