Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery at Mayo Clinic arrested

Casey Cook10 said:I guess the admins aren't doing their jobs if people are just throwing names around like this in public...

And what name exactly would you want me to scrub, honey?

Jane? The one being publicly accused of taking bribes—even if they're trying to sweep it under the rug? Or Agnes, who’s practically all over Fox News these days? 🤔

Wipe it all! 😁 Even the usernames of the forum members 😁

nimblestag31 said:it was about time
as long as they don't stop here

Honestly, this depends far more on the public than it does on the FBI itself. Bribery is incredibly difficult to prove if a citizen doesn't report when someone asks for a kickback, or if the proper protocols aren't followed—things like warrants, wiretaps, or marked bills.

If we can hope that citizens will finally find some backbone—even today, a harbor master was caught looking for cash to "look the other way" regarding an illegal barge.

And there’s no real downside for doctors once it’s proven they took bribes; there is plenty of undeveloped land in America, and nothing stops them from applying for government subsidies to plant orchards, vineyards, or start small livestock farms once they've finished their sentence...

Personally, I believe that once a few "big names"—like department heads or public figures—are actually caught, corruption will drop significantly. It'll be just like when the crackdown on illegal construction started in the suburbs; once the authorities began tearing down those unauthorized homes in the outskirts, things quieted down fast.

I'm not really expecting any massive fines or anything crazy like that,
it’ll probably just be some bad press in the papers, the medical board gives him a slap on the wrist, maybe a temporary suspension of his license—say, six months to a year—and then boom, he’s back working as a specialist at the Mayo Clinic in a year's time!
The assets he racked up through this whole scheme won't be seized, obviously—if he was smart about it, he probably just moved everything into his wife's or kids' names already.

goldengull3, you'd probably know—what exactly would the IRS do in a situation like this?
I mean, how is it even possible for someone to build a literal mansion on their salary in just a few years without the tax man breathing down their neck?

No matter how important those patients are—and they definitely should be reporting stuff like this—I honestly feel like the Police Department needs to step up and do a huge chunk of the heavy lifting here.

Ashley Moore8 said:goldengull3, you’re the one who’ll definitely know—what exactly was the IRS playing at in this situation?
How on earth does someone manage to build a literal mansion on a standard salary in just a few years without the IRS breathing down their neck?

As vital as it is for patients to report these kinds of incidents, I firmly believe that a significant portion of this responsibility should fall on the Police Department.

In America, we still don't have a truly centralized system for tracking everyone's tax withholding allowances—which means you end up in these ridiculous situations where a small business owner... $1000 Either someone’s pulling in enough salary to build a three-story house, or some guy shows up with an American girlfriend just to leech off welfare.

Part of the issue lies with the state itself, but there's also the fact that so much real estate is managed with incredibly sloppy legal documentation. For instance, you’ll find cases where someone inherits property outside of the primary line of succession, yet they never bother to update the ownership records in the Ledger just to dodge taxes. A massive amount of this stuff is, quite frankly, a total mess.

If you ask me, I’d advocate for adopting a system similar to what they use in some Nordic countries—where tax filings are essentially public record. You wouldn't necessarily need to disclose every granular detail, but the total annual income for every citizen should be accessible to the public. Implementing that kind of transparency would provide an incredible level of public oversight regarding everyone's earnings.

Under the law, any assets acquired through criminal activity must be seized. Of course, the burden of proof remains: you have to demonstrate exactly how that wealth was illicitly obtained.

goldengull3 said:Just so you know, any assets gained through criminal activity have to be seized—period. Of course, they actually have to prove exactly how those assets were obtained first.

Does that apply regardless of who actually holds the title to the property?
Like, does it matter if the assets are sitting in the name of a convicted felon or his 70-year-old mother?

Also, regarding tax filings—when I was paying taxes on my condo, under the section for how the property was acquired, I just listed my bank loan. But what happens if, say, Dr. Šimić is listed in that column, but the property is worth several million dollars and he's only pulling in maybe $200,000 a year? Don't you think the IRS should at least take a closer look at stuff like that?

Our friend the Woman from Rijeka/Woman from Rijeka 2 has officially become a media sensation. She’s all over the news on Fox News and making headlines in the papers now... honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they start calling her in to testify as a witness next...

She’s an incredible woman—major props to her. But honestly, I bet she knew exactly what was coming, because there’s no way she would have said a single word about it if she hadn't. 😲

rowdylynx38 said:Would you ever report someone if they asked you for a bribe?

From an outside perspective, I suppose I would, though thankfully I’ve never actually found myself in such a situation.

I guess it really depends on the context, because I have this nagging feeling that a good portion of people end up paying simply because they don't know any better.
A guy might pay a few hundred dollars just to get bumped up on a waiting list for an appointment, even though a similar exam at a private clinic would cost him $600. At that point, what's the point of the blue envelopes, little gifts, coffees, or boxes of chocolates? 🤣

I suspect that at a place like Fox News, for instance, you could probably get just about anything if you had 5k euros to spare.

Now he's claiming hospital staff planted money on his friend. Look, he might be a top-tier surgeon, but as a human being? He's a total zero. There are about thirty people lined up for surgery right now. What happens if one of them is someone who kicked back some cash and is now stuck in a corner?

Jacob Wood9 said:I feel like you could probably get pretty much anything out of Magdalena if you had, say, 5k euros to spare.

