By Karen Zautyk
Observer Correspondent
KEARNY–
By gum, here’s a story to sink your teeth into.
Kearny police last week reported the arrest of a 75-year-old township man who was allegedly practicing dentistry illegally in his Wilkinson Terrace home.
The suspect, Ludwik Strzyczkowski, has been charged with operating an unlicensed medical practice and illegal possession of a CDS, five boxes of the anesthetic Lidocaine reportedly found in his residence.
Kearny Police Chief John Dowie said police were tipped off by a relative of a “dissatisfied customer.”
On the morning of May 10, Officer T.J. Hernandez went to the suspect’s home after police received a report of a possible illegal dental practice in the town. After information was documented, the case was investigated by Det. Lt. Anthony Gouveia, who visited Strzyczkowski on May 12, interviewed and subsequently arrested him.
According to police, Strzyczkowski said he had had some dental training in Poland but admitted he was not a licensed dentist.
Gouveia reportedly observed extensive dental equipment, including a dentist’s chair, drills and needles, in the living area of the one-family home.
A search incident to the suspect’s arrest uncovered the Lidocaine, which he was not licensed to possess or distribute, police said.
Strzyczkowski was also summonsed for possession of a CDS near a school, possession with intent to distribute and possession of paraphernalia.
Dowie said the Kearny Board of Health was notified of the situation, as was the state Division of Consumer Affairs, “in the event they had received additional complaints.”
Dowie added that in Gouveia’s opinion, the conditions in the area where the dental work was apparently being done were “very unsanitary” and “not conducive to a sterile atmosphere normally associated with a medical facility.”
