Whistleblower says crimes covered up at Miami VA hospital

A VA police officer says administrators at the hospital in Miami where he works are covering up crimes occurring at the facility, including evidence of physical abuse of patients and drug dealing.
Thomas Fiore, who still works at the facility, told Fox News’ Eric Bolling on “Hannity” that drug dealing among patients at the hospital is a “regular occurrence,” and he felt he had to come forward because attempts he made to investigate or report wrongdoing fell on deaf ears.
"I actually prepared a written plan, if you will, pertaining to an undercover operation so that we can at least identify who our targets are for the drug sales," he said. "And I presented that in an email and I'm still waiting on a response. I submitted it about two years ago." 
Fiore earlier told the Miami Herald that the breaking point for him was a March 2013 report on the facility’s residential drug rehab program, which charged the program failed to adequately monitor patients or stop illicit drug use.
The report highlighted Nicholas Todd Cutter, a 27-year-old Iraq war veteran who overdosed on drugs shortly before he was set to graduate the program. Fiore told the Herald Cutter’s death “could have been prevented.”
"There are just so many things that have occurred that are just an absolute disgrace," he said. 
Fiore told the newspaper that when he tried to report drug dealing among patients, patient abuse or missing drugs from the pharmacy he was either ignored or his attempts to investigate the incidents were thwarted.
“I was told that the police reports were to stop,’’ he said, “and they would notify me if something important came up.’’
Fiore told the Herald he was eventually reassigned to a clerical position.
“I was reassigned because I continued to bring things up to the director, and he continued to ignore it,’’ he said. “They just needed to get rid of me.”
Miami VA Healthcare System spokesman Shane Suzuki told the Herald Fiore’s claims have no evidence to back them up.
“Miami VA leadership has every intent of holding employees who mistreat our veterans accountable for their actions,’’ Suzuki said in a written statement. “We will fully investigate any allegations that we do anything less than treat our veterans with the respect and honor they have earned.’’
The allegations in Miami are only one example of a storm of controversies plaguing the VA.
The Department of Veterans Affairs Inspector General's Office said Tuesday that 26 facilities are now being investigated nationwide over allegations of manipulated waiting times and other issues.

Al Qaeda terrorists at Guantanamo treated better than our vets

President Obama finally addressed the nation Wednesday about the growing scandal at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. After meeting with VA Secretary Eric Shinseki he pledged to hold folks accountable.
Thanks, Mr. President.
By now most American have heard about the VA’s infamous patient “secret wait lists” which reportedly contributed to the deaths of up to 40 veterans in the Phoenix area alone. Those patriots were American heroes who served our country proudly. Yet they were left to die waiting to see a doctor.   

While the Gitmo ratio is 1.5 to 1, for America’s 9 million veterans receiving VA health care and 267,930 VA employees, the ratio is 35 to 1.

