Legal News 08-30

PRESORTED
STANDARD
U.S. POSTAGE
Washtenaw County
LEGAL NEWS
—A Detroit Legal News Publication
Vol. 8 , No. 59
PAID
ANN ARBOR, MI
PERMIT NO. 152
legalnews.com
Thursday, August 30, 2012
50¢
NEWSPAPER OF RECORD SERVING THE BUSINESS, LEGAL AND FINANCIAL COMMUNITIES OF WASHTENAW COUNTY
Three join Ann Washtenaw County public defender supports
Arbor office of
commission findings on indigent defense
Brinks Hofer
Gilson & Lione Report says state does not
Brinks Hofer Gilson &
Lione, one of the largest intellectual property law f irms in
the U.S., has announced that
Rober t D. Shereda and
Nicholas J. Angelocci have
joined the Ann Arbor office and
Jon H. Beaupré, a shareholder
in the firm, has transferred to
Ann Arbor from Brinks’ Chicago office.
B e a u p r é ’s
practice focuses
on litigation in
U.S. District
Courts and the
International
Trade Commission, including
actions involving patents,
Shereda
trademarks,
unfair competition,
trade
secrets and contracts. He has a
background in
mechanical
engineering and
has experience
in the fields of
Angelocci medical devices,
wireless technology, software technology, business
methods and
industrial
mechanical
devices. He
holds a j.d.,
magna
cum
Beaupre
laude, from the
University of Wisconsin Law
School and a b.s., cum laude, in
mechanical engineering from the
University of Michigan.
Shereda is a scientific adviSee OFFICE, Page 3
meet ABA minimal standards
BY TOM GANTERT
AND JO MATHIS
Legal News
Washtenaw County Public
Defender Lloyd Powell said he
agrees fully with the “long overdue findings” of the Michigan
Advisory Commission on Indigent Defense’s report that found
the state wasn’t meeting minimum standards for indigent
defense as set forth by the American Bar Association.
Powell said it has been his
off ice’s experience over the
years that many people charged
with crimes have been disadvantaged by such things as
poverty, dysfunctional families,
child abuse, addictions, illiteracy, mental challenges, and a
family history of discrimination going back generations.
“There has to be some check
and balance in the best interests
of all of us,” Powell said.
The Michigan Advisory Commission on Indigent Defense
released its report in June. It
noted that in 2008, the National
Legal Aide & Defense Association found Michigan ranked 44th
in the nation on per-capita spending on indigent defense.
The state constitution guarantees people accused of crimes a
right to “assistance of counsel.”
The obligation to pay for public
defenders is the state’s duty, the
commission stated. However, it is
the counties that end up paying
the bill, it said.
The commission found that
each county’s system is dependent on its own interpretation of
what is adequate. There are no
state-wide standards. The commission said that the American
Bar Association’s 10 principles
of minimum standards are not
met in Michigan. Some of the
reasons for failing to meet the
ABA’s standards included not
controlling for attorney workload
and not matching an attorney’s
training and experience with the
nature and complexity of a case.
The commission made recommendations for improvements that
are fiscally responsible and costeffective even in this tough economic climate, Powell said.
He said they also try to ensure
that indigent defense is free from
undue political interference and
conflicts of interest, that the right
to counsel is delivered by effective counsel at each critical stage
of the proceedings in a manner
that is consistent throughout the
state, and that government-funded
criminal defense attorneys are
sufficiently trained and supervised, appropriately qualified, and
adequately compensated.
Powell said improvements are
necessary because although our
criminal justice system is one of
the best in the world, it nevertheless has inescapable imperfections simply because human
beings are imperfect.
A miscarriage of justice, he
noted, can be caused by corrupt
or inaccurate scientific evidence,
the abuse of authority by officials who are in positions of
power; human error; false testimony, confessions, memories,
and perceptions; conscious or
subconscious biasness and exacerbating conditions, and the
underfunding of defense.
Ann Arbor attorneys listed
in 2013 “Best Lawyers”
Three of the 20 Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge attorneys
recently selected for inclusion in
“The Best Lawyers in America
2013” are from the firm’s Ann
Arbor office.
Cheryl L. Chandler, Dale L.
Hebert, and Edward R. Stein are
included in “Best Lawyers,” the
oldest peer-review publication in
the legal profession.
