Dr. Chacko, the Media, and Judicial Purity

UPDATE: Please also check out my new book, The Definitive Dossier of PTSD in Whistleblowers, for only $3.99, in which I dedicate Chapter 4 entirely to the exploits of Dr. Anna Chacko. 


Following my last Dr. Anna Chacko piece, I received this comment from George Love.

Dr. Chacko's termination is a complicated matter, in that only the deciding officials know the real motive. The articulated reaon is merely a pretext. The working assumption is what we refer to as a mixed motive, that is reprisal /retaliation for (1)whistle blowing and (2) prior EEO activity. Silence is not deafening, it is appropriate for all parties concerned while the issues are investigated and subjected to discovery proceedings in the appropriate legal forum. It is interesting that the basis for much of your writing on Dr. Chacko is based on information that could only be given to you outside the scope of anyone's legal authority to share that information and thus be a violation of the privacy act, which would indicate that your source has no qualms about violating federal statues for thier own personal motives. Of course that only applies to those statements that are truthful. I do not believe that a lie is a violation of the privacy act. It is fitting and just that we have a legal system so that people are not tried in the press which often times makes conclusions on half truths, innuendos, false assumption and erroneous conclusions which are supplied by individuals with their own bias and motives as a means of character assasination. I believe that you have arrived at faulty conclusions relative to Dr. Chacko based on ojectionable hearsay. I look forward to the day that Dr. Chacko will prevail in the apprpriate legal forum and I will keep you advised. Sincerely, George H. Love, Jr

I've spoken privately with Mr. Love and it should be noted that he's an attorney. (Besides that, our conversations shall remain private.) That's important because Mr. Love views the world through the prism of an attorney. He sees the court room and the legal process as the purist path to truth. That's where evidence must be properly processed, delivered, and analyzed. Mr. Love doesn't want the Dr. Chacko affair to turn into the O.J. affair and many other affairs in which trials were tried in the press.

There's some truth to his concerns. Still, a member of the press sees the media as the last protector against corruption. So, be it a court proceeding or any other endeavor, the press is the last place someone can turn to if all other places are corrupt.

George Love would have us believe that when a trial is going on press coverage only pollutes the air in the trial and since taints it. He would rather the trial move forward and media coverage happen afterwards.

Let's take a look at a few stories I'm working on now to test that theory. Mark Clements was falsely convicted of arson and four counts of murder after a confession was received through torture. This torture was part of a torture ring headed by Jon Burge. In fact, there was scant media attention of Clements case or most of the cases in Burge's ring. Clements continued to appeal his conviction and finally after 28 years it was overturned. Now, if we are to believe Mr. Love, we should have waited forever to say anything about this case. After all, this case was being adjudicated throughout. We wouldn't want to taint the court proceeding. In fact, what was tainted was the court proceeding itself. What needed to be exposed was the proceeding. It took nearly thirty years and Clements spent all that time in jail.

Then, there's the case of Tony Demasi. On February 5th, a judge, Judge William T. O'Brien, raised Demasi's bail to $1 million on a charge of criminal destruction of property, barely a felony. While in prison, here's what John Kass said about the chain of events.

Demasi's brain is like a dangerous egg, and if the FBI ever cracks what's in there, some guys who know guys figure they'll get fried. That's because Demasi knows whose itch he scratched for the city liquor licenses and building and occupancy permits, which determine how crowded a club can be. And he knows what he says he paid to promote legislation in Springfield permitting VIP bottle service, which allows club owners to milk the suckers. Since he was locked up Feb. 5, news began circulating among his old crowd. Some are worried. And I don't want Demasi getting accidentally hit by a bolt of lightning or choking himself to death with plastic bags in the jail shower. That might ruin Chicago's reputation.

Kass told me himself that in part he wrote this article because he worried that Demasi's life was in danger. If you view the world from the eyes of George Love, Kass should have left well enough alone and hope.

Then, there's the story of Dr. Susan Diamond. Dr. Diamond was involved in a divorce in which a corrupt psychiatrist used the system to milk millions from her and her husband. Dr. Diamond told me that she couldn't get anyone to tell her story because most media didn't want to do a story involving a divorce because they see both sides as crazy. Not coincidentally, divorce court is among the most corrupt parts of our judicial process.

In all these cases, it was the judicial process itself that was suspect. Only media attention could have solved the problem. In the case of Dr. Chacko, there hasn't yet been a court proceeding and that's what George Love is objecting to. He would like for that process to continue uninhibited without the stain of partial facts coming from the likes of me to taint it.

For me, the issues that are revealed in the Dr. Chacko affair are much greater than any court proceedings. A court proceeding would only answer the question of fault in her time at the Pittsburgh VA. It would not answer any other questions. For instance, Dr. Chacko worked in Boston and Butte, Montana all since 2006 when she arrived at the Pittsburgh VA. That would have been three cities in three years for a woman in her 60's. That's a serious red flag ignored and it's vital the public understand why.

Furthermore, I've shown a clear pattern of behavior by Dr. Chacko that goes back more than a decade. Yet, she continues to find work. How this continues to happen won't be answered by any trial. Mr. Love is weary of me, my motives, and my sources.

It is interesting that the basis for much of your writing on Dr. Chacko is based on information that could only be given to you outside the scope of anyone's legal authority to share that information and thus be a violation of the privacy act, which would indicate that your source has no qualms about violating federal statues for thier own personal motives. Of course that only applies to those statements that are truthful. I do not believe that a lie is a violation of the privacy act.

Mr. Love is awfully harsh and judgmental about me and my sources considering he doesn't know my motives, my sources, and certainly not the motives of my sources. Here's what I know. I found this story by accident. I wrote a piece about Ken Hodges. An individual from Butte, Montana reached out to me because they told me they saw similarities in their story and the one about Hodges. During the course of my contact with them, they turned me to an individual at the Pittsburgh VA. That became my first source on the Dr. Chacko story. I wrote a piece and from their my email and phone lit up and people from all over the country began telling me stories about Dr. Chacko. Each story was more shocking, jaw dropping and amazing than the last. The process was totally organic and I knew from the first moment that I had something unlike any other story. I knew that if this story was fully exposed it wouldn't only be compelling but would expose flaws in our society, our medical system, and our legal system. These stories have been featured here since and if you've read more than one, it paints a general picture of Dr. Chacko. That comes from conversations with dozens of people that don't know each other but describe Chacko in the exact same way. If this is a "half truth" so be it. I stand by what I've reported and I believe what I've uncovered would never find its way into a court room. Despite that, I believe that exposing it is vital and the public has a right to know, even if that means tainting the judicial process.