Albert Flowers, a 66-year-old man suffering from dementia, was kicked and beaten after an officer disabled his in-car video. Because it happened in Brevard County, Florida, the travesty is tied to conviction corruption that is being further clouded by corporate behaviors of Orchid Cellmark, recently acquired by LabCorp.
The related letter to Sharis Pozen, below, was sent in the midst of a dizzingly “live chat” with Earthlink sans a final proofread. I feared that if I didn’t hit “send,” the next time I clicked the button, it wouldn’t work. Someone changed my Earthink account information, but Earthlink wouldn’t tell me what other name temporarily appeared as owning the account. It didn’t make sense that an email notifying me that my information had been changed could possibly be spam when indeed my account information had changed. But that’s Earthlink’s story and they’re sticking to it. It’s a strange thing to pay for service from a provider, in this case for over a decade, and have them treat you as an annoying adversary. But like most corporations, Internet Service Providers are poorly regulated; they make no serious efforts at eliminating attempted fraud, not even frauds attempted through undisguised death threats, as a previous post portrayed. I’m not going to try another “live chat” to determine how it is that Earthlink notified me that ASKDOJ@jmdpublic.doj.gov rejected receipt of this letter to Pozen when I hadn’t sent it to ASKDOJ@jmdpublic.doj.gov to begin with.
A single trip through-the-looking-glass is sufficient for one night.
Anyone interested in the complete content of the Florida Today articles I referenced will have to purchase copies from the newspaper. I’d be happy to furnish the article dates upon request.
From: Susan Chandler
Date: January 23, 2012 12:49:39 AM EST
To: antitrust.complaints@usdoj.gov
Cc: ASKDOJ <ASKDOJ@usdoj.gov>, “Alan J. Friedman” <AFRIEDMAN@ftc.gov>, irsob@do.treas.gov, *TIGTA Investigations Complaints Unit <Complaints@tigta.treas.gov>, ACLU Romero <aclu@aclu.org>, washingtonbureau@naacpnet.org
Subject: The matter of Albert Flowers as regards Laboratory Corporation and Orchid Cellmark, FTC File No.111 0155
Sharis Arnold Pozen
Acting Assistant Attorney General
United States Department of Justice
Citizen Complaint Center
Antitrust Division
950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Room 3322
Washington, DC 20530
Dear Ms. Pozen,
I find myself again grateful to receive a response from your Division, but frustrated once more over the response’s content and anonymity. This time, I’ll make no attempt to restore the paper trail for clarity’s sake, as WordPress consistently scrambles my correspondence to you (unlike other blog posts), making the content appear less credible. I offer no apologies for this letter being poorly constructed, as current events make it necessary to state that I became involved in battling conviction corruption after experiencing the malice directed at incarcerated innocents firsthand in 2001. Doing so re-traumatizes me, and makes writing very difficult.
My correspondence to you seeks now-retroactive relief on the behalf of millions from the FTC’s malfeasance in approving LabCorp’s acquisition of Orchid Cellmark, and it isn’t in the best interests of those millions for me to wait for your office to decide whether or not to request additional information, especially since LabCorp apparently additionally acquired Westcliff Medical Laboratories since my last letter to you (link below).
Here are yet more reasons that LabCorp should not have become a behemoth with the FTC and DoJ Antitrust Division’s blessings.
The LabCorp Sucks website has been in existence since 2008 (link below); after browsing the site and reading some of the cross-country complaints about test accuracy, wait times, sanitary conditions, customer service and billing practices for medical lab tests, I am more convinced than ever that the FTC was aware that LabCorp’s expanding into forensics lab testing through acquiring Orchid Cellmark was not in the public interest. Last Monday, LabCorp Sucks titled a post, “LabCorp Under Investigation for Medicaid and Medicare Fraud” (link below) that touched on litigation and $1B in recent financing that I’d previously written to you about. On June 27, 2010 – prior to LabCorp’s many recent acquisitions and in the same timeframe as my formal pleas that LabCorp not be allowed to acquire Orchid Cellmark – LabCorp Sucks published a post titled, “LabCorp Mixes up Patient Samples” that went into some detail about LabCorp scrambling samples for nearly 100 individuals that had availed themselves of 23andMe’s retail DNA services (link below). 23andMe owes its existence in part to Google (link below), and LabCorp’s carelessness with the Internet giant’s venture capital recipient could not reasonably be ignored by the FTC as a concrete indicator that LabCorp absolutely cannot be allowed to participate in laboratory tests that determine the outcome of criminal trials.
