Illegal Immigration is a crime? By Michael Vargas

How many times do you hear that Illegals are Criminals? I assured you thousands times and probably you hear from people, and politicians distinguished themselves from others from being educated.
Well, On my understanding; Citizens and Non Citizens have and deserve a Human and Civil Rights then how come politicians, Anti Immigrants, Xenophobics and Nativists are so ignorant of the Law?

If I used the word illegal on my blog is not because I like that word. I totally condemned to be used and labeled to Undocumented Immigrants for political purpose, journalists ratings, and for personal gains. For me There is no such an Illegal Human being period.

And That is a real proof of racial panic: being in the U.S. illegally is "a low-level federal misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and/or a fine of $50 to $250" "unlawful presence" is a civil, not criminal, offense. Why then do some people argue for everything from shooting them to mass deportations? Especially since most are law-abiding apart from their immigration status.
See the classification and understanding of Title 8, Section 1325 under U.S. Code which does subject the Civil penalties but not as a CRIME.

Which determine under the civil rights of any Individual that any charges against the defendants are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty .
Meaning that you cannot be held against your will without just cause. To put it another way, you cannot be jailed if there are no charges against you. If you are being held, and you demand it, the courts must issue a writ of habeas corpus, which forces those holding you to answer as to why. If there is no good or compelling reason, the court must set you free. It is important to note that of all the civil liberties we take for granted today as a part of the Bill of Rights, the importance of habeas corpus is illustrated by the fact that it was the sole liberty thought important enough to be included in the original text of the Constitution.


Section 1325. Improper entry by alien (Foreigner)

(a) Improper time or place; avoidance of examination or inspection;
misrepresentation and concealment of facts

Any alien (Foreigner) who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States
at any time or place other than as designated by immigration
officers,
or (2) eludes examination or inspection by immigration
officers,

or (3) attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United
States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the
willful concealment of a material fact, shall, for the first
commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18 or
imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both, and, for a subsequent
commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18, or
imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.

(b) Improper time or place; civil penalties

Any alien (Foreigner)who is apprehended while entering (or attempting to
enter) the United States at a time or place other than as
designated by immigration officers shall be subject to a civil
penalty of -

(1) at least $50 and not more than $250 for each such entry (or
attempted entry); or

(2) twice the amount specified in paragraph (1) in the case of
an alien who has been previously subject to a civil penalty under
this subsection.

Civil penalties under this subsection are in addition to, and not
in lieu of, any criminal or other civil penalties that may be
imposed.

(c) Marriage fraud

Any individual who knowingly enters into a marriage for the
purpose of evading any provision of the immigration laws shall be
imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or fined not more than
$250,000, or both.

(d) Immigration-related entrepreneurship fraud

Any individual who knowingly establishes a commercial enterprise
for the purpose of evading any provision of the immigration laws
shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 years, fined in accordance
with title 18, or both.

What's most disturbing, and the largest indicator that America concerns are really racist rather than a concern about immigration, is the amount of hostility there is towards Hispanics and Latinos regardless of whether they are here legally (and I must respectfully and completely disagree with one of my friends on this-- no, you cannot "tell" who is Undocumented just by how they look/act/speak). There is a bunch of hypocrites on our society specially the Nativists, Extremists and Minutemen Members.
What really gets me is how these minutemen stand around Home Depot protesting day laborers and calling them "illegals" when they really have no clue who is "legal" or not. If that's not racist and racial profiling I don't know what is.
I will said asks, "Why do ICE agents wear bulletproof vests and full combat gear when they go on these raids? [of factories, etc., whose employees may be Undocumented Immigrants]... most of the time they are facing terrified civilian factory workers or illegal tenement dwellers who know their lives are about to be uprooted and are trembling in their pants, holding on to their babies or looking to run away. Have their been any recorded instances at all of undocumented workers standing and fighting these armored Squad Teams?"

What really struck me, is the exact parallels to immigrant-phobia in earlier periods of US history. The exact same complaints were made about the Italians, the Irish, the Germans, the Chinese and, yes, the Jews. During WWII, we turned away Jewish refugees, including the infamous "ship of the damned" incident-- for same fears-- they carried disease, spoke another language, and would steal all our jobs. I'm not making this up-- look up some periodicals from those time periods. And for those who argue that those Jews were fleeing in fear of their lives (I have to say, for some their had had to escape to America illegally, I wouldn't have begrudged them that opportunity!), while the Hispanics are just lazy... do you have any idea what Hispanics, Latinos from South Americans go through to get here? Apart from the basic threat to their lives, that is... Families torn apart, people giving up every cent and everything they've ever known on their entire life... people don't do anything like that know on days. They do it because they know it's the only reason their children will have a decent chance and a better life. Would you risk your life for your Family?.

And to finalize this argument Crime is statistically lower among Undocumented than among citizens, The FBI report that in 2007, the Violent crime dropped 1.4 percent overall compared to 2006, reversing a two-year up tick. That includes decreases in all four offense, Property crime declined 2.1 percent from 2006, with decreases in each city grouping. Arson—tracked separately from other property crimes—also fell 7.0 percent from 2006; despite gang problems. When crime rates rose in country along with an immigration wave, they did not rise where the immigrants were, but in other places. This makes sense if you think about it. These people have come hundred of miles and risked everything to get here. Are they going to draw attention to themselves and risk getting thrown back out? Of course not. It was a problem of growing gang activity among particularly the teenagers of legal immigrant families and second generations. What do you expect? They're adjusting to a new culture where they're not particularly welcome. Much of our fear is due to disproportionate reporting. Anything good done by Undocumented is ignored, while any crime committed even by Hispanic citizens is seen as reason to limit immigration. God Bless America. The Salad Bowl.!!!!!!!!

Immigrants causing a climate change?.

Just when you thought that immigrants couldn’t be blamed for any more of America’s troubles, the Center for Immigration Studies introduces yet another item to the grievance list: Immigrants are the driving force behind climate change.
Once again, the Center for Immigration Studies has found a way to fudge the numbers and use a critical issue to support their anti-immigrant agenda, as shown in their new “research study” titled “Immigration to the United States and World-Wide Greenhouse Gas Emissions”. The study dubiously claims that:
“future levels of immigration will have a significant impact on efforts toreduce global CO2 emissions. Immigration to the United States significantly increases world-wide CO2 emissions because it transfers population from lower-polluting parts of the world to the United States, which is a higher polluting country.”

Their argument is that if immigrants had stayed in their home countries, they wouldn’t have produced such large quantities of greenhouse gases, because
“By and large, people who migrate to the United States aspire to improve theirmaterial standard of living, and (…) this generally entails a higher level of energy consumption and thus CO2 emissions.”

