Original Story: USAToday.com
NEW YORK — Seven people around the world have been arrested in connection with an international cybercrime ring that illegally accessed 1,600 StubHub accounts and stole more than $1.6 million in tickets. Do you need legal help with Intellectual property in Atlanta?
Authorities still don't know how the suspects gained access to the accounts, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said at a news conference on Wednesday. Once inside the accounts, the cyberintruders used the victims' pre-existing credit card information and credit cards stolen from additional victims to purchase tickets.
In coordinated arrests, three people were taken into custody in London, two in the New York area, one in Toronto, and one in Spain.
"Today's law enforcement action reflects the increasingly global landscape in which financial and cybercriminals operate," Vance said. "Fighting cybercrime today, as this demonstrates, requires international cooperation."
StubHub, a website where customers buy and sell tickets to entertainment events, first discovered that more than 1,000 accounts had been breached in March 2013. Soon after, the company alerted police, who started an investigation.
Authorities say they soon learned that two men, Vadim Polyakov, 30, and Nikolay Matveychuk, 21, were allegedly buying the tickets illegally, then e-mailing them to three Americans, Daniel Petryszyn, 28, Laurence Brinkmeyer, 29, and Bryan Caputo, 29. According to Vance, the three men then resold the tickets and worked with several people, including Sergei Kirin, 37, of Russia, to launder the money using international wire transfers and PayPal.
Kirin is accused of advertising his money-laundering services online and turning a profit for his part in the ring.
Analysts in the district attorney's office investigated receipts and transaction records and eventually traced the exchanges to Internet protocol addresses, PayPal accounts, bank accounts and other financial accounts used and controlled by the suspects.
Each of the indicted men face a number of felony charges that include money laundering, criminal possession of stolen property, grand larceny and identity theft.
Vance made the announcement alongside several officials, including Sgt. Richard Rollings of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Robert J. Sica, special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service's New York field office.
"Criminal organizations such as this aspire to exploit and compromise our financial systems," Rollins said. "Their criminal activities are not restricted by our borders. In fact, they seek to exploit jurisdictional boundaries for their illicit purposes. We simply cannot allow this to occur."
Authorities said Polyakov and Matveychuk bought more than 3,500 tickets for various events, including Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake concerts, New York Yankees games, and The Book of Mormon, a Broadway play. People across the world were victims of the scam, the law enforcement agencies said.
Polyakov was arrested on July 3 while vacationing near Barcelona. Petryszyn and Caputo were taken into custody in the New York area Wednesday and went before a judge. Brinkmeyer, of Bergen County, N.J., is expected to surrender in the coming days, Vance said.
Although Matveychuk and Kirin remain in Russia, authorities are hoping they will be brought to justice, Vance said.
He added that officials believe they have identified the primary actors in the scam though the investigation continues.
Robert Capps, a former security executive at StubHub, said the arrests might change the way criminals operate. "You are no longer safe to travel and operate outside of your home country, without significant risk of arrest and prosecution," he said in an e-mail. "Isolation is a powerful force in the effort to change behaviors. Confined within the borders of their home country, I suspect we'll see a change in behavior of some of these criminals."
David Szuchman, executive assistant of the Manhattan district attorney, said it's possible the indicted men may have met on an Internet forum for hackers, though their relationship is not entirely clear yet.
At Wednesday press conference, officials displayed a poster board of an online conversation between Petryszyn and Brinkmeyer. It included comments like "...this guy (Polyakov) is pretty much admitting he is a hacker" and "...I don't give a f--- I will launder all the money they want."
Meanwhile, Vance warned that people should vigilantly monitor their accounts and report any activity they don't recognize.
"We are all capable of being victims of cybercriminals," Vance said.
21 July 2014
ST. CLAIR SHORES SUED OVER KILLING OF DOG BY 2 OFFICERS
Original Story: freep.com
A St. Clair Shores woman whose dog was shot multiple times by city police last year has filed a federal lawsuit alleging two police officers responding to a barking dog complaint set out from the start to kill the mixed breed even though it was posing no danger. A St. Clair Shores Dog Bite Lawyer is appalled by the case.
Brittany Preston charges in the lawsuit that her dog, Lexie, was shot four times by police and then dragged away wounded to an animal control truck. Instead of being taken to a veterinarian for treatment, the dog was shot four more times, the lawsuit alleges.
Preston filed the lawsuit this week in U.S. District Court against the City of St. Clair Shores, police Officers David Jacquemain and Jeremy Moskwa, and animal control officer Tom Massey.
Interim City Manager Michael Smith did not return calls Friday seeking comment. City Council is to address the lawsuit during its meeting Monday, when Smith recommends denying the claim and referring it to the city attorney for a response, according to council’s online agenda packet.
