Here We Go Again ...

Our old friend (and convicted felon) Howard Awand has been subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury to answer questions about the "Medical Mafia." Could this be the beginning of Round 2?

(I-Team; Thanks Tipster!)

Gage Sentenced to Probation

After coping a plea back in February, Medical Mafia member Noel Gage was sentenced to probation yesterday. U.S. District Court Judge Quackenbush seemed to pity Gage, calling him "a good man who made a serious mistake."

We wonder if the judge was talking about the "obstructing justice" mistake, or the (allegedly) "paying off doctors" mistake. Maybe it was the "going to law school" mistake.

Quackenbush imposed probation, stating that 72-year-old Gage would "'suffer" from the terms of his probation, likely facing suspension of his law license. Gage went down swinging though, from the RJ:

Since the inception of the case, Gage has maintained that he did nothing unethical or illegal. Had he sued Thalgott and Kabins, rather than Burkhead, the lawyer said after Thursday's hearing, "Melodie Simon would have gotten a big goose egg" and been responsible for the opposing parties' costs and attorney fees.

"If I had to do it over again -- but for the wrongful prosecution -- I would have sued the same people, if I wanted to obtain the best result for my client," Gage told the Review-Journal.

Awwww. That Gage, always looking out for the interests of his clients. Now, State Bar, please take that man's law license.

(LVRJ)

Awand Gets Four Years ... For Tax Evasion?

While some may have seen Howard Awand's plea deal as a swing-and-a-miss for U.S. attorneys, the tax man was there all along batting cleanup. (Sorry, it's baseball season)

Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Kent Dawson sentenced Awand to four years in prison, and his wife Linda to three years, for willful failure to pay roughly $2.5 million in back taxes.

From the LV Sun:

Howard Awand, 65, of Vevay, Ind., and Linda Awand, 61, of Stowe, Vt., owned Nevada Medical Consultants. The company was taxed as a partnership and the couple was responsible for reporting their share of Nevada Medical's income on their joint personal tax returns.

They reported taxable income of $8.1 million from 2001 through 2004 and owed $2.6 million in taxes. But they paid only $30,000 and only after they discovered they were under investigation by the IRS.

Howard Awand also testified at trial that he falsely told people that he served in Vietnam and in the CIA in order to drum up business for the medical consulting company.

Ah, the ole' fake Vietnam vet story to drum up business for the medical consulting business you're not paying taxes on. Very sneaky, Mr. Awand. We're sure your new cellmate will love to hear all of your stories.

The tax case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Myhre and Kathryn Newman. Awand still faces sentencing for his role in the Medical Mafia debacle on June 25.

(LV Sun)

Awand Cops A Plea

The third member of the Medical Mafia has taken a deal. Howard Awand was allegedly the coordinator of the local doctors and lawyers who rigged medical malpractice lawsuits and split the profits.

Awand, like Kabins, pled (that's right, we're going with pled) guilty to misprision of a felony, meaning he knew about federal crimes being committed but did not immediately report them.

Awand is scheduled to be sentenced on June 25. He faces up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine, as well as restitution and a period of supervised release. As part of the agreement, the government agreed not to make any sentencing recommendation.

Prosecutors would not say whether this plea ends their investigation into the Medical Mafia shenanigans. We doubt it. A tipster recently sent us a federal court filing (2:10-cv-00282) which named doctors Raimundo Leon, Michael Prater and Mark Kabins, along with the Gazda & Tadayon law firm and he-who-doesn't-blink as defendants. The cause of action sounds strangely familiar:

Racketeering. Plaintiff says three attorneys and their law firms, and two doctors and their practices participated in a scheme by staging fraudulent medical care and treatments, then creating fraudulent billings and insurance claims. The attorneys and physicians sought payment for corresponding injuries to those fraudulent treatments.

Could this be the beginning of Round 2?

(LV Now; LV Sun; Thanks Tipster!)

Kabins Fails to Get Settlement Sealed ...

Yesterday the show moved from federal court over to Judge Gonzalez's courtroom, where Mark Kabins was attempting to have news of his $800,000 settlement with Dr. Daniel Burkhead (the anesthesiologist Kabins tried to blame for his own malpractice) sealed.

So much for that.

Up to bat for Kabins was local attorney John Spilotro. John is one of the nicest and most intelligent attorneys we have ever seen in practice. His morals are impeccable, and he smells very nice. If you think we're going to say anything bad about him ... fogitaboutit.

You may recognize Spilotro as one of the floats from the original March of the Morons ... though we would never intentionally insinuate that he was a moron. Did we mention how nice he smells? Like potpourri, but more manly.

