Always Ready to Serve
Senator Menendez
Democrat Robert Menendez, US Senator from New Jersey, was indicted this week on federal charges related to his relationship with Sal Melgen, a Florida eye doctor who apparently knows a deal when he sees one.
Sal gave hundreds of thousands of dollars in political contributions, flew Bob around on a private jet and put him up at his exclusive Dominican sea-side villa.
Bob in turn made sure that Sal’s various foreign girlfriends (GF), models all, obtained easy entry into the US by hectoring state department officials for tourist visas.
We knew the senator was an expert on foreign affairs but this is above and beyond the call of duty.
We don’t know what Mrs. Melgen thought of this.
Bob would find out where the GF was coming from and then immediately have his staff write letters to the appropriate ambassador or consul as his part in the booty call.
After all, that’s what friends, and US senators, are for.
Lucentis, Medicare and $8.9M
Sal and Bob
In addition to booty duty, Bob devoted much time to helping Sal try to weasel out of a Medicare scandal resulting from over-billing for medications.
Thrifty Sal was harvesting extra doses of Lucentis, an eye medication, from single use vials despite the fact that the FDA, CDC and the manufacturer prohibit it because of infection control concerns.
Sal, of course, was billing for the extra doses as if they were single-use vials.
Menendez brow beat HHS officials as he attempted to change their ruling that Sal must pay.
He even demanded a meeting with Secretary Sebelius of HHS.
She turned him down flat.
In fact, bully Menendez got nowhere with career federal employees at HHS, they held the integrity line and they did it well.
We can’t say the same for the department of state who caved under a little pressure.
Menendez will have his day in court but regardless of the outcome, we can surely say he is a full-service senator.
Here’s the indictment: