Houston doctor accused of possessing child porn

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A local neurologist faces serious charges after taking his computer in for repairs, and it's what police found on that computer that landed him in jail.

Dr. Robert J. Kolimas is in jail on $100,000 bond. He's charged with five counts of possession of child pornography, which was allegedly found on his computer.

He stood in court at 2am Friday where he heard the charges against him.

"The youngest, he thought, child porn photo he sent to someone else over Yahoo Messenger was 10 years of age," said a prosecutor in probable cause court.

Dr. Kolimas is director of the Neurology EMG Laboratory at the VA Medical Center, where he's worked for 31 years. Prosecutors say he took his personal computer to a repair place, but when a technician found more than 40 sexually explicit pictures on his hard drive, he turned Dr. Kolimas in to police.

"How do I go about trying to get my own lawyer?" Dr. Kolimas asked the judge.

In court, the doctor seemed confused, aloof, asking very basic questions, seemingly needing help with a bond and a lawyer. His neighbors in West University are stunned, particularly, they say, with so many children living on their street.

"The ages were really very young. We moved in seven years back when my girls were six, four and two," said one neighbor.

The VA Medical Center says Dr. Kolimas is currently not on duty. The Department of Veterans Affairs says it is cooperating fully with this investigation. We're also told authorities have seized Dr. Kolimas' work computer.

Dr. Kolimas is due back in court on July 11.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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Former drug-using doctor opens up about recovery

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Five years ago, a Montgomery County doctor left his medical practice in disgrace, and now we're hearing from him for the first time. Back then, when his drug use made headlines, he was in denial, but today, Steve Farber comes clean.

It is a small office inside a two-bedroom apartment. But for Farber, this is success.

"I could easily be dead," he said.

It's a realization five years in the making after a very public fall from grace.

"How far did you fall?" we asked Farber.

"I hit rock bottom," he said.

That was in February 2007. Farber's medical license had just been suspended indefinitely.

"Very suddenly in the blink of an eye, my career was over," he said.

His world was unraveling.

"I was a closet addict," Farber said.

He had been exposed.

"I had led a double life, a secret double life, and I got very good at it," Farber said.

Dr. Farber was on top of the world. He had served twice as the head of cardiology at Conroe Regional Medical Center, had his own practice and had founded a non-profit -- all the while he was using drugs.

"Cocaine and I was using Xanax at the time," he said. "I did start using crack."

It was a downward spiral that could have affected many patients.

"And operate on patients?" we asked him.

"Yes, yes," he said.

And it did affect, he says, one in particular.

"I lost a friend," Farber said.

In April 2006, he prescribed a strong cough medicine to 33-year-old Gara Gerber. She was staying with him. He came home from work and she was dead.

"Whether she intentionally took her life, I don't know; whether it was an accidental overdose, I don't know -- I'll never know. But the reality is I should not have given her the prescription," Farber said.

Conroe police ruled Gerber's death an accident and Farber was never charged. It did cost him is medical license indefinitely. The Texas Medical Board in 2007 called him a continuing threat to public welfare, but it also it forced him to get help.

"They saved my life," Farber said.

Farber spent two months in intense rehab and says he's been clean ever since. He also wrote a candid book

"We are as sick as our secrets," he said.

He hopes will not only help other addicts but also raise awareness of prescription drug abuse. Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson are famous faces, he says, of a big-time problem.

"As a society, we cannot live in denial," Farber said. "I don't feel like a pariah anymore."

Today, Farber says his life is back on track. He is now deciding whether to appeal to the medical board to be able to see patients again.

"It's something that is not my identity anymore," he said.

From a luxurious house in The Woodlands to a small apartment in Spring, just being here is success Farber says far more satisfying.

"I feel that my life has turned around and I'm given a second chance to live to be the person I want to be and I want to take advantage of that," he said.

Farber settled a civil lawsuit out of court with Gerber's family. He told us he hopes one day her family will forgive him and to that her sister, Gena Gerber-Hopp, told us:

"Seeking forgiveness is not stating you wish it but rather it is actually taking the steps to actively pursue it. As a Christian I am taught to forgive, but that does not mean by any means my family and I will ever forget Steve Farber's role in my sister Gara's untimely death.

