NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Two executives of a behavioral health center are dead, and employees in Connecticut, Florida, and Pennsylvania are looking for answers after locations abruptly closed with no paychecks.
It started last week with Retreat Behavioral Health posting to Facebook that Peter Schorr, the founder and CEO of the company, had died on June 21. Reports confirmed Schorr's death was by suicide.
Following Schorr's death, 160 employees at Retreat's New Haven location were left in the dark as their location closed the inpatient and outpatient facilities. A spokesperson for the New Haven location said that the Palm Beach, Florida, location also closed around the same time.
“We grieve with them, but we still need answers (as) to what’s going on,” said Ronald Waters, a professional driver at Retreat Behavioral Health.
Retreat Behavioral Health serves as a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility with in and outpatient care. It also offers psychotherapy and counseling for patients with no history of substance abuse, as well as treatment for mental health and substance use disorders.
Waters said he received emails during his shift following Schorr's death that announced the closure. The spokesperson for New Haven's Retreat location said on Tuesday they weren't sure if the closures were permanent or temporary.
Employees expressed their sadness at Schorr's passing while also voicing their concern over not getting paid and for the patients who were discharged. Not only that but by Wednesday, they were locked out of their emails, according to the New Haven Independent.
And they're not the only ones.
Five days after Schorr's passing, Florida officials confirmed the death of Chief Administrative Officer Scott Korogodsky. According to sister station FOX43 in Pennsylvania, Korogodsky had sent emails to employees at Retreat's Pennsylvania locations earlier in the week with the announcement that the locations would be closing.
On June 26, Korogodsky was found dead by suicide at his home in Lantana, Florida, according to officials.
FOX43 was also told that the company paid workers earlier this month and missed the most recent pay period altogether. According to internal emails gathered by FOX43, Retreat's leadership acknowledged the previous payment delays and blamed issues with its payroll processing system.
According to FOX43, employees reported that the company had not paid its health insurance or life insurance policy since April, yet the costs, along with 401k contributions, have continued to be deducted from their paychecks.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division is investigating the situation.
As for the Connecticut locations, the state's Department of Public Health confirmed they were on site last week to review the process of transferring patients to other treatment centers or homes.
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Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
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