Acknowledging that there is no data that breaks down per capita CO2 emissions, the Center uses annual income as a surrogate for CO2 emissions. In other words, the higher the income of an individual, the larger their carbon footprint.
Not only are these generalizations simplistic but they open the door for an endless list of possible scenarios. By using the same logic, one could suggest that people shouldn’t strive to create a better life for themselves or achieve higher education because a higher standard of living is connected to higher income and thus a higher production of greenhouse gases.
Or even better, one could argue that if Americans really want to stop global warming they should be moving to Haiti, which has a per capita CO2 emissions rate of barely more than 1/100 that of the United States.
Climate change is a real problem that requires solution focusing on our energy choices and emissions policies. It is completely arbitrary to single out any group and suggest that by suppressing that group, we can solve climate change. Suggesting that we stop immigration altogether and encourage people to remain in poverty so they don’t increase their emissions is not a real solution. We need to solve our environmental problems in a comprehensive way, and we need too a workable, comprehensive solution for our broken immigration system

by Katherine Vargas

When we are talking about Tax evasion, Identity Theft. What comes to your mind?

Undocumented Immigrants right!!!!! Sorry to disappointed you. You are Wrong. Ignorance remains the powerful weapons against our Society. Would his punishment fit his crime? His sentence 5 months in prison and 3 years in supervised release. When Undocumented Immigrants has been more than 6 months in Jail, torn apart from their families, and ending up most of the cases in deportation just for searching a better life.

Robert M. MacLafferty, age 46, of Portland, Tennessee was sentenced January 29th to serve 5 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. His sentence also included the requirement to pay restitution to the IRS of $37 plus thousand.

According to the US Attorney’s news release:

MacLafferty pled guilty on October 12, 2007, to five counts of income tax evasion. During his plea hearing, MacLafferty admitted that he earned income which required him to file federal income tax returns for years 1996 through 2003, however, he failed to file such a return in each of those years. MacLafferty also admitted that he had adjusted gross income totaling $227,993 from 2000 to 2003. During this period of time, MacLafferty provided false documents to his employer claiming he was not a citizen of the United States and therefore not liable to pay federal income taxes. MacLafferty also admitted that after the Internal Revenue Service filed a federal tax lien against his residence in Sumner County, he quit claimed his interest in this property and another property to his wife.

When Nok Kells' American military husband died in a traffic accident three years ago, the government began deportation proceedings against her. It's called the widow penalty. Nok is one of 160 widows and widowers facing deportation because their U.S. citizen spouses died less than two years after their marriages. Nok Kells and her lawyer explain how they are fighting to legally get Nok and her two children clearance to stay in the country.
The Mark Krikorian mindset, which wants to clamp down on legal immigrants or turns a blind eye to their punishment, I have never understood. We don't need legal immigrants? The US is facing a shortage of 800,000 nurses in a little over 10 years. That will affect the healthcare system of this country. Sure so lets cut back on the total of visas given out to trained nurses. Makes sense? Nooooooooo!
Nor does the Widow Penalty. Widows like Mrs. Kells are legal immigrants, not terrorists. They haven't committed any crime, and therefore if the marriage was valid, there should be no reason for them not to be able to remain in this country. Death doesn't totally end the obligations of marriage. A widow is still responsible for debts and other obligations they and their spouse signed onto before one of them died.

Undocumented Immigrants draining the social services. Sounds familiar to you. Then Someone Lie to you.








MISSOURI HEALTH CARE SYSTEM TO PAY U.S. $60 MILLION TO SETTLE FALSE CLAIMS ACT ALLEGATIONS.

WASHINGTON – Lester E. Cox Medical Centers, a health care system headquartered in Springfield, Mo., has agreed to pay the United States to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Statute between 1996 and 2005, by entering into certain financial relationships with referring doctors at a local physician group and engaging in improper billing practices with respect to Medicare. Cox, a not-for-profit healthcare organization, will pay the United States $60 million to resolve these claims.

Under the Stark Statute, Medicare providers like Cox are prohibited from billing the federal health care program for referrals from doctors with whom the providers have a financial relationship, unless that relationship falls within certain exceptions. The United States contended that certain relationships between Cox and physicians ran afoul of the Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits offering inducements to providers in return for patient referrals, and the Stark statute. Additional claims being resolved concern Cox’s inclusion of non-reimbursable costs on its Medicare cost reports and improper billings for services provided to dialysis patients.

“The Justice Department is committed to ensuring that the best interests of federal health care program patients are not compromised by unlawful payments to physicians,” said Gregory G. Katsas, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The resolution of this matter resulted in a significant recovery for taxpayers, and it exemplifies our dedication to vigorous enforcement of the Stark and Anti-Kickback Statutes.”

As part of the $60 million settlement, Cox has entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General. The Corporate Integrity Agreement contains measures to ensure compliance with Medicare regulations and policies in the future.

“Today’s settlement furthers both our commitment to protecting patients from improper billing practices and the continued ability of Cox to provide quality medical care in Springfield and the Ozarks,” said John F. Wood, U.S. Attorney in Kansas City, Mo. “I am pleased that we were able to resolve this matter without litigation.”

The settlement with Cox was the result of a coordinated effort by the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Justice Department’s Civil Division; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri; HHS’ Office of Inspector General, Office of Counsel to the Inspector General, and Office of Audit Services; and the FBI

Undocumented Workers do no paid taxes.!!!!!! That Sounds familiar to you.



LOS ANGELES MAN WHO MADE ‘DONATIONS’ TO JEWISH GROUP AND TOOK BOGUS TAX DEDUCTIONS AGREES TO PLEAD GUILTY.


A Los Angeles man who made “donations” to several charitable organizations associated with a New York-based orthodox Jewish group – “donations” that were largely refunded – has agreed to plead guilty to federal tax evasion charges.

In a plea agreement filed today in United States District Court in Los Angeles, Uri Mandelbaum, 70, of the Hancock Park district of Los Angeles, has agreed to plead guilty to two felony tax charges and to pay back taxes totaling more than $1.5 million.

The plea agreement with Mandelbaum is the first one involving a “donor” to charitable organizations associated with Spinka, which is at the center of a scheme alleged in a related criminal case. Spinka is a religious group within Orthodox Judaism based in Brooklyn, New York. The Grand Rabbi of Spinka, his assistant, several other defendants and five Spinka charities were indicted last year on a host of federal charges related to a wide-ranging conspiracy to defraud U.S. government agencies, to operate an underground money transfer system and to launder money through an Israeli bank (see: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/cac/pressroom/pr2007/164.html). According to statements made during court during proceedings in that case, prosecutors have expanded their investigation, which now targets more than 100 individuals who were contributors to Spinka organizations.

