Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyer - Ucla

UCLA Willed Body Program Tactics Seen at Illinois Cemetery?

Paul Kiesel — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:39:20 GMT

As far as what's been reported on this story, yes, it reeks of the UCLA WBP days of 1999-2003 (i.e. trafficking body parts, improper disposition of body parts, bank accounts set up in UCLA's name, without UCLA's permission, by professors and employees of the school, then used by Henry Reid to embezzle money, etc.).

From the Los Angeles Times:

Five employees of the historic Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip were taken into custody Wednesday after authorities learned numerous bodies had been dug up and the grave sites were illegally resold, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said.

Detectives discovered a pile of bones -- from more than 100 decomposed bodies -- above ground and uncovered in an overgrown, fenced-off portion of the cemetery, Dart said.

"What we found was beyond startling and revolting," the sheriff said.

On Wednesday night, as news of the grim discovery spread, devastated families started trickling onto the cemetery grounds to check on their loved ones' graves.

Donetta Newman, 35, whose father and both of her grandparents are buried at Burr Oak, stood in the rain trying to get inside to see if their grave sites had been disturbed. "You always think this is the final resting place," she said. "This is just shocking. I'm very distraught."

One of the first predominantly African-American cemeteries in the area, Burr Oak is home to many historic figures, including Emmett Till, blues legend Dinah Washington and heavyweight boxing champion Ezzard Charles.

Dart said he was certain Till's remains were not disturbed, but he could not ensure the preservation of the others.

"We cannot give people definitive answers at this point," he said, adding they were working with forensic medical examiners to try to identify the remains.

None of the remains had been removed from the site, said Steve Patterson, a sheriff's spokesman. The state's attorney's office and FBI are also investigating, Dart said.

Click here for the rest of the article.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Kiesel

Japanese Gangsters, Illegitimate Liver Transplants, Unauthorized Bank Accounts and UCLA

Paul Kiesel — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:02:46 GMT

First, the unauthorized bank account referred to in the title of this blog stems from the UCLA Willed Body fiasco that took place from 1999-2003. Henry Reid, the former Willed Body Program director at UCLA, who sold cadavers and cadaver parts to Ernest Nelson (body parts broker), used an unauthorized bank account that aesthetically (checks, invoices, etc.) appeared to be an authorized UCLA bank account (it was surreptitiously established by three UCLA employees), to embezzle tens of thousands of dollars over a four-to-six-year period.

Not surprisingly, during the same period that UCLA carelessly allowed its Willed Body Program to be run into the ground by Henry Reid, who, oddly, didn't testify in the trial against Ernest Nelson (even though it was pretty obvious by the copious exhibits presented to the jury that the trial against Ernest Nelson was in fact the trial against both of the hapless body brokers), UCLA allowed Japanese gangsters, who should have never been permitted into the U.S. (thanks, FBI), to receive liver transplants ahead of over 100 patients in terrible need of the same procedure.

From the Los Angeles Times:

UCLA Medical Center and its most accomplished liver surgeon provided a life-saving transplant to one of Japan's most powerful gang bosses, law enforcement sources told The Times.

In addition, the surgeon performed liver transplants at UCLA on three other men who are now barred from entering the United States because of their criminal records or suspected affiliation with Japanese organized crime groups, said a knowledgeable law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The four surgeries were done between 2000 and 2004 at a time of pronounced organ scarcity. In each of those years, more than 100 patients died awaiting liver transplants in the greater Los Angeles region.

The surgeon in each case was Dr. Ronald W. Busuttil, executive chairman of UCLA's surgery department, according to another person familiar with the matter who also spoke on condition of anonymity. Busuttil is a world-renowned liver surgeon who co-edited a leading text on liver transplantation and is one of the highest-paid employees in the University of California system.

Click here for the rest of the article.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Kiesel

Ignorance meets Incompetence: The Criminal Trial of Ernest Nelson, UCLA Body Broker

Paul Kiesel — Fri, 29 May 2009 20:03:12 GMT

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Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Kiesel

Ernest Nelson Found Guilty in UCLA Body-Parts Program Scandal

Paul Kiesel — Thu, 14 May 2009 15:53:39 GMT

SEE BOLD CAPS FOR EDITORIAL COMMENTS

From the Los Angeles Times:

A businessman accused of selling body parts from corpses donated to UCLA medical school in a scandal that tarnished the reputation of the university's willed body program THE PROGRAM, DURING 1999-2003, WHEN ERNEST NELSON AND HENRY REID, THE PROGRAM'S FORMER DIRECTOR, WERE PURCHASING AND SELLING PARTS FROM ONE ANOTHER, WAS NOT CONSIDERED AS VENERABLE AS UCLA HAS TRIED TO PORTRAY IT; IN FACT, UCLA'S WILLED BODY PROGRAM WAS STILL RECOVERING FROM A 1993 INCIDENT (CADAVERS, FROM THE WILLED BODY PROGRAM WERE HANDLED "WITHOUT DIGNITY" AND DUMPED INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN ALONG WITH OTHER MEDICAL WASTE FROM THE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE) was found guilty today in Los Angeles Superior Court of conspiring to commit grand theft, embezzlement and tax evasion .

