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Monday, August 9, 2010

My New Chacko Feature

It only begins today, part one is here. Check out the conclusion tomorrow.

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mike-
You do a good job of presenting the agruement against Chacko.
But,to understand the pathologies involved her- could you please tell us what reason was given by Melham for destroying 30 years of Legionella research of Dr. Yu and Dr. Stout. I read an article about Dr. Stout also being harassed by Melham after this incident- did this take place. Did she destroy this important bacterial collection because she had personal animus against them. Could you please tell inquirying minds more about this, this way we can evaluate is more than one lunatic was involved at the Pittsburgh VA. Thanks

mike volpe said...

More Chacko talking points. First,this incident is from before Chacko even arrived.

The complaints against her aren't only from Melhem, so fixating on her is misdirection.

Finally, a congressional source said this about the legionella incident,

"in a situation like this, there's plenty of blame to go around."

I also have a link to all the testimony in the piece.

Anonymous said...

Mike-

Just read the Congressional Committee report on that Legionella bacteria stuff-the destruction of this collection really ranks up there with medical mistakes equivalent to amputating the wrong leg or removing the healthy kidney instead of the one with cancer Is it conceivable that Chacko got Melham pissed off-maybe rightly so. And, as we know, Melham apparently is not somebody to get pissed off because she might fire you, like Yu and Stout, and destroy any research they might be working on- regardless of its scientific value. What does this guy Moreland have to go with the destruction of the bacteria collection, where is he now ?

Anonymous said...

Mike-
You make a great point- the Legionella stuff happened BEFORE Chacko arrived- so that we can take a look at and evaluate the dynamics of mangerial team BEFORE Chacko got them pissed off. So what happened Chacko- as you noted a complete pyschopath arrives on the scene where Melham ( also another Psychopath) is running the place. So now there are two psycopath in a fight- and who's gonna with- the psychopath with the power. I would hate to met either Chacko or Melham in a dark alley- they both sound like dangerous lunatics.
I love reading your blogs, makes me thankful that I don't work with any lunatics.

mike volpe said...

Again, more Chacko talking points and they really haven't changed since all of this started.

Why are you fixated with the Legionella incident? Most of the people complaining weren't even at the Pitt VA when it happened.

You've been doing this since the beginning. You have a set of talking points and you simply hammer them home and you ignore all the evidence against you and hope no one notices.

Anonymous said...

Mike-
I am not Chacko- so I am not sure why you say "you ignore all the evidence against you and hope no one notices."

It appears that there are two opposing parties- one Chacko- who has lawsuits filed against her, and lots of rumours and gossip, whiich you have collected. On the other side- Melham, et al, have been investigated by a Congressional Committee and their report is in the Public record.

What I am wondering why if you claim, perhaps rightly so that Chacko is a nut, you cannot make the same statement about Melham who probably has done much worse?
Making that statement in no way invalidates that Chacko is a nut, but it does point to your objectivity as a journalist.

mike volpe said...

I don't think that I ever called Dr. Melhem a "psychopath".

I don't think anyone has the history that Dr. Chacko has and so the insinuation that there was some sort of struggle is nonsense. Dr. Chacko is always the most powerful person in any situation she's a part of.

Anonymous said...

Mike-
You don't have to call Melham a psychopath, there are over 200 promientn medical researchers throughout the world who signed their names on a petition against her selfish and reprehensible act in destroying the legionella collection. So if we can acknowledge that Mona Melham did something "bad against humanity" by ordering the destruction of a valuable collection of Legionella- "within the hour" she learned that it was to be moved to UPenn and didn't get reprimanded or punished- we can get a feel for what is tolerated the VA. And also as a reminder- that guy Van Boven got fired after he found 2 million dollars misappropriate. So the point that I am making is that there is something "rotten in Denmark" BEFORE Chacko got there- that's all.

Anonymous said...

Mike-
You don't have to call Melhan a pyschopath. However, to any neutral party it is apparent that she is.

mike volpe said...

Wow. You certainly know how to hit on all the buzz words. These doctors were "prominent." Really. Based on what and why would that matter.

Melhem's history goes back to one specific case, whereas Chacko's been doing the same M.O. for decades. Why are you fixated on Melhem's history?

Anonymous said...

