What Does the Administration at Emory Get Paid For? (UPDATED)

Introduction: Yesterday, I published this piece. It is a detailed summary of the continued and growing scandal going on at Grady Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. If you are unfamiliar with the details I suggest that you check out link.

Also, I have a stat counter on my site. It allows me to track in detail who, identified by IP address, comes, where from, which of my pieces they read, and all sorts of other details that turns it into Proprietor Nation's version of big brother.

The following piece is in regards to the aftermath of that piece (which received a fair amount of traffic) and one specific IP address that I have been able to identify. So, without further adieu...



I am not sure however if today is like other days then they are paid to surf the web. I know this because IP address, 170.140.62.42 (administration's IP address, probably this man) has been on my site for hours today. In fact, this IP address is by far my biggest fan. I know this because they check with me usually at least once a day, however today they have taken an unusually large interest. (I wish they would click to Amazon once in a while and buy one of their fabulous books though) Here is a run down of today's activities...




28th November 2007
09:16:51
No referring linkProprietor Nation
29th November 2007
11:01:22
No referring linkProprietor Nation
29th November 2007
12:52:22
No referring linkProprietor Nation
29th November 2007
12:52:29
proprietornation.blogspot.com/Proprietor Nation: An Updated Summary on the Fiasco at Emory, Grady, and Beyond
29th November 2007
13:04:31
No referring linkProprietor Nation
29th November 2007
13:04:34
proprietornation.blogspot.com/Proprietor Nation: A Murder, A Suicide: Connecting More Dots in the Culture of Corruption
29th November 2007
13:04:35
No referring linkProprietor Nation
29th November 2007
13:04:45
proprietornation.blogspot.com/Proprietor Nation: The Incredible Disappearing Story... (UPDATED WITH A VERY SPECIAL SHOUT OUT)
29th November 2007
14:55:47
No referring linkProprietor Nation
29th November 2007
14:58:32
proprietornation.blogspot.com/Proprietor Nation: Emory University
29th November 2007
15:00:01
proprietornation.blogspot.com/search/label/Emory%20UniversityProprietor Nation: Who Is The Real Sociopath??
29th November 2007
15:07:39
blogs.creativeloafing.com/freshloaf/2007/10/09/emorys-skeletons-in-the-closet/Proprietor Nation: The Fox Guarding the Hen House
29th November 2007
15:07:53
blogs.creativeloafing.com/freshloaf/2007/10/09/emorys-skeletons-in-the-closet/Proprietor Nation: Corruption
29th November 2007
15:08:23
proprietornation.blogspot.com/search/label/CorruptionProprietor Nation: A Plea to John Sugg of Creative Loafing



Let me explain what all of these names and numbers mean. This is the full detail of the IP address I spoke of (170.10.62.42). If you click the link it is identified and also identifies its server, Emory University. Everytime anyone visits here the date and time (Central time that is) is recorded. Those are what the dates and times mean. If a link was used to come to my site, that is also identified (for instance the one starting blog.creativeloafing is a site from which this IP linked from). If no link was used, then the words, no reference link appear. (this generally indicates the the address was typed out by the party using the computer. Thus it was likely that http://www.proprietornation.blogspot.com/ was entered into the address field in order to reach my site.) The specific web page is the web page that the party landed at. Sometimes, a party will travel within my site and so if you see two proprietornation pages, that means th party went from one page to another.

As you can see, not only is this IP visiting my site, but they are they are also visiting this story from October. (this is another story that doesn't necessarily paint Emory U in the best light)

The ongoing Grady Memorial Hospital crisis is bringing to the surface many complaints about Emory’s medical school role. In the past, Emory’s response to internal criticism has been to bully and crush the critics, and then try to keep the records sealed.

The latest on the blogosphere is about the persecution of Kevin Kuritzky, who was 41 days from graduation when Emory expelled him from the medical school. Kuritzky claims Emory was retaliating for his blowing the whistle on patient safety — or the lack thereof.

Now, I can assume that as the head of PR, one must know what is being said about their school, however isn't the work of the AJC, the New York Times, where they would want to spend their time predominantly. If I am getting this much traffic from PR, they frankly have very little time left for the AJC et al. Either that or the PR department is now exclusively focusing on surfing the internet for stories related to Emory. Why is my blog, with only several hundred hits daily, getting so much attention in the PR Department at Emory (if it isn't the PR person then frankly they really need to be fired because they are just surfing the internet to waste time then)?



I have already concluded that the powers that be at Emory removed a story from the internet archives at the AJC. I pointed out in a previous diary that this article, and more importantly Emory's response, was damning to Emory in three serious ways. (I won't rehash the story so please go to the links to catch up) I know that the article was removed in the aftermath of me publishing the piece because it is no longer there. I also know that reference to the same article was also removed from a page on Emory's own medical school site. (go to this google link and click on the top link found and see for yourself)



Now, I know that part of PR is damage control but isn't removing archived stories and web pages taking damage control a bit too far. I know that in PR you must know what the media is saying about you, but isn't obsessing about what a small blog says also taking things a bit too far. Unless of course, what that small blog is saying is true, and in that case, you probably would be obsessed. I have recently fallen in love with the phrase Res Ipsa Loquitor (the facts speak for themselves). You can call me crazy, an ego maniac, or suffering from delusions of grandeur, but I believe the fact that Emory's admin IP has become my biggest fan, shows that they know what I am saying is true.



If that is the case. Let's review what that means. Emory is operating as an all powerful sociopathic entity. They are criminally liable in providing medical services to poor folks at Grady Hospital and veterans at the VA hopsital and they have expelled a student, 41 days prior to graduation, for daring to expose their criminality. They have also paid off multiple professors with their silence who also tried to expose the corruption. Furthermore, since Grady Hospital, the subject of much of this corruption, is a public hospital that means that ultimately Emory University has committed all of these crimes and lapses in ethics and morality on the public.



Now, all of this is my supposition only, however, if my supposition is lunacy, why is the admin spending so much time on my blog? Don't take my word for it go and ask the admin yourself. I have provided the link and it has said person's email. See, what they have to say about all of this.