In the plea agreement filed today, Mandelbaum admits that he evaded the payment of $296,731 in federal income taxes for the years 2005 and 2006, the two years that are the subject of the criminal charges. During 2005 and 2006, Mandelbaum made $892,483 in contributions to Spinka organizations, and then 95 percent of the contributions were returned to Mandelbaum. However, Mandelbaum admits that he claimed the entire $892,483 as charitable contributions on his federal income tax returns for the two years.

In the plea agreement, Mandelbaum also admits that he made contributions to Spinka-related entities from 2001 through 2004 that were reimbursed at a 95 percent rate. During those four years, Mandelbaum admits that hundreds of thousands of dollars went through the Spinka organizations, resulting in tax losses of $1,285,591.

Mandelbaum additionally admits that he received cash from Spinka organizations in order to give kickbacks to other contributors. During 2005 and 2006, Mandelbaum received $662,068 in cash that he relayed to others, according to his plea agreement.

Mandelbaum has agreed to appear in federal court in Los Angeles for an arraignment on July 28.

The statutory maximum penalty for the two counts of tax evasion is 10 years in federal prison and a $500,000 fine.

Two of the defendants charged in the main Spinka indictment have pleaded guilty (see: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/cac/pressroom/pr2008/091.html). The other defendants are scheduled to go on trial before United States District Judge George P. Schiavelli on November 12.

Are you Smarter than a Naturalized Citizen?



This video will demostrate how Naturalized Citizen assimilated to this Country on History, Knowledge, Moral, socially and Country Values.

Minuteman Member Harrasing and chashing Home Depot customers and finally get what he deserves.

Undocumented Workers do no paid taxes.!!!!!! That Sounds familiar to you.






Tax evasion is in progress BUT not from Undocumented workers. Citizen evaded the payment of more than $3 million in taxes and defrauded more than ten lenders, including several federally insured financial institutions and Stewart Title, of more than $6.6 million. The Punishment fit his crime.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FORMER WORCESTER ATTORNEY SENTENCED ON FRAUD, TAX VIOLATIONS CHARGES.

BOSTON, MA - A Worcester man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court on wire fraud and evasion of payment of taxes charges.

United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Division and Tyrone G. Barney, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation - Boston Field Office, announced today that ALAN MASON, age 61, of 26 Pine Hill Road, Princeton, MA, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Dennis Saylor IV, to 9 years of imprisonment, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $6,628,119 in restitution. MASON was immediately remanded into custody.

MASON was an attorney whose law practice was centered on providing legal services in connection with real estate closings, and who conducted business in Worcester under the name Alan Mason Legal Services, Inc. MASON was also involved in the purchase and sale of real estate. From at least June 2001 through June 2006, MASON engaged in a fraudulent scheme in which he took funds he received from banks for the purpose of paying off prior liens on properties for closings he was handling, and converted those funds for his own personal and business purposes.

In furtherance of that fraudulent scheme, MASON prepared documents, including checks and HUD-1 forms, which made it appear that he had in fact paid off the prior liens. Instead, MASON made monthly mortgage payments to the prior lienholders in order to prevent the loans from going into default and thus alerting the buyers, sellers and new lenders that the prior lien had not been paid off. As an agent of the title insurance company Stewart Title, MASON issued title insurance policies to real estate buyers and lenders which indemnified them against title defects, even though he knew that the titles were defective because he had not paid off prior lienholders and had not obtained discharges of those liens. MASON’S scheme defrauded more than ten lenders, including several federally insured financial institutions and Stewart Title, of more than $6.6 million.

MASON also evaded the payment of more than $3 million in taxes by, among other things, setting up and controlling multiple real estate trusts and bank accounts using the names of employees and relatives but which did not identify MASON’S interest in writing to prevent the tax authorities from attaching those assets. MASON bought and sold real estate through those trusts and used the substantial profits for personal expenses such as home improvements, an antique clock collection, mortgage payments and investments in new properties.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Boston Field Division and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation - Boston Field Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Balthazard of Sullivan’s Economic Crimes Unit.

What part of Law they do not Understand? The punishment doesn't fit their crime. By Michael Vargas.





Why Society, Politicians, News Media are talking about an Immigrant breaking the law searching a better life. They called Criminal, Lawbreakers, Offender, Illegal Aliens,Violators, rapists, murderers, Infested, Invaders, etc,

What bothers me; It's when someone in our Society breaking the law committing a worst crime they do not attempted or covers the eyes and ears to punishment them as well as the Undocumented. Where are those Moral values? and Why? We are not Human beings before being under the rule of Law in our Society?.

A person who is driving a 105 mph in a 30 mph zone. They called A Driver. There is a Law breaking at that point. Why? Read Here:

A person impersonating a police officer and robbed other Motorists. The Media called Impersonator but not Criminal or Law Breaker. Read Here:

A person stealing the Identity of Co workers to secure Loans. They called Former Employee but not a Thief, Criminal. Read here:

Look at the comments from the Secretary of Michael Chertoff.

Operation Wagon Train. People caught been in the Country Illegaly.
Secretary Chertoff: No, no, everybody was charged administratively; 65 of them have also been charged criminally. So everybody gets charged — everybody who was arrested is charged as an immigration violator, but then a subset of those who actually are accused of committing a criminal offense are charged with criminal charges. That number may change. Some of the people who are in the administrative category may also get added to the criminal category.

A former New York prosecutor has admitted in court that she had rape and sex with underage boys.
They called ex Prosecutor but not Rapist, Child Molesters, or Criminal. Read here:

Even Society taken the Law on their own hands. Sex offender body found burned and beheaded. but they found no criminals, no suspects, or Motive? Where are those Moral Values? Read Here:


Searching for sexual offenders it is an invasion of their right to privacy.

"It's the Constitution of the United States but when we talking to searching for Undocumented Immigrants is the Immigration Law not their Constitutional rights. Why? Read here:

Check this one: A suburban Chicago man was charged Monday with possessing an illegal toxin found in puffer fish. Tetrodotoxin is a poison so potent the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it can "produce rapid and violent death." It is 1,200 times deadlier than cyanide. Even this person claimed to be a doctor using someone else Identity. Why Society, Media and anchor news do not treated the Human being by fairly and balance news? Read here:

Image an Undocumented Immigrants with a possesion of this Toxin? I can't imagine Tommy Tancredo words.., The News Media, Lou Dobbs, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Rilley, Minuteman groups and Politicians. That's sad and ashamed. They are only seems the Undocumented Immigrants as the criminal, the Lawbreaker, the rapist, the drainer, but not the hardworker, the human being, the taxpayer, their Community support, the Member of the Society. That's ashamed.!!!!!!!! Why Bashing Hispanic Community?