“Best Lawyers” is based on a
peer-review survey in which more
than 36,000 leading attorneys cast
nearly 4.4 million votes on the
legal abilities of other lawyers in
their practice areas. Lawyers are
Hebert
Stein
not allowed to pay a fee to be listed.
With off ices in Ann Arbor,
Grand Rapids, and Traverse
City, Smith Haughey Rice &
Chandler
Roegge focuses on business and
property, health, construction,
employment law, estate planning, and litigation.
Photo by Jo Mathis
Washtenaw County Public Defender Lloyd Powell says many factors can lead to the conviction of an innocent person.
That’s how innocent persons can
be charged and convicted, Powell
said.
“This results in the double
tragedy of an innocent person
being undeservedly punished
while the guilty completely
escape penalty and continue to
abuse, harm and endanger our
community,” he said.
The Washtenaw County Board
of Commissioners created an
Office of Public Defender in 1971.
Public defenders in Washtenaw County earn as much as the
prosecutors.
According to the Michigan
Bar’s 2010 survey, the average
salary of a county-funded public defender was $80,700. However, private practitioners whose
primary field of law was public
See REPORT, Page 3
Schuette: No gas gouging
In response to the developing
storm in the Gulf of Mexico,
Attorney General Bill Schuette
today reminded consumers and
retailers that gas gouging is
against the law in Michigan and
carries severe penalties.
“As Labor Day weekend
nears, Tropical Storm Isaac,
combined with other factors, will
likely result in higher prices at
the pump,” said Schuette.
“These circumstances are not a
free pass for price gouging. My
office monitors gas prices closely, and we will not hesitate to
take action if evidence of price
gouging surfaces.”
Schuette’s office monitors the
retail profit margins and actual
cost of providing gasoline products to consumers throughout the
State of Michigan every day and
immediately investigates pricegouging claims.
Schuette reminds retailers
that under the Consumer Protection Act, a retailer may not
charge a price that is “grossly in
excess of the price at which similar property or services are
sold.” Anti-trust laws also prohibit gas stations from entering
into agreements to arbitrarily fix
prices in unison.
In December of 2011
Schuette secured the convictions
of five gas station owner/operators who were found to be
involved in a price fixing operation in the Madison Heights area
based on a tip received through
the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division.
Page 2, Washtenaw County Legal News
Mark the Date
Volunteers needed for WCBA
Constitution Day Celebration
The Washtenaw County Bar
Association’s Public Service
Committee will again sponsor
Constitution Day this year, and
needs about 40 volunteer lawyers
and law students to teach about
the Constitution at Ann Arbor
middle schools on Sept. 17.
Lessons will be taught in due
process via jury selection; First
Amendment via “protected vs. not
protected” speech lessons; and
due process via the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause.
All volunteers will be given 50minute lesson plans in advance
and asked to be available to teach
any or all of the plans. Volunteers
may sign up for the 8 a.m. to noon
and/or the noon to 3 p.m. time
slots. Requests for a particular
school or teacher will be honored
whenever possible.
There will be an optional
training session for those who
would like to ask questions about
the plans or receive individual
assistance or instruction preparing for their classroom at noon
on Thursday, Sept. 6, at Nichols,
Sacks, Slank, Sendelbach &
Buiteweg, PC 121 W. Washington, Suite 300.
To volunteer, email Melissa@nsssb.com <mailto:Melissa@nsssb.com. If you have any
time or location requests, include
them in the e-mail. Final room
assignments will be e-mailed by
Sept. 10. Co-chairs of the event
are Lori A. Buiteweg, Stephanie
Benedict and Nancy Costello.
WCBA Board Meeting, Sept. 20
The WCBA Board will meet at
noon on Thursday, Sept. 20 at
200 N. Main Street, Ann Arbor.
September 28 is the deadline
to nominate someone for the
Daniel J. Wright Lifetime
Achievement Award recognizing outstanding work for Michigan’s children.
Nominations are open to
attorneys, judges, caseworkers,
court employees, employees of
public and private agencies,
employees and members of non-
profits, and others who have a
signif icant record of helping
Michigan families and children.
To be eligible, a nominee must
have 10 years or more experience
in his or her field.
Nominations are accepted at
http://courts.michigan.gov/supremecourt/Press/WrightAwardNominations2012%20.pdf.