Yeah, I guess you can technically skip the waiting list legally; it’s just a matter of how you frame it, like choosing your own provider. For example, if you're just using Medicare, you basically get stuck with whoever happens to be available, but if you drop 5k, you actually get to pick your surgeon. And if you're willing to shell out 17k, you could even get Prof. Turin.
Since Magdalena is part of the Medicare system too, I suppose it was pretty convenient that this "anomaly" was totally fine there while other hospitals wouldn't allow it at all...
Paying upfront meant you could just show up for surgery without dealing with any waitlists. And honestly, we just paid it.

Magdalena isn't actually part of the Medicare system. They just have a contract with Medicare to handle a specific number of surgeries every year. If anything, Medicare is just one of their many clients, so to speak.

Scott Allen10 said:Magdalena isn't just part of the Medicare system. They basically just have a contract with Medicare for a specific number of surgeries per year. I guess you could say Medicare is just one of many parties involved.

Yeah, they probably have contracts covering like 99% of their surgeries through Medicare. So if that's the case, why on earth would you still need to bring a referral when you're paying extra to pick your surgeon?? It’s probably just to cover the costs for intensive care, meds, and stuff like that... I mean, a surgery doesn't cost $50,000. Even with those ridiculous Medicare rates, it shouldn't be that much.

So, I guess Magdalena—which started out as a totally private facility with some pretty shady ownership—couldn't really make it as a purely private business, so they just became this weird hybrid of private and systemic where they can play by whatever rules they want whenever they feel like it... and honestly, I wonder which of their supposed shareholders might be benefiting from that setup...😎

I honestly have no clue what kind of referral you're talking about or even what it's supposed to do, but let me tell you one thing, Magdalena—unless we're talking about those specific annual quotas for surgeries, coronary angiograms, or stents that Medicare tracks, she doesn't have any other connection to them, especially not being part of the Medicare system itself.
Magdalena’s only real link to the government, aside from that procedure quota, would be through the contract with the Blood Bank, or maybe something involving Microbiology since I think they don't have their own facility and just act as a teaching base for the University of Osijek Faculty of Medicine.

As for who stinks... well, geez... hm... looks like Professor "Big" T is the one.

Look, he was arrested, and honestly, he deserves it. But let’s be real—he’s just one guy in a massive sea of corruption, and I’m terrified that after all this noise, nothing actually changes. It’s the same old story we see here in America: some guy gets caught, maybe uses his 🙄 family connections to wiggle out of trouble, crawls right back to his desk, and people keep sliding envelopes under his door... that’s just the reality of how things work in this country.

Casey Bishop26 said:and people will just keep handing him envelopes full of cash... that's just the way things work in America

Honestly, anyone who tries to bribe him after this—assuming he even gets back to work—actually deserves it. Like, they should take even more than what they offered!

I mean, if you're stupid enough to offer a bribe to someone who's already been caught red-handed, you're just as much of a criminal as that doctor would be for taking the money...

Scott Allen10 said:I have no clue which referral you're talking about or what the point of it even is.

Well, I guess that referral basically did what it was supposed to do at any other hospital, which was just making sure Medicare covered the treatment costs. And the cash part? That was mostly just so people could "pick their surgeon" and skip the line, I suppose.

Scott Allen10 said:As for the stench... sniff, sniff... hmm... maybe Professor Dr. "Big" T.

Nah, it’s more like that ever-present Prof. Dr. H. I mean, I guess that's why they're allowed to operate like that—it's basically "whatever the gods allow."

Casey Cook10 said:Yeah, I think he probably has a contract to cover like 99% of his surgeries through Medicare—so why even bother bringing a referral if you're already paying an extra fee to pick your surgeon? I guess it’s just to cover the ICU stay, meds, and stuff like that... I mean, a surgery isn't going to cost $50,000, not even with those ridiculous Medicare rates.

So, I guess Magdalena—which started out as this totally private facility with hidden owners—just couldn't make it work as a purely private entity. It seems like they pivoted to become this weird hybrid of private and government-run setup where the rules can just be bent whenever they feel like it... honestly, I can't help but wonder which one of those supposed shareholders is behind that move.😎

Man, things smell a bit fishy over at Dr. H-a's place—it's kind of awful—but I guess people find it way easier to just go to Magdalena instead of getting surgery in the local area. At least there, they have a somewhat legitimate price list where you just pay into an account... which is basically the same amount you'd be stressing over how to bribe someone back home, only without the headache of figuring out how much to bring. Plus, people seem actually happy with the facilities and the care there.

Ashley Moore8 said:Does it matter who actually owns the property?
It makes absolutely no difference if it’s held by a convicted felon or his 70-year-old mother, right?

Even if the money has already been spent, it still has to be paid back.

Ashley Moore8 said:Regarding tax filings—when I was paying taxes on my condo, I listed a bank loan under the property acquisition section. What would it look like in that specific column if someone like Dr. Ognjen were paying taxes on a multi-million dollar estate while only earning, say, $200,000 a year? Shouldn't the IRS at least be looking into stuff like that?

There are ways around it. The easiest method is to buy a house under construction or some ruins and then renovate it without keeping major receipts. The oversight system isn't perfect.

Rachel Brooks63 said:Anyone who offers him a bribe after this—assuming he even returns to work—truly deserves it; in fact, they should probably be charged even more than what was originally offered!

Offering a bribe is a criminal offense just as much as accepting one is.