Prosecutors alleged that Ernest V. Nelson, 51, cut up heads, torsos and other parts from donated bodies and sold them without UCLA's permission to medical and pharmaceutical research companies, collecting $1.5 million between 1999 and 2003. THE PEOPLE, THROUGHOUT THE TRIAL AGAINST MR. NELSON, TRIED ARGUING THAT UCLA HAD LOST $1.5 MILLION VIA NELSON AND REID'S CHICANERY. HOWEVER, IF NELSON HAD STOLEN $1.5 FROM UCLA, THEN LOGICALLY SPEAKING, UCLA WOULD HAVE NEEDED TO HAVE SOLD THE PARTS ON ITS OWN AND COLLECTED THAT MUCH MONEY, RIGHT? AND IF THAT'S THE CASE, THEN UCLA WOULD HAVE BEEN PARTICIPATING IN ILLEGAL BODY PARTS TRAFFICKING; MEANING THEY NEVER WOULD HAVE (NOR SHOULD HAVE) BEEN ABLE TO MAKE THAT MUCH MONEY BY USING, NOT SELLING, THE DONATED BODIES FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH. THEREFORE, THE IDEA THAT NELSON STOLE OVER A MILLION DOLLARS FROM UCLA IS NOT ONLY A REACH, BUT IT'S AN OUTLANDISH ARGUMENT.

The bodies were donated to UCLA for medical and scientific research (AH, SEE, FOR RESEARCH, NOT FOR UCLA TO SELL AT $1.5 MILLION) at the university. The scandal over the sale of the body parts became public in 2004 and prompted UCLA to shut down the program for more than 18 months. UCLA ALSO HAD TO ATTEND TO OTHER PROBLEMS THAT WERE DISCOVERED THROUGHOUT THE PROGRAM, TOO: SANITARY ISSUES; "CADAVER ROOMS" THAT WERE OVERCROWDED; MAJOR ACCOUNTING, BOOKKEEPING AND INVENTORY ISSUES, ETC.

Prosecutors said Nelson hatched the scheme with the director of the willed body program, Henry Reid (WHO, BY THE WAY, WAS NEVER CALLED TO THE STAND TO TESTIFY AGAINST NELSON, EVEN THOUGH THE PEOPLE'S CASE WAS LARGELY BUILT AROUND REID'S ACTIONS, INTENT AND MALEVOLENCE AND THEN HOW NELSON WORKED WITH HIM TO SELL THE BODY PARTS (AND PREPARE THEM) TO PHARMACEUTICAL AND MEDICAL RESEARCH COMPANIES. WHY WASN'T REID CALLED TO THE STAND? BECAUSE, INCREDULOUSLY, THE PROSECUTION FORGOT TO FILE THE CORRECT PAPERWORK AND FOLLOW ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES IN ORDER TO TRANSFER REID TO LOS ANGELES FROM THE FEDERAL PRISON HE'S CURRENTLY RESIDING IN WITHIN A TIMELY MANNER.), who pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to commit theft. Reid received checks from Nelson totaling $43,000 in return for giving him access to the bodies, prosecutors said.

Nelson's attorney argued that the payments to Reid were legitimate. He accused the program director of pocketing the money instead of forwarding it to the university. (WHICH WAS AN INTERESTING ARGUMENT: UCLA HAD THREE OF ITS EMPLOYEES, INCLUDING DR. ROBERT B. TRELEASE, A PATHOLOGY PROFESSOR WHO FREQUENTLY USED BODIES FROM THE WILLED BODY PROGRAM TO INSTRUCT MEDICAL STUDENTS AND WHO, IN THE PAST, HAD A MORE ACTIVE ROLE WITHIN THE PROGRAM, SET UP A BANK ACCOUNT, COUNTER TO TYPICAL UCLA ACCOUNTING PRACTICES, AT A WESTWOOD BANK OF AMERICA BRANCH, WHICH WOULD BE THE SAME ACCOUNT USED BY HENRY REID TO FUNNEL THE MONEY MADE FROM SELLING PARTS TO NELSON, INTO HIS OWN PERSONAL BANK ACCOUNT. UCLA, BASED ON THIS INFORMATION, SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THEN WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH THAT BANK ACCOUNT, CONSIDERING THREE RESPECTED EMPLOYEES SET UP THE ACCOUNT BACK IN 1995, TWO YEARS BEFORE REID BECAME THE PROGRAM'S DIRECTOR... HMM...?)