The Wright Award recipient
will be honored at the 2012
Michigan Adoption Day event at
the Michigan Hall of Justice on
November 20.
WASHTENAW COUNTY
LEGAL NEWS
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Thursday, August 30, 2012
Dual purpose
Product liability attorney
to work both sides of border
BY TOM KIRVAN
Legal News
Fluent in three languages,
Tina Georgieva is about to have a
two-sided legal career, one that
will cross the longest international border in the world.
Born in Bulgaria and a resident of Canada until last year,
Georgieva earned a joint juris
doctorate degree from the University of Windsor and University of Detroit Mercy School of
Law in 2011, affording her the
opportunity to practice law in
both Michigan and the
province of Ontario.
A products liability attorney
with Bowman and Brooke in
Troy, Georgieva passed the bar
exam in Michigan last year and
successfully completed the
Ontario bar as well, and will be
licensed to practice there in September after wrapping up a
mandatory 10-month internship
program.
“It’s been an involved
process to obtain licensing in
both countries, but I’m looking
forward to the opportunities it
will present in handling cases
that cross borders,” said
Georgieva, who is fluent in
Bulgarian, French, and English. “I’ve also taken the Florida bar exam and will look forward to be able to practice
there as well.”
At the age of 14, Georgieva,
her parents, and younger sister
moved to Toronto “to build a new
life,” free from the restrictions of
the former Eastern Bloc country,
a Soviet satellite state.
“I had just star ted ninth
g rade when we moved to
Toronto,” Georgieva explained.
“My f ather is an electrical
engineer and my mother is a
nurse, and they have built their
careers there. It was a great
move for them and our family,
giving us all the opportunity to
build new lives.”
Following high school,
Georgieva attended Ryerson
University, a 28,000-student
college in downtown Toronto,
majoring in French studies. She
graduated from there in 2008,
and was accepted for the joint
degree program at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law
and UDM School of Law. It’s
trumpeted by school off icials
as “Three years. Two degrees.
One prog ram.” Georgieva
found that it more than lived up
to its billing.
“It’s unique and it is
demanding, especially taking
courses at both law schools,”
she said. “While it was challenging, I also liked the variety
of the courses, and the chance
to see f irst-hand the similarities and the differences in the
two legal systems. I feel that it
really broadened my legal education, and gave me a greater
understanding and appreciation
for both.”
Her thirst for knowledge
was evident in college as well.
“I had the chance to attend a
six-week program at the University of Montreal, which was an
interesting cultural and educa-
Photo by Robert Chase
Tina Georgieva will serve in dual capacity for Bowman and
Brooke after becoming licensed to practice law in the U.S.
and Canada.
tional experience,” Georgieva
said. “It’s a free program in
Canada, meant to encourage
bilingualism among Anglophones and Francophones. Living in a French-speaking city
gave me a great opportunity to
improve my language skills. I
didn’t shy away from any chance
to learn about the language and
the French way of life.”
While in law school, Georgieva served as an intern at the
Michigan Attorney General’s
Office, also finding time to work
as a student attorney at the University of Windsor’s Community
Legal Aid Clinic. Both assignments whetted her appetite for a
career in litigation.
“I enjoy every aspect of the
courtroom experience and feel
it gives me a chance to best use
the skillset I am developing as
a lawyer,” Georgieva said. “I’m
fortunate to work with some of
the f inest product liability
attorneys in the country with
this f irm, and they have been
ver y willing to share their
expertise with me.”
Before joining Bowman and
Brooke, Georgieva was a law
clerk at a criminal defense litigation f irm in Toronto, using
some of the skills she developed as a member of the University of Windsor’s moot court
team, which advanced to the
semif inals of an international
competition in New York.
Now, as an associate with
Bowman and Brooke—which
has off ices in seven states,
Georgieva knows that the
stakes are considerably higher.
“We’re involved in defending a number of multi-district
litigation and class action
cases,” Georgieva said. “Some
of them, of course, have international implications with high
exposure potential for our
clients. I’ve had to learn a lot
in a hurry, but that is just part
of what excites me about the
role that I have here. It is a
great place to learn, to grow,
and to pick the brains of some
very gifted lawyers.”
While spare time has been
in short supply since she joined
the f irm, Georgieva hopes to
become involved in pro bono
work with the local bar associations in the months ahead.
