Author: Ring of Fire Staff

By M. Robert Blanchard October 3rd 2012  12:00p So many criminal fines have been imposed against drug manufacturers in recent years that it is surprising the general public is not aware of the ongoing criminal activity of some of these companies. A court in Virginia this Tuesday ordered Abbott Laboratories to pay $700 million in fines for criminal misconduct related to off-label marketing, kickback schemes and false claims related to their anti-seizure medication Depakote. A primary target of this illegal scheme was the elderly, who were sold Depakote for treatment of dementia and schizophrenia. Of course, the drug not been approved for these uses. The obvious reason that drug companies keep committing these crimes and keep suffering fines is that it remains very profitable for them. Abbott Laboratories accumulated over $1 billion in sales of this one medication alone, so a fine of $700 million is worth the risk of being caught. Unfortunately, the general public is not keeping track of all this wrongdoing. In 2009, Pfizer was required to pay $1.2 billion in fines for marketing gets prescription drug extra. Just this year GlaxoSmithKline entered a guilty plea and had to pay out $1 billion for crimes related to its diabetes drug Avandia, as well as misbranding its antidepressant medications Paxil and Wellbutrin. It is sad that the people harmed by these practices do not get to share...

By: M. Robert Blanchard October 2nd, 2012  10:15am A recently announced recall by the FDA illustrates the importance of proper warning labels for products sold to consumers. On  Sept 27, 2012, the FDA reported a voluntary recall by General Mills of certain boxes of granola bars. It seems the wrong type of individually wrapped granola bar were packaged in a box that did not have a “may contain peanuts” type of warning. The individually wrapped bars had the proper warning label, but the box did not. Before anyone goes to accusing the FDA of overreacting, we must remember that peanut allergies can be deadly and some consumers may look for the warning on the box and not on the individual granola bar. We can see from this example that one seemingly minor difference in the labeling can have a big impact on consumers. Also, the FDA and the company were in a better position to recognize and remedy the situation than the average consumer. The problem with the “personal responsibility means never suing anyone” crowd is the disregard for a professional approach to the business of selling products to consumers. Where harm can be avoided by the manufacturer, it should be avoided. No one wants to see a person rushed to the emergency room from unknowingly ingesting peanuts, nor does anyone want to pay those medical bills. It is...

By James Kauffman September 28th 2012 9:15am Goldman Sachs settled allegations from the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) that the investment bank engaged in a “pay to play” scheme. According to the SEC allegations, one of Goldman Sachs’ bankers, Neil M.M. Morrison, made cash donations to the polical campaign of former Massachusetts Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill. Recently, Cahill was indicted on corruption charges stemming from allegations that he used State lottery advertising money to fund his gubernatorial campaign in 2010. According to emails recovered by the SEC, Cahil stated that assigning a consultant for underwriting business “has to be a political decision” and urged his office “PLEASE don’t give these slots away willy-nilly.” For his part in the “pay to play” scheme, the SEC said that Morrison essentially ran a campaign office, wrote speeches and fundraised for Cahill during his work hours at Goldman, using the company’s email and phone systems. In exchange, the SEC said Goldman received lucrative government business, which included at least thirty (30) deals to help arrange Massachusetts bond offerings. Goldman’s $12 Million settlement includes the disgorgement of $7.5 million that it earned in fees from underwriting Massachusetts bonds. The company also settled with the Massachusetts attorney general, paying more than $4 million back to the state. “We are pleased that this settlement brings back more than $4 million to the Commonwealth and serves to...

Hopes for reopening the Jeffrey asbestos mine in Canada have been dealt a fatal blow.  The newly elected Parti Quebecois government has vowed to revoke a loan designed to breathe new life into Canada’s dying asbestos industry. Once an industry that employed entire towns, Canadian asbestos mines have struggled to justify their existence for years.  In the face of increasing global regulations and public outcry domestically, the Canadian asbestos industry has managed to remain viable by exporting the poisonous mineral to developing third world countries.  That is until landslides in October led to the unexpected closure of the asbestos mines in Thetford Mines, Quebec.  Where did the industry look to fill its orders?  A town actually named for the deadly substance; Asbestos, Que. and the Jeffrey mine. Following the landslides of last year, talks of reopening the Jeffrey mine began to surface.  By June, despite the overwhelming evidence of the carcinogenic properties of asbestos, the former Johns Manville owned mine had secured a $58 million loan with the assistance of the former Quebec government.  The loan would have reopened the Jeffrey mine and help fund operations for the next 25 years allowing the province to profit off the export of 200,000 tons of chrysotile asbestos to third world countries annually.  While proponents of the mine contend that chrysotile asbestos does not pose health risks, the World Health Organization estimates...