During his argument to seal, Spilotro stated that the outrageous coverage from Channel 8 in the Medical Mafia case has been so unfair that he would hate for the media to get their hands on the agreement. If that happened, argued Spilotro, it would surely be distorted to put his client in a poor light.

That argument sounds perfectly logical to us ... we'd hate to see Kabins' impeccable reputation tarnished.

Spilotro has apparently been unhappy with Channel 8's coverage of the Medical Mafia case; he referred to George Knapp in court as "that guy who talks to little green men."

Judge Gonzalez declined to seal the case and sent Spilotro and his client back to meet with Burkhead and his attorneys to see if they could come up with a settlement that Kabins wouldn't be embarrassed by. Nice job, Betsy.

Err ... we mean, what's your problem, judge?! Don't you know a good argument when you see it? You keep fightin' that good fight, John!

(LV Now; Thanks, Tipster!)

Gage, a Grammatical Question, and a Posse of One ...

LV Now (along with 90% of our commenters yesterday) reported that Attorney Noel Gage pled (pleaded?) guilty in federal court to obstruction of justice. A copy of the plea agreement is available, here. According to the agreement, Gage is facing a maximum of 20 years (he won't get anywhere near that, and likely will receive no prison time at all), and will pay a mandatory restitution of $702,600 to his former client, Melodie Simon.

We wonder if our State Bar will take the same action our State Medical Board is taking against Mark Kabins ... is that wishful thinking?

Gage's plea is pursuant to North Carolina v. Alford, meaning he is admitting the government has enough evidence to convict him were he to go to trial, but he is not admitting that he is actually guilty. Fun Fact: Besides high-profile white collar criminals, Alford pleas are most commonly used by (alleged) pedophiles. Don't be a pussy - just plead guilty.

Now to our grammatical question: "Pled" or "Pleaded" ... which is the proper past tense?

Oh, and we received a fun story (and accompanying photo) from a helpful tipster who was present at yesterday's festivities:

Today at Fed court, Noel Gage, American Hero and defender of your rights, pled guilty for obstruction of justice (felony). On his way out, strangely enough, a familiar figure started approaching my camera, attempting to block my shot of Gage. It reminded me of a certain march of attorneys from 2009 during the indictment of now guilty, Mark Kabins. It’s really too bad for Gage, as the Personal Injury Parade has now dwindled to a Posse of One.

Why does the guy in the pic attached, who happens to work for Mainor, Eglet Cottle according to my sources, feel the need to protect someone so stridently, who has says he’s done nothing wrong. Why would MEC have such a great interest in having this guy at EVERY hearing dealing with Vannah? Either way, he’s fooling himself if he thinks he’s doing much more than digging a deeper hole for his bosses.

Please feel free to share this with your readers.

And share we shall ...

Five WWL points to the first commenter to identify the man in the foreground. One Point each for the men in the background. Bonus five points for identifying the red book the woman on the right is holding (looks like our law school criminal law text ... *shudder*).

(LV Now; Thanks to our on-the-ball commenters and tipsters!)

State Medical Board Seeks Discipline For Kabins

The Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners has filed a Complaint seeking to "discipline" Dr. Mark Kabins. The Complaint sets forth three counts:

• Count 1: Violation of NRS 630.301(9) - Conduct that "brings the medical profession into disrepute."
• Count 2: Violation of NRS 630.301(11)(g) - Conviction of offense "involving moral turpitude."
• Count 3: Violation of NRS 630.306(2)(a) - Engaging in conduct "intended to deceive."

Intent to deceive?! Why isn't every plastic surgeon in this town strung up by their toes?

You are likely already aware of the sequence of events which led to this Complaint being filed. In case you've been living under a rock, here's a hint: Exhibits 1-4 are Kabins' Grand Jury Indictment, Criminal Information, Guilty Plea Agreement, and Judgment, respectively.

Not being doctors ourselves, we're unsure if the Board of Medical Examiners has actual teeth or just slightly-jagged, duck-like gums like our own lawyerly disciplinary board. They certainly sound serious.

We'll have to wait to see if Kabins' punishment is in the form of a slap on the wrist, or a career change.

(Thanks, Tipster!)

One Down, Two To Go

The details of Dr. Mark Kabins' plea agreement have been released, and (sadly) there was no accompanying idiot parade.

Kabins and the U.S. Attorneys agreed to five years of probation, six months of home detention, and 250 hours of community service. Additionally, Kabins will pay $3.5 million in restitution to victim Melodie Simon. Ouch! The actual charge to which Kabins pled is "misprision of a felony."