"We believe that the Texas Medical Board has failed the people of Texas in allowing Steve Farber the chance to practice medicine in any form ever again. But I do pray for his sake and his families that he does stay clean this time. My family and I miss my sister Gara so very much and we pray that no family should ever have to go through losing there loved one like this."

Farber's medical license has been reinstated but restricted to an administrative capacity. His book is now available on amazon.com.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Missing doctor discovered in another hospital

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A Bay City doctor who vanished 10 days ago after checking himself into Memorial Hermann Hospital as a patient for a brain tumor has been found. The family of Dr. James Rorig confirms he is actually in another hospital now.

Dr. Rorig had been diagnosed with a brain tumor on January 6. He was to begin treatment at Memorial Hermann Hospital, but he walked out of the hospital the next day without a cell phone, money or ID. His friends and family didn't have a clue where he went. Now they have some answers.

Two days ago, Dr. Rorig was checked into Ben Taub Hospital after he was discovered in someone's yard, not far from the hospital. His sister, Liz Marzen, told Eyewitness News the details aren't yet clear, but she believes he was unresponsive at the time.

Someone at Ben Taub Hospital saw the story on Eyewitness News and recognized Dr. Rorig as a patient. That person called Rorig's office manager, Melody Cadenas.

Marxen is grateful to all who helped the family locate her brother. She says he is in critical but stable condition.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Treadmill lets doctor practice what he preaches

  HOUSTON -- Fire officials are blaming an east Houston house fire on an electrical short.

But all that sitting?

No thanks.

So Lee had an unusual request when he was offered the job as chairman of Methodist Hospital's ophthalmology department. He wanted a treadmill desk, a small, virtually silent treadmill paired with a chest-high desk, allowing him to work out while he handled administrative duties.

"Being chairman, you're sitting in the chair a lot," he said. "When I took this job, I knew I was going to become a sedentary office worker."

Like a lot of other doctors, Lee tries to talk with his patients about their weight. The treadmill desk hasn't made that less awkward, but he says at least he isn't recommending something he doesn't do himself.

"Physicians are people that tell you to exercise, eat right and reduce your stress level, and they do none of the above," he said.

The health risks of inactivity are well-documented.

Federal guidelines recommend adults get at least 2 1/2 hours of moderate exercise every week - that includes walking - to ward off a host of diseases, including heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and certain cancers. More is better.

An Israeli study reported last fall in Cell Physiology even suggested too much sitting can make your rear end bigger, spurring cells to produce more liquid fat.

As an ophthalmologist, Lee deals with diseases of the eye, and he says they, too, are often caused by excess weight.

Some are complications of Type 2 diabetes or hypertension. And Lee said he has seen an increasing number of cases of psuedotumor cerebri, a condition caused by increased pressure inside the skull. The symptoms mimic those of a brain tumor - dizziness, headache, blurred or double vision - and Lee said it's most common in overweight women. Losing weight is one of the recommended treatments.

But talking to patients about their weight isn't easy.

"It's always a touchy subject," Lee said. "We try to frame it as healthy eating and healthy lifestyle. If you just tell a patient, `Your disease is caused because you're too fat,' they may not like that. They may not come back."

Lee was thin, even before getting the treadmill.

"I was thin but not fit," he said. "Now, I feel fit."

The idea of a treadmill desk is generally credited to Dr. James Levine, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic, whose research found people burned an extra 100 calories an hour while walking at the desks.

Lee first saw one while visiting a friend who worked at the Mayo Clinic; now he walks between two and five miles a day while making phone calls and answering emails.

The treadmill is small and doesn't go faster than two mph. That keeps it quiet, he said.

"And I don't get sweaty, because it's so slow."

Being more active on the job also helps him to avoid the post-lunch slump that once sent him for coffee.

Lee still has a full-size treadmill at home.

"It's become a clothes hanger," he said. "I use this one way more."

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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