State of Wisconsin Busts Quackbuster Employee... NAET Vindicated...
Opinion by Consumer Advocate Tim Bolen
July 29th, 2003
Things are fermenting in the cheese State.
The State of Wisconsin is taking positive steps to rid itself of the
influence of the Quackbusters. Yesterday, Governor James Doyle's appointee,
Donsia Strong Hill, Secretary of the Department of Regulation & Licensing
(DORL) announced the reversal, by her office, of a decision of an
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) under her command.
James Polewski, a DORL prosecutor, had attacked a licensed Nurse
practitioner, Barbara Lemke, with "practicing medicine without a license"
for engaging in the practice of NAET (Nambudripad Allergy Elimination
Technique). Polewski, in a deposition, was forced to admit under oath, that
he was in fact, a member of the National Council Against Health Fraud
(NCAHF) and a Skeptic.
Polewski, who had been unable to convince the Wisconsin Medical Board to
prosecute Lemke, had never-the-less, in typical quackbuster obsessive
fashion, gotten a DORL colleague, and ALJ, to rule that Lemke should be
ordered to stop practicing NAET. Lemke appealed to DORL management.
Two weeks ago, on July 15th and 16th, DORL Secretary Strong Hill's top
assistant sat through the trial (cross-examination) of NCAHF' s president,
hair removal specialist Robert Baratz of Braintree, Massachusetts. Strong
Hill was seen talking to her assistant in the hallway outside the hearing
room on more than one occasion during the hearing. Polewski, also, was seen
several times outside the hearing room, with a dismal look on his face
during the hearing. Polewski's office is nowhere near the hearing room.
Baratz was so humiliated, during the hearing process, about his credibility,
that the Judge stopped the hearing process at the end of the first day, gave
the attorneys a half day to wrap up, and forced both sides to negotiate a
settlement.
Baratz, during the hearing, admitted that he had run into two separate
stopped vehicles, allegedly while jogging, and had proceeded with actions
against the vehicle's owners. In the last incident, occurring in about
1991, Baratz claimed to have been running "30 miles an hour" and ran into a
car that had turned into a parking lot in front of him. Baratz, after
screaming at the driver, watched the 74 year old man drive to the far end of
the parking lot. Baratz called the police, demanding that the driver be
arrested - and the police refused. Baratz then went to a magistrate making
the same demand - the magistrate refused. Baratz then went to the District
Attorney with the demand - the District Attorney refused. Baratz then sued
the man - and three years later, after a jury trial and nine minutes of jury
deliberation, Baratz lost his case.
Coincidentally, the injuries Baratz claimed to his left arm from the alleged
person-car accident, were remarkably similar to those he claimed were
inflicted on him by 72 year old Florence Wilson MD, in 1998, before his
termination at Harbor Medical Center. Baratz, had also claimed in his
lawsuit, against the man, that he (Baratz) had lost his sexual capacity.
Judge Schweitzer, in the Wisconsin case, had ruled to withhold the
disciplinary letters by Harbor Medical written to Baratz from the medical
board record as "too prejudicial." The set of letters (I have copies)
included one letter detailing Baratz's sexual harassment of a female
employee under his control and the disciplinary action given to Baratz.
Baratz's employment was terminated one month later.
But Wisconsin Leaders Are Paying Attention...
Wisconsin State Senator and Representative Sheryl Albers had said the other
day "According to the NCAHF's 2001 tax return, the non-profit organization
reported just $17,967 in contributions, including $13,000 from one
individual. "No matter how big or grand it tries to appear on paper, this
organization is hardly a major player in the medical field"
"As taxpayers, we are outraged that a person with such a questionable record
has soaked us to the tune of $50,000," Schultz added. "We're paying $50,000
to fly in some character from Boston who has entire websites devoted to
questioning his expertise. Sounds to me like a bad investment of our tax
dollars."
What happens next?
Nurse Barbara Lemke is looking to get her attorney fees back. She's looking
real hard at the Quackbusters. It seems that Polewski has claimed that he
was relying on the expert opinion of a secret witness he hasn't yet named.
Lemke's petitioning DORL upper management for the name of that person.