By Bob Zuley, Inside Publications Newspapers
CHICAGO — In one of his last official acts, President Joseph Biden this week commuted the death sentences of 37 federal prisoners held in Terre Haute, Indiana, and reclassified them to life sentences without the possibility of parole.
One of those death row inmates was Chicago’s very own Ronald Mikos, a one-time North Side podiatrist convicted of murdering 54-year-old nurse Joyce S. Brannon in Edgewater on January 27, 2002.
Four days before Brannon was to testify against Mikos before a federal grand jury investigating his involvement in Medicare fraud, Mikos went to Brannon’s apartment in the basement of Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church, 5942 North Magnolia, and shot the sickly woman six times at close range. Cops found the federal subpoena at Brannon’s side.
Seven former patients had previously testified against Mikos. Six other patients had refused to testify.
According to Brannon’s sister and a friend, Mikos called Brannon and tried to talk her out of cooperating with authorities and expressed fear that his medical practice would be ruined if she revealed his scam. Brannon insisted she had to do what was right.
In late 2000, Medicare suspended payments to Mikos. Faced with mounting bills, the doctor had to vacate his office on Chicago’s northwest side and incurred numerous lawsuits for his many debts.
Mikos was convicted for billing Medicare for more than 600 surgeries for just six patients, including 87 surgeries alone for Brannon. Brannon admitted that Mikos had performed two minor surgical procedures on her toe and had otherwise trimmed her toenails.
After obtaining her nursing credentials, Brannon pursued a career at Weiss Memorial Hospital, Columbus Hospital, and Forkosh Lincoln West Hospital, all in Chicago. Upon stepping away from her busy career due to debilitating injuries from an accident, she immersed herself in Bethany Lutheran Church at the corner of Magnolia and Thorndale avenues.
Her obituary stated that Brannon assisted with secretarial tasks and served as a “Jack of all trades” for the church. She sang in the choir and organized and volunteered at daycare and gym games for neighborhood children.
Trinity Church took over the Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church building in 2018. Its tenants now include Chicago Friends School, Anmut Nursing School, Iron Bear Fitness, and CirquesExperience.
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