An orthopedist at the heart of the massive LIRR “gravy train” disability scam is scheduled to plead guilty this morning rather than face an onslaught of testimony from retired railroad workers, sources told The Post last night.
Dr. Peter Ajemian apparently plans to cut his losses ahead of a trial next month at which he would have faced more than 40 counts of conspiracy and fraud, and at which several railroad retirees were poised to testify against him.
It was unclear how much time in the slammer Ajemian, 63, will face under the terms of his deal with prosecutors.
Ajemian’s wife said he was unavailable when reached by phone last night, and his defense lawyer and a spokeswoman for the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office both declined to comment.
Ajemian is one of three physicians accused of falsely diagnosing career-ending disabilities for about 1,500 LIRR employees so they could retire early with lucrative pensions.
Former LIRR mechanic Brian Delgiorno, 54, who was to testify against Ajemian, pleaded guilty yesterday in the scam.