UPDATE:

170.140.62.42 is back. It is nothing short of surreal to update a piece about a party as that party is reading the piece themselves, however that is how it is in the internet age. Here is an updated link to what the stat counter calls the magnified user, a detailed summary of the movements of this particular IP address on my site (including the most recent and probably current visit) The only other thing I will point out is that while I have had much traffic from this IP there has been no contact by email or otherwise. There have previously been some peculiar anonymous messages, however anonymous speaks for itself, and it was also before I became savvy enough to track things down.

UPDATE:

I realize that if someone were to pick up this story somewhere in the middle they would get lost in its many mazes. Thus, if the first story you read regarding Grady Hospital is this one, you are probably confused. So, I have put together a summary of the entire fiasco that tries to put all of its moving parts together in one piece. Please read it for guidance. Also, please check out the recommendations that I and my colleagues have put together for fixing Grady Hospital.

The Incredible Disappearing Story... (UPDATED WITH A VERY SPECIAL SHOUT OUT)

I want to direct everyone to three different web pages. Two of them are attributed to me. The third is a Google search. The reason that I direct you to a Google search is because the site I wanted has been removed. Don't believe me, click the top link (Emory WHSC Grady in the news statements mislabel role) and see what happens. A site initially pops up, it says this page has been moved, and then it disappears and then the main page pops up. Try it and see. So, why am I being so machiavellian? Well, I believe that a story has been removed from the AJC. I believe that this story and its response can ultimately be used to damage the reputation of Emory University and the worst part, from the perspective of Emory University, is that the initial damage was self inflicted. Thus, I believe they have moved heaven and Earth to remove all of evidence of this little piece of malfeasance. (They of course will have a much harder time hiding their overall malfeasance which can be explored in my tag Emory University)

First, here are excerpts from the two stories,

Rather than await a court order, Emory and Grady ought to open the records for public inspection immediately. Emory, which supplies most of the attending physicians and residents-in-training at Grady, has already indicated it is willing for the full file to be unsealed if Murtagh, who no longer is employed by Emory, agrees.

Grady, which turned down Shafer's request for the records several weeks ago, should follow suit. If Grady is concerned that patient records might become public as a result, it can ask that those specific records be exempted or redacted.

Murtagh apparently sued Emory and Grady several times in 2000, alleging, among other things, that Emory broke a deal to name him chief of the pulmonary department. He also alleged that Emory and Grady conspired to defraud Medicare and Medicaid in how the two government health insurance programs compensated Grady and the medical school doctors for patient care at thehospital. Murtagh said he was cooperating with federal investigators, but no apparent federal action was taken against Grady or the medical school.

In response, Kent Alexander and Tim Jefferson, both legal counsels for Grady and Emory, wrote this

The AJC's Oct. 5 editorial "Come clean on lawsuit" resurrects (and misstates) old charges of conspiring to misuse government funds, charges the government reviewed seven years ago and declined to pursue. This has the devastating effect of casting public suspicion on two entities -- Grady Memorial Hospital and Emory University -- that are working together in an increasingly challenging environment to meet the health needs of the most vulnerable members of our society.

The editorial surprisingly calls on Emory and Grady to open the sealed settlement and court records in a case involving Dr. James Murtagh. For the record, Emory and Grady did not move to seal the record; Murtagh did. Emory had already supported unsealing the proceedings -- the complete, entire record -- as had Grady. We simply awaited the doctor and court's approval.Judge Wendy Shoob has since unsealed the record, which is now of course fully open to the public. The real victim in all of this is Grady, the largest public health hospital in the Southeast. Grady is struggling to survive while misinformation circulates that, unintentionally or intentionally, diverts attention from the real issues.

(Unfortunately, since the link is the first part of the article I can't copy that. Go to my initial link and try and link to the link and watch yourself go to a blank page. I know try saying that five times, and you are very confused and you don't see the point. The point is that there is a link that goes to nothing and just accept that for now)

The second article is more clear...

Friday, October 19, 2007

Emory
University: Unraveling Sealed Records
On
October 5th, the AJC wrote this editorial,

Rather than await a court order, Emory and Grady ought to open the records
for public inspection immediately. Emory, which supplies most of the attending
physicians and residents-in-training at Grady, has already indicated it is
willing for the full file to be unsealed if Murtagh, who no longer is employed
by Emory, agrees.

Grady, which turned down Shafer's request for the records several weeks ago, should follow suit. If Grady is concerned that patient records might become public as a result, it can ask that those specific records be exempted or redacted.

Murtagh apparently sued Emory and Grady several times in 2000, alleging, among other things, that Emory broke a deal to name him chief of the pulmonary department. He also alleged that Emory and Grady conspired to defraud Medicare and Medicaid in how the two government health insurance programs compensated Grady and the medical school doctors for patient care at the hospital. Murtagh said he was cooperating with federal investigators, but no apparent federal action was taken against Grady or the medical school.

In response, Kent Alexander and Tim Jefferson, both legal counsels for Grady and Emory, wrote this

The AJC's Oct. 5 editorial "Come clean on lawsuit" resurrects (and misstates) old charges of conspiring to misuse government funds, charges the government reviewed seven years ago and declined to pursue. This has the devastating effect of casting public suspicion on two entities -- Grady Memorial Hospital and Emory University -- that are working together in an increasingly challenging environment to meet the health needs of the most vulnerable members of our society.The editorial surprisingly calls on Emory and Grady to open the sealed settlement and court records in a case involving Dr. James Murtagh.

For the record, Emory and Grady did not move to seal the record; Murtagh did. Emory had already supported unsealing the proceedings -- the complete, entire record -- as had Grady. We simply awaited the doctor and court's approval.

Judge Wendy Shoob has since unsealed the record, which is now of course fully open to the public. The real victim in all of this is Grady, the largest public health hospital in the Southeast. Grady is struggling to survive while misinformation circulates that, unintentionally or intentionally, diverts attention from the real issues.

These articles are of course identical and what we bloggers call cross posting. The important part is that every link I provided leads to nowhere (except those that lead to Amazon.com products which I very much encourage you to link to and buy no explanation needed there). Now, and most of my friends will agree with this, I may just have been a total idiot and provided the wrong link. Or, the link I provided was removed after these pieces were published.

