The Philadelphia hospital where Joaquin Rivera died while waiting to see a doctor - and where his watch was stolen by suspected drug addicts - said yesterday that it was conducting an "intensive internal investigation" of the incident that has gained national attention.
Rivera, 63, was pronounced dead at 12:04 a.m. Sunday - one hour and 19 minutes after he checked into the emergency room at Aria Health-Frankford Campus complaining of pain in the left side of his torso, police said.
"Aria officials are conducting an intensive internal investigation into this event and are coordinating their efforts with law enforcement," the hospital said in a statement.
"Aria Health is cooperating fully with the Philadelphia Police Department in connection with the investigation and offers its condolences to the patient's family," the statement said.
Citing patient confidentiality and the police investigation, the hospital said it could not comment on the circumstances surrounding Rivera's death.
Rivera's family did not have such qualms.
"I'm disgusted," Joaquin Rivera Jr., 25, said in an interview at his family's Frankford home last night. "He should be alive today.
"I feel like the hospital killed him," he added.
Maria Rivera, 61, wanted her husband of nearly 38 years to be remembered for what he did in life, especially through his folklore music group, Los Pleneros del Batey. She did not want him remembered as "Joaquin, the one that somebody killed."
What's more, they have yet to hear from the hospital.
Police said the cause of death had not been determined.
Rivera, who lived just two blocks from the hospital, worked as a bilingual counselor at Olney High School and was a popular musician in Philadelphia's Puerto Rican community.
At 10:45 p.m. Saturday, he walked into the emergency room, signed in, and took a seat in the waiting area, police said.
Members of his family said they were told that Rivera, who was alone on Saturday, had complained of a pain that went from his left arm to his left chest.
Around 11, a witness told police, two men and a woman entered the waiting room. One, Richard Alten, 44, signed in to also see a doctor, police said. Then they all sat down beside Rivera and had a conversation with him.
Around 11:35, the witness said, the unidentified man grabbed Rivera's left wrist and removed his watch. Rivera appeared to be sleeping at that point, police said.
Both men checked out the watch, then Alten apparently was called to see a doctor, police said.
There are slightly conflicting versions of what happened next, but around 11:45, the witness notified a nurse or security personnel that Rivera appeared to be dead.
The unidentified man and woman either fled the hospital or were asked to leave the waiting area by security before the guards knew that a crime had occurred, police said.
Alten was later arrested and charged with theft, receiving stolen property, and conspiracy. Police said they were still looking for the other two and described the three as homeless drug addicts.
Rivera, in an interview with the Philadelphia Folklore Project, said he was born in Cayey, Puerto Rico, in 1946. The youngest of 11 children, he moved to Philadelphia when he was 18. Here, he worked in a fabric-laminating factory while attending night school to earn his GED.
Along the way, he became heavily involved in the local music scene - leading Los Pleneros - and was active in a local movement to support Puerto Rican folk arts.
Rivera worked for the School District for 36 years, a spokesman said.
He wrote songs for friends when they died, his wife said, and his last one was dated Aug. 12, for a fellow musician.
She translated part of the song, which goes: "God needed an orchestra in Heaven. . . . They needed him to finish the orchestra. . . . When they play, the angels will dance."