Pissed Consumer’s website records years of complaints about LabCorp (link below). As the FTC is obliged to conduct research of acquisitions, Pissed Consumer’s LabCorp pages provided the FTC with one more reason to put its rubber stamp back in the drawer and deny LabCorp further growth, undoing growth that already occurred.
I have documented three more reasons for your Division to immediately bust up LabCorp’s acquisition of Orchid Cellmark that unconscionably extends LabCorp’s bumbling, unethical reach into the outcomes of criminal trials: 1) the years of consumer complaints on LabCorp Sucks and Pissed Consumer, 2) the ominous portent for reliable outcomes in DNA testing for criminal trials evidenced by LabCorp mishandling of DNA for nearly 100 23andMe clients, and 3) LabCorp’s unwillingness or inability to perform well even when there’s a potential to incur the wrath of gigantic Google.
Medical laboratory tests are life and death, forensics laboratory tests are life and death and freedoms … there is not a millimeter of wiggle room to play caveat emptor games, ones that even those under Google’s enormous wing can’t expect to win. Those that participate in conviction corruption can have their faux respectability preserved by a forensics laboratory falsely declaring DNA too degraded to test, and I believe that this horrific scenario has already played out, and that ethically-challenged LabCorp will claim bungling if caught red-handed – and get away with it – which brings me to the matter that compels me to relay personal information.
Fox 35 News reported this week that the Brevard County, FL ACLU is planning to make a formal request of the Justice Department that is related to the relief I’ve requested (link below) … perhaps it has already been received. One report indicates that the NAACP may become involved, as well. Melbourne Police Officer Derek Middendorf disabled his in-car video equipment before kicking and beating 66-year-old Albert Flowers, whom multiple reports portray as suffering from dementia (link below). Brevard/Seminole State Attorney Norm Wolfinger is content with the MPD merely reprimanding Middendorf for disabling the equipment, although another officer tased Flowers … reports vary on whether it was in his face or upper body. I haven’t been able to watch the video – despite the years that have passed, I am haunted by a video of Florida corrections officers administering CPR to 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson with their boots, under nurse supervision. Anderson died, and the DoJ was pleased with the outcome of deliberately piss-poor prosecution resulting in acquittals all around.
The world knows Florida’s Brevard County coastline from lift-offs that propelled men and women heavenward, without knowing that while Brevard scientists reach beyond the moon, Brevard public servants plunge innocent private citizens into living hells and then fight furiously to keep them there. After years of interacting with other criminal justice advocates from across the nation, I remain convinced that Brevard is America’s Most Corrupt County, and Florida America’s Most Corrupt State.
Once again, for the record, William Dillon and Gary Bennett’s Brevard trial evidence arrived at Orchid Cellmark in suspect condition from in 2008 and 2010, respectively, and Judge W. David Dugan twice ignored the same unacceptable problem that LabCorp’s acquisition of Orchid Cellmark will predictably bury deeper. These convictions were achieved using dog handler John Preston – whom the FBI had used in adjacent Orange County to convict Linroy Bottoson in 1979 (Bottoson was executed in 2002). Unlike the others, Gary Bennett was convicted one year after Preston had been determined by Ohio courts to be unable to track scent and unwilling to truthfully state his credentials under oath – a charlatan and a perjurer.
