‘Psychiatrist’ Isn’t a Doctor, Authorities Say

Dr. Melvin Zatin looked good on paper.

On his resume he said he was a psychiatrist who practiced at San Francisco General Hospital, the University of London, England, and the Vienna Medical School of Austria, authorities said.

But state medical authorities say he is a fake.

Zatin is really Melin Berry Zatinsky, who is unemployed and not a medical doctor, said Jim Kovash, a senior investigator with the Medical Board of California.

Zatinsky apparently did not use the title to practice on patients, authorities said. But he did use the title and alias on a resume he submitted two years ago to an Irvine building appeals board, to which he was named by the City Council.

He then served on the non-paying board for two years, advocating greater access for the city’s handicapped population, a city official said Tuesday.

But on Monday evening, Kovash arrested the 56-year-old Irvine resident on suspicion of falsely representing himself as a medical doctor, a misdemeanor.

“It appears his only motive is to satisfy some sort of ego,” Kovash said. “We took a fake psychologist and gave him a dose of reality therapy,” he said.

The state Medical Board, which licenses and disciplines California doctors, began investigating Zatinsky in June, Kovash said. Irvine police went to Zatinsky’s Eagle Point home to investigate a complaint that he was selling food from his home, a violation of the city code, Kovash said. Zatinsky told police that he was a plumber.

Police later learned that Zatinsky listed his occupation as a doctor and then contacted the state Medical Board to investigate the discrepancy, Kovash said. Bob Storchheim, manager of Irvine’s Building, Safety and Engineering Department, said he was surprised by Zatinsky’s arrest.

Storchheim, who recommended Zatinsky to the City Council for the appeals board, said he did not check Zatinsky’s claim that he was a medical doctor.