Perhaps more important than his punishment, however, is what Kabins has actually admitted as part of the agreement, from the LV Sun:

In pleading guilty, Kabins admitted that on Aug. 3, 2000, he assisted another orthopedic surgeon, Dr. John Thalgott, in a surgery on Simon, a former Olympian who became paralyzed from complications that arose after the surgery. In the plea, Kabins admitted he knew he could be sued and asked Awand, a medical consultant who referred personal injury cases to him and other lawyers, to persuade Simon’s attorney, Noel Gage, not to sue him or Thalgott, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

Kabins, the attorney’s office said, believed that Awand would corruptly attempt to persuade Gage by referring lucrative personal injury cases to Gage; after receiving referrals from Awand, Gage sued neither Kabins nor Thalgott and instead sued an anesthesiologist, Dr. Daniel Burkhead.

Kabins said Gage didn’t sue him because Awand had referred cases to him, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

To help Gage sue the anesthesiologist, Dr. Kabins drafted a “letter of complaint” from which he intentionally omitted information about his secret dealings with Gage and information about Simon’s medical condition following her surgery.

Some are downplaying the significance of Kabins plea, but 6 months detention and $3.5 million in restitution constitute more than a "slap on the wrist." It seems to us that with this plea and Kabins' cooperation, the U.S. Attorneys are getting just what they wanted: Kabins' testimony without releasing him from culpability.

Additionally, LV Now is reporting that part of the plea deal forbids Kabins from pleading the Fifth if/when he is called to testify against Awand and/or Gage. So there's that.

We're anxious to hear from both sides ... what do you guys think about the deal?

(LV Now; LV Now Video; LV Sun)

The First Domino Falls

According to the LVRJ, the Grand Marshal of March of the Morons, Dr. Mark Kabins, has decided to take a plea deal.

The plea agreement was filed under seal, but there is a hearing set on November 23rd for a pretrial conference on the matter. It appears we are about to find out just how weak/strong the government's case really is.

Jane Ann Morrison wonders if Kabins "friends" who "protected" him during his last court appearance are going to be shocked by his plea.

Somehow, we doubt it. To us, it seems like the "protection" was less about helping out a friend, and more about covering their own asses. But we just work here.

What do you guys think? Any guesses as to what Kabins will plea to? Think his "friends" will truly be "shocked" by this revelation? Think we'll get to see another parade featuring Vegas' P.I. elite?

(RJ Story; J.A.M. Opinion)

Not a Good Week to be [allegedly] Unethical

Update: Now with 9th Circuit memorandum opinion.



While we were [redacted] in [redacted] last week, things took a bad turn for attorney Noel Gage. The Ninth Circuit reversed Judge Quackenbush's ruling and reinstated the prosecution of Mr. Gage [pictured left with a ridiculous tie] and medical consultant Howard Awand.



The Ninth Circuit reversed Quckenbush's ruling that the government had to offer immunity to suspected crook doctor Mark Kabins so that he might testify for the defense without suffering any consequences. (RJ)

The Ninth Circuit's decision comprised only eight terse lines. The Ninth Circuit wrote:

Due process compels use immunity only for defense witnesses who will offer testimony that directly contradicts the testimony of a government witness who has been given use immunity. See e.g., U.S. v. Straub, 538 F.3d 1147, 1161-62 (9th Cir. 2008); U.S. v. Alvarez, 358 F.3d 1194, 1216 (9th Cir. 2004). Direct contradiction means more than just differnet subjective interpretations of the same facts. Because Dr. Kabins would not have directly contradicted a government witness who received use immunity, the indictment must be reinstated.

If you were Gage, you might be worried that without Kabins to back up your story [since Kabins is currently being prosecuted himself] that a client's unnecessary spinal surgery isn't just really, really rewarding to her attorney ($$$), it is possibly helpful to the injured client too! But that worry would be misplaced because Noel Gage is "happy" to have the chance to vindicate himself, saying "when my acquittal comes this time around, there will be reason for a second victory party," said Gage. (RJ) For all the plaintiff's attorneys potentially implicated if Gage and Awand go down, you better hope that cockiness and puffery negates criminal intent.

