Virginia's Own Rick Scott...
 

....just as crooked as the governor of Florida:


McDonnell helped benefactor get meeting with Va. health secretary,
e-mails show
By Laura Vozzella and Rosalind S. Helderman, Published: July 17

RICHMOND — Jonnie R. Williams Sr., the wealthy nutritional supplement
maker at the center of Gov. Robert F. McDonnell’s gifts scandal, met
with Virginia’s health secretary to pitch his product at the
recommendation of the governor, according to an e-mail his assistant
wrote the day of the November 2010 meeting.

“This email is to confirm a meeting between Jonnie Williams and
Secretary Bill Hazel on Thursday, November 4th at 9:00 am,� Monica
Block, McDonnell’s scheduler, wrote to Williams’s assistant in a message
two days before he sat down with Hazel, the state’s secretary of health
and human resources.

The e-mails, obtained by The Washington Post under the Freedom of
Information Act, are the first indication that McDonnell (R) directly
intervened on behalf of Williams, whose gifts of luxury items and
five-figure payments and loans to the McDonnell family have triggered
state and federal investigations.

Until now, only first lady Maureen McDonnell was known to have taken
direct steps to promote Anatabloc, the nutritional supplement produced
by Williams’s firm, Star Scientific. She had touted it at a Florida
investors conference and arranged a product-launch party at the
governor’s mansion, which the governor also attended.

In an interview Wednesday, Hazel said it was not immediately clear to
him what Williams hoped to get out of the meeting. After it had already
taken place, McDonnell directly asked him to talk to Williams.

“The governor said, ‘Will you talk to my wife’s friend?’ � Hazel said.
“And I said, ‘I have spoken with him. But I don’t know what he wants.’ �

On the day of the November 2010 meeting with Hazel, Williams’s executive
assistant said in an e-mail that McDonnell had suggested the get-together.

“Jonnie spoke with the Governor recently about a new product that Star
Scientific, Inc. is developing that has the potential to save Virginia
citizens money on health care,� wrote Jerri M. Fulkerson, Williams’s
assistant. “The Governor told Jonnie he needs to speak to Dr. Hazel in
reference to this.�

McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin said there was nothing unusual about
the governor asking a state official to talk with someone.

“Whether it be on his radio shows, at events or anywhere he goes,
Virginians are always asking the governor about issues or challenges or
proposals that they may have,� Martin said. “We try to be responsive.
Any matters that should be properly handled by a specific agency or
secretariat are directed to their attention and handled as a matter of
routine business.�

Hazel said he often meets with corporate leaders at the request of the
governor’s office.

“They’re selling new ideas, and part of the job is to sift through and
listen to it and try to make a decision about whether it is useful or
not,� he said.

Williams gave $145,000 to assist the McDonnell family in 2011 and 2012.
He provided $70,000 to a corporation owned by the governor and his
sister and $50,000 as a loan to Maureen McDonnell. He also paid for the
catering at the wedding of one of McDonnell’s daughters and gave a
$10,000 gift to another daughter before her wedding.

At the meeting with the health secretary, the Star executive said his
company had found a way to make tobacco, once a mainstay of the Virginia
economy, healthy and profitable. His company was preparing to introduce
Anatabloc, an anti-inflammatory supplement made from a chemical found in
tobacco.

The product is billed as having promise for the treatment of Alzheimer’s
and other ailments. Alzheimer’s experts have questioned those claims, as
have shareholders, who allege in a lawsuit that Star exaggerated
Anatabloc’s scientific promise.

Hazel said he concluded that the product was “not ready for prime time.�

“We took no action that would have likely benefited his company as a
result,� Hazel said. “Unequivocally, I can say that.�

Hazel said Williams continued to periodically send him material about
Star, but he was never sure what the executive was hoping to get from
state government. After the governor made his direct request to “talk to
my wife’s friend,� Hazel saw Williams at an event and asked.

“I said, ‘Jonnie, what is it that you want?’ � Hazel recalled. “He said
he wanted to get his product tested at U-Va. or MCV,� a reference to the
Medical College of Virginia, now part of Virginia Commonwealth
University. “And I said, ‘You go to them for that. You don’t need us for
that.’ �

Williams later arranged to make research grants to scientists at the two
public medical schools, announcing them at an August 2011 mansion
luncheon that doubled as a product-launch party for Anatabloc.

The event came the same month that Williams had a meeting with another
state health official, this one at the behest of Maureen McDonnell.
Molly Huffstetler, senior policy adviser to Hazel, met with him and the
first lady Aug. 1, 2011. In an e-mail to Williams afterward, Huffstetler
expressed professional skepticism but personal hopes for Anatabloc.

“As you know, it is necessary for us to make policy recommendations and
decisions off sound data, [but] I am grateful that you are making
strides to validate the incredible anecdotes and stories that result in
your work,� Huffstetler wrote. “At times I found myself drifting to
excitement thinking about my father, who suffers greatly from Ankylosing
Spondylitis (severe form of arthritis). . . . It thrills me to think
that within his lifetime there is a possible method to alleviating pain
without costly side effects.�

Huffstetler did not return a call seeking comment.

© The Washington Post Company

http://tinyurl.com/mfmcv9y

Virginia's Own Rick Scott...
 