Operation B.S. within the Minuteman Groups. Lou Dobbs aren't you proud of them.!!!!!!!

Stewart trying to get away from Anti Immigrant Groups but.........See next video.



Hipocrisy is not a Family Value Mr. Stewart.!!!!!!!!!

what most Americans specially Nativists, Protectionists and Anti Immigrants needs to know about our great Immigration History.
Make sure they are not bitting their tongue when they talking about Assimilation, English as Official Languages, and Invasion,

SEAL THE BORDER; KNOW YOUR ENEMY ON DOMESTIC TERRORISM.

GALVESTON COUNTY RESIDENT SENTENCED FOR ROLE IN 2006 TEXAS CITY EXPLOSION


Curtis Lee Jetton, 23, of LaMarque, was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for aiding and abetting the manufacture of explosive materials without a license, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today.

At a hearing this morning, United States District Judge Vanessa Gilmore imposed the 27-month sentence followed by a three-year-term of supervised release. In explaining the sentence, Judge Gilmore noted the approximately five pounds of triacetonetriperoxide (TATP) found in Jetton’s apartment was the largest discovery ever reported in the United States .

She also stated that Jetton had used the TATP to make destructive devices, including one that was detonated underneath a van. Jetton will remain free on bond pending his surrender at a Bureau of Prisons facility.

Law enforcement discovered Jetton’s involvement in the manufacture of TATP after a July 19, 2006, explosion at the Lakeview Apartments in Texas City resulted in the death of Jetton’s roommate. According to information in the public record of this case, Jetton and his roommate began manufacturing TATP in October 2005. Jetton accompanied his roommate to Lowe’s and Sally’s Beauty Supply, where acetone, muriatic acid and other ingredients were purchased. Jetton then assisted his roommate in the manufacturing of TATP based on recipes obtained from the internet. The FBI found several pounds of TATP and some detonators in the apartment after the July 19th explosion.

The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gregg Costa.

LOU DOBBS NIGHTMARE. HIS PANICS SPECIALLY MEXICANS. WOULD THEIR PUNISHMENT FIT THEIR CRIME?. SINCE WHEN SEARCHING FOR A BETTER LIFE IS A CRIME?


U.S. Canada border is a security nightmare. When CNN ran the debate, the Lou Dobbs network made sure that the first half-hour was devoted to Undocumented immigration and Broken border not borders.
Why Mexico and Mexicans are treated worst than Terrorist? What crime Mexicans or Mexico committed to be treated this way?. They have been persecuted, scapegoating, blamed, demonized, stereotyping, diminished. We do have problems with Undocumented immigrants on the southern border, but we have problems with terrorists and smugglers, Drug Dealers on the northern border.” we found no terrorist presence in Mexico and a number of Canadian-based terrorists who have entered the United States.

The big difference between a Mexican and a Terrorist is that Mexicans will die for feeding their families rather than Terrorists who's will die and Kill innocent people for their belief and anger.

In Washington state’s Pasayten Wilderness Area, agents patrol the rough backcountry on horseback. The 12 mustangs roamed wild on federal lands before they were rounded up and broken.
South of Ottawa, along the St. Lawrence River in an area know as Thousand Islands, agents chase smugglers known as river rats — mom and pop operators running cigarettes, liquor and drugs across the border into New York.

In Derby Line, Vt., the Haskell Free Library and Opera House straddles the border. The front door is in the United States. The checkout desk is in Canada. That could come to an end. Earlier this year, two vans carrying 21 Undocumented immigrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere were stopped in Derby Line.

Residents of North Dakota and Minnesota fear their cold winters may have frozen the motion detectors along their border with Canada.

Along Montana’s Sweetgrass Hills and Milk River, the border, in some places, is separated by nothing more than a broken fence. In one incident, a rancher in Montana’s desolate prairie stopped two Jamaicans dressed in T-shirts and shorts.

“It would be difficult to secure the (northern) border with the assets we have there now,” said Greg Kutz, a Government Accountability Office investigator and author of a recent study that found terrorists carrying nuclear material could easily enter the United States from Canada.

SECURITY FALLS SHORT

While Colburn and others say there is no hard evidence showing illegal activity has increased on the northern border, Sheriff Elfo said there is mounting anecdotal evidence. He points to the discovery in August of two backpacks hidden in a ditch near the Black Mountain Boy Scout Camp north of Silver Lake, between Maple Falls and the Canadian border. The backpacks contained about 68 pounds of cocaine, with a street value of about $1.2 million.

Colburn is well aware of the problems.

“We are nowhere near where we think we should be,” he said in an interview about security along the northern border. “But we are getting there faster than ever before.”

Customs and Border Protection now has air wings in Bellingham, Great Falls, Mont., Grand Forks, N.D, and Plattsburg, N.Y. The air wings include Blackhawk helicopters, surveillance aircraft and Predator unmanned aerial vehicles. In addition to “boots on the ground,” Colburn said agents use all-terrain vehicles, Zodiac inflatable boats and snowmobiles. Motion detectors, radar and infrared technology also are deployed.
“Just because you don’t see us doesn’t mean we don’t see you,” Colburn said.

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers from northern border states remain frustrated. Given the outrage over undocumented workers flooding in from Mexico, they remain skeptical the Border Patrol will ever pay enough attention to the northern border.

“They aren’t leaning forward on this,” said Rep. Norm Dicks, DWash., a member of the House Homeland Security Committee.

Congress wants to add as many as 600 additional agents to northern border patrols. But some say even that isn’t enough.

“There will still be a huge inequity,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. “We do have problems with illegal immigrants on the southern border, but we have problems with terrorists on the northern border.”

CANADA’S TERRORISM RISK

Given Canada’s open immigration policies, terrorist organizations have established cells there seeking “safe havens, operational bases and attempting to gain access to the USA,” according to a 1998 report from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. The report said more than 50 terrorist groups may be present, including Hezbollah, Hamas and radical Islamic groups from Iran and Algeria.

A 2006 report from the Nixon Center, a Washington, D.C., think tank, quoted a senior FBI official as saying Canada is the most worrisome terrorist point of entry and al- Qaida training manuals advise terrorists to enter the United States from Canada.

The report concluded that “despite widespread alarms raised over terrorist infiltration from Mexico, we found no terrorist presence in Mexico and a number of Canadian-based terrorists who have entered the United States.”