Preston is claiming constitutional rights violations in the Nov. 22 death of her 44-pound, 18-month-old, female dog, which was shot outside her home on Princeton. Preston lived in the home with her grandfather, Thomas Warunek.
The lawsuit alleges that immediately upon arriving on the scene, one of the two officers was recorded on a dash cam as saying he was going to shoot the dog. The lawsuit claims the officers shot the dog three times as it stood on the side porch and then, after it ran into the bushes, yelping in pain, shot it a fourth time.
Officers used a neck noose on a pole to drag the wounded dog to an animal control truck, where the lawsuit says it was left for at least 90 minutes. A police report said the dog died as it was being transported to get medical help, according to the lawsuit. A Warren Dog Bite Lawyer said this was animal cruelty.
But Christopher Olson, Preston’s attorney, said a later necropsy conducted by a veterinarian hired by Preston showed the dog at some point had been shot four more times.
“What really is shocking to me and upsetting to Brittany is after it was taken … it has 15 (entry and exit wounds).”
Warunek accidentally left the dog outside the home in the early morning hours of Nov. 22. About 7:15 a.m., a neighbor reported a loose pitbull at Princeton and Walton that had been barking for 90 minutes and was on someone’s porch.
Officers arrived and while the dog was barking from Preston’s front porch, an officer was recorded on police dash cam stating “The only thing I’m gonna do is shoot it. I do not like dogs.” Subsequent dash cam audio recording revealed an officer stating “I don’t do snares, I don’t do dogs … I’ll shoot the (expletive) thing.”
Police claimed the dog was shot because it attacked them, but the lawsuit alleges the dog was merely barking, not targeting the officers.
At a Jan. 6 City Council meeting, police presented preliminary findings from an internal affairs investigation that concluded no wrongdoing based, in part, because no witnesses contradicted the officers’ accounts, according to the lawsuit.
Aside from monetary damages, Olson said he wants to “make sure this doesn’t happen again.” He said because of the incident, which has gone viral and has a Facebook page “Justice for Lexie,” he is receiving many calls from people across the country relaying experiences of officers shooting dogs.
A St. Clair Shores woman whose dog was shot multiple times by city police last year has filed a federal lawsuit alleging two police officers responding to a barking dog complaint set out from the start to kill the mixed breed even though it was posing no danger. A St. Clair Shores Dog Bite Lawyer is appalled by the case.
Brittany Preston charges in the lawsuit that her dog, Lexie, was shot four times by police and then dragged away wounded to an animal control truck. Instead of being taken to a veterinarian for treatment, the dog was shot four more times, the lawsuit alleges.
Preston filed the lawsuit this week in U.S. District Court against the City of St. Clair Shores, police Officers David Jacquemain and Jeremy Moskwa, and animal control officer Tom Massey.
Interim City Manager Michael Smith did not return calls Friday seeking comment. City Council is to address the lawsuit during its meeting Monday, when Smith recommends denying the claim and referring it to the city attorney for a response, according to council’s online agenda packet.
Preston is claiming constitutional rights violations in the Nov. 22 death of her 44-pound, 18-month-old, female dog, which was shot outside her home on Princeton. Preston lived in the home with her grandfather, Thomas Warunek.
The lawsuit alleges that immediately upon arriving on the scene, one of the two officers was recorded on a dash cam as saying he was going to shoot the dog. The lawsuit claims the officers shot the dog three times as it stood on the side porch and then, after it ran into the bushes, yelping in pain, shot it a fourth time.
Officers used a neck noose on a pole to drag the wounded dog to an animal control truck, where the lawsuit says it was left for at least 90 minutes. A police report said the dog died as it was being transported to get medical help, according to the lawsuit. A Warren Dog Bite Lawyer said this was animal cruelty.
But Christopher Olson, Preston’s attorney, said a later necropsy conducted by a veterinarian hired by Preston showed the dog at some point had been shot four more times.
“What really is shocking to me and upsetting to Brittany is after it was taken … it has 15 (entry and exit wounds).”
Warunek accidentally left the dog outside the home in the early morning hours of Nov. 22. About 7:15 a.m., a neighbor reported a loose pitbull at Princeton and Walton that had been barking for 90 minutes and was on someone’s porch.
Officers arrived and while the dog was barking from Preston’s front porch, an officer was recorded on police dash cam stating “The only thing I’m gonna do is shoot it. I do not like dogs.” Subsequent dash cam audio recording revealed an officer stating “I don’t do snares, I don’t do dogs … I’ll shoot the (expletive) thing.”
