Boyfriend Charged in Pregnant Teen's Killing

The suburban Chicago boyfriend of a pregnant teenager fatally shot on Christmas Day and his brother were denied bail Sunday and will remain in jail after being charged with first-degree murder in the death.

Eva Casara, whose baby survived and remains hospitalized, wasn't an intended target when an apparent robbery spiraled out of control, the Chicago Sun-Times ( http://bit.ly/KeoXnB ) reported.

Charged are her boyfriend, Anthony Lee, 16, and his brother, Diante Lamont Coakley, 21, both from Dolton, a suburb south of Chicago. It wasn't immediately clear if either Lee or Coakley had lawyers.

The 17-year-old Casara was "just in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong company," Dolton Police Chief John Franklin told the Sun-Times on Saturday. Franklin said it appeared to be part of a drug deal or robbery gone wrong.

A message left with Franklin by The Associated Press was not immediately returned. It wasn't immediately clear whether Lee would be tried as an adult.

On Sunday, Assistant State's Attorney Christina Kye offered more detail, saying that Lee, Coakley and a third brother headed out to rob someone — and Casara went along. At some point, Casara ended up in the car of the robbery target — and shots were fired at the car as it sped off, Kye said.

Kye said the intended robbery victim only understood Casara was in the car when he heard gurgling sounds behind him, then pulled over and left her. A passerby later came across Casara's body, she said.

Casara, who was 5 1/2 months pregnant, was pronounced dead early on Thursday — several hours after the Wednesday shooting. But doctors were able to save the Calumet City teen's baby.

While Casara was not the intended target in the shooting, the police chief stopped short of calling her death an accident.

"It's hard to call it an accident when you're firing a gun in the direction of people," he said.

Casara's aunt, Melody Vargas, told the Sun-Times, "She was just a victim of their stupidity, and they need to pay for it."

Suspect in 3 Colorado Slayings Captured in Okla.

A month long hunt for a man accused of killing three people in Colorado and then setting a house on fire to cover it up has ended with his capture in Oklahoma.

Harry Carl Mapps, 59, was arrested at a motel in Roland, Okla., on Saturday night, authorities said Sunday.

Mapps faces charges of first-degree murder and arson in the shooting deaths of Kim and Reggie Tuttle and their adult daughter, Dawn Roderick. Their bodies were found in the Tuttles' home in the southern Colorado town of Rye after it was damaged by fire on Nov. 27.

A booking photo showed Mapps with a swollen lip and large red patch on his right cheek, but authorities said there had been no struggle during his capture. No other details of his arrest were released.

Pueblo County, Colo., Sheriff Kirk Taylor said Mapps was found using information developed by the U.S. Marshals Service in Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas. Mapps had lived in Texas.

The Marshals Service had issued a fugitive warrant for Mapps and said authorities were searching for him nationwide.

It wasn't immediately clear if Mapps had an attorney, and authorities did not yet know if he would fight extradition to Colorado.

The fire at the Tuttles' house was ruled arson, and Taylor said it was meant to cover up the shootings.

Three days after the fire, deputies said Mapps was their primary suspect. Authorities said he had been living with the Tuttles and was working for a trucking company owned by Reggie Tuttle, 51.

Taylor said money appeared to be the motive for the shootings. Authorities claimed Mapps stole checks made out to one of the victims and cashed them on the day of the fire. He also faces theft, identity theft and forgery charges.

Pueblo County sheriff's investigators arrived in Oklahoma Sunday and hoped to speak to Mapps, said Lisa Shorter, the sheriff's spokeswoman.

Mapps wasn't armed when he was arrested, but investigators did not yet know whether there were any weapons in the motel room or Mapps' vehicle, said Charles Ahmad of the Marshals Service in Denver.

Ahmad said the firearm used to shoot the Tuttles and Roderick had not been recovered, and investigators believed Mapps still had it. Ahmad declined to identify the weapon.

Shorter and Ahmad said they did not yet know where Mapps had been while he was a fugitive. He once worked as a long-distance trucker, and authorities had said he was familiar with little-used back roads.

Friends called the Tuttles generous and caring.

"Kim and Reggie would help anyone who needed it," Winnie Owens, a friend and neighbor, told the Pueblo Chieftain. "The hearts of everyone in this valley go out to that family."

Kim Tuttle, 55, worked on the culinary staff at Parkview Medical Center in Pueblo.

Roderick, 33, lived in nearby Pueblo and had a husband and three children. Authorities haven't said why she was at her parents' home.

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Time Running Short for Teen Declared Brain Dead

Without further court order, a California hospital could unhook a 13-year-old girl declared brain dead from a breathing machine.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Evelio Grillo's current order allows Children's Hospital of Oakland to remove Jahi McMath from a ventilator at 5 p.m. Monday.

The family was pinning its hopes on a New York facility to care for the child after two California care homes withdrew offers to accept her.

