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Dr. Desai Soared -- Then Shot Himself Down

Dr. Akshay "A.K." Desai borrowed tens of millions of dollars from friends and other investors and quickly built a group of interlocking companies that took in more than $1 billion last year from taxpayers.

He spent lavishly on a waterfront home, $100,000 cars, frequent parties, art, and Republican candidates -- especially candidates. In return, he got appointed to public posts and invited to hang out with them at their homes and on campaign planes.
 
 

But as the Tampa Bay Timesreported Sunday, after interviewing former employees and examining records, the founder of Universal Health Care had a mean streak and a lot of secrets.

Carol Gentry, founder and special correspondent of Health News Florida, has four decades of experience covering health finance and policy, with an emphasis on consumer education and protection.After serving two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia, Gentry worked for a number of newspapers including The Wall Street Journal, St. Petersburg Times (now Tampa Bay Times), the Tampa Tribune and Orlando Sentinel. She was a Kaiser Foundation Media Fellow in 1994-95 and earned an Master's in Public Administration at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government in 1996. She directed a journalism fellowship program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for four years.Gentry created Health News Florida, an independent non-profit health journalism publication, in 2006, and served as editor until September, 2014, when she became a special correspondent. She and Health News Florida joined WUSF in 2012.
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