Now, the article that I firmly believe once existed in the AJC website was actually an editorial that urged that Grady and Emory unseal the records of the settlement between them and Dr. Jim Murtaugh. Now, this Emory can't hide. I have seen the settlement. Murtaugh was paid 1.6 million dollars and then both parties were told to shut up entirely including the media. In fact, in the settlement, if either party even gets subpoenad, they must first appear before the judge so that the other party has a chance to quash the subpoena. Now, where I come from, when you are paid a lot of money and told to be quiet, that is called hush money.

The reason this is important is because the response, which no longer exists, claimed that it was Murtaugh, not Emory and Grady, that insisted that the records remain sealed. Now, I will again make the same point that I made in the piece that I have linked. It is patently ridiculous to say that the one being hushed is the one that insists on keeping everything quiet. Second, since Emory knows that Murtaugh must remain silent, since they paid to silence him, he is an easy target. Finally, this non lawyer, believes that by simply speaking out Emory and Grady (represented by their dual counselors Tim Jefferson and Kent Alexander) have each violated the very agreement they helped craft.

As you can see, this is, if true, is quite damaging to the two entitities. Thus, they have every reason to get rid of the evidence.

I know what many are thinking now. Michael, you have delusions of grandeur. Emory doesn't care what some nothing blogger says about them. Au contraire. According to my stat counter, the Emory University faculty IP, 170.140.62.42 (one I now know will never be used again to check my site) is my biggest fan. I know this because someone on that IP address visits my site at least once a day and then it gets up to ten hits in a day whenever a story related to them gets published. (Yes, I know big brother, but it is great when you are the big brother.)

Now, I will also say that I firmly believe that the powers that be will very possibly reverse coure again, and suddenly, the story will be back up on the site and the page will be back up. That is why I hope people check this out now and see for themselves before courses are reversed. In fact, I predicted part of the current course in a previous piece.

So, what does all of this mean? It may mean nothing, but why doesn't the audience indulge my own delusions of grandeur and allow me to state what I believe happened. I believe that Grady and Emory tried to do damage control to an ever growing situation with what can only be described as an absurd response to an editorial in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The powers that be at Emory read my nothing blog and realized that if my nothing blog every became something, their unbelievable fraud, arrogance, and corruption would be available for everyone. Thus, the powers that be needed to remove all evidence that linked my assertion to them. It was easy since the AJC has a plethora of Emory alum and thus plenty of influence. The article was removed however in their own carelessness they forgot that they themselves linked to the same article from their own site. When I published the second piece, I just linked, they realized their second error and removed that as well. Thus, they have made it look as though I am an incompetent computer novice that can't link straight and thus can't be taken serious.

In other words, if I am right, then in the words of Daniel Caffee (that's A Few Good Men for all you movie novices)

you mean they can make an entire flight disappear

Yes, that's right, and they will to hide their own malfeasance, unless you stop them. Please link to the powers that be and ask him yourself why these pages are missing. Finally, if I am right, then we have incontrovertable evidence that the AJC isn't just tacitly involved in the corruption but frankly an active participant. If you believe me, please go here and ask the AJC where this article went.

UPDATE:

I would like to welcome the administrators at Emory University. According, the my stat counter the aforementioned IP address just visited at 9:16:51 (Central Time, give or take a tenth of a second) I also fully expect that at least their own site, Emory Woodruff Health Sciences Center, they will fix the slight error. Currently, as I said, the site that has been removed pops up for a split second and then disappears. Please follow this google search. Pick the top search, Emory WHSC Statements mislabel role, and you will see what I mean. For now at least. Please leave comments letting me know if your search yielded the same results. If they did, please ask the powers that be why the web page was removed.

UPDATE: Well, the page has been permanently removed or somehow Emory got Google to remove the link. Either way, the page has now disappeared. If you are reading this story too late, you will just have to take my word for it. If you don't believe me, so be it, it is probably the intention of the powers at Emory. Just keep in mind that while they can remove a page from a web site, they cannot remove the entire fiasco. Please read below for the summary of the entire fiasco.

UPDATE:

I realize that if the first exposure to this story comes somewhere in the middle, you may get very confused. Thus, if you this is the first story related to Grady that you are reading, you should be confused. As such, I have put together a summary of the entire fiasco that tries to put all of its moving parts together in one piece. Please read it for guidance. Also, please check out the recommendations that I and my colleagues have put together for fixing Grady Hospital.

A Plea to John Sugg of Creative Loafing (UPDATED)

(For reference on this story simply hit the Emory University tag at the bottom and you can read everything that I have written so far)



Here is what I have learned so far about the corruption at Emory University, Grady Hospital, and the Atlanta area in large: a man of questionable character and/or competence is currently running the Florida bureau that specializes in providing health care to poor folks, a man of questionable character and/or competence is now running for Senator of the United States in Georgia (and leading in the Dem primary from what a few people tell me), Grady Hospital was home to an obscene amount of corruption that was only matched by the disposition of the case that followed, and and finally there is eye witness testimony to not only continued corruption at Grady, but tragically sub standard care and dangerous conditions.



As far as my own feelings, I feel that I have only scratched the surface on the curruption that goes on at Grady, Emory and beyond. How can so much corruption go on and no one know it? I firmly believe that much of the media is either in the tank for much of this, too scared, or maybe just too incompetent to report on it. Case in point: State Senator Charles Walker...he was convicted on 127 felonies, he received 10 years in jail without flipping on anyone, and finally no one but him, his daughter and the companies they ran were charged or convicted. Does this seem possible? Yet, very little has been said about this peculiar set of events in the media in Atlanta.



Here is another case in point. Here is a response by Kent Alexander and Tim Jefferson to an editorial by the AJC.

The AJC's Oct. 5 editorial "Come clean on lawsuit" resurrects (and misstates) old charges of conspiring to misuse government funds, charges the government reviewed seven years ago and declined to pursue. This has the devastating effect of casting public suspicion on two entities -- Grady Memorial Hospital and Emory University -- that are working together in an increasingly challenging environment to meet the health needs of the most vulnerable members of our society.

The editorial surprisingly calls on Emory and Grady to open the sealed settlement and court records in a case involving Dr. James Murtagh. For the record, Emory and Grady did not move to seal the record; Murtagh did. Emory had already supported unsealing the proceedings -- the complete, entire record -- as had Grady. We simply awaited the doctor and court's approval. Judge Wendy Shoob has since unsealed the record, which is now of course fully open to the public. The real victim in all of this is Grady, the largest public health hospital in the Southeast. Grady is struggling to survive while misinformation circulates that, unintentionally or intentionally, diverts attention from the real issues.

