SIMI VALLEY : Doctor’s License Revocation Delayed

A Los Angeles judge on Thursday postponed revoking the license of a Ventura County doctor accused of having sex with a patient.

The decision by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ricardo Torres will allow Don Alan Lee, a cardiologist with offices in Simi Valley and Westlake Village, to keep practicing at least until Dec. 30. Lee was also ordered to return to court today for a hearing on whether his license should be revoked at all.

The state medical board, which investigated the allegations, found that Lee had sex with Ellen A. Cleary and illegally prescribed her drugs. The board ruled in September that Lee’s license should be revoked effective Dec. 21.

On Thursday, Lee’s lawyer, Rex Beaber, said evidence presented to the judge “was overwhelming that the medical board’s action was completely improper.”

Beaber said he is considering filing a federal civil rights suit against the board, which he accused of unlawfully sending a letter to a judge involved in punishing Lee.

“It’s just the most outrageous abuse of the prosecutorial process,” Beaber said.

Deputy Atty. Gen. Richard Avila, who represents the board, said the letter was to a judge not directly involved with Lee’s case. He said the letter never mentioned the Lee case and was irrelevant to the issue of revoking Lee’s license.

Cleary was murdered in 1990 after her boyfriend, Timothy J. Velasco, discovered her in bed with Lee. Velasco was later convicted of first-degree murder.