Tuesday, March 29, 2022
Newly unsealed court records show that a former executive of Modernizing Medicine filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the Boca Raton, Fla., company and its cofounders, Daniel Cane and Dr. Michael Sherling, in 2017. Earlier this month, the U.S. Attorney’s Office informed the court that it would take up the whistleblower’s case.
The complaint alleged that ModMed’s patient records software didn’t work as purported, the company cheated federal certification tests and created incentives for doctors in ways that violated federal anti-kickback laws.
Tags: U.S. Attorney's Office , District of Vermont , U.S. Department of Justice , ModMed , Daniel Cane , Michael Sherling , Electronic Health Records , False Claims Act , Anti-Kickback Statute , electronic medical records , Web Only , Image
The state placed superintendent Scott Martin on paid leave Monday, a status that's typical during human resources investigations. But, in a press release Tuesday, the department said that Martin "will not be returning to his position."
The release cited "concerns" that were "raised and reviewed regarding the management and direction of NSCF."
Tags: Vermont Department of Corrections , Scott Martin , Newport prison , Northern State Correctional Facility , Nicholas Deml , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, February 15, 2022
The City of Burlington had asked Judge William Sessions to rule in its favor by providing something known as summary judgment in both cases. But Sessions denied the motion and will allow Jérémie Meli and Mabior Jok to pursue their excessive force claims related to separate downtown incidents in 2018.
The U.S. District Court judge did toss several other parts of the lawsuits, including claims brought by two of Meli's brothers, who were with him the night of the incident.
Tags: Jeremie Meli , Mabior Jok , Burlington Police Department , City of Burlington , Jason Bellavance , Joseph Corrow , Dan Richardson , Evan Chadwick , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, February 1, 2022
One of two finalists in the city’s monthslong search, acting Chief Jon Murad was unable to win over any of the six council Progressives, who painted him as unwilling to lead the city’s police reform efforts. The councilors also expressed concern about Murad’s reportedly strained relationships with some police commissioners.
“The willingness for engaging in meaningful police reform is what I have wanted to see,” Councilor Jane Stromberg (P-Ward 8) said. “Character comes before credentials, no matter how many a person has.”
Tags: Jon Murad , police chief , Burlington , Miro Weinberger , mayor , Vermont , city council , appointment , Web Only , Image
Thursday, January 27, 2022
Burlington city councilors are poised to block Mayor Miro Weinberger’s nomination of acting Chief Jon Murad as the Queen City’s next top cop.
Just hours after Weinberger announced Murad’s appointment on Thursday afternoon, the council's six-member Progressive caucus issued a statement saying they'll vote against Murad at Monday’s meeting.
“We want to make it very clear that Mayor Weinberger does not have the votes in the City Council to confirm Acting Chief Murad as Burlington’s permanent Chief of Police," the Progs' statement says, calling the appointment divisive and controversial.
"Burlington needs a permanent Chief of Police who demonstrates a commitment to transforming public safety in Burlington," the statement continues. "Right now, Jon Murad is not that candidate."
Tags: Burlington , police chief , Jon Murad , Mayor Miro Weinberger , Web Only , Image
Four people with knowledge of the mayor's decision, but who were not authorized to speak about it, confirmed the news to Seven Days. The mayor has scheduled a press conference to announce his decision on Thursday afternoon.
Murad has been the city's acting chief since June 2020. He was one of two finalists in Burlington's search for a new chief — a position that's been filled on a temporary basis since December 2019, when former chief Brandon del Pozo resigned amid a social media scandal.
Tags: Burlington , police chief , Jon Murad , Mayor Miro Weinberger , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, January 19, 2022
In a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday, Cpl. Andrew Leise also claims that Seven Days defamed him in a June 23, 2021 news story about the commission's investigation. He's suing the newspaper, the Human Rights Commission, its executive director Bor Yang and commission chair Rep. Kevin "Coach" Christie (D-Hartford) for six counts of defamation and due process violations.
Tags: Andrew Leise , Vermont State Police , Vermont Human Rights Commission , Bor Yang , Kevin Christie , Lydia Clemmons , Clemmons Family Farm , Grey Barreda , Seven Days , Da Capo Publishing , defamation , Web Only , Image
Friday, January 14, 2022
Justices also upheld a $46,600 civil fine that the lower court had imposed on Banyai in March 2021.
Banyai has operated a tactical firearms "school," which he dubbed Slate Ridge, on his wooded property for several years. During that time, he's published anti-government statements, aligned himself with the far-right militia movement, and sent threatening messages to neighbors and local officials, a VTDigger.org investigation in 2020 revealed. He built and advertised the compound even as he faced felony firearms charges in New York State, which prevented him from legally possessing guns in that state.
Tags: Slate Ridge , Daniel Banyai , Vermont Supreme Court , Vermont land-use law , Town of Pawlet , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, December 21, 2021
In a press release Tuesday afternoon, Weinberger said council Progressives had made consensus on the search process "impossible" by refusing to take steps the mayor thinks would attract a broader pool of applicants. A monthslong search has yielded just two viable hires, the mayor has said: acting Chief Jon Murad and another unnamed candidate.
Weinberger, a Democrat, said Tuesday that he'll move forward with the two applicants, and bring a finalist to the council for a vote early next year.
"It remains within the Mayor’s authority under City Charter to select and make department head appointments, and I believe it is my duty to do so urgently," Weinberger said in the statement. "The community and our police department need a permanent chief now."
Tags: Burlington , Burlington Police Department , police chief search , Mayor Miro Weinberger , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Senate Judiciary Committee chair Dick Sears (D-Bennington) announced the push to end so-called “qualified immunity” for law enforcement officers during a press conference Wednesday. He was joined by a coalition of supporters from the ACLU of Vermont; local NAACP chapters; the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank; Ben & Jerry’s cofounders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield; and the Law Enforcement Action Partnership.
The bill, modeled after one Colorado passed in 2020, would allow victims of police misconduct to sue in state court and eliminate a key barrier that often prevents the victims from recovering damages.
“I believe firmly that good law enforcement depends on community trust,” Sears said. “And this reform is an important step towards building that trust in our community.”
Tags: Qualified Immunity , Police Misconduct , Richard Sears , Dick Sears , Becca Balint , Kesha Ram Hinsdale , Phil Baruth , ACLU of Vermont , Rutland NAACP , Mia Schultz , Ben Cohen , Jerry Greenfield , Law Enforcement Action Partnership , Vermont League of Cities & Towns , City of Burlington , Jason Bellavance , Web Only , Image