Meanwhile, up in Reno, disbarred Nevada attorney Lawrence Davidson skipped out on his federal fraud and money laundering trial. (RGJ) Davidson (Nevada State Bar info), in case you were curious, Davidson is a former med mal and PI attorney from Las Vegas who was [allegedly] siphoning his client funds into his personal accounts. He's also been accused of bribing a member of the Clark County Commission for a zoning favor. (RGJ)

And southern Nevada attorneys made it three for three this week when the State Bar suspended Henderson attorney Alex Ghibaudo pending an investigation into alleged unethical conduct. Ghibaudo is accused of repeatedly abandoning clients, failing to provide an accounting of funds received from clients and making several unprofessional and demeaning telephone calls to other counsel. (RJ) Ghibaudo apparently also dodged calls from Bar counsel. [Note to attorneys—when under investigation, probably best to return Bar counsel’s communications]

By the way, while the recently admitted Mr. Ghibaudo (2007) was suspended pending the investigation, the state bar has not suspended any plaintiff's attorney tied into the medical mafia from the practice of law in Nevada. (Nevada State Bar page for Gage).

Medical Mafia Story Hits the National News

Fortune magazine (link available here) has scooped up the medical mafia story. And once again, Vegas looks like the most corrupt legal and medical jurisdiction in the country. Well done boys.

Fortune does an excellent job of laying out all the details of the sordid tale of [allegedly] crooked Vegas doctors and lawyers colluding to pad their pockets/settlements. For those of you that haven't been following the reporting on the trial and now appeal of Noel Gage and Howard Awand [pictured left] (older posts available here), the piece offers a great primer on the [allegedly] criminal scheme.

The piece explains how the [alleged] conspiracy only came to light when medical consultant Howard Awand drove up medical bills for a plaintiff (represented by Bob Vannah) suing a driver who happened to be a U.S. Attorney on government business at the time of the accident. Here's a few of the more interesting pgphs:

Prosecutors charge that a group of top Las Vegas plaintiffs lawyers and doctors,
with the 64-year-old [medical consultant Howard] Awand at its center, conspired
in an audacious fraud. The participants appeared to act independently but
instead colluded. Unwitting accident victims were recruited as plaintiffs and
then persuaded to undergo serious, sometimes needless, surgeries. The
procedures, in turn, helped inflate the size of personal-injury claims. The
result was multimillion-dollar insurance settlements, even for dubious cases,
and lucrative fees for the doctors, the lawyers, and, of course, Howard Awand.

Predictably, Awand's attorney paints the medical consultant as a champion of the people:

What the government paints as "collusion," Harland Braun says, was nothing more
than cooperation among professionals. Because Awand was beating the insurance
industry in court, the government concluded "it must be a conspiracy," says
Braun. "What Awand did is level the playing field."

But don't think the government's case only implicates Gage and Awand (and Vannah on the sidelines). This is Nevada, after all. Why not throw some Nevada District Court judges into the mix along with other members of the bar:

One month after Cynthia Johnson's accident [the plaintiff in the case that broke
open the alleged conspiracy], Howard Awand threw open his sprawling lakefront
home in Big Bear, Calif., to Las Vegas' A-list professionals. Kabins and Vannah,
the doctor and the lawyer in the Johnson case, were there, along with 200 other
top doctors, lawyers, judges, and their spouses and kids. The event, including a
buffet dinner of filet mignon and lobster, was a fundraiser for two Las Vegas
judges who faced reelection; some $30,000 in checks piled up in two crystal
bowls, several partygoers recall.

How influential was Awand in Vegas personal injury law:

By 2002, insurance defense lawyers were so concerned they held an unusual
meeting. More than a dozen attorneys for competing insurers met to compare
notes. Some who had subpoenaed Awand described getting threatening calls from
his associates warning that their business would dry up if they didn't back
down, William Turner of Farmers Insurance recalls. The lawyers, he says,
recounted tales of strange behavior or even intimidation. Expert witnesses, for
example, suddenly and inexplicably changed their testimony; some doctors who
refused to cooperate with Awand had been threatened with frivolous malpractice
lawsuits. By meeting's end, the lawyers felt certain they were facing something
bigger and more sinister than garden-variety fraud.

The piece also lays out how pervasive the scheme was to have personal injury plaintiffs have unnecessary surgeries. Mark Kabins (being prosecuted in a separate trial) started taking referrals from Howard Awand and started making $750,000 a month.

By 2000, Kabins's practice had become a factory producing multimillion-dollar
insurance settlements, according to witness statements and interviews. The
volume was so great that Awand himself couldn't keep track. In June 2002 he
wrote to Kabins, asking him to create a list of all the clients he'd sent: "We
are reaching critical mass and both of us are losing money by my failure to keep
up with the referrals" . . . Kabins became so infamous that insurance
investigators coined a term -- a "Kabinsectomy" -- for a needless surgery in Vegas.

[story continued in next post]

Medical Mafia National News (cont): Part 2: Bob Vannah the Charmer

[pt 1 available here]

The Fortune news story about the medical mafia of Vegas centers around the plight of personal injury plaintiff Cynthia Johnson who got caught up in the medical mafia drama when she utilized the services of Bob Vannah, Howard Awand and Mark Kabins for legal and medical aid.