Police claimed the dog was shot because it attacked them, but the lawsuit alleges the dog was merely barking, not targeting the officers.
At a Jan. 6 City Council meeting, police presented preliminary findings from an internal affairs investigation that concluded no wrongdoing based, in part, because no witnesses contradicted the officers’ accounts, according to the lawsuit.
Aside from monetary damages, Olson said he wants to “make sure this doesn’t happen again.” He said because of the incident, which has gone viral and has a Facebook page “Justice for Lexie,” he is receiving many calls from people across the country relaying experiences of officers shooting dogs.
10 July 2014
MICHIGAN SCHOOL CHIEF PROMISES TO GET TOUGH WITH CHARTER SCHOOL AUTHORIZERS
Original Story: Freep.com
State school Superintendent Mike Flanagan announced Monday he is giving notice to Michigan’s charter school authorizers that he will exercise his “statutory authority” to prevent them from granting new charters if their performance overseeing the schools does not measure up.
Flanagan said a recent Free Press special report on charter schools led him to make the decision.
“This series of news articles has prompted me to think differently about whether to suspend an authorizer’s ability to open new charter schools,” Flanagan was quoted in a news release by the Michigan Department of Education. “It’s my authority in state law, and I will be using it.
“We are getting serious about quality choices for Michigan students. This is not just about getting academic results. It’s about total transparency and accountability.”
Flanagan’s office said he would not comment beyond the MDE news release, which contained several statements from him.
An eight-day Free Press series showed that MDE has never suspended an authorizer. Flanagan had said previously that the Legislature needs to provide specific guidelines for shutting down authorizers — the universities, community colleges and school districts that authorize and oversee charter schools’ performance.
The series, “State of Charter Schools,” found that Michigan charters receive nearly $1 billion per year in taxpayer money, often with little accountability or transparency on how those dollars are spent.
The series also reported that academic performance is mixed, and charter schools on average fare no better than traditional schools in educating students in poverty. Many poor-performing charter schools are allowed to continue operating for years by their authorizers.
The Michigan Association of Public School Academies, a professional organization for the state’s charter schools, said the move by Flanagan is good — and is proof Michigan already has tough oversight laws.
“He has had this authority for a number of years,” MAPSA President Dan Quisenberry said. “This statutory responsibility is part of Michigan’s strong system of charter school oversight, so it’s ironic that this announcement comes following a week of stories about how weak our state oversight is.
“We urge the state superintendent to base his decisions on academic performance and to work on oversight of all public schools. Charter schools have always been the most accountable of all public schools. What we need now is legislation that holds all public schools to this same level of accountability.”
MDE said that Flanagan has directed its staff “to establish rigorous principles that measure the transparency, academic and financial practices of the charter schools of each authorizer. The result of these measures will determine which authorizers would lose their chartering capabilities.”
In a statement, Flanagan also said: “There are many good charter schools in our state, which operate in the best interest of the students they serve and not to the best interest of the adults who run them. The news articles over the past several weeks have heightened attention to the issues that have shrouded charter schools with suspicion and contempt among some in the education community and the public — sometimes deserved, sometimes not.
“Let’s support what works and change what doesn’t.”
More than 140,000 students attend state-funded charter schools across Michigan, and in 2013-14 the state had 296 charters operating some 370 schools. In 61% of them, charter school boards have enlisted full-service, for-profit management companies — which contend that the taxpayer money they receive to run a school is private, not subject to public disclosure.
There are more than three dozen authorizers in Michigan. The largest in number of charters overseen are Central Michigan University with 64 and Grand Valley State University with 47.
Grand Valley spokeswoman Mary Eilleen Lyon said in an e-mail to the Free Press that the university has no problem with scrutiny:
“A report released by Supt. Mike Flanagan’s office last year showed that Grand Valley’s charter schools, as a whole, outperform all other authorizers using state tests as the assessment standard. Grand Valley has always acted in the best interest of the charter school students we serve. We believe in accountability ... and that our oversight procedures should be used as a model.”
Flanagan’s announcement drew praise from critics of the current system.
“It’s high time and it’s what we should be doing and should have been doing for some time,” said John Austin, president of the State Board of Education. “I welcome that.”
But Austin, who has been pushing for a stronger charter regulations, said a loophole in the law would need to be fixed. A suspended authorizer would still be able to maintain its existing charters. And nothing in state law would prevent those charters from expanding and opening new campuses.
Austin said it’s one of many legislative fixes that are needed in the charter law “to ensure transparency and to ensure clarity.”
The Michigan Council of Charter School Authorizers said it hopes to sit down soon with Flanagan to talk about the changes.
