Monthly Archives: July 2013
A Texas Whistleblower Could Have Saved Lives
On April 17, 2013, the West Fertilizer plant, owned by Adair Grain, Inc., exploded, killing at least 14 and injuring hundreds more. Although months have passed since the explosion, many questions remain. The plant contained approximately 54,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia, a chemical substance used to make ammonium nitrate, the same explosive material used by […]
Nurse Anne Mitchell’s Whistleblowing Almost Blew Out Whistleblowing in Texas
The Winkler County nurses trials began with two nurses, Anne Mitchell and Vicki Galle, filing an anonymous complaint with the Texas Medical Board regarding the substandard care provided by Dr. Rolando Arafiles Jr. When Arafiles learned of the complaint, he complained of harassment to a friend and former patient, who happened to be the county […]
SEC’s Whistleblower Program Trudges Forward
Not everyone can see the truth, but he can be it. -Franz Kafka Section 922 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd-Frank Act) amended the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by adding the Securities Whistleblower Incentives and Protection. The new section requires that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) provide […]
Medicaid Fraud and the Whistleblower
Texas’ campaign against Medicaid fraud reached two landmark milestones. Since 2002, the Civil Medicaid Fraud Division (CMF) recovered more than $400 million for the state of Texas and more than $1 billion for the state and federal governments combined. Texas must share with the federal government what it recovers from Medicaid fraud because Medicaid is […]
A Texas Whistleblower Must Blow his Whistle to a Proper Law Enforcement Authority
In addition to being a professor of surgery at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW), Dr. Larry Gentilello was the Chair of the Division of Burn, Trauma and Critical Care. Gentilello reported to a supervisory faculty member that trauma residents were providing treatment and performing surgeries without the supervision of an attending physician […]
Will the Whistleblowing Last in Benghazi?
On September 11, 2012, a heavily armed group blitzed the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. An additional armed assault targeted a nearby CIA annex, killing four people, including U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. U.S. government employees are blowing the whistle on how the government responded the night of the attack and in the weeks […]
Demystifying the Texas Whistleblower Act
I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death. — Leonard Da Vinci When first reporting the illegal or […]