Here’s another secret the White House doesn’t want you to know about the VA. Al Qaeda detainees get better medical treatment than our veterans.
Say what?
Yes, it’s true. I know because I served as a Pentagon spokesman from 2005-2009 and visited Guantanamo Bay Naval Base over 30 times during those years.
Despite the fact that Al Qaeda terrorists carried out the Sept. 11 terror attacks, killing 3,000 people in America, the admitted co-conspirators and their roughly 150 fellow jihadists at Gitmo have approximately 100 doctors, nurses and health care personnel assigned to them.
Doctors and medical personnel are at their beck and call.  Got a cold, a fever, a toothache, a tumor, chest or back pain, mental health issues, PTSD?  No problem, come right on in. Military doctors are waiting to see you.
The VA and Gitmo eligible patient-to-health care provider ratios speak volumes.
While the Gitmo ratio is 1.5 to 1, for America’s 9 million veterans receiving VA health care and 267,930 VA employees, the ratio is 35 to 1.
But beyond the Gitmo numbers, the situation at the VA is also a bright, shining example of misguided priorities and terrible mismanagement.
In late 2008, when Obama was  president-elect, he and his staff were warned not to trust the wait times reported by VA health care facilities. But instead of fixing the problem, their focus was closing Guantanamo and improving the comfort of detainees. Even though they already lived under some of the best prison conditions ever seen.
While some who see “2008” may reflexively say, “blame Bush, not Obama” the fact is that the VA’s health system has been fatally flawed for years, regardless of who has been the president.
The VA is a classic example of big government gone wild. It is America’s second largest cabinet agency after the Defense Department. Since civil service promotions are traditionally based more on seniority than performance, and it’s near impossible to fire anyone, there’s a punch-the-clock mentality that’s pervasive. Not surprisingly, there's little to no sense of urgency. So to instill incentives, the VA shells out high salaries and bonuses, deserved or not.
According to a Fox News report, Phoenix VA hospital paid staff up to $357,000 for doctor executives and $147,000 for nursing staff.  On average, doctors and nurses in Phoenix make just over half those figures.
Meanwhile, the gardening budget at Phoenix VA hospital was over $180,000 in 2013. The facility also spent $211,000 on interior design over the past three years.
If any government entity ever needed a complete overhaul, it’s the VA.  If it were in the private sector, it would have been shuttered long ago.
Today’s VA has near zero accountability, while labor unions fight to protect employees who aren't doing their jobs. Shinseki and his senior staff should be the first to go.
 President Obama needs to refocus his priorities. There must be less time, effort and energy caring for Al Qaeda and Taliban detainees at Gitmo and much more attention put on caring for America's veterans. 
Our veterans have served the nation proudly. In many cases they were gravely wounded during their service and now will require a lifetime of medical support. Every one of them deserves better.
J.D. Gordon is a retired Navy Commander who served as a Pentagon spokesman in the Office of the Secretary of Defense from 2005-09. He serves as senior adviser to several Washington-based think tanks.

NSA

Committee OKs end to door-slot mail for millions

WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of Americans would no longer get mail delivered to their door but would have to go to communal or curbside boxes instead under a proposal advancing through Congress.

The Republican-controlled House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, on an 18-13 party-line vote, approved a bill Wednesday to direct the U.S. Postal Service to convert 15 million addresses over the next decade to the less costly, but also less convenient delivery method.

Democrats objected to the plan, and efforts in recent years to win its adoption have failed.

"I think it's a lousy idea," Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., said. Other lawmakers said it wouldn't work in urban areas where there's no place on city streets to put banks of "cluster boxes" with separate compartments for each address. People with disabilities who have difficulty leaving their homes could get waivers, and people who still want delivery to their door could pay extra for it — something Lynch derided as "a delivery tax."

The measure falls far short of a comprehensive overhaul most officials agree is needed to solve the postal service's financial problems. The committee's chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., acknowledged that at the outset but said it "provides an interim opportunity to achieve some significant cost savings."

Converting to communal or curbside delivery would save $2 billion annually, Issa said, quoting from estimates that door delivery costs $380 annually per address compared with $240 for curbside and $170 for centralized methods. He said less than 1 percent of all addresses nationwide would undergo a delivery change annually and that communal boxes offer a safe, locked location for packages, doing away with the need for carriers to leave packages on porches and subject to theft and bad weather.

The Postal Service reported a $1.9 billion loss for the first three months this year despite continued cost-cutting, a 2.3 percent rise in operating revenue and increased employee productivity. Package business has risen but the service struggles with inflationary cost increases and a continued decline in first-class mailing as people move to the Internet for letter writing and bill paying.

Postal officials have asked repeatedly for comprehensive legislation giving them more control over personnel and benefit costs and more flexibility in pricing and products. Though various legislative proposals have been advanced, Congress has not been able to agree on a bill with broad changes.

"Lawmakers should fix what they broke, not break what's working," National Association of Letter Carriers President Fredric Rolando said, referring to a 2006 law that requires the Postal Service to prefund its retiree health benefits. Meeting that requirement accounts for the bulk of the postal service's red ink. He said the Oversight Committee's bill is "irresponsible ... bad for the American public, bad for businesses, bad for the economy and bad for the U.S. Postal Service."

The Postal Service has been moving to more centralized delivery for some new addresses but hasn't done much to convert existing addresses, Issa said.