“Multiple Michigan authorizers have been recognized nationally as model authorizers,” Jared Burkhart said in a statement. “In fact, many of the recommendations mentioned by Superintendent Flanagan are already in state law or are based on best practices already in place in Michigan.”
Flanagan received a series of letters during the Free Press series from Greg Richmond, the president and CEO of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. Richmond, who also sent letters to the governor’s office, urged that Michigan toughen its standards — especially in accountability and financial transparency.
“Our organization believes in accountability in education — for charter schools, traditional public schools, authorizers and school boards,” Richmond said. “No one should get a free pass. We all need to earn and maintain the public’s trust. A good accountability system for authorizers should have clear standards and a fair, transparent process.”
Flanagan said tougher standards are in authorizers’ best interests, too.
“All authorizers, especially the boards of trustees of the colleges and universities that authorize most of the charter schools, must pay better and closer attention to how their schools are operated,” Flanagan said. “The integrity of their institutions is at stake here, too.”
State school Superintendent Mike Flanagan announced Monday he is giving notice to Michigan’s charter school authorizers that he will exercise his “statutory authority” to prevent them from granting new charters if their performance overseeing the schools does not measure up.
Flanagan said a recent Free Press special report on charter schools led him to make the decision.
“This series of news articles has prompted me to think differently about whether to suspend an authorizer’s ability to open new charter schools,” Flanagan was quoted in a news release by the Michigan Department of Education. “It’s my authority in state law, and I will be using it.
“We are getting serious about quality choices for Michigan students. This is not just about getting academic results. It’s about total transparency and accountability.”
Flanagan’s office said he would not comment beyond the MDE news release, which contained several statements from him.
An eight-day Free Press series showed that MDE has never suspended an authorizer. Flanagan had said previously that the Legislature needs to provide specific guidelines for shutting down authorizers — the universities, community colleges and school districts that authorize and oversee charter schools’ performance.
The series, “State of Charter Schools,” found that Michigan charters receive nearly $1 billion per year in taxpayer money, often with little accountability or transparency on how those dollars are spent.
The series also reported that academic performance is mixed, and charter schools on average fare no better than traditional schools in educating students in poverty. Many poor-performing charter schools are allowed to continue operating for years by their authorizers.
The Michigan Association of Public School Academies, a professional organization for the state’s charter schools, said the move by Flanagan is good — and is proof Michigan already has tough oversight laws.
“He has had this authority for a number of years,” MAPSA President Dan Quisenberry said. “This statutory responsibility is part of Michigan’s strong system of charter school oversight, so it’s ironic that this announcement comes following a week of stories about how weak our state oversight is.
“We urge the state superintendent to base his decisions on academic performance and to work on oversight of all public schools. Charter schools have always been the most accountable of all public schools. What we need now is legislation that holds all public schools to this same level of accountability.”
MDE said that Flanagan has directed its staff “to establish rigorous principles that measure the transparency, academic and financial practices of the charter schools of each authorizer. The result of these measures will determine which authorizers would lose their chartering capabilities.”
In a statement, Flanagan also said: “There are many good charter schools in our state, which operate in the best interest of the students they serve and not to the best interest of the adults who run them. The news articles over the past several weeks have heightened attention to the issues that have shrouded charter schools with suspicion and contempt among some in the education community and the public — sometimes deserved, sometimes not.
“Let’s support what works and change what doesn’t.”
More than 140,000 students attend state-funded charter schools across Michigan, and in 2013-14 the state had 296 charters operating some 370 schools. In 61% of them, charter school boards have enlisted full-service, for-profit management companies — which contend that the taxpayer money they receive to run a school is private, not subject to public disclosure.
There are more than three dozen authorizers in Michigan. The largest in number of charters overseen are Central Michigan University with 64 and Grand Valley State University with 47.
Grand Valley spokeswoman Mary Eilleen Lyon said in an e-mail to the Free Press that the university has no problem with scrutiny:
“A report released by Supt. Mike Flanagan’s office last year showed that Grand Valley’s charter schools, as a whole, outperform all other authorizers using state tests as the assessment standard. Grand Valley has always acted in the best interest of the charter school students we serve. We believe in accountability ... and that our oversight procedures should be used as a model.”
Flanagan’s announcement drew praise from critics of the current system.
“It’s high time and it’s what we should be doing and should have been doing for some time,” said John Austin, president of the State Board of Education. “I welcome that.”
But Austin, who has been pushing for a stronger charter regulations, said a loophole in the law would need to be fixed. A suspended authorizer would still be able to maintain its existing charters. And nothing in state law would prevent those charters from expanding and opening new campuses.
Austin said it’s one of many legislative fixes that are needed in the charter law “to ensure transparency and to ensure clarity.”
