U.S. Judge In Ohio: NAACP Can't Intervene In Cleveland Police Shooting Case

CLEVELAND (TDB) -- U.S. District Judge Dan A. Polster tossed out a lawsuit brought by the mother of a 20-year-old fatally shot by police after a car and foot chase last October. Carol Bell and the Cleveland NAACP branch sought legal standing to contend a deadly force reform agreement negotiated by city officials and the Justice Department in 2004 had been breached. Cincinnati is party to a similar deal with the Justice Department, which was signed after a police officer in April 2001 shot an unarmed black man who ran when faced with arrest on minor charges. The Cincinnati incident set off several days of racial unrest.

Cleveland's lawyers argued the lawsuit should be dismissed, and Polster issued his ruling today that agreed with the city.

Bell's son, Henry, died when he reportedly reached into his waistband after being cornered on foot after a car chase. The incident was a major news story last fall and reignited concerns within the black community that Cleveland officers were trigger happy. The Bell shooting was ruled justifiable.

Judge Polster said the Justice Department investigated Cleveland's use of deadly force policies starting in March 2002. The probe was focused on reported unconstitutional practices involving use of force. In March 2004, the investigation ended with an agreement requiring the city to enact reforms. Polster said the deal bound the city and the Justice Department, and that third parties such as Bell's mother and the NAACP had no standing to enforce its provisions.

"Thus, DOJ benefited by enforcing compliance with federal constitutional and statutory laws, while the city benefited by having the investigation closed and by ensuring that it would not be dragged into court based on its previous practices. an benefit flowing to the citizens of Cleveland was an incidental benefit at most. There is not mention of conferring a benefit on a third party."

Polster said his ruling does not leave Bell's mother and the NAACP totally without options.

"The court's decision does not mean, however, that plaintiffs are left without a remedy for their justifiable concerns. . . .Citizens can raise such concerns directly to the local government officials -- whether formally at City Council meetings or otherwise -- and, if they are still dissatisfied thereafter, they can seek alternate representation in the next election."

He said they can also ask the Justice Department to investigate suspected violations of federal law.

Ohio Papers Snooze While Nat'l Press Peels Back Chiquita Story: Homeland Chief Chertoff's Name Pops Out

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Both the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal have page 1 stories today about the Cincinnati-based banana company's legal difficulties. The Wall Street Journal's is available by subscription only. Michael Chertoff's name is mentioned in both stories as a Justice Department official who first met with Chiquita emissaries when the company self-reported payoffs to Colombian terrorists.

However, the Ohio press corps has not dug into this story, and has been on the sidelines throughout. They seem content to be lap dogs rather than watchdogs, particularly the Cincinnati Enquirer, which has virtually ignored the scandal about its hometown multi-national and its intrigues with the Justice Department under President George Bush. The Gannett-owned newspaper's name, Enquirer, means to inquire. But it seems intent on doing just the opposite.

Gonzo Journalism: Ohio Newspapers Slip, Sliding And Avoiding Chiquita/Gonzales Questions

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Ohio's newspapers seem to have been stricken with sleeping sickness. Or maybe they have lost consciousness. Or maybe they just don't give a damn. What else could explain how the Los Angeles Times dug up a story about a $4.5 billion Oho corporation that seems to have been treated leniently by the Bush Administration in a case involving pay-offs to terrorists.

The Times says Justice Department prosecutors were "incensed" that nearly three years passed before criminal charges were brought. The company is Chiquita Brands International Inc., which has its headquarters in downtown Cincinnati. There are questions over whether the multi-national received special treatment in Washington:

"According to the Justice Department sources, the prosecutors were incensed by Chiquita's continued payments to the right-wing United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or AUC, after what they described as repeated warnings. But current and former department officials said they were opposed on some matters by political appointees in the department . . ."

Reporters in Ohio have not been aggressive in covering this story. Editors in Ohio have not been aggressive in pushing for headlines. It is a major journalistic fiasco, a complete and total failure to explore whether political connections in Washington allowed a giant multi-national company, for a time, to violate federal law.

Feds War Contract Kickback Presser: Why No Halliburton Mention?

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- This kind of stuff can only add to the dark rumors about Vice President Dick Cheney as the master of political sleight of hand and deceit. A subsidiary of the company he headed, Halliburton, pops up in an Illinois federal prosecutor's press release about a kickback conviction. However, there's no mention of the parent company he chaired before leaving to become President George W. Bush's running mate sever years ago.