Now, what they are referring to is Jim Murtaugh and a suit in which Grady and Emory paid Murtaugh about 1.6 million dollars and he along with Emory and Grady each had air tight language in which no one could talk to anyone. Now, when someone gets paid off and told to keep quiet, where I come from that is hush money. According to Jefferson and Alexander it was Murtaugh, not their side, that wanted to records from the case sealed. Obviously, it is ludicrous to believe that the person being hushed is the one pushing to keep the records sealed. Furthermore, since they know that he has to stay quiet he is an easy target. Finally, since the agreement calls for both sides to keep mum, it is this non lawyer's opinion that this response breaks the very agreement that they are referring to. There's more.



Now, do you want to know how corrupt the media is? That editorial as well as the response is no longer available on the AJC's site. (Don't believe me click the link and then click the link that says, Come Clean on the lawsuit, you will get to an empty page) In fact, the response I found is on a site run by Emory and no doubt that will be eliminated as soon as Emory gets wind of this piece. (I referenced the editorial at least twice and the link leads you nowhere each time. It also leads you nowhere from the Emory site I found that currently though I suspect not for long still has their response to the now absent editorial.)



I was told that there maybe a beacon of independent journalism in Atlanta. There maybe one news organization that is more interested in the truth than making friends and contacts and limiting powerful enemies. I was told that news organization was Creative Loafing. I was even heartened when they wrote a piece that referenced my blog. Unfortunately, since then they have remained quiet despite breaking news by me, State Senator David Shafer, and frankly the growing chorus of concern about Grady Hospital (which may go under and will certainly need up to nine digits in tax payer money to stay open).



Thus, I was moved to write this to the editor, John Sugg,

Mr. Sugg,

My name is Michael Volpe and I am writing to you regarding coverage of the corruption at Grady Hospital. A few weeks back your online arm wrote an article about Kevin Kuritzky. That article referenced a piece on my blog, http://www.proprietornation.blogspot.com/. I received a fairly large amount of traffic coming over from your site. I was glad to see that there was an outlet in Atlanta that had the courage to bring this story in the open. Since then, I have broken several pieces of important information on my own blog. Senator David Shafer broke some important information as well, and your paper has not followed up at all.

With all due respect, it is NOT good enough to simply go through the motions on this story but to take it wherever it leads because its tentacles are everywhere. Did you know that the former CEO of Grady Hospital, Dr. Andrew Agwunobi, the same CEO that was employed when an HHS report was issued saying this, “the patients at Grady are in serious and immediate danger”, is now head of the AHCA in Florida? Did you know that prior to that he was on the board at WellCare? Did you know he cashed out one million bucks worth of options after only six months? Finally, did you know that his bureau, the AHCA, is among several currently investigating WellCare? Guess what, the stock plummeted right after he cashed out.

If you publish one story about the terrible plight of Kevin Kuritzky, pat yourself on the back for standing for the little guy and then move on, that is frankly not good enough.

I hope you will take a minute and read my latest piece. I hope after reading it you
appreciate just how deep the corruption most likely goes and then realize that the only way to break it all, is for non stop and intense media coverage.

http://proprietornation.blogspot.com/2007/11/murder-suicide-connecting-more-dots-in.html

I firmly believe that those involved in the corruption at Grady and beyond it are bad, really bad, and they aren’t going to give up power without the biggest battle they can put on. Putting out one article and then going away does nearly nothing. Kevin told me that he believed your organization to be a model of independent and uncorrupted journalism in Atlanta. I believe that is rare if non existent in your city. You can prove me wrong by following this story wherever it leads not merely popping your head up to report a small bit and going away.

Now, I call on everyone else to help me fight this battle to expose what is really going on. Everyone that reads please send Mr. Sugg an email here and insist that Creative Loafing be the model of independent, fair and honest journalism in Atlanta. Demand that Creative Loafing take this story wherever it goes not just where they want to lead it. A lot of people have sacrificed a lot, some with their lives, in trying to expose and root out the corruption that is going on. The powers that be won't go down without a fight and they won't go down if they know the media is in their back pocket. So far, the evidence I have seen tells me at least that the media is, however Creative Loafing can change that and you can help them do it.

(UPDATE)

I realize that anyone that picks up this story at any of its individual part like this particular piece will likely be confused. Thus, I have put together a summary of the entire fiasco that tries to put all of its moving parts together in one piece. Please read it for guidance. Also, please check out the recommendations that I and my colleagues have put together for fixing Grady Hospital.

Kent Alexander: Power Broker (UPDATED)

There is a name that lurks behind the scenes in much of the scandal and corruption associated with Emory University and Grady Hospital and that person's name is Kent Alexander. It should be noted that there is little or no evidence ties Alexander to any wrongdoing on his own part. What is peculiar is how often he finds himself in the middle of scandal at Grady, Emory and beyond.

Kent Alexander first burst on the scene as the son of legendary Atlanta area attorney Miles Alexander. His first brush with fame came in the mysterious case of money laundering by BNL Savings, an Italian government run bank, to the government of Iraq on the eve of the first gulf war. The case is detailed in depth in the book, The Shell Game by Peter Mantius. At the time, Alexander was assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. He was the lead attorney for the U.S. on the case. At the time, King and Spaulding, arguably the most powerful and prestigious law firm in Atlanta, represented BNL. According to The Shell Game, Alexander met with an MI6 agent who told him of obscene amounts of corruption. The agent implicated the entire structure of the bank, and they claimed that for political reasons the intelligence apparatus of Italy, the U.S. and Britain looked the other way. The book claimed that the agent provided documentation of all the assertions.

For whatever reason, according to the book, Alexander left the meeting and decided to pin the entire scandal on the bank manager Christopher Drogoul who was in his twenties at the time. Drogoul was prosecuted and eventually convicted and upon his conviction the entire case was closed. This of course made the clients of King and Spaulding happy as well as the rest of the bank was spared prosecution. This was of course curious because of the sheer size and frequency of the crimes. This case also has some troubling parallels to another case I have referenced, State Senator Charles Walker. More than a decade later, while Alexander was now Emory General Counsel, State Senator Charles Walker was convicted of 127 felonies. He was the only one convicted and that case was also wrapped up after his conviction. Of course, it should be noted again that despite not flipping on anyone Walker received the outrageously light sentence of ten years for 127 felonies.

