Judge Resigns Anticipating His Removal for Profiting in Fen-Phen Deal
A judge in the Northern Kentucky region resigned after he suspected his removal over a profit deal, of a banned drug combination.
The judge might have faced removal for allegedly making a huge profit to the amount of $200 million in a drug deal of the banned substance Fen-Phen. The judge was rebuked by the State Judicial Commission over his alleged role for this deal where he made huge profits.
Joseph F. Bamberger, the judge was reprimanded in a letter written to him by the commission where it was said that the judge gave to the attorneys including one of his personal friends a huge amount somewhere in between $86 million and $104 million dollar from the deal of Fen-Phen that was made in the year 2001. Moreover he had also given $20 million to a charitable fund after which he became the paid director of the fund. The drug Fenfluramine, half of the drug combination of Fen-Phen was pulled off from the market after there were reports that the drug damaged the valves of the heart. Fen-Phen was never recognized by the FDA, though the sale of Phentermine continued.
Thousands of people have filed lawsuits against Wyeth, the manufacturer of Fenfluramine. The case that caught the attention of the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission was settled in 2001, but went back to court in December 2004 when the claimants demanded an accounting of how the $200 million was disbursed.
Source: forbes.com, March 2, 2006 |