Among them were Ahmed Ressam — the so-called Millennium Bomber who was stopped in 1999 by an alert agent at a border crossing in Port Angeles, before he could carry out a plot to bomb Los Angeles International Airport — and Gazi Ibrahim Abu Mezer, a Palestinian terrorist who was mistakenly released after being stopped near Bellingham in 1997. He then moved to Brooklyn where he was later convicted of plotting to bomb a New York City subway station.

“They have to be concerned about the Canadian border,” said Robert Leiken, one of the authors of the Nixon Center study. “If they aren’t, we are in a lot of trouble.”

Law enforcement officials say the presence of suspected terrorists in Canada is a worry, and they share intelligence on the threat daily.

“The fact that we have identified people connected with terrorism who have crossed the border shows we are paying attention,” said Mike Cabana, a chief superintendent with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who oversees border security.

Canadians are aware that the crackdown on the U.S.-Mexico border could affect them.

“If the U.S.-Mexico border is sealed, it is safe to assume criminality will be displaced and it is logical to assume it could affect the northern border,” said Cabana. “Of course we are concerned, but it is too early to tell whether it will make a difference.”

WHATCOM COUNTY VIEW

Back in Blaine, down the street from the Smuggler’s Inn, Shirley- Ann Leu says she and her husband, Herbert, have learned to live with Border Patrol agents sitting on their back retaining wall, the RCMP flashing lights in their yard at 3 a.m. and the helicopter patrols.
“The big cameras are going round and round all the time,” she said. “They know every car in the neighborhood. You get used to it.”

Despite the heightened security, Sheriff Elfo said he remains anxious about the terrorists, drug smugglers and illegal immigrants who view the Canadian border as an easy route into the United States.
“The help from the feds has improved dramatically,” he said. “But we know individuals and contraband continue to cross regularly.”

Lou Dobbs are Clueless When It Comes to a Broken border and protection. Hypocrisy is not Family Values Lou.!!!!!!.




1.-Terrorists from the Sept 11, 2001 enter the Country thru Canada not Mexico.

2.-Canadians Citizens and foreigners can enter the Country Thru Canada with just Driver License (EDL).

3.-Until June 1, 2009,. Canadians and foreigners entering the U.S. thru Canada at land and sea border crossings will be required to show their passports.

4.- Since January 31, 2008. U.S Citizens and Mexicans entering the Country Must present a passport But Canadians Driver License. Why?


Minister Day met with U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff

The Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety Canada, met with Michael Chertoff, Secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security.

"We are making real progress together, and my meetings with Secretary Chertoff only serve to enhance the strong working relationship between our two governments," said Minister Day. "Once again, we have had a frank and fruitful discussion of key safety and border security initiatives."

Minister Day and Secretary Chertoff discussed a number of issues pertaining to the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) a trilateral partnership which facilitates the cooperation of the three nations on safety and security initiatives as well as economic prosperity and competitiveness.

Also discussed was the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). Under the U.S. WHTI Final Rule, as of June 1, 2009, Canadians entering the U.S. at land and sea border crossings will be required to show their passports. This rule is already in effect for those travelling to the U.S. by air. Canada continues to work vigorously with the U.S. government to ensure that legitimate trade and travel across our borders are not disrupted as a result of the new document requirements

.

Building on the success of the B.C. Enhanced Driver's License (EDL) pilot project launched this past January, both Governments reiterated their support for expanding similar initiatives to other provinces and territories. These documents meet the security standards and are recognized as an acceptable alternative to passports at the Canada-U.S. border under the U.S. WHTI.

Canada and the United States continue to work together to enhance the safety and security of North America, and collaborate on a strategy to facilitate trade and travel while maintaining our secure borders, including emergency management protocols

Nativists, and Anti Immigrants. What part of Ilegal you do not Understand.!!!!!!!!!!!!



Most of Nativists, Anti Immigrants found that Undocumented(Ilegal) Immigrants were mostly a drain. Well Just Ilegal Billing, Ilegal fraud, ilegal benefits entitled to, ilegal claim, ilegal Kickbacks, Ilegal charges for services do not rendered to patient,

But they found greater ambiguity on whether Undocumented immigrants are good or bad for American society because they do not see the real facts. They rather create waves of flames of Anti Immigrant sentiment to our Society to see Undocumented people as a bad people.

Undocumented Immigrants has been persecuted, scapegoated, dimished, criminalized and labeled as a problem on Social Services specially Healthcare Services like Medicare and Medicaid. Well lets see the real facts.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

False Claims Act Returns $2 Billion in FY 2007.

The Justice Department has announced that $2 billion has been recovered under the federal False Claims Act in Fiscal Year 2007, of which $1.45 billion came from whistleblower-filed cases. The total amount returned to the U.S. Government under the False Claims Act since 1986 is well over $20 billion. Department of Justice data is actually very conservative, as it does not include billions of dollars in civil recoveries returned to the states or criminal fines imposed as a direct consequence of False Claims Act filings and prosecutions.

The cases below represent a "running tally" of False Claims Act cases compiled by the Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund for Fiscal Year 2007.

Amount in Millions $ Date Nature of the fraud Medicare Medicaid.

Bristol-Myers Squibb 328 9/28/2007 A total $515 million settlement, with $328 million to be paid under the Federal False Claims Act, and the state's getting $187 million. Fraud charges included off-label marketing, kickbacks, AWP drug pricing violations and several other frauds involving 50 drugs and a total of seven qui tam cases.

Amerigroup 172 3//14/2007 Judgment for $334 million including penalties. Amerigroup cherry-picked patients in violation of its HMO Medicaid contract, purposely avoided women in their third trimester of pregnancy because they cost more to insure. Note that this judgment is on appeal and reflects a $190 million penalty on top of a $144 million jury verdict.

Combined settlement with four orthotics companies: Smith & Nephew, Biomet, Zimmer, DePuy (Johnson & Johnson) 310 9/27/2007 $310 million total settlement of broad practice of kickback in the orthotics industry. Zimmer to pay 169.5 million, DePuy to pay $84.7 million, Smith and Nephew to pay $28.9 million, Biomet to pay $26.9 million. Stryker agreed to be monitored, but has entered no civil settlement.