CLICK HERE FOR THE ENTIRE LOS ANGELES TIMES ARTICLE WITHOUT MY COMMENTARY.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Kiesel

Former UCLA Willed Body Director Owes Medical School $500,000

Paul Kiesel — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:23:38 GMT

"He needs to get this behind him."

That's what Superior Court Judge Curtis Rappe told the attorney representing former UCLA Willed Body Director Henry Reid, as he pled to keep his client out of state prison for a little while longer.

Defense counsel's motion and lugubrious plea (due to his client's medical issues, which should have been dealt with sometime between October 17, 2008 -- when Mr. Reid pled guilty -- and today) were denied and Mr. Reid turned himself over to the court this morning to begin the first day of almost 1550 days (four years and four months, minus time served) behind bars. Additionally, Mr. Reid owes UCLA (Geffen School of Medicine) $500,000 in restitution.

Also in court today was Mr. Reid's co-defendant Ernest Nelson (whose attorney filed for a continuance of trial), the body broker. Mr. Nelson owned and operated a company that supplied private medical, pharmaceutical and hospital research companies with human cadavers or individual body parts. Mr. Nelson's trial date is set for April 20, 2009. He continues to declare his innocence in the Willed Body matter, however, he is also facing several severe tax charges that document his financial indiscretions unfavorably (he chose not to pay his taxes after making all the money he did selling body parts -- at high costs -- to the myriad of companies purchasing his cache of parts).

As part of Mr. Reid's plea agreement, he has stated he will cooperate in Mr. Nelson's case.

The indictment, handed up last year, alleged that Mr. Reid and Mr. Nelson deprived the UCLA Willed Body Program of "its donor bodies for personal financial gain."

According to the court papers, Mr. Reid's role "was to provide Ernest Nelson with a steady supply of donated human body parts, while Ernest Nelson would receive compensation for supplying the parts to companies and in turn would give Henry Reid money for his personal use instead of paying the UCLA WBP."

The Willed Body Program receives donations from people who have willed their bodies to the school for medical education and research purposes -- primarily for use in training medical students and assisting with medical and scientific research.

Kiesel Boucher Larson represents several of the plaintiffs whose family members were treated inappropriately (not according to contracts their decedents signed) and without any respect by Mr. Nelson, Mr. Reid, and the UCLA Willed Body Program.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Kiesel

Former UCLA Willed Body Program Director Henry Reid Pleads Guilty to Selling Gifted Bodies to Pharmaceutical Companies

Paul Kiesel — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:57:55 GMT

Henry Reid: On October 17, 2008, Judge Rappe of the Superior Court of Los Angeles presided over the case of The People of the State of California v. Henry Reid and Ernest Nelson.

Henry Reid was present on bail and, in accordance to a plea agreement made with the prosecution, entered a plea of guilty to count one: Conspiracy to commit grand theft (all other counts against Reid were dropped due to the terms of the plea bargain). The People (Marisa Zarate) made it known that they agreed with the terms of the plea agreement, and stated that in doing so Henry Reid will go to State Prison for 52 months, instead of potentially being sentenced up to 11 years, had Reid entered a plea of not guilty and proceeded with trial.

By pleading guilty, Reid gave up his rights to a trial by court. By pleading guilty this morning, Reid also incriminated himself and he will have to pay at least $100,000 (minimum amount) in restitution to UCLA in conjunction with the prison sentence he will serve.

According to Ms. Zarate, Henry Reid, from May 7, 1999 through March, (date unintelligible) 2004, willfully complied with Ernest Nelson to commit grand theft. The two, Reid and Nelson, destroyed property exceeding $1 million and sold it for a profit over a $1 million. Reid admitted to these charges and waved all other rights in accordance to the plea agreement. Judge Rappe accepted Reid’s plea. Judge Rappe then set Reid’s sentencing date for January 30, 2009; at this time Reid will turn himself into the court and begin serving his sentence.

Ernest Nelson: On October 17, 2008, Judge Rappe of the Superior Court of Los Angeles presided over the case of The People of the State of California v. Henry Reid and Ernest Nelson.

Nelson’s attorney, Shawn McDonald, appeared agitated after Reid was dismissed and told Judge Rappe that he would be filing a 1050 on behalf of his client, however, McDonald “anticipate[d]” Nelson will object to him filing a 1050 (a 1050 governs requests for continuances of criminal hearings).

The filing of the 1050 could have something to do with the fact that Nelson did not appear in court today and/or his attorney wants to see if Nelson will take a plea deal, and prevent his client from going to trial where Henry Reid could testify against Nelson.

McDonald did not know when Nelson would be able to proceed in this trial due to his role in a pending civil trial. Nelson’s next scheduled court date is October 31, 2008 at 8:30 a.m.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Kiesel