By Steve Rhodes
1. “An Illinois man has pleaded guilty in Rhode Island to charges he shipped unwanted penis enlargers to diabetes patients as part of a Medicare fraud scheme,” AP reports.
“Prosecutors say [Gary] Winner bought $26 penis enlargers from an adult website, repackaged them and shipped them to patients with information claiming the ‘erectile pumps’ devices helped ‘bladder control, urinary flow and prostate comfort.’
“Prosecutors say Winner billed Medicare an average of $284 for each item, claiming they were used to treat erectile dysfunction.
“The Northbrook, Ill.-resident has also agreed to forfeit $2.2 million.”
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“Winner was president of the Buffalo Grove-based company Planned Eldercare, whose employees allegedly made telemarketing calls to elderly people around the nation, then obtained Medicare and physician information from callers who said they suffered from diabetes or arthritis, according to court documents,” Northbrook Patch reported in September. “Winner allegedly bought telemarketing leads specifically for English-speaking, non-Hispanic people over the age of 65 – ensuring that he would be contacting people eligible for Medicare.”
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Winner’s bad deeds qualified him for this week’s The Week in WTF – though three slots below Jim Belushi’s new gout sponsorship.
2. “The Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association (IHLA) has awarded the prestigious Hotelier of the Year Award for the Chicago market to Jerry Keyes, White Lodging employee and General Manager at the Courtyard by Marriott Downtown,” the White Lodging Services Corporation announced.
“Located less than a block from Chicago’s famed Magnificent Mile, the Courtyard by Marriott has 306 oversized guest rooms and suites and is home to the stylish Viand Bar and Kitchen.”
3. “A Cook County woman is suing a Lakeview neighborhood Domino’s Pizza for failing to follow a federal law and truncate a customer’s credit card number on receipts to hinder identity theft,” WLS reports.
“Aimee Lipkis claims she used her credit or debit card on Nov. 25, 2009, at a Domino’s in Lakeview and received a receipt with her entire credit card number on it, according to a class-action lawsuit filed Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court.
“The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 required merchants to truncate a customer’s credit card number and mask expiration dates by June 2008, the suit claims.
“Lipkis has received more than four receipts with her entire card number listed since the effective date of the legislation, the suit said.”
4. “Southwest Airlines Co was sued by an Illinois man over the discount carrier’s decision to stop honoring coupons for free alcoholic drinks, which it had given to select travelers and which lacked expiration dates,” Reuters reports.
“[Adam] Levitt, who lives in the Chicago area, said the policy change amounted to a breach of contract. He attached to his complaint copies of 45 coupons for free drinks, which he said he had accumulated and which the change left worthless.”
5. “When identifying the big break that ultimately led Dale Sveum down the career path to Wrigley Field, where he will be introduced Friday as the new Cubs manager, look no further than his left tibia,” David Haugh writes for the Tribune.
“Go back to Sept. 3, 1988. Sveum was playing shortstop for the Brewers when he crashed into left fielder Darryl Hamilton as both chased a blooper over third base. Hamilton’s left knee collided with Sveum’s left shin with such force the leg snapped.
[ . . . ]
“It altered the arc of the next two decades for Sveum, a baseball lifer.”
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See also: Meet Dale Sveum!
6. “A former managing director of the now-collapsed Chicago hedge fund Lake Shore Asset Management was sentenced to 20 years in prison Thursday,” HedgeFund.net reports.
“Philip Baker was accused of soliciting approximately $294 million from 900 investors between 2002 and 2007, according to the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office.
[ . . . ]
“Of the nearly $300 million that he obtained from investors, Baker admitted that he misappropriated at least $30 million for his own use and for the use of another Lake Shore director.
“He also admitted to misrepresenting Lake Shore’s trading as profitable at a time when it was actually losing millions of dollars.”
7. The Week in Occupy Chicago.
8. “The new lawyer for Justin Bieber’s alleged baby mama tells TMZ he firmly believes his client’s allegation that the singer knocked her up and says he’s currently negotiating the terms of a DNA test with JB’s legal team.”
That new lawyer is Jeffery Leving, the fathers’ rights advocate. No kidding.
9. A British Guy’s Funny, Smart Take On Mob Wives: Chicago.
10. “Facial recognition technology is a staple of sci-fi thrillers like Minority Report,” the New York Times reports. “But of bars in Chicago?
“SceneTap, a new app for smart phones, uses cameras with facial detection software to scout bar scenes. Without identifying specific bar patrons, it posts information like the average age of a crowd and the ratio of men to women, helping bar-hoppers decide where to go. More than 50 bars in Chicago participate.”
11. The Week in Chicago Rock.
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The Beachwood Tip Line: Tap us.
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Posted on November 18, 2011