Jahi underwent a tonsillectomy at the hospital on Dec. 9 to treat sleep apnea. After she awoke from the operation, her family said, she started bleeding heavily and went into cardiac arrest.

Doctors at Children's Hospital and an independent pediatric neurologist from Stanford University have concluded the girl is brain dead.

The hospital wants to remove her from life support, but the family said they believe she is still alive.

Chris Dolan, the family's attorney, said he was waiting to hear from the New York hospital after its facility director and medical director speak.

"The family is together, and today everybody is praying and being together," Dolan told the Associated Press Sunday. He said no decisions had been made about legal options for Monday, and would not comment on progress with the New York facility.

On Sunday, the hospital said it had not heard from the New York, or any other, facility about a transfer.

"We need to be able to talk to the other facility to understand what it is they are capable of doing," Cynthia Chiarappa, a hospital spokeswoman, said. "This is not transferring an individual in a vegetative state, but a dead body."

The hospital also said it would need to confirm there is "lawful transportation" included in any plan to transfer Jahi, and written permission from the coroner.

Dolan said previously that the family views the New York site as it's "last, last hope." He has also has said it was possible the family could ask Grillo for more time, or file a federal appeal.

Alcoholism Treatment is an Option

There has always been much confusion about alcoholism treatment. One of the most common questions that alcoholics are asking is: Does alcoholism treatment work?

Throughout the history of the world, there are documented cases of alcohol use and, in many instances, documented cases of sheer abuse, which can easily be transported back to modern times and in our daily lives right now.

Alcohol - A Force That Does NOT Play Favorites!

While alcohol can be a pleasant social stimulant, it can also be a hideous and destructive force that does not play favorites. So, if this drug has been causing so much havoc over such a long period in our history, why are we still using it? In true fashion, human beings are an interesting mixture of self-preservation and self-destruction, dosed with a healthy amount of denial when necessary, which means that when it comes to alcohol - we just don't get it.

While it is, of course, true that not every person who drinks is an alcoholic, it is also true that there has never been a true medical or other type of legitimate reason for "needing" a drink- except to feel more "mellow and relaxed" or to "escape" and, in fact, alcohol has gained huge approval socially - which has seriously removed its taboo factor. Having said this, alcohol seems to be here to stay and it is up to all of us to deal with this fact AND the fallout that is associated with having booze so readily available to everyone.

The CDC estimates that currently 50% of adults in the US are regular drinkers with 14% of adults being infrequent drinkers - this means that 64% of the population has at least 1 drink per year and while the CDC does not offer statistics on the number of alcoholics, it would appear that approximately 10% of adults in the US are alcoholics.

Suffering Pain Through Alcoholism

While to some, these may simply be numbers, to others, these numbers actually have faces and names - they are mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters and sisters and brothers. Being an alcoholic is not a solitary affair - not only do you hurt yourself, but you also hurt everyone around you who loves you. So, really, that number of 10% should be multiplied to reflect the true pain alcoholism causes families and loved ones.

Unfortunately, alcoholism cannot be cured, however, alcoholism treatment is possible and for many, that option is scarier than having that next drink. Indeed, recovery and alcoholism treatment from alcohol addiction, or any type of addiction, requires courage and a strong, strong support system. People in treatment are very, very brave because to them, living without their drug of choice now has to face all the pain and fear that drove them to drink in the first place - but it is very possible!

Treatment Is Truly An Option

Thankfully, there are many alcoholism treatment options available which have proven to arrest the disease. If you or someone you know is struggling with alcohol, you are encouraged to get help - for them and for yourself. All of these options for alcoholism treatment is confidential and/or anonymous. Remember that many people have been where you are and have survived to tell about it. Never despair.

Two Miami Women Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Pay Health Care Kickbacks

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; and Christopher B. Dennis, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS‑OIG), Miami Regional Office, announce that U.S. District Judge Federico A. Moreno sentenced Yiral Cardona, 39, of Miami, and Susan Chi, 42, of Miami, to 10 years in prison, stemming from their leadership roles in a conspiracy to pay health care kickbacks.
At trial, Cardona and Chi were convicted on October 22, 2013, of one count of conspiracy to pay health care kickbacks and to defraud the United States, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, and three counts of unlawful payment of health care kickbacks, in violation of Title 42, United States Code, Section 1320a-7b(b)(2)(A).
According to the evidence presented at trial and the sentencing hearing, Cardona and Chi owned Vista Home Health Services Inc. (Vista), a Miami-Dade based home health agency that purportedly provided skilled nursing and home health services to Medicare beneficiaries. The defendants illegally obtained Medicare patients by paying bribes and kickbacks of at least $141,000 to patient recruiters to induce the referral of Medicare patients to Vista for home health services. Cardona and Chi billed the Medicare program for home health services that were not medically necessary and/or not provided. Between approximately May 15, 2009 and April 26, 2012, Medicare paid Vista more than $4.1 million in claims. The court ordered the defendants to pay more than $733,000 in restitution.