The part of the story that particularly caught our attention is the details about how Bob Vannah reacted to the attention of how he handled Ms. Johnson's case and his [alleged] involvement with the medical mafia:

Cynthia Johnson entered the courtroom on July 21, 2005, for a routine
procedural hearing. Though her case was the only one on the docket, she was
surprised to see the courtroom packed with men in dark suits. Vannah seemed
rattled, she says, and he complained to the judge that government lawyer Ruth
Cohen had "leaked it all over the community that I'm being investigated by her
and her cronies for criminal conduct." At the hearing's conclusion, a newspaper
columnist rushed up to Johnson, asking, "Are you seeking to get compensation for
injuries you don't really have?"

Johnson had no idea what was happening. After the hearing, Vannah screamed,
"Things are not what they're supposed to be," as he rushed across the parking
lot with an associate, she recalls. The bewildering scene made Johnson so uneasy
that she told [Mark] Kabins she would not undergo [the surgery he
recommended].

Even better was how Mr. Vannah treated his personal injury client (who had signed a medical lien with his office) when she came to see him:

He requested that [Johnson] sign a document releasing him from her case. He
claimed -- incorrectly -- that she'd failed to disclose previous visits to a
chiropractor. If she signed, he continued, she'd owe him no attorney fees and
would be responsible only for her medical costs, which had climbed into the many
thousands.

As she resisted, he grew more agitated, screaming that if she didn't sign,
she'd owe him vast sums. He stood, banging the table and yelling that she was
under federal investigation and that "the government had killed people for
lesser things than you're doing right now," she recalls.

Vannah, of course, is completely innocent of all wrong doing. Well, at least he says so:

Vannah denies any impropriety and says he isn't surprised that Johnson's
accident received extra attention from the government, given that a government
employee caused it. Vannah has not lost sleep over the protracted investigation,
he says -- even though he has been subpoenaed by government investigators, has
been able to dodge an ethics complaint by a client over his payments to Awand,
and has been secretly taped boasting "there are five or six judges that will do
anything I want." Still, he notes, prosecutors have not charged him with
anything.

So, to wrap up: Mr. Vannah's not being charged. The prosecution of Noel Gage was thrown out due to the government's refusal to offer immunity to [alleged crooked doctor] Mark Kabins--the immunity issue is now on appeal before the 9th Circuit. Mark Kabins is being prosecuted for his involvement in the medical mafia and performing [allegedly] unnecessary surgeries. And Vegas hasn't had its medical or legal community cleaned up at all.

[Updated Editor's Note: a tip of the cap to the Nevada State Bar for finally getting at least minorly involved in the allegations of corrupt legal representation. They have filed a Complaint against Gage for sharing legal fees with Awand. No word on a complaint against Vannah. They might have wanted to suspend them all from the practice of law for awhile, but they wouldn't want to step on too many toes, would they.]

Oh, and there's one final lesson to learn for you Plaintiff's attorneys out there. If you're suspected of criminal conduct in your practice, don't yell at a client until she's in tears:

Johnson left Vannah's office in tears that day, without signing the
document. She had several chilling realizations. Her lawyer appeared to be under
investigation, though she had no idea for what. He was panicking. And he'd just
threatened her. She needed help from someone she could trust.

The next day, Johnson called every local attorney she could think of -- and
almost no one called back. Her case had become radioactive. Sleepless,
depressed, and not knowing what else to do, she finally found a lawyer who
steered her to Ruth Cohen, the government lawyer on the other side, who
immediately called her back. Within days, Johnson was sitting down with the
FBI.

Lawyerly News Roundup

Family law attorneys are going hungry up north. Damn recession is causing couples to try to work it out. (RJ)

Poor "Pimp Snooky" [pictured right] just can't convince authorities that he's not actually a pimp. It might have something to do with Snooky's repeatedly saying he's a pimp on Jerry Springer and the movie "Pimps Up, Hos Down" or his catch phrase “let me pimp, or let me die”. (LV Sun)

Many young attorneys dream of the day they have their first trial. Few dream that Nevada Supreme Court Justice Mark Gibbons might make the trial just that much more intimidating by presiding over the trial. (LV Sun)

Poor Noel Gage. Now the Nevada Bar says he's violated attorney ethics by sharing funds with [alleged crook] medical consultant Howard Awand. (RJ) Oh well, at least he's safe on the criminal charges [unless the Ninth Circuit decides Nevada should be allowed to clean up its attorney ranks]

Note to Counsel and "Medical Consultants": You Might Want to Pay Your Taxes

Update: while we were busy lecturing counsel about how simple it is to pay your taxes, the Feds brought a tax evasion case against [alleged] crook "medical consultant" Howard Awand and his wife for failure to pay several years worth of taxes. (RJ) Just goes to show you: if you manage to wiggle your way out from under a federal indictment that alleges that you are the central lynch pin in a cadre of corrupt doctors and plaintiff's attorneys, you might wanna pay those taxes. As one commentator suggested, if you can't take down Capone Awand for criminal conspiracy, you go after the taxes.