Aventis (sanofi-aventis) 180 9/17/2007 Medicaid Average Wholesale Price case involving the anti-nausea drug Anzemet. Total settlement was for $190 million

Medco 155 10/24/2006 Shorting prescriptions, canceling prescriptions to avoid paying non-performance penalties, soliciting and accepting kickbacks from pharmaceutical manufacturers to favor their drugs, and paying kickbacks to health plans to obtain business. X X

Purdue Pharma 140.5 5/10/2007 Company "mislabeled" the drug saying it was less addictive than it was. This is a $634.5 million settlement, with $276 million to be forfeited to the United States, $160 million allocated to federal and state government agencies to resolve false claims for government healthcare programs and $130 million will go to resolving private civil claims. Of the 160 million to go to State and Federal FCA claims, $19.5 million is to go to the states.

Bill L. Harbert-owned construction companies 102 5/15/2007 Bid rigging for US AID paid for water and sewer systems installed in Egypt in the 1980s as part of the Camp David peace accords.

Oracle / PeopleSoft 98.5 10/10/2006 Provided false pricing information to GSA to obtain a federal contract.

ConocoPhillips 97.5 8/15/2007 Underpaid royalties owed on natural gas produced from federal and Indian leases

Omnicare / Specialized Pharmacy Services (Michigan) 52.5 10/5/2006 Improper billing, failure to credit Medicare for returned drugs, billing drugs for dead patients. X
Omnicare 49.5 11/14/2006 Illegal switching of generic pill to capsule forms of Zantac (ranitidine) in nursing homes and other facilities.

InterMune, Inc. 36.8 10/27/2006 Illegal off-label promotion of Actimmune. X X

Lourdes Perez, Provident Home Health Care Services Inc. and Tri-Regional Home Health
Care Inc. 33.8 10/11/2006 Medicare "bill mill" in which Medicare was billed for patients who were not homebound and for services her companies did not perform, creating false medical records to support the claims. X

Maximus Inc. 30.5 7/24/2007 Maximus billed DC Medicaid for targeted case management services that it either did not provide or had no records for.

Kerr-McGee Oil 30 1/25/2007 Jury verdict on case involving Kerr-McGee cheating the government out of millions of dollars in royalties on oil it produced in publicly owned coastal waters.

Robert I. Bourseau, Dr. Rudra Sabaratnam, and their two single-employee corporations, RIB Medical Management Services, Inc., and Navatkuda, Inc., 23.8 10/2/2006 Used false cost reports to bill Medicare for unreimbursable services at the Chula Vista psychiatric hospital formerly known as Bayview Hospital & Mental Health Systems. X

Akal Security Inc 18 7/13/2007 Akal violated terms of its contract to provide trained civilian guards at eight U.S. Army bases.

Harris County Hospital District 15.5 3/28/2007 Medicare Secondary Payer violations plus billing Medicaid for patients under custody of law enforcement.

Larkin Community Hospital in Miami and its current and former owners, Dr. Jack Michel, Dr. James Desnick, Morris Esformes and Philip Esformes 15.4 11/30/2006 Kickbacks X X

Aggregate Industries 15 7/27/2007 Total settlement of $50 million, of which $27 million will go into a special fund to be used to pay for future maintenance and repair of the Big Dig highway project, and an additional $8 million will be paid in criminal fines.

Jackson Memorial Health System 14.25 12/20/2006 Jackson Memorial was deliberately making use of unallowable or reopened cost reports, getting wrongful overpayments as a result. X

Ajax Paving Industries Inc. and Dan's Excavating Inc. 11.75 3/16/2007 Knowingly violated Disadvantaged Business

Enterprise (DBE) contracting requirements for federally funded construction
projects at Detroit Wayne County Metropolitan Airport

Cell Therapeutics 10.5 4/18/2007 Off-label marketing of Trisenox billed to Medicare.

Intergris Baptist Medical Center 10 11/28/2006 Inflated costs for organ transplants

Emory Worldwide 10 11/14/2006 Inflated bills for handling priority mail for USPS

Medicis Pharmaceutical 9.8 5/8/2007 Off-label marketing: Company promoted the use of a topical anti-fungal, Loprox, for diaper rash on children under the age of 10, without approval by the Food & Drug Administration.

American Medical Response Inc. 9 10/5/2006 Ambulance services fraud. X

KBR Inc. 8 11/29/2006 Overcharged the U.S. Army for logistical support in the Balkans during 1999 and 2000
Crane Co.
7.6 8/14/2007 Substandard valves sold to the U.S.

SCCI Health Services Corporation, and its subsidiary, SCCI Hospital Ventures Inc 7.5 1/7/2007 Kickback and self-referral (Stark violations) X

Raritan Bay Medical Center 7.5 3/16/2007 Purposefully inflated outlier charges for inpatient and outpatient care to make these cases appear more costly than they actually were.

PBSJ 6.4 1/25/2007 PBSJ submitted claims to the overstated overhead rates in its Government contracts.

Atlanta's Northside Hospital 5.75 10/20/2006 Kickbacks

Oakland City University 5.3 7/31/2007 University paid incentives to admissions recruiters contrary to federal regulations.

IBM & PriceWaterhouseCoopers 5.2 8/16/2007 Companies solicited and provided improper payments and other things of value on technology contracts with government agencies

Keystone Mercy Health Plan 5 10/27/2006 Medicaid HMO Kept Medicaid overpayments X
Cook County, Illinois 5 12/20/2006 County mismanaged a federally funded study involving pregnant drug addicts.

AIT Worldwide Logistics of Itasca, Ill. 4.2 10/20/2006 Kickbacks and bill padding.

St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center (NE) 4 10/31/2006 Used false cost reports to overbill l Medicare for neonatal and burn units.

Scooter Stores 4 5/14/2007 Settlement includes $4 million in cash and $13 million in foregone Medicare payments to settle charges the company billed Medicare medically unnecessary power wheelchairs.

HealthSouth Corporation 4 11/3/2006 HealthSouth submitted fraudulent Medicare claims for prosthetic and orthotic devices - such as artificial limbs and braces - used to treat HealthSouth hospital inpatients X

Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center 3.8 5/9/2007 Billing Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance providers $2.5 million for unnecessary cardiac procedures, such as angiograms and angioplasties, on more than 70 patients.

Orphan Medical/ Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc 3.75 7/13/2007 Aggressive marketing of Xyrem (GBH, the "date rape" drug) for unapproved use. Part of a total settlement of $20 million, including criminal.

Cabrini Medical Center 3.4 3/29/2007 Kickbacks billed as administrative services for referral of patients.

Korrect Optical 3.25 1/25/2007 Korrect Optical submitted false claims to the

Department of Veteran Affairs ( VA )through ophthalmic prescriptions for eyewear for veterans.

Dr. Daniel Nixon and other board members of the Institute for Cancer Prevention, Tatum, LLC and Weiser, LLP 3.2 1/17/2007 Unlawful receipt and use of federal grant money.