Mike- The point here is that it takes "two to tango" and the stuff you say about Chacko, which is likely true, doesn't in any way absolve Melham from using her position to punish her opponent. Her mental instability, which has been established with the Yu and Stout incident could be a factor. Again, maybe you should go undercover and get a job at a VA and see how things operate. People play dirty everyday and the person who gets punished is always the person who has the least power. AS an example, take a look at St. Louis- 1800 vets possible infected with HIV and Hepatitis and the person who warned them about this risk last year was fired. Talk to some vets and see how they are treated- by the DVA- and it ain't pretty. Also, I am wondering if Chacko is the most powerful person in the room- why did she get fired and not the Melham?
Just somethings to consider and evaluate- yes, Chacko is a nut, but what about everybody else?

Anonymous said...

Mike-
You are right- Let the readers decide if all the scientist who signed the petition are "prominent" . I am not sure but several are from Mayo, Harvard, and Tufts- whether these can be classified as "prominent" is to be decided and debatable.

Here's a link.

http://www.legionella.org/vaspl/CIDLDPetition.pdf

mike volpe said...

You are certainly fixated on a situation that happened four years ago. One incident. Why is that?

It was a case of he said/she said and Miller sided with Dr. Yu. Also, Dr. Yu has a lot of friends who defended him when he complained. As such, you produced that list.

I still don't know what this has to do with the price of tea in China.

Are you really saying the real story here is Dr. Melhem? It's not. It's Chacko. She's the only story that matters in any story she's a part of.

Anonymous said...

Mike-
So Dr. Yu now has lots and lots of "prominent" friends willing to put their name and affiliations on a petition- maybe that is the case or maybe these researchers see that something totally went haywire at the Pittsburgh VA BEFORE Chacko got there. All I am saying is that Melham had a cat fight BEFORE Chacko got there and that resulted in her being able to use her power to fire and try to destroy other people,once we can determine that we more clearly and precisely understand that we are actually dealing with. Which is More than one Psychopath at the Pittsburgh VA- that all I am saying. Which is the likely reason that Miller, Sestak, Brian Casey and others are willing to not condem or dismiss Chacko as you are.

mike volpe said...

Melhem had a cat fight but Chacko had hundreds and you seem to want to only talk about Melhem's cat fight. Why is that?

These are the same talking points that Chacko and her cronies have been laying out since the beginning.

You'll probably have to stay until part two to see if you are going to want to defend the credibility of either Brian Casey, Miller, or Sestak.

Anonymous said...

It appears Chacko is no angel from what you have written so far but that does not negate Melhem's psychopath behavior. There is ample history for both Chacko and Melhem. Melhem has had history of supervosory abuse thru her cronies. Did you check why some radiologists who come whenever they want to and do not meet VA standards of attendance are the main culprits in this soap opera. While they did not say the infamous words " kiss my Indian ass " they certainly imply the same to rest of VA employees and veterans at VAPHS. The employees at VA Pittsburgh are watching these Indian/Egyptian crabs pulling down their own colleagues for promotions and $$$. You still did not answer why the caucasians get less money than the Indians/Egyptians at VAPHS radiology under Melheim? Also, why is the most inexperienced radiologist now a section chief of radiology ? Is it because of the favors she did for Melhiem ? It is rotten out here and no doubt living in Chicago, you do not smell it let alone experience the stupid fat a$$ feminazi BS.

ps: care less for neither one of the above characters nor their cronies

mike volpe said...

You seem to know a lot and have an especial dislike for Dr. Melhem.

What I'm wondering is what your point is? I'm sure that Melhem isn't perfect but are you saying that her faults are in the same stratosphere as Chacko's? No one would seriously say that.

Assuming we agree on that, who cares what problems Melhem had. Chacko has run circles on people significantly more ruthless, corrupt, and savvy than Melhem.

Again, the legionella situation is a he said/ she said and Miller took one side. That's usually suspect. It's also irrelevant.

Chacko isn't absolved of her actions because Dr. Melhem was indicted by a congressman in a situation that preceded these events.

I would wait until part two of this piece comes out before making any comments. The piece wraps up and my theme is clear and you can tell me then where I'm wrong.

Anonymous said...

You got that wrong. I do not hate Melhem. She just happens to be the other cat in the cat fight or dog fight at VAPHS. You have written a lot about Chacko and there isn't any more for me or anyone else to add unless they make up a story. Anonymous is right about one thing.. It was a cat fight between the two principal characters which brought disgrace to VAPHS. The cronies who followed their orders for selfish gains are no less to blame for the soap opera. Did you ever realize the employees at VA consider what you write in the Blog are either talking points given to you by VA top brass in Pittsburgh or you are getting paid to do this? Not many journalists are as obsessed as you are to do this free. There are dime a dozen Chackos and Melhems all over VA if you really want to fix problems for veterans. Just google St Louis or Bay pines or Philadelphia VA for start. I hope your conservative right wing thinking is not the reason for your vitriol against the democrat senators although at times does raise some suspicion. My question to you is what is that which motivates you in this story if it is not political or money or patriotism?