On the strength of the Drogoul along with other good deeds, Alexander was eventually promoted to U.S. Attorney a couple years later. (for reference this is the equivalent of posts once held by both Rudy Giuliani and Elliot Spitzer in their own districts) In the summer of 1996 Atlanta held the Olympics. The sad and ultimately tragic case of Richard Jewell is well documented and it doesn't need to be repeated. While the media has portrayed his role in the affair in a variety of ways, (he meaning Alexander himself) the facts stand out to me at least. He was the lead prosecutor. Jewell was under suspicion for almost ninety days and everyone agrees that ultimately there was absolutely no solid evidence against him.

About a year later, Alexander resigned from the U.S. Attorney's office. He landed on his feet with a cushy position with King and Spaulding. That would be the same King and Spaulding that was the fortuitous recepient of Alexander's narrow investigation of BNL. King and Spaulding is also the firm on retainer for one Emory University.

Alexander moved over to lead general counsel at Emory University in 2000. The two met each other at a fortuitous time because Grady, the hospital Emory helped run, was under investigation by the National Institute of Health. That investigation ultimately lead nowhere however four people that I have found were silenced with regards to the investigation: Dr. Sam Newcom, Dr. Jim Murtaugh, Dr. Diane Owens, and Dr. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld. Dr. Jim Murtaugh's case has recently had some new developments. Here is what State Senator David Shafer was able to recently discover.

Former Grady trustee Bill Loughrey tells me that the settlement with Dr. Murtagh was never approved or even accurately described to Grady’s board of trustees. He says that he was stunned to learn that tax dollars were paid to Dr. Murtagh, conditioned on his silence. He thinks the agreement is invalid and that the judicial process has been misused.

Let me explain for everyone. Dr. Jim Murtaugh settled with Emory University and Grady Hospital right around the time that this investigation was going on. He settled for roughly 1.6 million dollars and each side was under total communication lockdown. In fact, the lockdown was so extreme that even if either side was subpoened the court would need to be notified and there was time available for the subpoena to be quashed. This is of course important because it is very likely that Murtaugh had information relevant to the NIH investigation and this agreement allowed Grady and Emory stop Murtaugh from testifying. Furthermore, as lead counsel Alexander would be in control of the negotiations for his employer. He was in so much control that it is his signature next to Murtaugh's in the ultimate agreement.

Now, what Shafer is saying is that the board of trustees at Grady were never notified of the settlement. This is important because Grady is a public hospital and thus their portion of the settlement would then be tax payer money. As lead counsel, Alexander would be responsible for every bit of the agreement.

By 2004, Grady was again in the middle of another scandal. This one involved State Senator Charles Walker. Again, despite being convicted of 127 separate felonies, Walker was the only one charged and convicted in the case. Not only is it logical to think that it is impossible to commit this much crime on your own, one only needed to be in the courtroom hear of other's involvement. The lead prosecution witness, Joyce Harris, accused much of the higher ups at Grady of all sorts of wrong doing: from witness tampering, intimidation, and kickbacks. Despite it not only making no sense that one person could commit so much crime on their own, and having the star witness accuse others, somehow the powers that be wrapped up their investigation by only convicting Walker himself, and he got only ten years for all those counts.

Now, you might be saying well that's Grady and Alexander was employed by Emory. That is true however the entire Grady staff was Emory faculty and most of the Grady upper level management was also employed by Emory. Thus, while they may seem to be two separate entities to some they are in reality quite interlocked.

Alexander then resurfaces in the case of whistleblower, Kevin Kuritzky. Kuritzky was expelled several months after another investigation of Grady was completed. This one was done by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services of the Department Health and Human Services. The conclusion of that report was scathing.

an immediate and serious threat to the health and safety of the patients

is what HHS concluded. Emory maintained that Kuritzky was expelled for missing required clerkship training involving patient care, lying to his professors, and engaging in other unprofessional, dishonest and unethical conduct, while Kuritzky maintains that it was retaliation for blowing the whistle on many of the same type of practices mentioned in the report. While Emory outwardly maintains even today that his expulsion had nothing to do with any incendiary charges on his part, I have found an email from Alexander to the then assistant U.S. Attorney that indicates otherwise.

Amy (Amy Kamenshien then Assitant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia) as you know we have had several discussions in the past regarding Dr. Murtaugh and his allegations regarding Emory/Grady. Recently he has had contact with former medical student Kevin Kuritzky. You may in the near future be hearing from Kuritzky or his attorneys and I would advise not pursuing it further. Hope all are keeping well,

Kent.

Clearly, Alexander expected that Kuritzky was going to say something and he moved to pre empt the investigation. Kuritzky ultimately ended up pursuing his case civilly and that is still pending.

Alexander had one more run in with Kuritzy of note. According to Kuritzky just as the legal process for his civil case was starting, (Before any formal paperwork was even filed) Alexander arranged a meeting between Kuritzky, his attorneys and Emory attorneys, headed up by Alexander of course, and finally a mediator. According to Kuritzky, at this meeting Alexander addressed Kuritzky in this manner,

if you pursue this further, we will smear you so badly that even North Korea won't touch you

According to Kuritzky this was said in front of his attorneys and the mediator who went to the third grade step of calling a timeout in its aftermath. The parties were separated into two different rooms so that everyone could cool down, however Alexander wasn't formally reprimanded for this statement.

The last notable moment in Alexander's tenure came last month when he responded to an Atlanta Journal Constitution editorial regarding unsealing the records of the Dr. Jim Murtaugh case. ( those records have been unsealed and of course I even referenced them earlier)

The AJC's Oct. 5 editorial "Come clean on lawsuit" resurrects (and misstates) old charges of conspiring to misuse government funds, charges the government reviewed seven years ago and declined to pursue. This has the devastating effect of casting public suspicion on two entities —- Grady Memorial Hospital and Emory University —- that are working together in an increasingly challenging environment to meet the health needs of the most vulnerable members of our society.