Electronic Data Systems Inc. and Travelers Casualty 2.85 1/23/2007 EDS was processing National Flood Insurance Program claims based on backdated policies written by Travelers.
Dey 2.8 4/26/2007 Settle charges of price inflation and defrauding Mass. Medicaid program (AWP).

Rural/Metro Corporation 2.5 6/11/2007 Kickback for referrals

David Rommel 2.48 11/13/2006 Dental practice fraud. Won by summary judgment.

Danbury Hospital (CN) 2.4 10/27/2006 Self-reported upcoding for septicemia, respiratory failure, respiratory infections and inflammations. X

Affiliated Computer Services, Inc 2.3 7/2/2007 ACS allegedly Submitted inflated claims for programs run by and through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Self reported.

APAC Atlantic 2.25 10/3/2006 False asphalt testing

University of Miami Medical School 2.2 12/27/2006 UM sometimes billed for critical care services when patients were not critically ill or where critical services were not rendered. X X

Loma Linda Behavioral Medicine Center (Loma Linda BMC) in Redlands 2 4/26/2007 Fraudulently overbilled federal health insurance programs by manipulating cost reports.

O'Hara Regional Center for Rehabilitation, Health Care Management Partners, ORCR Inc., Solomon Health Management, Solomon Health Services 1.9 10/5/2006 Abuse and neglect and substandard nursing home services. X

Emeritus Corp 1.86 8/30/2007 False and inaccurate billing to the Texas Medicaid program.

COSMOS Corp 1.5 1/23/2007 COSMOS improperly charged government contracts for costs that dealt with the company's operations, and also shifted labor costs from private contracts to government contracts.

Crawford and Company 1.36 10/11/2006 Billing the government for health care services to federal employees at rates set by Crawford managers, rather than billing the actual time spent performing that service.

Ciena Healthcare Management 1.25 8/20/2007 Improperly billed Medicaid and Medicare for inadequate care of and services to residents at four metro Detroit nursing homes.

Bli Farms, Richard Bli and the estate of James E. Bli 1.229 11/29/2006 False crop insurance claims.

Lancaster Community Hospital 1.2 6/8/2007 Knowingly overbilled Medicare for physical therapy costs.

Lakewood Cheder School 1.2 10/31/2006 False information to obtain funds for preschool lunch program.

Robert E. Eberhart and Jonathan Holzaepfel, orthopedic surgeons and partners in
Seacoast Trust, and Thomas King 1 3/8/2007 HealthSouth paid higher than normal rent equivalent to income from referrals made by the doctors

Parkway Hospital, Inc 1 8/14/2007 Inflated hospital costs reports.

Environmental Management Inc. 1 4/2/2007 Overbilling and illegal disposal of chemicals in methamphetamine lab cleanups for DEA.

Dey 1 4/4/2007 Settlement of Hawaii FCA marketing the spread cases

Julio C. Melo, M.D., 0.984 7/23/2007 Billed Medicare for Evaluation and Management services that exceeded the number of hours there were in a day.

RightCHOICE Managed Care Inc. 0.975 1/31/2007 RightCHOICE paid higher fees to physicians serving government0insured patients than for other plans.

Comprehensive Cancer Centers 0.9 11/8/2006 Upcoding led to overbilling of Medicare for CCC services at Desert Regional Medical Center (owned by Tenet) X

Iftakhar Khan and Amjad Khan 0.825 1/9/2007 Owners of Livonia-based Michigan

Rehabilitation and Pain Management fraudulently billed Medicare. X

Green Valley Pavilion, LLC 0.55 5/14/2007 Forging and altering patient charts to maximize reimbursement from Delaware's Medicaid Program

Oregon Imaging Center 0.51 12/12/2006 Tests not ordered by doctor.

Moritz Embroidery Works 0.5 7/10/2007 False "Buy American Act" certification to the United States government for military and police emblems and patches.

John Dempsey Hospital 0.475 6/27/2007 Overbilled Medicare for chemotherapy treatment.

Colquitt Regional Medical Center 0.475 3/5/2007 Overcharged the government for services through CRMC's Home Health Office in Sylvester, GA X X

Hillsboro Area Hospital, in Hillsboro, Ill. 0.3 2/7/2007 Over billing for the treatment of Medicare beneficiaries who were diagnosed with pneumonia, sepsis, and renal failure. X

Beacon Ambulance Company. 0.219 3/29/2007 Use of one basic technician and a single Paramedic on ambulance run, and billing for two Paramedics.

Promark, Inc. 0.2 11/14/2006 Overstating warranty on epoxy paint to DoT

Riverview Cancer Center 0.165 10/5/2006 Upcoding and services not provided

LS Technologies 0.145 3/16/07 Submitted duplicate claims for two different subcontracts and was paid $50,000 based on these false claims.

Madison County, Alabama 0.11 2/19/2007 Diversion of money from "Working Connection," a welfare-to-work program.

Kansas City, Missouri School District 0.066 5/18/200 66,000 paid in money and over $13.6 in claims relinquished in E-Rate fraud case.

Armstrong Williams 0.035 10/22/2006 Failing to do contracted work for Dept. of Education

Dr. Roberto Ramirez 0.03 12/21/2007 False dental billing X X

Clark's Trading Company (Clark's 0.012 10/18/2006 Product substitution (meat) at Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Link: http://www.taf.org/total2007.htm

Why nobody exposed the root of the problem on Medicare and Medicaid? Rather than just blamed the people who's do not have a voice either a vote? Nativists, Anti Immigrants ranting by Ignorance rather than facts.!!!!!!!!!!




CoxHealth anticipates Medicare fraud settlement of about $60 million


SPRINGFIELD -- CoxHealth Systems says it is closer to ending a Medicare fraud investigation that the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office have been conducting for more than three years. CoxHealth may be close to reaching a settlement that could cost it $60 million.

The federal government's investigation into CoxHealth Systems focuses on billing practices at one of its clinics but also delved into other areas. Investigators have been trying to prove, or force an admission, that Medicare was overcharged for certain procedures, and was billed for services that some physicians didn’t perform.

CoxHealth has been putting money away for fines, penalties or repayments since it learned about the investigation in late 2004. A settlement is in the works between Cox and the federal government in the neighborhood of 60 million dollars.

In a statement posted on a Web site for investors and stock analysts, CoxHealth says $60 million "is in the range where CoxHealth anticipates we may finally settle. CoxHealth accrued this amount in its financial statements over the last three years."

Financial records for 2005 and 2006 show CoxHealth put away $13 million both years for possible payments related to the case. That would mean, in 2007, CoxHealth had to have put the remaining $34 million aside for legal funds.