“I really believe in the
importance of giving back to
the community and I want to
do my part to help those who
cannot afford legal services,”
Georgieva said.
If she elects to participate in
the pro bono work promoted by
the Oakland County Bar Association, Georgieva will be closer to the OCBA’s office beginning this f all. That’s when
Bowman and Brooke will be
moving its off ice from Big
Beaver in Troy to a new location off Woodward Avenue in
Bloomfield Hills.
“Everyone is excited about
the move,” Georgieva said.
“For me, it will be the latest in
a series over the last few years,
so it will be good to be settled
and to put down some roots.”
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Report calls for oversight
From Page 1
defense had an average salary
of $34,269.
Washtenaw County District
Court Judge Chris Easthope said
his county’s public defenders are
“great attorneys.”
Washtenaw County’s compensation is better than many
counties, he said.
“If you can’t establish a public
defender’s office in every county,
you have to set high standards and
make sure there is continuing
education for those attorney and
have a fee structure that makes it
worth their time,” Easthope said.
Jackson County doesn’t have
a public defender’s off ice. In
Jackson, public defenders have
to be approved by the chief
judge. They are hired on a contractual basis that is renewed
every year. The judge makes a
decision whether an attorney is
qualif ied to handle the more
extensive criminal cases, such
as capital crimes.
Jackson attorney Jerry Engle
has done work as a public defender since 1976. He estimates his
law firm does about 160 cases a
year as public defenders.
He says if a public defender
case goes to trial, it’s a financial
drain.
“When you try these cases,
you lose money,” said Engle.
“There is no question about it.
You lose money.”
Engle said attorneys in Jackson have the ability to do other
type of work as well as take on a
sor in the biotechnology and
pharmaceutical chemical practice groups at Brinks and prepares and prosecutes patent
applications, writes opinions
and conducts freedom to operate studies relating to a wide
range of pharmaceutical and
chemical arts. Shereda holds a
SBM Paralegal/
Legal Assistant
Section to meet
Sept. 21
The State Bar of Michigan
Paralegal/Legal Assistant Section
will present scholarships to three
students and offer a seminar to
help paralegals and legal assistants update their trial skills from
9 a.m. to noon on Friday, Sept.
21 at the SBM Annual Meeting
in DeVos Place in Grand Rapids.
In a ceremony during its 9
a.m. business meeting, the section will present scholarships
worth a total of $2,250. This will
be followed by the swearing in of
the section board.
Attorney Kristen E. Ray will
teach a seminar at 10 a.m. on
how paralegals should update
their jury trial tools under revised
rules, MCR 2.512 and 2.513, as
well as other topics.
The SMB Paralegal/Legal
Assistant Section began in 1990
with the purpose of providing
education to its members.
Taking Stock
MALCOM BERKO
It’s the drugs
Photo by Mary Steinmetz
Jerry Engle takes on public defense cases, but not for the money.
case as public defender.
He says he takes on public
defender cases so he can stay up
on the criminal laws. But he says
if a public defender case goes to
trial, it can be a burden financially to the lawyer.
“It’s very easy to get 50 to 60
to 70 hours in a case. If it winds
up in a trial, you can get substantially more than that,” he said.
Under terms of the public
defender contract, Engle said he
has to have an office in Jackson
County, which means he has to
have a secretary among other
bills to pay.
“And I’m bringing in $20 an
hour (as a public defender),” he
said. “I might be able to pay
those bills but I’m not being able
to pay myself.”
New additions to Ann Arbor office
From Page 1
Washtenaw County Legal News, Page 3
Ph.D. in biomolecular chemistr y from the University of
Wisconsin and a b.s. in biochemistry from the University
of Michigan.
Angelocci focuses his practice on patent prosecution and
litigation in the mechanical
arts. Prior to joining Brinks, he
had been an associate attorney
at Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flan-
nery in Chicago. Before attending law school, Angelocci was a
structural engineer at Boeing
Satellite Systems. Angelocci
holds a law degree, summa cum
laude, from DePaul University
College of Law, Order of the
Coif, and a b.s.e. magna cum
laude in mechanical engineering from the University of
Michigan.