The editorial surprisingly calls on Emory and Grady to open the sealed settlement and court records in a case involving Dr. James Murtagh. For the record, Emory and Grady did not move to seal the record; Murtagh did. Emory had already supported unsealing the proceedings —- the complete, entire record —- as had Grady. We simply awaited the doctor and court's approval. Judge Wendy Shoob has since unsealed the record, which is now of course fully open to the public. The real victim in all of this is Grady, the largest public health hospital in the Southeast. Grady is struggling to survive while misinformation circulates that, unintentionally or intentionally, diverts attention from the real issues.

This statement is absurd on its face (and I should note never countered by the AJC). Murtaugh was paid a huge sum of money (1.6 million dollars) and then told to shut up. That is hush money. It is unlikely that he would be the one that would try and keep those records sealed. It was after all Emory and Grady that paid him not the other way around. They paid him and he was silenced. You do the math. Second, since he was silenced, making this bold face lie is easy since they know he is under order to remain quiet no matter what. Finally, while he was paid the money both parties agreed to a total media blackout. Again, I may not be an attorney however it appears to me that Alexander just violated the terms of the very agreement he helped broker.

The case of Kent Alexander is much like everything about Emory and Grady. There are more questions than answers. Did Alexander receive his cushy position from King and Spaulding as a result of his favorable prosecution in the BNL case? Did he use his influence to squash the NIH and Walker investigations? Did he knowingly violate the policy of the Grady Trustees when he entered into an agreement with Dr. Jim Murtaugh? Did he try to intimidate Kevin Kuritzky?

Only the powers that be know the answers to these questions, however I do know that Grady Hospital may collapse. I know that there needs to be a huge infusion of cash in order for it to survive, and it appears to me that the same people that put it into this position continue to call the shots. I know that if I were a tax payer that was ultimately flipping the bill I would want all of the questions I raised answered, under oath, by Alexander himself, before even one more dime went into Grady Hospital.

For further information on Kent Alexander and this scandal in its entirety, please follow this link to listen to my buddy Snooper discuss this matter further.

UPDATE:

For the most part, if you find your way to one of the stories regarding the Grady mess, you will likely get lost in its many mazes. I actually don't believe that this is one of them. I believe that this story speaks for itself, and no matter your incoming knowledge you should be able to follow. If not let me know. That said, you should also know how Alexander fits into the overall scheme of things. Thus, I have put together a summary of the entire fiasco that tries to put all of its moving parts together in one piece. Please read it for guidance. Also, please check out the recommendations that I and my colleagues have put together for fixing Grady Hospital.

Emory University: Unraveling Sealed Records (Updated)

On October 5th, the AJC wrote this editorial,

Rather than await a court order, Emory and Grady ought to open the records for public inspection immediately. Emory, which supplies most of the attending physicians and residents-in-training at Grady, has already indicated it is willing for the full file to be unsealed if Murtagh, who no longer is employed by Emory, agrees.

Grady, which turned down Shafer's request for the records several weeks ago, should follow suit. If Grady is concerned that patient records might become public as a result, it can ask that those specific records be exempted or redacted.

Murtagh apparently sued Emory and Grady several times in 2000, alleging, among other things, that Emory broke a deal to name him chief of the pulmonary department. He also alleged that Emory and Grady conspired to defraud Medicare and Medicaid in how the two government health insurance programs compensated Grady and the medical school doctors for patient care at the hospital. Murtagh said he was cooperating with federal investigators, but no apparent federal action was taken against Grady or the medical school.

In response, Kent Alexander and Tim Jefferson, both legal counsels for Grady and Emory, wrote this

The AJC's Oct. 5 editorial "Come clean on lawsuit" resurrects (and misstates) old charges of conspiring to misuse government funds, charges the government reviewed seven years ago and declined to pursue. This has the devastating effect of casting public suspicion on two entities -- Grady Memorial Hospital and Emory University -- that are working together in an increasingly challenging environment to meet the health needs of the most vulnerable members of our society.

The editorial surprisingly calls on Emory and Grady to open the sealed settlement and court records in a case involving Dr. James Murtagh. For the record, Emory and Grady did not move to seal the record; Murtagh did. Emory had already supported unsealing the proceedings -- the complete, entire record -- as had Grady. We simply awaited the doctor and court's approval.Judge Wendy Shoob has since unsealed the record, which is now of course fully open to the public. The real victim in all of this is Grady, the largest public health hospital in the Southeast. Grady is struggling to survive while misinformation circulates that, unintentionally or intentionally, diverts attention from the real issues.

Now, what they are talking about is a settlement between Dr. James Murtagh, former professor of pulmonology (anything related to the lungs) at Emory, and on staff at Grady for several years and at the V.A. hospital for another year. Now, I have already discussed in some detail the kind of corruption at both hospitals that lead to patients being taken care of by medical students with no supervision. What Dr. Murtagh alleged actually happened several years prior in the late 1990's.

Now, a couple months ago State Senator David Shafer was alerted to the settlement between Murtagh and Emory and he lead a group of six senators to unseal the records. Besides the incendiary nature of Murtagh's charges, Grady was one of the defendants in the case. If they settled and paid Murtagh then since Grady is a public hospital tax payer money was used. Here is how he saw it.

I have not yet seen any of the newly unsealed documents but the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that Grady and Emory agreed to pay Dr. Murtagh the whopping sum of $1.6 million to settle his original whistleblower retaliation claims in 2001.

If Dr. Murtagh’s allegations were completely unfounded, why was he paid a single penny, let alone $1.6 million?

There are a couple errors in the AJC story. The documents unsealed today were from a case filed in late 2004 and pending until very recently, not the original whistleblower case settled in 2001. The more recent case was litigated under seal not at Dr. Murtagh’s request but because the 2001 settlement agreement required it.

Well, in fact Murtagh was paid $1.6 million,

defraud the U.S. government of millions of dollars through an improper use of federal funds in compensating Emory and Grady employees. Grady is a teaching
hospital where most Emory medical students are trained.

During the hearing on unsealing the case Friday, Emory and Grady attorneys denied that the facilities had done anything wrong.

While the entire case file was not available Friday, comments during the hearing and some Emory court papers shed some light on the case.

The two facilities entered into a settlement in 2001 that paid Murtagh and his attorneys about $1.6 million over 10 years. He has received about $550,000 so far. Emory paid the lion's share of the settlement with Grady contributing about $100,000.

