tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67945609049736342902012-12-10T11:02:48.177-05:00Covering corporate crime and corruptionScott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comBlogger231125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-14135661921398841402012-01-19T12:56:00.001-05:002012-01-19T14:25:49.490-05:002012-01-19T14:25:49.490-05:00

Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $158 million to settle a lawsuit and put an end to the trial that began last Monday in Austin, Texas. The settlement was announced this morning; one and-a-half weeks into a trial that has led to a great deal of negative press regarding the illegal marketing practices undertaken by J&J to promote its antipsychotic drug, Risperdal. The lawsuit was originally

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-31021110270273389132012-01-18T14:26:00.001-05:002012-02-04T01:51:20.387-05:002012-02-04T01:51:20.387-05:00

A document retrieved through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request reveals a secret policy at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to deny the existence of certain documents. This policy, called “blackballing,” was disclosed publicly for the first time yesterday in an article by Jason Leopold, and published on Truthout. Labor historian Trevor Griffey learned about "blackballing"

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-23249787152548599742012-01-15T13:11:00.001-05:002012-01-15T23:19:33.810-05:002012-01-15T23:19:33.810-05:00

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-62509835255210758112012-01-10T11:52:00.001-05:002012-02-10T14:12:24.059-05:002012-02-10T14:12:24.059-05:00

In 1999, Lawrence Marshall, a Professor of Law at Northwestern University, said, “We generally condone a great deal of misconduct when we think it serves the ultimate ends of justice. Many players in the system - judges, defense lawyers, prosecutors - know some of the stuff that happens, but nonetheless tend to turn a blind eye. There’s a feeling that that is how it works, that it’s legitimate

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-42759996009606962992012-01-09T11:04:00.001-05:002012-01-09T15:26:21.918-05:002012-01-09T15:26:21.918-05:00

After nearly 20 years of incarceration for a crime he did not commit, Juan Rivera walked out of prison a free man on Friday, January 6, 2012. His release came after the Illinois Second Appellate Court threw out his murder conviction. This was the third time the Appellate Court had reversed the wrongful conviction of Rivera for the murder of 11-year-old Holly Staker. The Appellate Court’s

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-51683883596506955442012-01-06T14:56:00.001-05:002012-01-06T15:55:39.745-05:002012-01-06T15:55:39.745-05:00

Bloomberg reported yesterday that Johnson & Johnson will pay more than $1 billion to the U.S. and most states to resolve a civil investigation into marketing of the antipsychotic Risperdal, according to people familiar with the matter. J&J is reportedly in negotiations to pay $400 million in fines to settle the criminal portion of the investigation. By my calculation; this pending $1 billion

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-29106958703647402832012-01-04T11:27:00.001-05:002012-01-06T11:08:46.560-05:002012-01-06T11:08:46.560-05:00

In 1993, J&J subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceutica, won FDA approval to sell Risperdal for the treatment of psychosis in patients with schizophrenia. Only about 1.1 percent of adults suffer from this condition, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, so the market potential for Risperdal was apparently quite small. But Johnson & Johnson, recognizing an opportunity to expand the

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-35764135801278562442011-12-23T17:00:00.001-05:002011-12-23T18:58:40.754-05:002011-12-23T18:58:40.754-05:00

Johnson & Johnson has issued another recall of Motrin pain relievers. The Motrin packages involved in this latest recall were manufactured between February 2009 and July 2011. Some were produced by an outside contract manufacturer and others were manufactured at J&J’s factory in Las Piedras, Puerto Rico. J&J spokesperson, Bonnie Jacobs, said the company is only recalling packages from retailers,

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-83196137920599497872011-12-14T15:55:00.000-05:002011-12-14T17:04:40.571-05:002011-12-14T17:04:40.571-05:00

The Occupy Wall Street tent-encampments have captured a great deal of media attention over the past several months. Less visible to the public eye are the growing number of tent cities occupied by homeless people across the country. One of these tent cities is tucked away in a public park in Lakewood, NJ, just 40 miles from my home. Tent City, NJ, was set up by Reverend Steven Brigham five

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-36519676931398890322011-12-09T10:35:00.001-05:002011-12-09T12:15:58.287-05:002011-12-09T12:15:58.287-05:00

Federal inspectors say the contract manufacturer for Johnson & Johnson's cancer drug, Doxil, has not been maintaining equipment or promptly investigating defective product batches and other serious problems at its Bedford, Ohio, factory. The FDA inspection report, completed December 6th, details lax quality control, failure to follow standard procedures and even lack of follow-up about a

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-33955143544135563362011-12-06T16:01:00.001-05:002011-12-06T16:05:29.218-05:002011-12-06T16:05:29.218-05:00

 The Tylenol Mafia: Marketing, Murder, and Johnson & Johnson Front page story in the Daily Herald on September 26, 2011 Buy Now The Tylenol Mafia facebook page Author interview in Chicago Reader

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-44424404852899971612011-12-05T12:34:00.001-05:002011-12-06T00:28:13.114-05:002011-12-06T00:28:13.114-05:00

According to a federal report released last week, foster children on Medicaid received psychotropic drugs at a higher rate than other children covered by the government insurance program. The study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is raising concern among lawmakers and medical experts that doctors are overprescribing psychiatric drugs to treat children in the foster-care system.

