TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalDrug firm seeks to keep lid on pain pill allegations
Drug giant Cardinal Health says a recent agreement with West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s office blocks a judge from unsealing court documents that include details about the company’s prescription painkiller shipments to alleged “pill mill” pharmacies, according to a brief filed this week.
Last month, the Gazette-Mail asked Boone Circuit Judge William Thompson to unseal court records in a lawsuit filed by the state against Cardinal Health, the nation’s second-largest drug wholesaler.
Four days later, lawyers for Morrisey’s office and the drug distributor submitted an “agreed order” to the court. That order — signed by the judge on Oct. 17 — puts an indefinite halt to all proceedings in the case, including the newspaper’s earlier request to unseal allegations in the lawsuit, Cardinal Health argued in a brief filed earlier this week.
Morrisey’s office has a different take on the judge’s order.
- See more at: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news-cops-and-courts/20161101/drug-firm-seeks-to-keep-lid-on-pain-pill-allegations-
West Virginia prisons chief had rent-free apartment provided by subcontractor
For at least four years, West Virginia Corrections Commissioner Jim Rubenstein had the use of a rent-free garage apartment provided by a state prison subcontractor, according to an investigative report.
Rubenstein recently signed a deal with Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney Charles Miller’s office to refer the investigation to the state Ethics Commission. In exchange, Miller’s office agreed to end a criminal investigation into Rubenstein’s use of the Kanawha Boulevard apartment.
Rubenstein also has agreed to reimburse the apartment’s owner for back rent.
Terrence Rusin, president and CEO of PsiMed, gave Rubenstein the go-ahead to use the apartment in 2011, according to the report. PsiMed provides mental health services to the state prison system that Rubenstein oversees. The company received more than $7.5 million in state funds during the years Rubenstein had use of the apartment.
- See more at: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news-politics/20161031/wv-prisons-chief-had-rent-free-apartment-provided-by-subcontractor-
Union group files complaint over political mailers
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is taking action after political mailers were sent out by a group calling itself the West Virginia Right to Work Committee.
The union’s representatives filed a formal complaint Monday with the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office alleging that the anti-union group — formally known as the Mid-America Right to Work Committee — violated state campaign finance laws by sending out political material without first registering it with state officials.
“Not only is this a clear violation of campaign finance laws, it’s also proof positive that out-of-state special interests are pulling the strings of the Republican leadership in West Virginia,” said Ken Hall, the Teamsters secretary.
The union’s action comes several days after the Gazette-Mail first reported that the Mid-America Right to Work Committee had sent out letters lauding Republican candidates that supported the “right-to-work” legislation that was passed earlier this year and currently is being challenged in the state court system.
- See more at: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news-politics/20161101/union-group-files-complaint-over-political-mailers
Check, please: Wait begins on $151M chemical spill pay out
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — After a $151 million settlement was reached in a West Virginia chemical spill that tainted a local water system, the real wait begins for residents and businesses hoping to cash in on the claims process.
And for whoever is hired to administer it, that could be a daunting task.
"This is not self-help," compensation expert Kenneth Feinberg said Tuesday. "This is not the type of program where 'we'll bring somebody in and educate them.' This requires an experienced neutral (person) who's processed claims, who's done it before, is not intimidated by the complexities or the challenges."
West Virginia American Water will pay $126 million and Eastman Chemical will pay $25 million under the tentative settlement announced Monday in federal court in Charleston.
Read more: http://hosted2.ap.org/WVMOR/ae80f509bb5047d19fdef4ff1a8f6a99/Article_2016-11-01-US--Chemical%20Spill-West%20Virginia/id-ec1e775e389849ad9aaadf54b6624017
Former Ohio County Schools Public Credit Union Director Pleads Guilty
WHEELING — The former director of the Ohio County Schools Public Credit Union pleaded guilty Monday to embezzling more than $156,000 in order to pay personal debts.
U.S. Magistrate Judge James E. Seibert presided over the case Monday in federal court, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Jarod Douglas representing the government, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld’s office.
Gramlich, 65, of Valley Grove faces up to 30 years in prison for her crimes, which occurred between June 2013 and March.
Prosecutors will also seek an order that Gramlich make full restitution, Ihlenfeld has said.