Prior Post:
It's been a bad first-half of the year for non-tax paying attorneys. In February, old school Nevada attorneys Edmund C. Botha and Mark A. Lobello were found to have failed to pay their taxes. (NV Lawyer).

So, the Nevada Supreme Court made one of its usual Nevada ethics judgment calls: suspension for Botha and Lobello, but only temporary suspension. I mean, cah'maaaaan . . . they're only the fiduciaries and trustees of their clients' funds. So what if they aren't trustworthy enough to satisfy their annual requirement as U.S. citizens to pay taxes? Yup, the Nevada Supreme Court continued its tradition of letting almost anyone continue to practice in this state, no matter what they've done.

But wait, apparently, the Feds apparently weren't satisfied with the Nevada Supreme Court's brand of frontier justice (LV Sun):

A Las Vegas personal injury attorney, [Edmund C. Botha], who was convicted last year of tax evasion and owes almost $4 million to the IRS was sentenced today to five years in federal prison [by U.S. District Judge Dawson] . . .

Botha was convicted by a federal grand jury on Sept. 25, 2008, for willful evasion of payment of income tax for the tax years 1998 through 2001.

How'd Botha do it? Well:

Botha avoided paying taxes by purchasing luxury vehicles in his ex-girlfriend's name, doing all of his business in cash and cashier's checks and entering into a sham child support agreement requiring him to pay about $20,000 per month for two children, court records and evidence presented at his trial indicated . . . Evidence further showed that Botha purchased more than 10 vehicles worth more than $400,000 over a six-year period in his ex-girlfriend's name, while at the same time owning only a 15-year-old car with more than 100,000 miles on it in his name.

How dare Judge Dawson go to such extremes? Cah'maaaaan, Judge, this is Nevada. Follow the Nevada Supremes lead: pretend to care about ethics, but make sure everyone gets to keep practicing law. I mean, you could have just given Botha community service. It's the Nevada way.

[on a side note, I'm single right now Mr. Botha, if you want to put some $400k cars in my name]

Medical Mafia/Gage/Kabins update

By request, here's an update on the Medical Mafia/Noel Gage/Mark Kabins appeals and trials [previous posts available here and background available on [alleged] scam here]. Once again, from George Knapp of KLAS and LV City Life:

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments next month regarding the Medical Mafia case. At issue is whether the U.S. attorney's office in Las Vegas should be forced to grant immunity to defense witnesses who also happen to be targets of the probe. The government says it should not be forced to do so
and if such a precedent is set, it would basically mean they would never be able to prosecute any sort of conspiracy case ever again. Defense attorney Tom Pitaro, representing Las Vegas lawyer Noel Gage, will argue the other side.

Note to the US Attorneys on this appeal: don't blow it. This case is Vegas' only hope of being free of [allegedly] corrupt, hack doctors and [allegedly] corrupt Plaintiff's attorneys pushing their client into unnecessary surgeries.

Nice feather in the cap of Mr. Pitaro, however. You've got to have some criminal trial skills if an [allegedly] multi-million dollar corruption scheme is trusting you with their defense.

Vannah & Vannah v. Rob Graham (Round One of our Billboard/Television law firm poll)

In this Round One match up of our Billboard/Television law firm poll, WWL pits Vannah & Vannah against Rob Graham. (Voting will be open until 5 p.m. on Fri., 6/26).

Let's meet the contenders [Editor's note: neither Robert Vannah, nor Robert Graham, takes an exciting picture, so I have included pictures of my current crush, Twilight star Robert Pattison to provide a pleasant reading atmosphere]:

Vannah & Vannah

Vannah & Vannah isn't just a heavyweight player, it's the gorilla that just can't be killed. The insurance companies would love to see the firm fall and the insurance defense firms hate V&V with a passion. And those of you who follow ethics investigations know that Vannah & Vannah was on the periphery [or at the center if you ask some people] of the Noel Gage medical mafia trial. (RJ) The U.S. Attorneys couldn't convict Gage in federal court and so we'll never know if the allegations of Vannah medical witness testimony fixing are true.