Denial - Why Alcoholics and Drug Addicts Think It's OK to Drink and Use Drugs

Denial is a defense mechanism that allows a person - despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary - to deny that something is true, when in fact, it is true. It is one of the most powerful and difficult problems that Alcoholics and Drug Addicts face before, during, and after treatment, because it is always the thinking that precedes the act of picking up a drink or a drug.

Physical Components of Denial

Over the course of time, drinking and using drugs can cause changes in the brain that affect thought processes and emotions. For example, when the hippocampus, which controls memory and judgment, is damaged, the Alcoholic or Addict has great difficulty remembering the bad things that happen when they drink or use. This coupled with impaired judgment allows them to actually believe that drinking or using drugs is ok.

Poor judgment is further compounded by the over stimulation or inhibition of two important neurotransmitters: Serotonin and Dopamine. Serotonin affects thinking and emotions, while Dopamine affects the pleasure and reward center of the brain. When a person drinks or uses drugs excessively, these neurotransmitters are over stimulated, and the body develops a tolerance to them. This causes the individual to need more and more of the substance while they get less and less of an effect.

Non-addicted people find it very difficult to understand the actions and thinking of the addict or alcoholic. They just don't "get it" because their brains have not been damaged so their thinking is not organically impaired and they have the capacity to differentiate between truth and falsehood.

Thought Patterns of Denial

The essential and most basic of all Denial thinking is this: "I don't have a problem with alcohol or drugs, and the things that are wrong in my life don't have anything to do with my drinking or using." This erroneous belief gives rise to all sorts of strange twists and turns of thought that are common in Addicts and Alcoholics.

Substance Abusers blame others for the negative things that happen in their lives and lie about where they have been and what they have been doing. They live in a fantasy world where they have convinced themselves that their lives are "not so bad" despite the loss of jobs, marriages, family and friends. They say that if only they had more money or if the people in their lives would understand them, that everything would be ok.

They do not acknowledge, nor do they connect the fact that drinking and using drugs have become the root cause of their current problems; this is Denial.

Behavior Patterns of Denial

Family, friends and employers notice changes in the behavior of an alcoholic or addict long before the person with the disease does. This is the first indicator that someone is in denial about their disease. Tragically, as it progresses, the individual barely notices the changes and deterioration because they happen gradually, day after day and seem normal to the sufferer.

Typical behaviors include, but are not limited to: being late to work, inability to hold a job, getting arrested, ending relationships when people criticize their drinking or using, spending rent money on drugs or alcohol, not keeping commitments, driving under the influence, poor personal hygiene, frequenting dangerous neighborhoods, and living on the street.

Again, the alcoholic or addict does not notice or pretends not to notice that these behaviors are related to their substance abuse, when clearly they are.

Summary

Denial is one of the biggest roadblocks to recovery. It is an elusive and dangerous pattern of thinking that is extremely difficult to break because it has so many different causes and manifestations. The first clue that someone is in denial is that their behavior and dialog changes dramatically and they develop a litany of excuses for this that do not include drinking or using drugs.

This is further compounded by physical damage to the brain and its chemistry, which exacerbates poor judgment, increases tolerance, and enhances denial. The fundamental problem of denial is that the alcoholic/addict actually sees their substance abuse as the cure, not the cause.

It is only when a person has a moment of clarity; where they see through the fog of denial and connect their problems to their drinking or using drugs that they will seek help. When this happens, recovery is possible.

New Jersey Opthalmologist Admits Lying to Federal Agents During Fraud Investigation About Reuse of Lucentis Vials

NEWARK—An ophthalmologist with a medical practice in Englewood, New Jersey admitted today to lying to federal agents during a health care fraud investigation into the reuse of single-use vials of prescription Lucentis medication for multiple patients, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Bernard J. Fowler, 68, of Mahwah, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to an information charging him with making false statements to federal agents with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). He entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Fowler was a licensed and board-certified ophthalmologist operating his own medical practice called Retina Vitreous Consultants, when he was interviewed by HHS-OIG special agents on July 27, 2011. Fowler no longer operates the practice.
During his guilty plea, Fowler admitted that in 2008 and 2009, he had administered injections from one vial of Lucentis to more than one patient on multiple occasions but told the investigating agents that he had not. Fowler admitted he knew the statement was false and he intended to deceive the agents.
In addition to the potential health risks of reusing single-use vials on multiple individuals, such reuse can generate fraudulent billings to patients and insurers based on the approximately $2,000 cost of a full vial.
The false statements charge carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss caused by the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for March 24, 2014.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of HHS-OIG, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas O’Donnell, and the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, for the investigation leading to the guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott B. McBride and R. David Walk of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Health Care and Government Fraud Unit.