Bennett’s public defender knew of Dale Sutton’s upset Ohio conviction but did not make it clear to the jury that Preston was – of record – a charlatan and a perjurer. That screw-up of a public defender won a major local election that year and has held that elected office ever since – Brevard/Seminole State Attorney Wolfinger – the self-same man who determined that simply reprimanding Middendorf for turning off his video equipment before kicking a 66-year-old man is appropriate to addressing three officers misconduct, even though reports indicate that Flowers required a month of hospitalization.
I suspect that Wolfinger threw Bennett’s case to make himself the “right guy” to elect – a protector of rogue cops and prosecutors – as there were questionable behaviors from a Palm Bay Police Department officer in Bennett’s prosecution, and Wolfinger had lost to the same unethical prosecutors before in defending Juan Ramos, who was acquitted at retrial in 1987. Judge Gilbert Goshorn apparently was unaware of Preston being descredited – he personally tested Preston’s tracking abilities in Ramos’ retrial and found him unable to track a fresh scent the length of a football field. Ramos’ acquittal offered Wolfinger an opportunity to redeem himself by belatedly addressing Preston’s scores of Brevard perjuries, an opportunity Wolfinger had insufficient content of character to embrace. You don’t need to imagine Wolfinger’s lack of conscience, ma’am; you can personally observe it in the extra features of the After Innocence DVD … Wilton Dedge’s 2004 exoneration story is the centerpiece of the documentary (link below). Dedge is another Brevard/Preston victim. Wolfinger’s hand-off of Bennett’s case to the jurisdiction that prosecuted Bottoson announces his criminal malice; that jurisdiction’s authoring – likely by Jeff Ashton – of a filthy aspersion against Bennett is eerily similar to the filthy aspersion Ashton leveled at William “Tommy” Zeigler, a death row innocent whose most recent hearing result mysteriously has yet to be announced. It’s a simple “yes” or “no” to additional DNA testing, one that a “no” is in the best interests of Ashton as well as Lawson Lamar, whom Ashton is seeking to replace as Orange/Osceola State Attorney.
Bennett’s tainted transfer required three Executive Orders, two signed by Governor Crist, one signed by Governor Scott. Despite the extended length of time involved, Brevard’s Clerk Mitch Needelman stubbornly refused to put Bennett’s case online on eFACTS, citing age of the case … an obvious lie, given that Ramos and Dillon’s older cases are available on eFACTS. The lie was necessary to give the media a built-in excuse not to cover Bennett’s case, including the tainted transfer that even a slight glance at would have revealed the nauseating resemblance to the prosecutorial wiles being simultaneously directed at Zeigler.
With the Department of Defense so aggressively, unnecessarily and expensively militarizing municipalities with equipment and training, it is crucial that local governments be entirely free of rogue officers, prosecutors, public defenders, D.A.’s or S.A.’s, and judges that will avail themselves of any available assistance, including corporate, to conceal dirty deeds. With military arrests and interminable detention without charge now lawful although unconstitutional, anyone that objects to the militarization of municipalities, the unchecked continuation of conviction corruption, the unreasonable growth of unethical corporations, the unethical tax exempt status of a host of NGO’s, or any other devolvement into third world behaviors is in jeopardy.
