Doctor charged with killing patient to keep her quiet

CHICAGO -- A foot doctor was indicted Thursday on charges of fatally shooting a patient to keep her from testifying before a federal grand jury investigating an alleged $1.25 million in Medicare fraud.

Dr. Ronald Mikos, 53, of Evanston was named in a 25-count indictment that also charged him with mail fraud, health-care fraud and obstruction of justice or witness tampering.

Patient Joyce Brannon, 54, was found Jan. 27 shot six times in her basement apartment in a North Side church just four days before she was to appear before a federal grand jury investigating health-care fraud.

Mikos was arrested Feb. 5 but until now charged only with obstruction of justice. The latest indictment was the first to charge him with a federal count of murder.

The indictment outlined an alleged Medicare fraud scheme that began in December 1994 and lasted until February, in which Mikos bilked the federal government by seeking reimbursement for $1.25 million.

According to the indictment, the reimbursement was for more than 6,000 medical procedures that were either never provided or that he described as being more complex than they were. Among other things, he claimed to have performed surgery on patients when he had merely removed corns, trimmed nails or applied skin cream, according to the indictment.

Mikos had pleaded innocent to the obstruction charge. A message left on the answering machine of defense attorney John Beal was not immediately returned Thursday.