Dear Mr. Berko: In 1986,
you told me to buy five shares of
Apple Inc., and I did at about
$40 a share. It has split three
times, and my first five shares
have turned into 40 shares that
sell for more than $600, for a
total of $24,000. I've read your
column in Durham for 30 years
and never said thank you for that
help. Now I hope you can help
me again. I shop at Rite Aid and
have been looking at the stock
for about a year. Do you think it
would be a good idea to buy it?
One of my friends has been a
pharmacist for the company for
about 15 years, and he told me to
buy the stock because it could
move up to $4 or $5 in the next
six months. I have $2,500 to
gamble with for a speculation,
which I could use to buy 2,000
shares of Rite Aid Corp. And I
have $5,000 that I'd like to put
into an 8 to 10 percent income
stock that might have some
growth potential but isn't very
speculative. Thank you very
much for everything.
—DP in Durham, N.C.
Dear DP: Lots of folks in the
past few years purchased Rite
Aid (RAD-$1.20), but they did
so for the wrong reasons. I did,
too. In early 2008, Peter Purdy
Pawkins, Ph.D., a former medium-shot investment banker at
Lehman Brothers, was blood-red
certain that RAD would be
merged into Walgreen Co.
(WAG-$35). Lehman declared
bankruptcy later that year. I sold
my RAD at a loss! And I haven't
talked to that Lehman guy since.
I'm told he now owns two Subway sandwich shops in California. That merger rumor still surfaces about every six months,
forcing its normal daily trading
volume to increase eightfold or
tenfold. So far, no cigar!
RAD is the nation's thirdlargest drugstore chain, with
4,700 locations. It expects to
report $26 billion in revenue this
year with the aid of 90,000
employees. And that revenue,
which has been flat as a flapjack
since 2007, refuses to budge
higher. This fiscal year—ending
in December—will be the seventh consecutive year of losses,
and if all goes according to plan,
in December 2013 RAD will
extend that losing streak to eight
consecutive years. I imagine that
this losing streak requires a
uniquely skilled management
team. In fact, since 1996, there
have been only f ive years in
which RAD was able to post a
profit, and now the company's
balance sheet looks as if it was
used for toilet paper. RAD's
mired in debt; its obligations
(about $8 billion) are seven times
its market cap; and operating
income covers about 65 percent
of interest expenses. There are
868 million shares outstanding,
each with a negative book value
of $3.05 and a balance sheet so
laden with debt that even Attila
the Hun wouldn't consider a
takeover.
And because WAG recently
inked a new agreement with
Express Scripts (pharmacy benefits manager), there are no merger benefits to a WAG takeover.
But I think RAD could solve its
earnings problem if management
changed the water supply and
coffee service at its Camp Hill,
Pa., headquarters.
You might care to peek at The
GDL Fund (GDL-$11.85), formerly known as The Gabelli
Global Deal Fund, which came
public in mid-2007 at $20. This
non-diversified closed-end fund
trades at a significant 14 percent
discount to net asset value and
pays a swell 32-cent quarterly
dividend, which yields 10.8 percent. The Gabelli folks manage
this exchange-traded fund, which
focuses on merger/arbitrage
transactions, corporate reorganizations involving stubs, spinoffs
and liquidations. If, as some
expect, merger, liquidation,
reorgs and spinoff activities
increase over the next few years,
GDL could increase its dividend
back to 40 cents or higher, and
an increase in share price likely
would follow. And while you are
waiting for GDL's business
activity to improve, you can wait
in modest comfort with a doubledigit dividend return.
Please address your financial
questions to Malcolm Berko, P.O.
Box 8303, Largo, FL 33775, or
email him at mjberko@
yahoo.com. To find out more
about Malcolm Berko and read
features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit
the Creators Syndicate website at
www.creators.com
Copyright 2012 Creators.com
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Page 4, Washtenaw County Legal News
Thursday, August 30, 2012
History repeats itself
North meets South at annual Civil War Muster in Jackson
BY JO MATHIS
Legal News
As history buffs, Cindy Carlson and her daughter, Christina,
enjoyed attending the last two
Civil War musters in Jackson’s
Cascades Park.
They loved seeing the horses
and cannons, smelling bacon frying at campsites, and hearing
military commands shouted out
to uniformed soldiers.
But they were tourists in
street clothes.
At this year’s muster on Aug.
24 and 25, the Jackson residents
carried parasols and wore bonnets
and long dresses over hoop skirts.
And that made all the difference.