Marine jailed in Mexico receives order to report to USMC superiors

Sgt. Maj. M.E. Sprague (Idiot)

Sgt. Tahmooressi & Mother Jill

             It might be the first order U.S. Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi doesn't obey.
The mother of the reservist, who is being held in a Mexican jail after mistakenly crossing the border with registered guns, told FoxNews.com her son just got an "Order to Muster" letter from the Marines telling Tahmooressi to report to the 4th Civil Affairs Group in Hialeah, Fla., on June 14. Although a Marine spokeswoman later told FoxNews.com that the corps is aware of Tahmooressi's current circumstances and does not expect him to report, failure typically can result in "other than honorable discharge" and affect Veterans Administration benefits.

"You are among the elite citizens of our nation who, if needed, are ready to answer the call to defend our freedom.,"- Letter from USMC to Marine jailed in Mexico

"You are among the elite citizens of our nation who, if needed, are ready to answer the call to defend our freedom," reads the May 9 order written by Sgt. Maj. M.E. Sprague, which also reminds the recipient that, "Once a Marine, always a Marine."
Jill Tahmooressi said the letter was the latest painful reminder of her son's plight despite service to his country that includes two tours of duty in Afghanistan resulting in post-traumatic stress disorder. Tahmooressi was arrested March 31, after accidentally driving into Mexico with three legally purchased weapons in his truck.
A Marine Corps spokesman told FoxNews.com reservists on Individual Ready Reserve, as Tahmooressi is, are contractually required to attend the one-day session to have their physical readiness evaluated should they be recalled to active duty. The letter does not represent a call-up to active duty.
Jill Tahmooressi, who has been able to speak to her son by telephone, said she did not know if the Marines sent the letter mistakenly, or did not know of his situation.
"I haven't called the Marines about this," she said.
Maj. Tamarra Jones, a Marine Force Reserves spokeswoman, said the corps is fully aware of Tahmooressi's situation and has been following it closely.
"This is an exceptional circumstance and Sgt. Tahmooressi won't be penalized for not attending this meeting," Jones told FoxNews.com.
Tahmooressi, who joined the military in 2008, was a .50 caliber gunner in the top position of a Humvee, according to his mother. His bravery in combat earned him a battlefield promotion to sergeant.
The fearful mom hopes her son's training and bravery will sustain him through his current ordeal. Tahmooressi attempted an escape from a notorious state-run jail in Tijuana shortly after his arrest. He has since been transferred to a federal penitentiary in Tecate, Mexico. 
His first court hearing is scheduled for May 28, but will likely not result in any decision. The arresting Mexican border officials are slated to make a statement to the judge, who holds Tahmooressi's fate in his hands alone. There are no jury trials in Mexico.
Meanwhile, a petition drive has been launched to spur President Obama's intervention in the case. In order for the White House to automatically look into the case, 100,000 signatures must be gathered by May 31. As of Tuesday, there are about 30,000 signatures attached to the petition.

Cartoon

In-laws Bill and Hillary Clinton can't swing Pennsylvania House race for Margolies

Bill and Hillary Clinton can fundraise and stump for old friends like few others, but their political touch was not enough Tuesday to help an in-law win back her old House seat. 
Marjorie Margolies, whose son Marc Mezvinsky is married to Clinton daughter Chelsea, lost the Democratic primary for an open House seat in Pennsylvania representing eastern Philadelphia and its more affluent Montgomery County suburb. 
Early returns showed state Rep. Brendan Boyle winning the race, according to The Associated Press, virtually assuring him of becoming the successor to Democratic Rep. Allyson Schwartz. Boyle was the only one of the four candidates in the race from Philadelphia.
Former President Clinton headlined an April fundraiser in Philadelphia for Margolies that reportedly raised roughly $200,000. And the former first lady, who is eyeing a potential 2016 presidential run, appeared at a May 15 fundraiser for her in New York.
The fundraiser was at the New York City home of Lynn Forester de Rothschild with tickets costing $1,000 to $5,000 a person.
Though the families are connected through their children’s July 2010 marriage, the Clinton-Margolies political relationship dates back to 1993. That's when Margolies cast a deciding vote on a Clinton budget that included a tax increase on upper-income Americans, including many in the congresswoman’s then-Republican-leaning 13th congressional district.
Margolies lost in her bid for a second term in the 1994 GOP wave election, which prompted some people to say the Clintons owe her one.
“I want to get one thing out of the way; I would be here if her son was not my son-in-law,” the former president said at the April fundraiser, according to The New York Times.
He also donated the maximum $2,600 and was featured in a video ad for Margolies.
Margolies' son could not directly participate in the campaign because he runs a hedge fund and her daughter-in-law was not allowed to because she is a special correspondent for NBC News.
Margolies, 71, also lost a 1998 bid for lieutenant governor and dropped out of her 2000 Senate campaign.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