While the sheer number of the settlement should raise all eyebrows especially when it is coupled with what I have reported about whistleblower and former medical student Kevin Kuritzky and and what I found from Dr. Samuel Newcom (who is also now under gag order though he wrote this beforehand), what is really interesting and not being reported is the details of the agreement.

I have been able to also see the settlement agreement and, besides paying Murtagh $1.6 million, which incidentally was to be spread over about ten years, the two parties agreed to a total blackout. Neither side was to speak to anyone. In fact, even if Dr. Murtagh was supboenad before testifying he had to get the judge's permission to testify and allow time for his testimony to be squashed. In other words, Murtagh was paid a big sum of money and he has been incommunicado ever since. Now, where I come from that is called hush money.

Thus, first when Alexander and Jefferson wrote that reply to the AJC editorial, it appears to this non lawyer that they were themselves violating the terms of the deal. Second, when they claimed that it was Murtagh that wanted the records sealed, they picked an easy target since they knew that he couldn't speak or risk jail. Third, and most importantly their assertion that it was Murtagh that fought to keep the records sealed defies all logic. Murtagh alleged all sorts of dastardly deeds by his employer. He was retaliated against, and then he sued. The suit was settled which included him getting a seven figure payout and a total blackout on both sides.

Now, in order to believe that Murtagh is the one that wants this kept quiet, one would need to believe that not only did Emory and Grady agree to pay him $1.6 million but he also got them to agree to keep quiet about the case. I know how hush money works, and one person is paid and that same person is told to be quiet. Thus, when Jefferson and Alexander claim that their side wanted the records unsealed all along, not only are they most likely violating the very agreement they signed, but they are being totally disingenuous.

Of course, Emory is more that welcome to respond and I do believe they know about my blog.

Incidentally, if you want to hear Kuritzky in his own words follow the link and play the audio

UPDATE:

If some of you have tried some of the links, mainly those to the original AJC article and Emory's response, you may have found that they no longer exist. To get the full scoop follow this link and see just how far some will go to hide their malfeasance.

Emory University: Smearing in the 21st Century

I have picked up a fascinating phenomenon in the blogosphere vis a vis this fiasco with Emory University and Grady Hospital. I want to direct you to three relatively unrelated blogs. First, there is mine, then Peach Pundit, and finally an artsy Atlanta blog by the name of Creative Loafing. These are three totally unrelated blogs except that each of us covered the story of Kevin Kuritzky and his attempt to blow the whistle on the alleged corruption that he saw. Well, if everyone takes a look at the comments section, you will find the exact same comment in each of them. (there maybe other blogs out there with this comment though so far I have only found three)

A judge ruled in Emory’s favor on this one (See mention below from a highly regarded education publication). The Atlanta community needs to stay focused on the larger issues of how to transform Grady so that they can become solvent.

ALLEGED NEGLECT: A lawsuit filed by a former medical student at Emory University who alleged that it neglected patients at its two teaching hospitals was dismissed last month by a Georgia judge who ruled summarily for the university. The former student, Kevin D. Kuritzky, was dismissed from Emory’s medical school 41 days before he was scheduled to graduate, in 2005. He said university officials were angry that he had exposed the neglect of patients and, in retaliation, expelled him. The judge in the case, Robert J. Castellani of the DeKalb County Superior Court, sided with the university, writing, “The allegations brought against the student for dishonesty, and unprofessional and unethical conduct were numerous.”

Chronicle of Higher Education
http://chronicle.com/Section: Money & ManagementVolume 54,
Issue 7, Page A30

So, what is the Chronicle of Higher education and what is going on here? Well, this chronicle is a trade journal for educaters and administrators at schools of higher learning. So, what is going on here? The truth lies in subtle differences in the law that have been twisted to make things seem as though they aren't what they appear. (though I would like to thank Mary Andom the author of the Chronicle piece for graciously providing me with the documents) In fact, there was no dismissal but rather a summary judgement that essentially said that the structure of the case was such that it shouldn't go to the jury.

This seems damning except that there is something that this story doesn't reveal. In fact, last week last week I showed from court documents that Emory willfully and negligently couldn't produce a plethora documents. The court has still not ruled on this spoliation, which is the inability to produce vital documents. The judge never actually ruled on the expoliation when he issued this ruling and the ruling has been appealed.

In layman's terms, what this means is that the plaintiff lost a motion. It is a relatively important motion, however it is also being appealed. It is by no means the last motion, and the disposition of the case is by no means settled. In the larger scheme of things, this case is just getting started, and not finalized as the article tried to imply.

Furthermore, the plaintiff was never contacted before this story ran. In fact, Kevin Kuritzky has told me that he received a message on his cell phone the Sunday before the story was published, he was unavailable, and before he could return it, the story was already published. There's more. Last week, on Redstate, I debate an attorney that linked to this article from the Emory Wheel.

A lawsuit filed against Emory by a former student was dismissed last week, affirming the University’s right to expel a student based on conduct violations.Kevin Kuritzky was expelled from the School of Medicine in April 2005, 41 days before he was set to graduate. In February 2006, he filed a lawsuit against Emory claiming that the school expelled him in retaliation for allegations he made that Grady Memorial Hospital and the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center, both affiliates of the medical school, were violating safety and patient care regulations.

It seems that this bogus information is finding its way into selected areas. These areas just happen to be places where Emory has a lot of influence. Of course, the anonymous nature of the blogosphere makes it quite difficult to track who exactly it is that is cutting and pasting the link to the same bogus story. It could be a blogger who has too much time on their hands and found this story and is determined to let everyone know about it, or it could be something a bit more nefarious.

There is even more. Grady has been all over the news and last week Tim Jefferson, senior VP for legal affairs at Grady, and Kent Alexander, General Counsel for Emory University, published this response to one of the pieces from the Atlanta Journal Constitution

The AJC's Oct. 5 editorial "Come clean on lawsuit" resurrects (and
misstates) old charges of conspiring to misuse government funds, charges the
government reviewed seven years ago and declined to pursue. This has the
devastating effect of casting public suspicion on two entities —- Grady Memorial
Hospital and Emory University —- that are working together in an increasingly
challenging environment to meet the health needs of the most vulnerable members
of our society.