But put all the allegations aside because V&V is a media monster. They may not have billboards left and right as your drive down the freeway, but the RJ and LV Sun is full of Vannah verdicts, many of which have million dollar price tags. (V&V news). You can't beat free press, and free press reporting how much money you won is even better.

Rob Graham
Graham may be the first actual television star attorney we have in this tournament. He has "appeared or consulted on numerous television news or documentaries” as a legal expert, including several episodes of America's Most Wanted. And we here at WWL can't get enough America's Most Wanted. Those reenactments are awesome.

Most recently, Mr. Graham was a technical advisor to an documentary on MSNBC regarding a large-scale fraud that impacted many elderly and business clients. Top that off with his firm’s marketing that they have represented celebrity clients like Tony Orlando, Sharon Stone, Robert Forbuss, Test Your Reflex, Gail and Harvey Allen, and Boys Town of Nevada. (Rob Graham & Assoc. website). Take it all together and Graham may just be a media heavyweight who's been hiding in the shadows.

If you thought Noel Gage was bad before ...

Brace yourselves ... despite the grief we gave Noel Gage for his Medical Mafia antics, we never thought he would stoop this low.

That's right, in addition to being an (alleged) ethically corrupt attorney, Noel Gage is ... a water waster! Mr. Gage is ranked 73rd on the RJ's list of the 100 most prolific water wasters in the valley. Strangely, it seems to be a ranking of the 100 richest people in the valley as well ... go figure.

The list is a pretty interesting read, if not a bit Orwellian. The accompanying story even includes a map showing the location of all the water-wasters' homes, as well as satellite imagery of the top 10's palatial estates.

To be fair, George Bochanis beat Gage by a mile, coming in at number 43 and using 420,000 gallons more than Gage. Our friend Sheldon Adelson is also on there at number 79.

Lots-o-lawyers on that list, so let this be a lesson to all of you barrister millionaires: you can (allegedly) pay off all the doctors you want, but don't you dare water your acreage more than 3-days a week ... or the RJ will show your clients where you live!

(LVRJ)

March of the Morons

You may recall Mark Kabins as the doctor from the Noel Gage saga whose lack of immunity led Judge Quackenbush to dismiss the case. Prosecutors refused to offer Kabins immunity because they had not yet decided whether to file charges against him. Well, it looks like they have made their decision.

George Knapp at LV Now witnessed the circus of PI attorneys that surrounded Kabins for his perp-walk from the federal courthouse after finding out about the eight-count indictment filed against him last Thursday. Knapp's depiction of the scene is priceless:

A couple of dozen lawyers from firms which have raked in tens of millions of dollars working with assorted medical mafia suspects, including Dr. Kabins, showed up to escort the Las Vegas surgeon after he entered his plea to fraud and conspiracy charges.

When they came out of the courthouse, they formed into sort of a phalanx around the doctor, in part to keep [reporters] away from him. They moved as one, almost like a military unit ...

As the Kabins posse moved down the sidewalk, the surly lawyers did their best to look like tough guys -- like hired goons sent to bust up the dockworkers union, except it's hard to look too tough when your nails are manicured and you're wearing $1,000 suits.

So, who were these "surley lawyers?" Exactly who you would expect:

A lot of them work for Robert Eglet, whose law firm made millions with Dr. Kabins and alleged medical fixer Howard Awand. Eglet once compared the federal investigation of crooked lawyers to the Nazi extermination of Jews.

One man pointing directions is lawyer John Spilotro, whose family name is well known in the history of the Las Vegas mob. John represented Rocco Lombardo, brother of Chicago mafia boss Joey the Clown.

Another braying victim of our lone cameraman is G. Dallas Horton, personal injury lawyer, who once sued a flower bed for causing a car accident.

Sounds like an all-star cast, a real "who's who" of daytime television cheesery. One has to wonder why Kabins has garnered such support from the legal "elite." Our (obvious) guess is that Kabins has enough dirt on these guys to get them all arrested and/or disbarred ... if he goes down, they all go down.

For those of you who don't practice personal injury or are unfamiliar with what it is medical "experts" do, they are just like regular doctors ... only the plaintiff's prognosis usually depends upon which side is paying. We know, it's hard to imagine how allegations of fraud could pervade such a system.

If you don't mind watching a commercial first, here is a video of Knapp's commentary and the lawyers' shenanigans (feel free to name any friends you recognize in the comments).