The FBI has already investigated the Melbourne Police Department (Florida Today .pdf below, “FBI Suspends Commander”). The MPD also underwent internal investigations and investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement at the turn of the century, too, yet when I asked for outside investigation of obviously squirrelly and lawless 2001 and forward MPD behaviors from the FBI and FDLE, the MPD was allowed to investigate itself and declare itself falsely fabulous. Only an idiot detective would declare himself an instant expert on heavy metals toxicity, and only a devious detective would fail to retain evidence I had been specifically requested to provide while simultaneously concealing that Terence Schoof had been arrested by the Palm Bay Police Department (Florida Today .pdf below “Palm Bay police arrest 6 in prostitution sting”) for behaviors I described in my statement about suspected crimes in metropolitan Detroit. The PBPD had released a vehicle from impound titled solely in my name without the notification that Florida law requires, blaming the towing company. The owner of that company provided me with the releasing officer’s name. Good law enforcement officers that I discussed my circumstances with said it was highly likely that Schoof became an informant to earn unlawful release of the vehicle and kid glove treatment thereafter not only for his arrest but for suspected attempted homicide, explaining why Judge Moxley – who’d prosecuted Ramos, Dedge, Bennett and others using Preston – was amenable to Schoof’s obstruction, perjuries, abuse of process, thefts, frauds, etc. – and why a case from South Brevard ended up in its northernmost court in Moxley’s filthy hands. The history of Brevard jailhouse informants is no secret; Roger Dale Chapman publicly apologized to Dillon for providing coached testimony on the stand, Clarence Zacke admitted that he had been coached by Moxley and Chris White to testify falsely against Wilton Dedge and Gerald Stano. The obviousness of Schoof wanting me to end up a Jane Doe on a coroner’s table is crystal clear in his physical description of me in an “attempt to locate” he filed with the MPD. Having known me since he was in first grade, he said my blue eyes were hazel, that my scars – one over 6″ long – didn’t exist, that I didn’t take medication daily for epilepsy and a heart defect, and more. Wolfinger’s office was content with the MPD (and PBPD’s) bizarre behaviors, then and now.
My copying ASKDOJ@usdoj.gov on my correspondence to the FTC last summer should have finally turned the tide and motivated the DoJ to compel the FBI to investigate every aspect of Brevard’s decades of conviction and peripheral corruption and every D.C. and Tallahassee tie-in, including Florida Senate President Haridopolos, the pretend friend of Preston perjury victims who sponsored Dedge and Dillon’s exoneration claims, who is possibly engineering a delay in Dillon’s compensation to better protect Brevard’s villains and get good press for obviously divided attention, given his ignoring Ramos’ compensation claim. Haridopolos is the son of a former FBI agent that – along with many other retired feds – supported the reelection of Brevard Sheriff Parker, knowing that Parker would keep Preston’s perjuries buried to the best of his abilities. Again, the FBI used Preston, and it resulted in Bottoson’s execution.
I believe that the instrument available to the DoJ to compel the FBI to adhere to their mandate to investigate public corruption that affects trial outcomes is called a Petition for Writ of Mandamus, which would be filed with the U.S. Supreme Court. If the DoJ decides to remain on corruption’s side, a Petition can be filed by anyone with standing, it seems. Even me. But the FBI filing a Petition would not result in an untoward arrest for doing the right thing, but my filing a Petition very well might.
Schoof’s behaviors towards me were a repeat performance of his behaviors towards his first wife. At their request, I provided the MPD with a copy of her sworn statement and provided the phone number of family members that were willing to discuss it. I don’t believe they retained the sworn statement, and they refused – to my face – to call those that stood ready to verify its contents. The federal government continues to deny me and many others equal protection under the law as concerns the lawlessness of the MPD, PBPD, Brevard Sheriff’s Office, Wolfinger’s office and Moxley’s court, and should reverse course on Brevard’s ongoing lawlessness while addressing Albert Flowers matter to address the scores of intact frame-ups, which are not confined to use of charlatan/perjurer Preston, or to the previous century, with Jeffrey Abramowski’s frame-up providing proof of both: the misrepresentation of Abramowski’s DNA by the FDLE is glaring, and it has specifically been brought to the attention of the FBI – repeatedly. Schoof’s reputation in Brevard rests on having his violence toward his first wife and me remain unknown, and the “attempt to locate” report indicates what he intends to do about it. So y’all might be the death of me yet … but not without the world knowing about it.
The millions affected by the FTC’s untoward decision to let LabCorp acquire Orchid Cellmark are from many nations, and likely explains the increasingly international composition of search engine hits on my blog.
Emirates News Agency reports today in “Official opening for National Reference Laboratory’s regional hub in Abu Dhabi” that, “It has been estimated that 70% of all medical decisions regarding diagnosis and treatment are based on lab results.” (italics mine, link below) If LabCorp is the exclusive provider designated by your insurance, you may have thrown yourself – and your family – under a bus, where you’ve certainly thrown other families whose exclusive provider is LabCorp.