The editorial surprisingly calls on Emory and Grady to open the sealed settlement and court records in a case involving Dr. James Murtagh. For the record, Emory and Grady did not move to seal the record; Murtagh did. Emory had already supported unsealing the proceedings —- the complete, entire record —- as had Grady. We simply awaited the doctor and court's approval.Judge Wendy Shoob has since unsealed the record, which is now of course fully open to the public. The real victim in all of this is Grady, the largest public health hospital in the Southeast. Grady is struggling to survive while misinformation circulates that, unintentionally or intentionally, diverts attention from the real issues.

Now, let's isolate a couple sentences from this response as well as the comment that has found itself onto three unrelated blogs. First, here is the part from Alexander and Jefferson.

The real victim is Grady, the largest public health hospital in the Southeast. Grady is struggling to survive while misinformation circulates that, unintentionally or intentionally, diverts attention from the real issues.

Now, let's look at the comment finding its way throughout the blogosphere...

The Atlanta community needs to stay focused on the larger issues of how to transform Grady so that they can become solvent.

These comments seem awfully similar and more than that it is not the sort of comment some random blogger would add within the comments section. Obviously, it is important that I limit my speculation. I don't know who this blogger is and I have not heard back from the author of the Chronicle piece yet, and certainly all of this could be mere coincidence, and thus, I will leave the speculation, assertion, and conclusions to my audience.

(Updated)

As I have uncovered the many twists and turns that surround the crisis at Grady Hospital I realize that it has so many tentacles that most would get lost. This is likely to happen if this is the first story you have read regarding Grady Hospital. Thus, I have put together a summary of the entire fiasco that tries to put all of its moving parts together in one piece. Please read it for guidance. Also, please check out the recommendations that I and my colleagues have put together for fixing Grady Hospital.

Grady and Emory: Culture of Corruption (Update)

As I have delved deeper and deeper into the evolving narrative that links Emory University, Grady Hospital and potential malfeasance, I have realized that is very important to separate facts and evidence from speculation, assertion, and conclusions. For now, I want to report only facts, in other words, things I can verify.

Thus, it is a fact that Grady Hospital is at the center of a culture of corruption. I know this to be a fact because one only needs to do a google search to see that there is documented corruption at Grady Hospital

...he wanted Grady to hire as many as 50 a day, though the public hospital - operated under the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority - had previously hired as
few as three a day. Harris adds that her boss, then-Grady CEO Edward Renford,
demanded that she "schmooze" Walker more and cautioned her not to make him
angry.

But Harris says she made the Augusta lawmaker angrier by not hiring more temps. She claimed in a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit that she was fired in 1998 partly because of her complaints about payments to Walker. Grady denied her allegations. Her lawsuit was dismissed in 2002.

But she wasn't the only one accusing Walker of shady dealings. Before Democrats lost power, when lobbyists came to his Capitol office seeking favors, he reportedly would pat the head of a toy dog on his desk and ask, "What's in it for my little friend?"

According to a federal indictment, Walker's temp company earned $2.5 million from Grady between 1996 and 2000. His corruption trial begins May 23 in Augusta. Harris hopes to testify against him. Her 1999 TV interview about the senator helped spur inquiries into his dealings.

Now, let's look at more facts. Joyce Harris, the whistleblower, is no longer working at Grady and in fact doesn't even work in Georgia. Ed Renford (referenced in the article as Grady CEO)recently retired with a rather nice retirement package.

Furthermore, let's look at two more high level people at Grady who weren't mentioned in the article. First, there is lead counsel Tim Jefferson who not only continues to be employed by Emory but as chief legal counsel. Then, there is Chief Trustee of Grady Robert Brown. He is no longer employed by Grady but if you click this link you will see why.

Again, I don't want to deal with anything but facts. The facts are that there were four people people that there were four people in a position of power when this scandal broke. The whistleblower lost her job and everyone else kept theirs. Again, I only deal in facts...as for assertions, speculation, and conclusions, those I will leave to the audience.

Now, let's look at another completely unrelated bit of corruption at Grady Hospital.

By contract with the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority, the Emory Medical Care Foundation provides physicians to treat patients at Grady Hospital. Most of these services are billed to the Georgia Medicaid program.

Since July 1997, the State Health Care Fraud Control Unit, composed of prosecutors from the Georgia Attorney General's office, Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents, and auditors from the State Department of Audits, has been investigating Emory's Medicaid billing. The State concluded that there were two specific areas in which Medicaid billing by EMCF was not in compliance with the policies and procedures of the Georgia Medicaid program. First, the State contended that from 1993 through mid-1997, EMCF billed for outpatient obstetrical services at higher service levels than were warranted by the documentation, a practice known as "upcoding." Second, the State's review also indicated that during the same period Medicaid billings submitted for services provided by residents and interns under the supervision of teaching physicians were inadequately documented and did not comply with Medicaid rules concerning "teaching physician presence." Although the investigation revealed that inappropriate billing and documentation may have occurred, the State found that all of the patients whose records were examined had, in fact, received treatment. The quality of services provided by Emory physicians was not an issue
in the investigation.

Attorney General Baker stated that "Emory cooperated fully with the investigation and the investigation revealed no evidence of criminal wrongdoing." He further commended Emory for its role in consistently providing high quality health care to the indigent citizens of Fulton and DeKalb counties.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Emory Medical Care Foundation expressly denies any wrongdoing, but has agreed to pay the Georgia Department of Medical Assistance a lump sum of $4,502,693 to settle all possible claims. The Foundation also agreed to several compliance provisions, including continued implementation of a compliance office and program that were initiated in 1997. The State considered this compliance program, in addition to Emory's cooperation with the investigation, to be strongly mitigating factors in the settlement of the case.

Of course, if you still aren't convinced maybe you should .re read this, or this.

(Update)

Much of the story surrounding Grady has many tentacles and thus one could get lost in the middle of it. I have found that to be the case for many readers with certain pieces. I don't believe this is one of them. I believe this piece speaks for itself, and it should be easy to follow no matter how big your exposure to the entire case. That said, I also think that everyone should understand how this culture of corruption fits into the overall picture. Thus, I have put together a summary of the entire fiasco that tries to put all of its moving parts together in one piece. Please read it for guidance. Also, please check out the recommendations that I and my colleagues have put together for fixing Grady Hospital.