On 7/18/2013 7:57 AM, F.O.A.D. wrote:
....just as crooked as the governor of Florida:


McDonnell helped benefactor get meeting with Va. health secretary,
e-mails show
By Laura Vozzella and Rosalind S. Helderman, Published: July 17

RICHMOND — Jonnie R. Williams Sr., the wealthy nutritional supplement
maker at the center of Gov. Robert F. McDonnell’s gifts scandal, met
with Virginia’s health secretary to pitch his product at the
recommendation of the governor, according to an e-mail his assistant
wrote the day of the November 2010 meeting.

“This email is to confirm a meeting between Jonnie Williams and
Secretary Bill Hazel on Thursday, November 4th at 9:00 am,� Monica
Block, McDonnell’s scheduler, wrote to Williams’s assistant in a message
two days before he sat down with Hazel, the state’s secretary of health
and human resources.

The e-mails, obtained by The Washington Post under the Freedom of
Information Act, are the first indication that McDonnell (R) directly
intervened on behalf of Williams, whose gifts of luxury items and
five-figure payments and loans to the McDonnell family have triggered
state and federal investigations.

Until now, only first lady Maureen McDonnell was known to have taken
direct steps to promote Anatabloc, the nutritional supplement produced
by Williams’s firm, Star Scientific. She had touted it at a Florida
investors conference and arranged a product-launch party at the
governor’s mansion, which the governor also attended.

In an interview Wednesday, Hazel said it was not immediately clear to
him what Williams hoped to get out of the meeting. After it had already
taken place, McDonnell directly asked him to talk to Williams.

“The governor said, ‘Will you talk to my wife’s friend?’ � Hazel said.
“And I said, ‘I have spoken with him. But I don’t know what he wants.’ �

On the day of the November 2010 meeting with Hazel, Williams’s executive
assistant said in an e-mail that McDonnell had suggested the get-together.

“Jonnie spoke with the Governor recently about a new product that Star
Scientific, Inc. is developing that has the potential to save Virginia
citizens money on health care,� wrote Jerri M. Fulkerson, Williams’s
assistant. “The Governor told Jonnie he needs to speak to Dr. Hazel in
reference to this.�

McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin said there was nothing unusual about
the governor asking a state official to talk with someone.

“Whether it be on his radio shows, at events or anywhere he goes,
Virginians are always asking the governor about issues or challenges or
proposals that they may have,� Martin said. “We try to be responsive.
Any matters that should be properly handled by a specific agency or
secretariat are directed to their attention and handled as a matter of
routine business.�

Hazel said he often meets with corporate leaders at the request of the
governor’s office.

“They’re selling new ideas, and part of the job is to sift through and
listen to it and try to make a decision about whether it is useful or
not,� he said.

Williams gave $145,000 to assist the McDonnell family in 2011 and 2012.
He provided $70,000 to a corporation owned by the governor and his
sister and $50,000 as a loan to Maureen McDonnell. He also paid for the
catering at the wedding of one of McDonnell’s daughters and gave a
$10,000 gift to another daughter before her wedding.

At the meeting with the health secretary, the Star executive said his
company had found a way to make tobacco, once a mainstay of the Virginia
economy, healthy and profitable. His company was preparing to introduce
Anatabloc, an anti-inflammatory supplement made from a chemical found in
tobacco.

The product is billed as having promise for the treatment of Alzheimer’s
and other ailments. Alzheimer’s experts have questioned those claims, as
have shareholders, who allege in a lawsuit that Star exaggerated
Anatabloc’s scientific promise.

Hazel said he concluded that the product was “not ready for prime time.�

“We took no action that would have likely benefited his company as a
result,� Hazel said. “Unequivocally, I can say that.�

Hazel said Williams continued to periodically send him material about
Star, but he was never sure what the executive was hoping to get from
state government. After the governor made his direct request to “talk to
my wife’s friend,� Hazel saw Williams at an event and asked.

“I said, ‘Jonnie, what is it that you want?’ � Hazel recalled. “He said
he wanted to get his product tested at U-Va. or MCV,� a reference to the
Medical College of Virginia, now part of Virginia Commonwealth
University. “And I said, ‘You go to them for that. You don’t need us for
that.’ �

Williams later arranged to make research grants to scientists at the two
public medical schools, announcing them at an August 2011 mansion
luncheon that doubled as a product-launch party for Anatabloc.

The event came the same month that Williams had a meeting with another
state health official, this one at the behest of Maureen McDonnell.
Molly Huffstetler, senior policy adviser to Hazel, met with him and the
first lady Aug. 1, 2011. In an e-mail to Williams afterward, Huffstetler
expressed professional skepticism but personal hopes for Anatabloc.

“As you know, it is necessary for us to make policy recommendations and
decisions off sound data, [but] I am grateful that you are making
strides to validate the incredible anecdotes and stories that result in
your work,� Huffstetler wrote. “At times I found myself drifting to
excitement thinking about my father, who suffers greatly from Ankylosing
Spondylitis (severe form of arthritis). . . . It thrills me to think
that within his lifetime there is a possible method to alleviating pain
without costly side effects.�

Huffstetler did not return a call seeking comment.

© The Washington Post Company

http://tinyurl.com/mfmcv9y

Of the Lawyers, By the Lawyers, and for the lawyers and a few of their
friends.