The Michigan Council of Charter School Authorizers said it hopes to sit down soon with Flanagan to talk about the changes.
“Multiple Michigan authorizers have been recognized nationally as model authorizers,” Jared Burkhart said in a statement. “In fact, many of the recommendations mentioned by Superintendent Flanagan are already in state law or are based on best practices already in place in Michigan.”
Flanagan received a series of letters during the Free Press series from Greg Richmond, the president and CEO of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. Richmond, who also sent letters to the governor’s office, urged that Michigan toughen its standards — especially in accountability and financial transparency.
“Our organization believes in accountability in education — for charter schools, traditional public schools, authorizers and school boards,” Richmond said. “No one should get a free pass. We all need to earn and maintain the public’s trust. A good accountability system for authorizers should have clear standards and a fair, transparent process.”
Flanagan said tougher standards are in authorizers’ best interests, too.
“All authorizers, especially the boards of trustees of the colleges and universities that authorize most of the charter schools, must pay better and closer attention to how their schools are operated,” Flanagan said. “The integrity of their institutions is at stake here, too.”
30 June 2014
ADVOCATES SOUGHT INNOVATION WHEN MAKING UNIVERSITIES SCHOOL AUTHORIZERS
Original Story: freep.com
As Michigan’s charter law was put together two decades ago, those drafting it faced a problem: Who should be responsible for authorizing charter schools and keeping an eye on them?
It could have been the Michigan Department of Education, but legislators, representatives from then-Gov. John Engler’s office and others working on the law didn’t want to tie up the schools in a traditional education bureaucracy.
That led to the state’s 13public universities. With 10 of the 13 boards running the schools featuring board members handpicked by Engler, the move was made to make those schools the backbone of the charter system.
Engler “knew he had appointed the board members, so he knew he would have influence,” said Jim Goenner, an early CMU hire who became the director of CMU’s charter school office. Goenner, now president/CEO of the National Charter Schools Institute, said he believes the universities are doing a good job running the charter school system.
Western Michigan University and Michigan Technological University are the only state universities with an appointed board that do not have charter schools.
In the late 1990s, a faculty committee looked at whether Western Michigan should start schools. The recommendation was that WMU become involved only in charter schools that had the support of existing traditional public schools, WMU spokeswoman Cheryl Roland said. The university did get involved in planning for one middle school, but it never opened — and the university has not pursued doing another one.
Michigan Technological University never pursued charters in part because it does not have a teaching college.
The three Michigan public universities with elected boards — University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University — don’t have any charters.
At U-M, the decision not to charter schools is simple, said longtime board member Andrea Fischer Newman.
“We’re not in the K-12 charter school business,” she said.
Longtime officials at MSU couldn’t remember any formal discussion of chartering schools by MSU’s board.
But Wayne State jumped in early — opening its own public school in 1993, even before the charter law took effect. It was turned over to Detroit Public Schools in 2002. WSU officials said at the time they wanted to partner with DPS, not compete with it for students. Today, Wayne State has no charters.
Twenty years after the law took effect, Dan DeGrow, former Republican Senate majority leader, said he still likes having universities involved. He believes the charter system is a mixed bag now and would like to see the law require more connection to the universities’ schools of education, which train teachers.
“I would require any charter authorizer to be heavily involved in setting curriculum, hiring staff and making decisions (for the charter school).
“If they had more involvement, then if things went wrong, it would be embarrassing for the universities and perhaps they would act sooner to fix or close the schools.”
As Michigan’s charter law was put together two decades ago, those drafting it faced a problem: Who should be responsible for authorizing charter schools and keeping an eye on them?
It could have been the Michigan Department of Education, but legislators, representatives from then-Gov. John Engler’s office and others working on the law didn’t want to tie up the schools in a traditional education bureaucracy.
That led to the state’s 13public universities. With 10 of the 13 boards running the schools featuring board members handpicked by Engler, the move was made to make those schools the backbone of the charter system.
Engler “knew he had appointed the board members, so he knew he would have influence,” said Jim Goenner, an early CMU hire who became the director of CMU’s charter school office. Goenner, now president/CEO of the National Charter Schools Institute, said he believes the universities are doing a good job running the charter school system.
Western Michigan University and Michigan Technological University are the only state universities with an appointed board that do not have charter schools.
In the late 1990s, a faculty committee looked at whether Western Michigan should start schools. The recommendation was that WMU become involved only in charter schools that had the support of existing traditional public schools, WMU spokeswoman Cheryl Roland said. The university did get involved in planning for one middle school, but it never opened — and the university has not pursued doing another one.