“When you come here just as
a person dressed normally, you
don’t get the same feeling as
actually being part of how they
lived back then,” said Christina,
daughter of Gilbert Carlson,
Jackson’s assistant city attorney.
“It comes more alive.”
“The first time we came here,
we came to the civilian camp and
saw the clothes,” said Cindy Carlson, who plans to attend a ball in
Marshall in September with her
daughter, as well as any other
Michigan event honoring the time
period. “We love the dresses.”
She said her husband is
interested in the period surrounding the Civil War, but
hasn’t become a reenactor.
“We’re working on it,” she
said, smiling.
The Carlsons were just two of
about 1,000 reenactors at the
annual Civil War Muster, Michigan’s oldest and largest Civil war
reenactment. Along with reenactments of the Battle of 2nd
Manassas and the Battle of
Stones River, the weekend
included authentic camps open
to the public, demonstrations,
music, drills, medical scenarios,
and a military ball.
Grand Ledge attorney Ben
Cwayna has been a reenactor
since he joined the 12th South
Carolina/4th Michigan Volunteer
Infantry at the age of 12. He started as a drummer boy, and was
subsequently elected as private,
corporal, sergeant, and captain.
He now participates in about
eight events a year, including at
least one national reenactment.
“This time period in our
nation’s history set us up for the
country we are today, both good
and bad,” said Cwayna, 32, a
general practice attorney who
graduated from Michigan State
University College of Law (formerly Detroit College of Law).
“It def ined how our nation
would be down the road.”
He said the Civil War era is
particularly fascinating.
“And I want to keep the memory of it alive,” he said.
Left, Union reenactors
stand at attention.
Below, Christina and Cindy
Carlson enjoy wearing the
gowns typical of the Civil
Wa r e r a a t t h e r e c e n t
weekend muster.
Below, attorney Ben Cwayna cooks breakfast at his
campsite in the Confederate section.
Photos by Jo Mathis
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Canton resident convicted
in health care fraud scheme
A Canton pharmacist and
pharmacy owner, along with five
other associates, were found
guilty this month by a federal
jury on 26 counts of an indictment charging him with conspiracy, health care fraud, and controlled substance distribution.
The jury deliberated a little
more than three days before
returning the verdict, concluding a
six-week trial before United States
District Judge Arthur J. Tarnow.
The jury convicted Babubhai
(Bob) Patel, 49, four pharmacists
he employed, Brijesh Rawal, 36,
of Canton, Ashwini Sharma, 34,
of Novi, Lokesh Tayal, 36, of
Northville, and Viral Thaker, 31
of Findlay, Ohio, and one of
Patel's business associates, Komal
Acharya, 28, of Farmington Hills.
"These defendants stole
money from the Medicare and
Medicaid programs, which are
designed to provide health care
and medicine to some of our
most vulnerable citizens," said
United States Attorney Barbara
L. McQuade. "Pharmacists and
health care providers should be
aware that we are scrutinizing
records to detect and prosecute
health care fraud."
"The diversion of prescription
drugs coupled with the submission of fraudulent claims to
Medicare creates a toxic scenario
that can place an individual's
health and safety at risk as well
as taxpayers' dollars" said Lamont Pugh III, Special Agent in
Charge of the Chicago Region
for the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services,
Off ice of Inspector General.
"The OIG will continue to work
diligently with our law enforcement partners to hold those who
seek to harm the Medicare program accountable."
The evidence presented at
trial demonstrated that, from
approximately January 2006
through August 2011, Babubhai
Patel owned and controlled over
20 pharmacies, which were operated in and around Detroit.
In addition, the evidence
showed that Patel's model for
turning a profit at his pharmacies
was based upon large-scale health
care fraud and the diversion of
controlled substances. Patel and
his associates paid cash kickbacks
and other forms of illegal remuneration to physicians in
exchange for those physicians
writing prescriptions for expensive medications, without regard
to medical necessity, that could be
billed to Medicare, Medicaid, or a
private insurer through one of the
Patel Pharmacies.
Physicians aff iliated with
Babubhai Patel would also write
prescriptions for controlled substances for their patients, again
regardless of medical necessity,
which would then be filled at one
of the Patel Pharmacies.