The full text of the prosecutor's news release out of Peoria has a plenty to say about a former Kellogg, Brown & Root employee who pleaded guilty in the wartime kickback scheme related to Kuwait and Iraq in 2003 and 2004. But there doesn't seem to be much available regarding this latest turn in the criminal case on the U.S. attorney's website in Peoria, or the main Justice Department website in Washington. Strange that the presser got onto the pr newswire.

U.S. Appeals Court In Ohio Reopens Iraqi Christian's Asylum Plea

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- A federal appeals court in Ohio says the Bush administration ignored evidence that Iraqi Christians face persecution in the overwhelmingly Muslim nation. It ordered immigration officials to reconsider plans to deport a watchmaker who fled Baghdad seeking religious freedom in America. The government wanted to boot Tony Dawood out of the United States, and authorities dismissed reports of persecution as "completely incredible" when they rejected his petition for refugee status.

Now, a three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati unanimously says the government's contention there was no religious persecution of Christians in Iraq appears at odds with reality. It said there was evidence of bombings, killings and destruction of churches and ordered the government to reconsider the decision that turned down Dawood's plea for refugee status.

The 6th Circuit ruling could be seen as an embarrassment for the administration of President George W. Bush, whose Justice Department last week said it was moving to beef up its protection of the civil rights of Americans who believe they have suffered from religious discrimination at home.

That announcement was designed to put the government squarely on the side of Christians. However, its treatment of Dawood was questioned by the three-judge panel, who said the Justice Department filed briefs to deport the Iraqi Christian.

"We also note that both the government in its brief and the administrative agency have asserted that there is no reason to believe that Chaldean Christians have a reasonable basis to fear persecution in Iraq today. On remand, the Board should review and reconsider this argument based on current conditions in light of the conditions described in the Department of State country report on Iraq in 2004. The report states in part:

"'There were numerous incidents of violence against the Christian community this year, ranging from individual killings to intimidation. The number of Christians leaving the country rose, after bombings of 14 churches in Baghdad and Mosul and the Chaldean Bishop's palace in Mosul from August through December. The bombings left 14 dead and 340 injured as well as damaging the churches.'"

The court went on to point out there are numerous press reports of attacks on Christians in Iraq. It wondered "whether the government continues to support the position" that there is no documentation Christians have a well-founded fear of persecution on account of religion. The full-text of the ruling is HERE.

Feds Sue Ohio Drugmaker: 1000% Markups Alleged

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The Justice Department entered a whistle blower lawsuit in Boston that contends a generic drug manufacturer in Ohio overcharged Medicare and Medicaid by more than $500 million, and that some prescription markups exceeded 1,000%.

The government says Columbus-based Boehringer Ingelheim Roxane Inc., which is commonly known as Roxane, "engaged in a scheme to report fraudulent and inflated prices for several pharmaceutical products, knowing that federal health care programs established reimbursement rates based on those reported prices."

Federal prosecutors intervened Monday, but somehow the action received scant attention. Roxane said it has complied with all law, and professed disappointment with the Justice Department's action.

[Ed Note: The only news report I found is this brief Associated Press report that did not spur much interest among the state's major media outlets. It does mention that Roxane is in Ohio. There might be more, but this does seems to fall under the category some of the news they seem to lose.]

Of course, soaring prescription drugs costs have been a major issue for years. Public discontent has led some Americans to go to Canada for cheaper prices, or to try Internet pharmacies that offer discount drugs. Medical costs, including drugs prices, have become an economic competitiveness issue. Old-line and unionized manufacturers are being crushed by health care expenses. And the cost of medicine played a huge role in last fall's election, with Democrats like U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown contending Washington has been almost been a captive of the pharmaceutical industry.

Meanwhile, federal prosecutors said their case against Roxane is about the "spread" -- the difference between the inflated government reimbursement rates and the actual price paid by health care providers. The larger the "spread" the larger the profit on a drug.

"Fraudulent pricing practices in the pharmaceutical industry have provided illicit profits for pharmaceutical manufacturers and providers at the expense of of the taxpayer. Our intervention in this lawsuit is another example of our ongoing effort to combat these these practices and hold its perpetrators accountable for their misdeeds," Peter D. Keisler, assistant attorney general for the civil division said in a statement.

Maybe he was signaling that Washington finally is going to start digging into drug prices and looking for explanations behind the high costs. The company's Web site can be found byclicking here.