Michigan Technological University never pursued charters in part because it does not have a teaching college.
The three Michigan public universities with elected boards — University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University — don’t have any charters.
At U-M, the decision not to charter schools is simple, said longtime board member Andrea Fischer Newman.
“We’re not in the K-12 charter school business,” she said.
Longtime officials at MSU couldn’t remember any formal discussion of chartering schools by MSU’s board.
But Wayne State jumped in early — opening its own public school in 1993, even before the charter law took effect. It was turned over to Detroit Public Schools in 2002. WSU officials said at the time they wanted to partner with DPS, not compete with it for students. Today, Wayne State has no charters.
Twenty years after the law took effect, Dan DeGrow, former Republican Senate majority leader, said he still likes having universities involved. He believes the charter system is a mixed bag now and would like to see the law require more connection to the universities’ schools of education, which train teachers.
“I would require any charter authorizer to be heavily involved in setting curriculum, hiring staff and making decisions (for the charter school).
“If they had more involvement, then if things went wrong, it would be embarrassing for the universities and perhaps they would act sooner to fix or close the schools.”
WRONGLY CONVICTED DAD WINS $503,000 IN LAWSUIT AGAINST ATTORNEY
Original Story: freep.com
A man who spent seven years in prison on a child molestation charge before his conviction was overturned has settled his lawsuit against his defense attorney for $503,000.
Jackob Trakhtenberg, a retired Chrysler engineer, was convicted of criminal sexual conduct during a 53-minute trial before an Oakland County Circuit Court judge in 2006. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
His court-appointed attorney, Deborah McKelvy, made no opening statement and called no witnesses except Trakhtenberg.
The case against him began after his ex-wife — following a contested divorce — made allegations that he had sexually assaulted his young daughter. The daughter, 8, also testified she had been touched.
Within days of Trakhtenberg’s conviction, his ex-wife filed a civil suit seeking Trakhtenberg’s property, retirement and bank accounts. His grown children from a previous marriage then hired civil attorney James Elliott on their father’s behalf. Jurors in that civil case determined after a six-day trial that the allegations were false and ruled against the ex-wife.
Trakhtenberg appealed his criminal conviction while in prison, and the Michigan Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 2012. He then sued McKelvy for malpractice. The case was set to go to trial but settled Tuesday. His civil attorney said the settlement was one more vindication for his client.
“He wanted his name cleared, and to get on with his life,” Elliott said. “He’s been reunited with his daughter, his family, and he wants to leave this behind.”
McKelvy, in the settlement, admitted no wrongdoing. Her attorney, Michael Sullivan, said she was relying on sound trial strategy, and that Trakhtenberg admitted to investigators on several occasions that he had touched his daughter’s genitals, although he claimed he was applying prescription ointment for an infection and had been instructed by the girl’s mother to do so.
“His defense, his only defense, given the age of his daughter and his admission he touched her genitals is that he did not do so for the purpose of sexual gratification,” Sullivan said. “Because the question of what went through Trakhtenberg’s mind when he admittedly touched his 8-year-old daughter’s genitals could only be known through his testimony, Ms. McKelvy made the strategy decision to opt for a bench trial at which Trakhtenberg would tell his side of the story.”
A man who spent seven years in prison on a child molestation charge before his conviction was overturned has settled his lawsuit against his defense attorney for $503,000.
Jackob Trakhtenberg, a retired Chrysler engineer, was convicted of criminal sexual conduct during a 53-minute trial before an Oakland County Circuit Court judge in 2006. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
His court-appointed attorney, Deborah McKelvy, made no opening statement and called no witnesses except Trakhtenberg.
The case against him began after his ex-wife — following a contested divorce — made allegations that he had sexually assaulted his young daughter. The daughter, 8, also testified she had been touched.
Within days of Trakhtenberg’s conviction, his ex-wife filed a civil suit seeking Trakhtenberg’s property, retirement and bank accounts. His grown children from a previous marriage then hired civil attorney James Elliott on their father’s behalf. Jurors in that civil case determined after a six-day trial that the allegations were false and ruled against the ex-wife.
Trakhtenberg appealed his criminal conviction while in prison, and the Michigan Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 2012. He then sued McKelvy for malpractice. The case was set to go to trial but settled Tuesday. His civil attorney said the settlement was one more vindication for his client.
“He wanted his name cleared, and to get on with his life,” Elliott said. “He’s been reunited with his daughter, his family, and he wants to leave this behind.”
McKelvy, in the settlement, admitted no wrongdoing. Her attorney, Michael Sullivan, said she was relying on sound trial strategy, and that Trakhtenberg admitted to investigators on several occasions that he had touched his daughter’s genitals, although he claimed he was applying prescription ointment for an infection and had been instructed by the girl’s mother to do so.