These controlled substances
were distributed to patients and
patient recruiters as a kickback in
exchange for the patients using a
Patel Pharmacy. ??Pharmacists
within the Patel Pharmacies,
including defendants Rawal,
Tayal, Sharma, and Thaker, facilitated the fraud and controlled substance distribution schemes by
billing Medicare, Medicaid, and
private insurers for expensive,
non-controlled medications which
they had in inventory but never
actually dispensed to the patients.
The surplus of medications
generated through this practice
was returned to wholesalers,
thereby enabling the Patel organization to maximize its profit on
its inventory of medications
which were billed for but never
dispensed.
The case was investigated by
the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Health
and Human Services-Office of
Inspector General, and the FBI.
The case was prosecuted by
Assistant United States Attorneys
John K. Neal and Wayne F. Pratt.
Common investment
fraud abuses Spiegel
has assisted clients in
recovery include:
-Ponzi schemes
-churning
-annuity switching,
-unauthorized trades
-over-concentration
-breach of duciary duty
-lack of supervision
-forgery
Joseph H. Spiegel provides the highest quality legal service.
The small rm setting enhances individualized attention to each
client.
Spiegel has been representing victims of securities and investment
fraud for over 38 years. He has handled over 1000 securities
arbitrations and lawsuits before FINRA (Financial Industry
Regulatory Authority), NYSE (New York Stock Exchange), AAA
(American Arbitration Association), and in state and Federal
Courts. He is the founder and a regular speaker at annual
Midwest Securities Law Institute, now in its 25th year, conducted
with Michigan State College of Law.
Spiegel can also assist your clients in Business matters, Corporate
and Commercial Litigation.
Spiegel has substantial experience in handling in securities-related
matters and serves as Mediator for dispute resolution.
LAW OFFICES
JOSEPH H. SPIEGEL, P.C.
825 Victors Way, Suite 300
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
CITY ATTORNEY SERVICES
The City of Saline will accept proposals until 3:00 p.m. Monday, September 24, 2012, (to
the attention of City Clerk at 100 N. Harris St., Saline, MI 48176) for City Attorney
Services for the City of Saline. Specifications may be obtained from the City's
website at www.cityofsaline.org. The City Attorney shall be the legal advisor of the
Saline City Council and all officials of the City of Saline with reference to matters pertaining to the City of Saline. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any and all proposals, to waive any and all irregularities, informalities, inconsistencies, and to negotiate
contract terms with the successful applicant, and to disregard all non-conforming, nonresponsive or conditional proposals. The City reserves the right to accept any bid and
price shall not be the sole determining factor. The City reserves the right to accept part
of a proposal and reject other parts. Acceptance of any proposal will be based on level
of experience, qualifications, costs and other factors. The City of Saline reserves the right
to accept a proposal, which it determines in its sole discretion, to be in its best interest.
Please contact Todd J. Campbell, City Manager, with questions regarding this posting
at 734/429-3148 or at tcampbell@cityofsaline.org.
Crown-Blackstone R.O.W.
Brush Treatment
Integrity Tree Services, LLC., 2300 Sanford Ave.
Grandville MI, 49418 (616)301-1300,
will be treating brush
on the ITC Right of Way in Washtenaw County
from Aug. 28, 2012 through Oct. 31, 2012.
Application Type: Ultra-low volume application
of one or more of the following products:
Garlon 3A (Triclopyr),
Polaris/Accord Tordon K (Picloram),
Arsenal/Habitat (Imazapyr)
Escort (Iupac),
Milestone (Aminopyralid),
Method (Aminocyclopyrachlor),
using water or Thinvert as a carrier.
Cut stump treatments will be applied.
Garlon 4A Ultra (Triclopyr).
If you have any questions or would like
updated information please contact Mike Hansma,
Utility R.O.W. Manager, at the above listed number.
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NOTICE
Target areas should not be entered until completely dry
(72 hours).
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CONTACT
The CITY of SALINE
100 North Harris Street Saline, MI 48176-1642
Phone 734.429.4907 Fax 734.429.0528
www.cityofsaline.org www.besaline.com
This treatment will be performed by
ITS Spray Crew lead by Lucas Hodge.
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Attorney Joseph H.
Spiegel has the
experience to quickly
determine the merits
of a potential claim.
We aggressively
pursue recovery of
losses resulting from
investment fraud or
other wrongdoing.
Washtenaw County Legal News, Page 5
(734) 761-8475
Fax (734) 761-9632
vwww.josephspiegel.com