What motivates me is the fall out of this catfight on the veterans which I see it while you only hear from the vested few with conflict of interest. The latter includes both of the above characters and their cronies

mike volpe said...

Now, we're getting somewhere. So, first, you are only concerned about Melhem because she's the other cat in the cat fight. What makes you think this? There's an entire department and hospital involved in this. Why are you so fixated on Melhem. Could it be that because Melhem has this investigation from Miller's committee hanging over her that she's the easiest target if your goal is to move the narrative away from Chacko.

Why are you so fixated with the situation at the Pitt VA. Chacko was only there for the last year. What about the rest of her history? If you cede that this is at least mostly accurate, how can you deny that it's overwhelmingly certain that whatever problems there were at the Pitt VA during her tenure, she was knee deep in them, as is her history.

As for me, I've said it over and over, Chacko is among the most fascinating people I've ever come across and that's what motivates me.

Finally, anyone that's followed all my work knows I take on Republicans and conservatives when I see they've done something wrong. You can see my exposes on Michelle Malkin and my constant criticism of Andrew Breitbart as an example. I've also run exposes linking corruption to Rick Perry and the Republican establishment in Connecticut. That's just a totally bogus charge.

The bottom line is simple. Dr. Chacko has a long and documented history of causing pain, terror, and chaos every where she goes. That's what happened at the Pitt VA and it's blatantly obvious she's knee deep in all of it like she has been everywhere she's gone. Trying to move the spotlight to someone else is nothing more than misdirection and it's a game Chacko has been running for years. If you can't see that, I can't help.

All of these comments are no different from comments Chacko and her cronies have been making since I began writing about her. It's obvious. She has no answers, no excuses, or explanations for her behavior and so she tries to change the subject and have everyone focus on someone else. It's a classic Alinsky techique and no one is buying it.

Anonymous said...

Mike-
You state "As for me, I've said it over and over, Chacko is among the most fascinating people I've ever come across and that's what motivates me."

Great- for me, she a nut- but as physician and medical researcher- Melham is more interesting- she destroys a huge collection of Legionella to spite somebody, 1/2 hour after she learns the collection is being transferred out to U Penn- THAT's SICK

Anonymous said...

Mike-
NOT TO BE RACIST- HOW COME IT FOREIGNERS ARE THE ONLY ONES INVOLVED IN THIS CIRCUS?

Anonymous said...

Mike-
You state"It's a classic Alinsky techique and no one is buying it."
DITTO that- CHACKO Is a Psychopath. But some of us still want an expose on Melham and why she destroyed that legionella collection- is she a psycopath too?
Chacko cannot be the only psychopath at the Pitts VA.

Anonymous said...

Mike-
I don't know Chacko and I object to your characterization of my blogs as "All of these comments are no different from comments Chacko and her cronies have been making since I began writing about her. It's obvious. She has no answers, no excuses, or explanations for her behavior and so she tries to change the subject and have everyone focus on someone else."
Alright she has no answers for her behavior- she is categorized as a psychopath - that's clear and I totally agree. But I still have questions about Melhem- that's a wackier story and you have to admit she is a psycopath.

Anonymous said...

Mike-
You state " Chacko has run circles on people significantly more ruthless, corrupt, and savvy than Melhem." Who is that -Are you referring to Dr. James Thrall at MGH ?

mike volpe said...

There are more pathetic attempts to get me to reveal sources. That won't happen.

Obviously, this is either Dr. Chacko or someone that knows her very well. Either way, it's the same.

You stick to the talking points. It's not about Chacko but Melhem. You ignore an adult life time's worth chaos and focus on one incident that wound up he said/she said and you want the world to focus on that and not all that Chacko has done.

Again, if you want me to focus on Melhem provide evidence. Not in the comments. Contact me, talk to me, and get me documents. Here, all you are doing is spewing talking points. If you have evidence show it.

The fact is that you don't because the story is not now or ever has been Dr. Melhem. It's always been Dr. Chacko.

By the way, I've never heard of Dr. James Thrall. I meant in a general sense. There are dozens of CEO's, heads of radiology, and generals that Chacko has manipulated. I will look into Thrall.

mike volpe said...

Dr. James Thrall is the current head of radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital, and once a neighbor in Winchester, Ma., of Dr. Chacko's.

I'm not sure how someone but Dr. Chacko herself would know of him. So, it's curious that such an obscure name in Dr. Chacko's life is referenced unless it is Dr. Chacko making the reference.