“His defense, his only defense, given the age of his daughter and his admission he touched her genitals is that he did not do so for the purpose of sexual gratification,” Sullivan said. “Because the question of what went through Trakhtenberg’s mind when he admittedly touched his 8-year-old daughter’s genitals could only be known through his testimony, Ms. McKelvy made the strategy decision to opt for a bench trial at which Trakhtenberg would tell his side of the story.”
13 June 2014
HVACR Ranked Among Top 15 for Refrigeration Technician Training
Original Story: Ferris.edu
Students looking for the top programs in refrigeration technician training will recognize Ferris State University listed among the nation’s 15 best, according to HVACClasses.org. Sign up now for their HVAC Program to start your future.
While the website acknowledges some of the challenges faced by students in their pursuit of becoming a refrigeration technician, the website notes that the right education can make all of the difference in the world. In its list of the 15 top refrigeration technician programs, Ferris’ Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration programs rank prominently. The website notes “That the training programs included on this list are diverse, both geographically and in content. However, each of these programs offers refrigeration technician training that has been shown to be among the best in the country. These schools are qualified to train brand new refrigeration technicians and get them prepared to start in the workforce with the proper knowledge and certifications.”
The ranked training programs, listed in alphabetical order, include:
Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute
American Trainco
AVTEC
Bay State School of Technology
College of Southern Nevada
Coyne College (Ill.)
Delaware Technical Community College
Emily Griffith Technical College (Colo.)
Ferris State University
Harper College (Ill.)
Ranken Technical College (Mo.)
Refrigerating Engineers and Technicians Association
Refrigeration Service Engineers Society (Ill.)
Tennessee College of Applied Technology
The Refrigeration School (Ariz.)
The website’s methodology cites four main factors: refrigeration specific training, Environmental Protection Agency approval, geographic diversity and school accreditation.
Students looking for the top programs in refrigeration technician training will recognize Ferris State University listed among the nation’s 15 best, according to HVACClasses.org. Sign up now for their HVAC Program to start your future.
While the website acknowledges some of the challenges faced by students in their pursuit of becoming a refrigeration technician, the website notes that the right education can make all of the difference in the world. In its list of the 15 top refrigeration technician programs, Ferris’ Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration programs rank prominently. The website notes “That the training programs included on this list are diverse, both geographically and in content. However, each of these programs offers refrigeration technician training that has been shown to be among the best in the country. These schools are qualified to train brand new refrigeration technicians and get them prepared to start in the workforce with the proper knowledge and certifications.”
The ranked training programs, listed in alphabetical order, include:
Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute
American Trainco
AVTEC
Bay State School of Technology
College of Southern Nevada
Coyne College (Ill.)
Delaware Technical Community College
Emily Griffith Technical College (Colo.)
Ferris State University
Harper College (Ill.)
Ranken Technical College (Mo.)
Refrigerating Engineers and Technicians Association
Refrigeration Service Engineers Society (Ill.)
Tennessee College of Applied Technology
The Refrigeration School (Ariz.)
The website’s methodology cites four main factors: refrigeration specific training, Environmental Protection Agency approval, geographic diversity and school accreditation.
HENRY FORD HEALTH SYSTEM SUFFERED SMALL OPERATIONS LOSS LAST YEAR
Original Story: FreeP.com
The Henry Ford Health System had a $12-million operating loss last year amid the cancellation of its planned merger with Beaumont Health System, the installation of a pricey medical records system and decisions by more patients to cut back on hospital and doctor visits due to higher insurance deductibles and copays.
Total revenue for 2013 climbed $32 million to $4.52 billion. The hospital system's net income was a positive $500,000, as the sale of a dialysis unit in Toledo offset the operating loss.
Henry Ford CEO Nancy Schlichting said these latest financial results, released to the public this week, reflect challenges in the health care business that affected hospital systems across the country.
She said the Henry Ford system faced various new costs and Medicare reimbursement cuts in 2013 stemming from the Affordable Care Act, but had yet to feel the anticipated boost of having newly insured patients because coverage under the law didn't begin until this year. The Medicare cuts alone totaled $30 million.
"We're doing OK," Schlichting said. "Our balance sheet is stable. Our earnings are not what we'd like, but we anticipated them."
Bond rating agency Moody's Investors Service said last month that it had placed Henry Ford's credit rating under review for a possible downgrade because of an unexpected decline in the nonprofit health system's "already low operating cash flow."
The agency also pointed to the May 2013 cancellation of its planned merger with Beaumont as a cause for concern.