Again, I appreciate not being entirely ignored by your department … the course that the IRS Oversight Board chose on being challenged on the inappropriateness of tax exemptions they granted to organizations whose expenditures and behaviors defy their mission statements and serve to keep wrongful convictions intact; the course that the FBI Public Corruption Unit chose on being challenged on ignoring serial conviction corruption that defies their mandate to investigate public corruption that affects trial outcomes that also serves to keep wrongful convictions intact.
Again; I am seeking specific life and death and freedom-related relief from your department: 1) undoing LabCorp’s acquistion of Orchid Cellmark and Westcliff Medical Laboratories, 2) breaking up both LabCorp and Orchid Cellmark up into entities that are small enough to have to compete fiercely on business ethics and practices, customer service and pricing. LabCorp’s enormous rival, Quest, is likely no better, and likely needs to be broken up, too, for all the same reasons (link below).
In light of the recent confirmation of State Attorney Wolfinger’s decades of contentment with lawlessness in his reaction to Albert Flower’s beating, I now ask that you meet with your supervisors and discuss the necessity of legally compelling the FBI Public Corruption Unit to address Brevard’s conviction and peripheral corruption, including Tallahassee and D.C. tentacles. If memory serves, Wolfinger signed Bennett’s sealed evidence that Orchid Cellmark apparently reported as untestable for DNA (after successfully testing Dillon’s older, unsealed, related evidence). Busting Brevard will have every corrupt officer, prosecutor, D.A., S.A., judge, attorney general and governor in every state scrambling to resolve clouded convictions out of fear of being the next to be prosecuted, convicted and incarcerated for conviction corruption; a fear that should always have been present. The D.A.’s and S.A.’s that received official notice from the FBI that their Comparative Bullet Lead Analysis was junk science would suddenly be motivated to belatedly notify those that were convicted with its use. State supreme court judges would suddenly have total recall of CBLA being officially declared junk as well as the exact circumstances and dates of experts, including dog handlers, being discredited, along with when particular fire and blood splatter forensic methods became officially outmoded, etc. Incarcerated innocents and killers would trade places rapidly – as they have in Dallas County, TX – and our streets would be safer. How each of you feds managed to convince yourself that your loved ones are immune from harm from thousands and thousands of innocents serving killers’ sentences is beyond me.
Judge Goshorn has taken every opportunity to assert that Preston was fed information, and former Brevard prosecutor Sam Bardwell says he quit rather than participate (Florida Today .pdf below “Our Views: Bring out the truth”). Medical laboratory tests are life and death, forensics laboratory tests are life and death and freedoms, so in the interests of millions here and abroad, kindly provide – at your very earliest convenience, Ms. Pozen – “yes” or “no” responses to each of my three requests for relief, signed by an actual person. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Susan Chandler
http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/68205/LabCorp+Offers+New+Test
http://www.labcorpsucks.com/blog/about-us/
http://www.labcorpsucks.com/blog/labcorp-under-investigation-for-medicaid-and-medicare-fraud/
http://www.labcorpsucks.com/blog/labcorp-mixes-up-patient-samples/
https://www.23andme.com/about/corporate/
http://labcorp.pissedconsumer.com/complaints.html
http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/brevard_news/011712-charges-dropped-in-albert-flowers-case
From: “ATR-OPS Citizen Complaint Center” <Antitrust.Complaints@usdoj.gov>
Date: January 13, 2012 9:21:29 AM EST
To: “Susan Chandler” <studio8@infionline.net>
Subject: RE: Objections to FTC approval of LabCorp’s purchase of Orchid Cellmark [Laboratory Corporation and Orchid Cellmark; FTC File No.111 0155]
Dear Ms. Chandler:
Thank you for your continued correspondence with the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division. We have your information on file and should the legal staff need further information, they may contact you in the future.
We appreciate your interest in the enforcement of federal antitrust laws.
Sincerely,
Citizen Complaint Center
Antitrust Division
Department of Justice
Wobbly Warrior's Blog 