BONUS ROUND

We are offering 5 free WWL points to the reader who can identify this man*:

Contest over. Anon 10:02 has identified him as Jon Remmel of Mainor Eglet Cottle. Strangely, his profile has disappeared from the MEC site, but he is definitely pictured in the line-o-sharks (second from the left).

*(Please note: WWL points are redeemable only in-person at our Anchorage, Alaska store location. 500 points gets you a WWL collector's spoon.)

(LV Now; Thanks Anon 10:02)

Wed Roundup

After listing every attorney in the Vegas Valley with five years experience yesterday as Superlawyers today will be a lighter day of posting.

By the way, curious about the criteria to become a Superlawyer? You can read about their selection process here.

Apparently, the U.S. Attorney's office didn't get the memo that a mistrial of a [allegedly] crooked attorney who cheated his clients and conspired with doctors means that the attorney is "vindicated". The U.S. Attorney's office announced it will be appealing the dismissal of the Noel Gage trial. (Review-Journal) [oh well, Noel, at least this will give you a few more months to tell the Review-Journal that the government is attacking you because you're a champion of the people]

Meanwhile, the doctor that took the stand to testify about how he conspired with Noel Gage and "consultant" Howard Awand will lose his license. (Las Vegas Now) [The Nevada State Bar might want to take note since Noel Gage is still practicing law]

An article about Christensen Glaser details their pilfering of talent from other firms to build their Vegas office. (Las Vegas Business Press) [not new news to WWL readers, who have already about these exploits here]

And today Harmful Error details the 2008 race for Clark County Dist. Ct. Dept. 10 between Ian Christopherson, William Kephart, David Rivers and incumbent Jessie Walsh. (Harmful Error)

Thurs Roundup

The FBI announced a major child prostitution bust with links to Las Vegas. At least 65 people have been arrested in Las Vegas as a part of Operation Cross Country, including pimps, prostitutes and people soliciting prostitutes. (Las Vegas Now)

Congratulations to District Judge Arthur Ritchie Jr. [pictured right], the presiding judge for Family Court, who has been named new Chief Judge for the Eighth Judicial District Court. (Review-Journal) In other court personnel news, congratulations to Edward A. Friedland, Esq. who has been selected to serve as the Court Executive Officer and Clerk of the Court of the Clark County Courts. (Harmful Error)

Parents whose 4 yr-old with a genetic disease died after they him left alone in their SUV are facing murder charges. (Review-Journal)

Before his Public Defender could talk to him, a man accused of robbing and beating Oakland Raiders receiver Javon Walker alleged in open court that police pressured his fiance to press charges against him in a domestic violence case. (Review-Journal)

The Nevada Supreme Court will take up the issue of whether term limits for state and local officials are constitutional. Under the current term limits, those who have served for 12 years in office can no longer run for office. (Review-Journal)

Las Vegas Police detectives have submitted a felony case against a well-known tag crew member to the district attorney’s office as a suspect in the graffiti outbreak at the Regional Justice Center. (Las Vegas Sun)

An editorial suggesting that a Clark County Baliff's tasering of a 23 yr-old audio-video technician for the entertainment/education of kids might not have been a good idea. (Las Vegas Sun)

After 25 years of serving the City of Henderson, Police Chief Richard Perkins is retiring. (Las Vegas Now)

In Carson City, an attorney with only 8 yrs of experience is running for a District Court Judicial seat, claiming the requirement that judicial candidates must be licensed for at least 10 years doesn't apply to him because he was licensed before the law went into effect. (Nevada Appeal)

Congress will not be rolling back the Internet gambling ban this year after a House committee deadlocked on an amendment to prevent federal agencies from completing the new rules until the agencies defined "unlawful Internet gambling." (Review-Journal)

An international defense contractor accused of attempting to bribe an Army office is on the loose after cutting his electronic monitoring bracelet and disappearing. Some Assistant U.S. Attorneys are questioning Magistrate Judge Lawrence Leavitt's decision to allow the suspect to remain under electronic monitoring at a friend's home. (Las Vegas Sun)

In Ireland, the lethal toxin Ricin was found in the prison cell of a former Las Vegas poker dealer accused of conspiring with a Clare woman to kill her partner and his two sons. (Breaking News)

Knapp details the legal wrangling that led to a dismissal in the Gage trial while pointing out the absurdity of Gage's claim of being "vindicated" after 8 of 12 jurors in an earlier trial said he was guilty. (Las Vegas City Life)

District Judge Herndon unsealed the three year old malpractice suit against Judge Miley. (Review-Journal)

Finally, Congratulations to Las Vegas lawyer Aaron D. Lovaas who has been named by Mountain States Super Lawyers magazine as one of the top business litigators under 40 in the state of Nevada. (PR Web)