Yet in an interview this week, Schlichting recalled that Henry Ford was the one approached by Beaumont for a merger, and can easily go it alone.
"We never thought we were running to a merger to save us," she said.
Schlichting said Henry Ford is poised for a stronger 2014 because it is finally done installing the medical records system and anticipates new revenue from Michigan's recent expansion of Medicaid coverage to more low-income people.
Although Medicaid reimburses Henry Ford for only about 60% of the costs of a patient's hospital visit, that amount is better than getting nothing for a treatment that still would have been given if the patient lacked any health coverage.
The reported cost of Henry Ford's uncompensated care for underinsured and indigent people rose $18 million last year to $314 million. That figure includes charity care, bad debt and the unpaid cost of Medicaid and some Medicare procedures. Hospitals can sometimes net modest profits on Medicare procedures.
Schlichting said Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit experienced a significant decrease in patient admissions last year, and doctors throughout the system are getting fewer visits (yet more unpaid bills) from patients whose health insurance copays and deductibles have gone up.
What's more, Henry Ford surgeons are finding themselves much busier at the end of each year because by then patients are closer to fulfilling their annual deductible.
"Some people are choosing not even to go to their doctor for primary care visits because they can't afford the copays," she said.
One bright spot on Henry Ford's balance sheet was the cost of insuring its own 17,964 employees. The total cost of health care for those workers dropped 14% in the past three years, and Schlichting credits the organization's wellness initiatives, including a decision to stop hiring smokers and serve healthier food in its cafeterias.
"We got rid of the fryers," she said. "We don't have one fryer in this health system."
Henry Ford financial statistics
The Henry Ford Health System had a $12-million operating loss last year amid the cancellation of its planned merger with Beaumont Health System, the installation of a pricey medical records system and decisions by more patients to cut back on hospital and doctor visits due to higher insurance deductibles and copays.
Total revenue for 2013 climbed $32 million to $4.52 billion. The hospital system's net income was a positive $500,000, as the sale of a dialysis unit in Toledo offset the operating loss.
Henry Ford CEO Nancy Schlichting said these latest financial results, released to the public this week, reflect challenges in the health care business that affected hospital systems across the country.
She said the Henry Ford system faced various new costs and Medicare reimbursement cuts in 2013 stemming from the Affordable Care Act, but had yet to feel the anticipated boost of having newly insured patients because coverage under the law didn't begin until this year. The Medicare cuts alone totaled $30 million.
"We're doing OK," Schlichting said. "Our balance sheet is stable. Our earnings are not what we'd like, but we anticipated them."
Bond rating agency Moody's Investors Service said last month that it had placed Henry Ford's credit rating under review for a possible downgrade because of an unexpected decline in the nonprofit health system's "already low operating cash flow."
The agency also pointed to the May 2013 cancellation of its planned merger with Beaumont as a cause for concern.
Yet in an interview this week, Schlichting recalled that Henry Ford was the one approached by Beaumont for a merger, and can easily go it alone.
"We never thought we were running to a merger to save us," she said.
Schlichting said Henry Ford is poised for a stronger 2014 because it is finally done installing the medical records system and anticipates new revenue from Michigan's recent expansion of Medicaid coverage to more low-income people.
Although Medicaid reimburses Henry Ford for only about 60% of the costs of a patient's hospital visit, that amount is better than getting nothing for a treatment that still would have been given if the patient lacked any health coverage.
The reported cost of Henry Ford's uncompensated care for underinsured and indigent people rose $18 million last year to $314 million. That figure includes charity care, bad debt and the unpaid cost of Medicaid and some Medicare procedures. Hospitals can sometimes net modest profits on Medicare procedures.
Schlichting said Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit experienced a significant decrease in patient admissions last year, and doctors throughout the system are getting fewer visits (yet more unpaid bills) from patients whose health insurance copays and deductibles have gone up.
What's more, Henry Ford surgeons are finding themselves much busier at the end of each year because by then patients are closer to fulfilling their annual deductible.
"Some people are choosing not even to go to their doctor for primary care visits because they can't afford the copays," she said.
One bright spot on Henry Ford's balance sheet was the cost of insuring its own 17,964 employees. The total cost of health care for those workers dropped 14% in the past three years, and Schlichting credits the organization's wellness initiatives, including a decision to stop hiring smokers and serve healthier food in its cafeterias.
"We got rid of the fryers," she said. "We don't have one fryer in this health system."
Henry Ford financial statistics
- Had a $12-million operating loss last year
- Revenue grew $32 million to $4.52 billion
- Currently has 17,964 full time-equivalent employees
- Spent $356 million in recent years on new electronic medical records system
- 43% of its patients on Medicare
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