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-16913574237863217472011-12-02T13:04:00.001-05:002011-12-02T13:04:38.572-05:002011-12-02T13:04:38.572-05:00

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report yesterday on its investigation into the prescribing of psychotropic drugs to children insured through Medicaid in five state: Oregon, Michigan, Massachusetts, Florida, and Texas. The GAO was interested specifically in the use of psychotropic drugs to treat children in foster care. The GAO report suggests that children in foster care

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-82162295220808612832011-11-28T09:56:00.001-05:002011-11-28T14:34:43.058-05:002011-11-28T14:34:43.058-05:00

In May 1991, Johnson & Johnson brokered a deal with the relatives of seven victims of the 1982 Tylenol killer. The Johnson & Johnson lawyer who signed the settlement agreements, Russell Deyo, will retire from the company on March 31, 2012. Deyo, 62, was an assistant U.S. attorney in New Jersey for eight years prior to joining Johnson & Johnson in 1985. He was the corporate secretary at the

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-77309871448479230282011-11-24T05:29:00.001-05:002011-11-24T05:29:01.642-05:002011-11-24T05:29:01.642-05:00

 

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-10272177472014385372011-11-21T13:06:00.001-05:002011-11-21T13:15:00.413-05:002011-11-21T13:15:00.413-05:00

It would be tough to find a class of drugs prescribed for unapproved uses more frequently than antipsychotic drugs. The use of antipsychotics for unapproved conditions grew rapidly after Johnson & Johnson launched Risperdal in 1993. Johnson & Johnson invented the classification “atypical antipsychotic” to describe this new drug. Soon after the launch of Risperdal, other pharmaceutical

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-87300080458082461962011-11-15T10:30:00.001-05:002011-11-15T10:35:02.791-05:002011-11-15T10:35:02.791-05:00

In early 1999, George Couto was asked to attend a mandatory ethics training session being held by Bayer Corporation. The session was kicked off by a video-taped address by Helge Wehmeier, the head of Bayer's entire U.S. operation. Helge said this: "Everyone is expected to obey the law -- not only the letter of the law, but the spirit of the law as well. You will never be alone to adhere to

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-60517887474763642512011-11-11T11:06:00.001-05:002011-11-11T12:16:19.479-05:002011-11-11T12:16:19.479-05:00

This is the first in a series of posts that will delve into Johnson & Johnson’s marketing strategy for its antipsychotic drug, Risperdal. In this post, I present data showing the extensive off-label use of Risperdal in children. In future posts, I’ll describe J&J’s strategy for promoting Risperdal for unapproved uses. My knowledge about J&J’s marketing of Risperdal comes from Johnson & Johnson’

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-15195433317215391672011-11-08T14:49:00.001-05:002011-11-09T10:26:24.388-05:002011-11-09T10:26:24.388-05:00

You might be surprised to learn how the U.S. government treated whistleblowers 244 years ago. Listen to audio clip is from the October 25, 2011 “Honesty Without Fear” radio show.

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-1229303376893794172011-11-08T11:34:00.001-05:002011-11-08T11:46:57.030-05:002011-11-08T11:46:57.030-05:00

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Citigroup, hoping to settle a fraud case for pennies on the dollar, have run into a road block - namely, Judge Jed Rakoff of the U.S District Court in the Sothern District of New York. Judge Rakoff is challenging the boilerplate language used to resolve securities-enforcement cases, and questioning why he should approve the SEC's proposed $285

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-85749827266311200182011-11-07T13:15:00.001-05:002011-11-07T13:22:28.035-05:002011-11-07T13:22:28.035-05:00

The Department of Justice has canceled a planned revision to Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) rules that would have made it legal for federal agencies to lie about the existence of records. The proposed rule would have allowed federal agencies to deny the existence of records when applying an exclusion, even if the records did exist. In a letter to Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley on Thursday,

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-36696878382514625052011-11-03T13:45:00.003-04:002011-11-03T13:50:15.387-04:002011-11-03T13:50:15.387-04:00

Fox ran this headline “'South Park' Mocks 'Occupy Wall Street,' Michael Moore” to describe this video: In reality, South Park is primarily mocking the mainstream media coverage of OWS by FOX and others.

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-20943132678701872912011-10-31T12:29:00.001-04:002011-10-31T12:29:00.923-04:002011-10-31T12:29:00.923-04:00

On January 21, 2009, President Obama issued executive orders and memoranda designed to improve government ethics and make the government more open. Obama issued a Memorandum for the heads of executive departments, which stated, in part: Government should be transparent. Transparency promotes accountability and provides information for citizens about what their Government is doing. Information

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-32038003337944221502011-10-28T13:03:00.001-04:002011-10-28T13:29:40.551-04:002011-10-28T13:29:40.551-04:00

From 2007 to 2009, the FDA had become increasingly concerned about the conditions at Johnson & Johnson’s Tylenol manufacturing plants in Fort Washington, PA, and Las Piedras, PR. FDA reports show a myriad of ongoing violations of current Good Manufacturing Practices and dirty conditions that ultimately forced J&J to shut down the Fort Washington plant indefinitely in May 2010. Currently, all

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794560904973634290.post-47377598911271511602011-10-26T23:07:00.001-04:002011-10-26T23:07:31.555-04:002011-10-26T23:07:31.555-04:00

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Scott Bartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478208858767232306noreply@blogger.com