VA health care inquiry expands as House prepares bill to enhance secretary's authority

The Department of Veterans Affairs Inspector General's Office said late Tuesday that 26 facilities were being investigated nationwide over allegations of manipulated waiting times and other issues. 
The disclosure comes as the House of Representatives prepares to vote Wednesday on a bill that would give VA Secretary Eric Shinseki greater authority to fire or demote senior executives. 
Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, sponsored the measure, saying VA officials who have presided over mismanagement or negligence are more likely to receive bonuses or glowing performance reviews than any sort of punishment.
The VA's "widespread and systemic lack of accountability is exacerbating all of its most pressing problems," including revelations that the department maintained secret waiting lists to cover up long delays in patient appointments and a mounting toll of preventable deaths of veterans, Miller said.
Miller accused the VA of a "well-documented reluctance to ensure its leaders are held accountable for mistakes" and said Congress has an obligation to "give the VA secretary the authority he needs to fix things. That's what my bill would do."
Presidential spokesman Jay Carney said the White House shares the goals of the House bill — to ensure accountability at the VA — but was concerned about some of the details.
Republican Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas, a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, told The Associated Press on Tuesday he plans to introduce legislation this week to ensure that internal probes by the VA's Office of Medical Inspector are released to Congress and the public "so the full scope of the VA's dysfunction cannot be disguised."
Moran noted that a VA nurse in Cheyenne, Wyoming, was put on leave this month for allegedly telling employees to falsify appointment records. The action came after an email about possible wait-list manipulation at the Cheyenne hospital was leaked to the media.
But Moran said the Cheyenne center was already the subject of a December 2013 report by Office of the Medical Inspector. That report apparently substantiated claims of improper scheduling practices, but it's unclear if action taken at the Cheyenne center was based on the medical inspector's findings, Moran said.
"Because OMI reports are not available to the public and have not been previously released to Congress, it is impossible to know whether the VA has taken action to implement the OMI's recommendations for improvement in each case," Moran said.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Rob Nabors is scheduled to travel to Phoenix Thursday to meet with staff at the VA office where the crisis began after allegations of delayed care that may have led to patient deaths and a cover-up by top administrators.
A former clinic director said that as many as 40 veterans may have died while awaiting treatment at the Phoenix hospital and that staff, at the instruction of administrators, kept a secret list of patients waiting for appointments to hide delays in care.
Investigators probing the claims say they have so far not linked any patient deaths in Phoenix to delayed care.
The current director of the Phoenix VA Health Care System, Sharon Helman, has been placed on leave indefinitely while the VA's inspector general investigates the claims raised by several former VA employees.
Shinseki and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel met with the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday to discuss how the Veterans Affairs and Defense departments can improve interactions between their health records systems. The two Cabinet members said in a joint statement that the meeting was productive and said both men share the same goal: to improve health outcomes of active-duty military, veterans and beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, two Republican senators introduced legislation to prohibit payment of bonuses to employees at the Veterans Health Administration through next year. Sens. Richard Burr of North Carolina and Deb Fischer of Nebraska said the VA should focus its spending on fixing problems at the agency, "not rewarding employees entrenched in a failing bureaucracy." Burr is the senior Republican on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and Fischer is on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The House passed a bill in February that would eliminate performance bonuses for the department's senior executive staff through 2018.
Sen. John Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, also called on Obama to back off plans to nominate Jeffrey Murawsky to replace the VA's undersecretary for health care, Robert Petzel, who has stepped down. Murawsky, a career VA administrator, directly supervised Helman from 2010 to 2012.
The White House has said Obama remains confident in Shinseki's leadership and is standing behind Murawsky's nomination.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.