The U.S. Attorney's office says general protocol requires, in cases alleging Medicare's fund has been defrauded, settlement money would return to the Medicare fund.

CoxHealth says the negotiations are far from over. No one has publicly said when the two sides might agree on the final amount of a settlement

Major Part of the equation problem of Medicare, Medicaid is Fraud and Overbilling. Why Nativist and Anti Immigrants blamed undocumented Immigrants?





only Medtronic unit will pay $75 million to settle whistleblower Medicare fraud case


Spinal medical device company Kyphon misled hospitals

May 22, 2008 -- Medtronic Spine LLC, formerly known as Kyphon Inc., has agreed to pay $75,000,000 to the federal government to settle a whistleblower lawsuit that exposed the spinal medical device company's sales and pricing strategy to increase its profits by defrauding Medicare.

The "qui tam" (whistleblower) lawsuit, which the government joined, was kept under seal and so was not publicly known until today, when the settlement was announced.

Kyphon, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., and recently acquired by Medtronic Inc., sells costly equipment and medical devices, including bone cement, for use in spinal procedures known as "kyphoplasty."

Kyphon's phenomenal sales growth was funded, in large part, by its successful efforts to sell kyphoplasty as an inpatient procedure. The minimally invasive procedure can be performed safely in about an hour on an outpatient basis. But Kyphon persuaded doctors and hospitals to keep patients overnight -- which allowed hospitals to charge Medicare up to $10,000 per procedure -- even though the patients typically had fully recovered within a few hours.

Because Kyphon was able to convince healthcare providers to perform kyphoplasty as an inpatient procedure, the company was able to price its products so that its profit margin exceeded 80 percent.

"A big, inpatient price tag allowed Kyphon to make thousands of dollars each time it sold a kyphoplasty kit," said Mary Louise Cohen, a Washington, D.C., attorney whose firm, Phillips & Cohen LLP, represented the whistleblowers in their qui tam case. "Because of the company's scheme, the Medicare program paid many millions of dollars more than it needed to pay."

Tens of thousands of kyphoplasty procedures were done as one-day inpatient stays as a result of Kyphon's marketing and sales strategy.

"The government was unaware of the fraud until Craig Patrick and Chuck Bates courageously came forward," said attorney Matthew Smith of Phillips & Cohen. "They also provided crucial assistance to the government in its investigation and pursuit of the case."

Kyphoplasty is performed to treat vertebral compression fractures, which commonly occur in the thoracic (middle) and lumbar (lower) spine. A balloon device attempts to pump up the compressed vertebra to restore the spine's original height. Then it is removed and bone cement is injected into the cavity that the balloon created.

Elderly women are susceptible to vertebral fractures due to osteoporosis, a disease that causes bones to become brittle and break. If left untreated, a compression fracture can lead to many other health problems.

Phillips & Cohen filed the qui tam lawsuit in 2005 in federal district court in Buffalo on behalf of Patrick and Bates. Patrick, of Hudson, Wis., was a reimbursement manager for Kyphon, and Bates was a regional sales manager in Birmingham, Ala. Patrick left Kyphon after complaints he made about its sales strategy went unheeded.

The U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) in Buffalo took the lead for the government on the case. "The successful outcome was due in large part to the work of the U.S. Attorney's Office and investigators from the Department of Health and Human Services," said attorney Cohen. "They did an impressive job in all aspects of the case."

In particular, Cohen recognized the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Trusiak, USAO investigator Peggy McFarland, USAO auditor Theresa Tetlow as well as Cindy Pangallo and Peggy Glynn, who are Department of Health and Human Services special agents.

Phillips & Cohen specializes in representing whistleblowers in qui tam lawsuits. Under the False Claims Act, private individuals can sue companies defrauding the government and recover funds on the government's behalf. Whistleblowers, known as "relators," are entitled to 15 percent to 25 percent of the amount recovered as a result of the lawsuit. For more information about Phillips & Cohen and qui tam lawsuits

burning of racist symbols in yard of African-American family in Metairie. By Michelle Hunter.



More than four weeks after someone burned the letters KKK and the shapes of three crosses in the front yard of an African-American family's Metairie home, the grass still refuses to grow. And the family has not rushed to remove the symbols.

"We left it out there because we want people in the neighborhood to know that there are people in their own backyards that believe in this garbage," said the family's patriarch, who asked not to be named when a reporter stopped by Monday. He said he doesn't want any publicity for himself, just public awareness that "racism is still alive and it is well."

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office and the FBI are investigating the damage as a possible hate crime. The symbols appear to have been made by a chemical, not by fire. They were reported May 7. No suspects have been arrested.

The property, in a predominantly white section of northeast Metairie, is home to a 35-year-old chef and a 34-year-old cosmetologist and their three children. They had lived in the house only five days when the symbols were discovered.

"I just didn't know what to think," the man said, holding his 19-month-old son in one arm and his 5-month-old daughter in the other. "I didn't know what to say. I was just in awe."

The father said he was afraid at first, then outraged. Now he's confused and frustrated.

"I want to ask, 'Why?' We haven't been in the neighborhood long enough to cause a ruckus. We didn't do anything. It's 2008 and you still can't get past the racial issue?"

Perhaps the hardest part for the couple was explaining to their 9-year-old son why there were so many police cars in the yard last month, the meaning of burned crosses and the Ku Klux Klan, and why someone might not like the boy because of his skin color. It was a painful conversation the father said he never imagined having to have in this day and age.

But the family is determined to stay put, said the father, recalling that they have moved three times since Hurricane Katrina. "After my wife made me pack up all that stuff and move, I'm not going anywhere," he said with a laugh.

He called the vandalism a cowardly act born of ignorance, and a similar reaction on his part would amount to stooping to the culprit's level. As a father, he said, he must be a better model for his son.

"I still have to be a responsible adult in this house," he said. "We're trying to teach them that they should not live in fear, to speak when spoken to, keep your hands to yourself and respect others."

The family has been helped by neighbors who, one by one, came to their door and offered support as word of the incident spread. One of those neighbors was Dave Tibbetts, 52.

"It's just unbelievable that this would happen," Tibbetts said.

The family is confident that the guilty party will be caught. The father said he's not looking for a stiff jail sentence or fines, but for the perpetrator to be sentenced to community service in an African-American neighborhood.

"I want him . . . to come out of his comfort zone," the father said, "to see that black people are not animals. They are everyday people."

Anyone with information about the incident can call the FBI at (504) 816-3000 or the Sheriff's Office investigations bureau at (504) 364-5300