Read more: http://www.theintelligencer.net/news/top-headlines/2016/11/former-ohio-county-schools-public-credit-union-director-pleads-guilty/
Poker pro bursts into tears pleading guilty to $31M scam
He couldn’t keep his poker face in court.
A pro-card player who has won pots at the World Series of Poker blubbered Tuesday as he pleaded guilty to charges that he masterminded a $31 million debt collection scam — believed to be the largest ever prosecuted.
Travell Thomas, 38, fidgeted as he admitted he owned and ran a Buffalo-based company where callers at four offices would threaten victims with criminal charges if they didn’t pay inflated debts, known as “juicing.”
The callers also lied to make it look like the company was affiliated with the government and the courts system.
Read more: http://nypost.com/2016/11/01/poker-pro-bursts-into-tears-pleading-guilty-to-31m-scam/
MBTA worker awarded $2.6M in discrimination suit
A federal jury has awarded $2.6 million to a former Boston-area transit worker who said she was the victim of racial discrimination when she was fired in 2013.
Michelle DiManche had worked for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority for 13 years as a Green Line trolley operator before she was fired. Her lawsuit claims she was subjected to “racial discrimination as a means to humiliate and ultimately terminate her.”
The T said DiManche was fired after a series of disciplinary actions, Boston.com reported.
Spokesman Joe Pesaturo said the T would fight the decision.
Read more: http://www.metro.us/boston/mbta-worker-awarded-2-6m-in-discrimination-suit/zsJpka---BCZ0Kgy1lR56/
Councilor wants tighter controls to keep out-of-city students out of Boston Public Schools
Families living outside the city are fraudulently sending their children to Boston Public Schools, thus taking away seats from in-district kids currently on waiting lists, according to City Councilor Annissa Essaibi-George.
BPS officials said during a public hearing on Tuesday that there is only one residency investigator for the 57,000 students enrolled within the school system. Families only have to demonstrate their residency once—when they first enter the school system.
“It’s really important to me that Boston families realize that I appreciate and the district appreciates that those seats are for Boston kids and that we're making sure that they are accessible for Boston families,” Essaibi-George said. “One family... that fraudulently takes a seat is one kid that doesn't have access to that program.”
BPS received between 100 and 150 tips last year concerning students who are attending district schools although they live outside the city, according to Carolyn MacNeil, BPS ombudsperson. Of those tips, 22 students were removed from their schools.
Read more: http://www.metro.us/boston/city-councilor-looks-to-enforce-stricter-residency-regulations-for-bps/zsJpka---v3v4vR83CEzPo/
Ex-Gov. Spitzer's alleged Russian hooker indicted in extortion case
A Russian national and suspected sex worker was indicted on Tuesday for allegedly extorting more than $400,000 from Eliot Spitzer, the disgraced former New York governor who resigned his position because of a prostitution scandal.
Svetlana Travis Zakharova, 26, an alleged prostitute, blackmailed Spitzer and used another man’s personal information to rent apartments without his permission, Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark said.
Between March 12, 2014, and her arrest on Oct. 11, Zakharova obtained nearly $400,000 from Spitzer, who resigned as governor in 2008, threatening to tell his wife and the media intimate details of their encounters unless he paid.
In 2014, Zakharova attempted to extort $5,000 from the other man, the D.A.'s office said.
Read more: http://www.metro.us/news/russian-woman-indicted-for-extortion-of-former-gov-eliot-spitzer/zsJpkb---fQZ7rFk9OEjI/
Onondaga County could face penalties for 18-million-gallon sewage spill into lake
Syracuse, N.Y. -- Onondaga County could face penalties for the 18 million gallons of sewage that flowed into Onondaga Lake in the past two weeks due to a broken pipe and its repair.
The regional director of the state Department of Environmental Conservation said he's waiting for a report from the county before making any decisions.
"We will assess once we have that data in hand whether or not there will be penalties," said Matt Marko, who took over as regional director the week before the Oct. 21 sewage spill. "We need to get the information on how long and how many gallons, and they need to go back to the drawing board and calculate that stuff."
Marko said the county had no deadline for the report, but that he would "press the county to get it to us as quickly as possible."
Read more: http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2016/11/onondaga_county_could_face_fines_over_18-million_gallon_sewage_spill_into_lake.html
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