Ex-patient: I was prisoner at treatment center

The Jersey Journal/January 23, 2007
By Ali Winston

A former patient is suing the former directors of KIDS of North Jersey, a now-defunct drug treatment center in Secaucus, claiming that he was held there against his will for five years.

It's the latest in a long history of complaints filed against Dr. Virgil Miller Newton III, the former director of KIDS of North Jersey as well as a number of other centers across the country. He and his wife, Ruth Ann Newton - who was the center's assistant director - are being sued by ex-patient Antonio Carrera, 26, of Clifton.

The trial began Thursday in front of Superior Court Judge Maurice Gallipoli in Jersey City.

Carrera, whose family immigrated to New York City in 1993, was admitted to KIDS of North Jersey in July 1994 at the age of 14. He said he was brought to the center by his parents after he was arrested in connection with a groping incident at his high school in Queens.

Although his parents said they saw no signs of drug use in a preliminary interview with Ruth Ann Newton - and even though Carrera twice tested negative for drugs - he was diagnosed with marijuana and alcohol addictions and was admitted to the program with the consent of his parents, said his attorney, Phil Elberg.

In his opening statement, Elberg accused the Newtons of fabricating Carrera's "addictions" to marijuana and alcohol as cause for admitting him to the program, where he remained until 1998, when he turned 18 and became a legal adult. For all four years, Elberg said, Carrera stayed with a foster family in New Jersey and did not attend school.

"More than 41/2 years of his life were stolen because he was in treatment for problems he did not have," Elberg said.

But defense attorney Stephen Ryan described Carrera as a "failing student" with truancy issues and an arrest record who was admitted to the center by an accredited doctor.

He warned jurors that "this will be a tough case to sort out where truth ends and fantasy begins."

According to Ruth Ann Newton, Carrera would alternate between denying and admitting to a drug and alcohol addiction, and that he never advanced beyond the "second phase" of treatment. There are five phases in the Newtons' drug treatment plan.

Carrera also claimed he was frequently restrained by other patients, often being pinned to the floor by as many as four other teens, until he agreed to participate in drug treatment sessions.

Allegations of false imprisonment, physical abuse, and insurance fraud have dogged Virgil Miller Newton III.

He holds a doctorate in public administration from Union Institute & University in Cincinnati, calls himself "Father Cassian" after being ordained as a priest by the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America and has made unsuccessful bids for political office in Florida.

In 2003, Gallipoli presided over a 2003 suit by Lulu Corter, a former KIDS patient who also claimed she did not have alcohol or drug problems and was falsely held. Corter, who was also represented by Elberg, settled for $6.5 million.