Preview Newsletter
Dr. Puliafito Coverage EOD 6/18/17
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Drug allegations involving former USC medical school dean are probed by Medical Board of California
Jul 19, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Matt Hamilton
The Medical Board of California confirmed Wednesday that it was investigating a report in the Los Angeles Times that USC’s former medical school dean abused drugs and associated with criminals and drug users. -
After The Times' revelations about a former dean, heads should roll at USC (LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)
Jul 19, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Los Angeles Times Readers
To the editor: If this story about former Keck School of Medicine Dean Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito, who apparently partied with drug users and criminals, is largely accurate, heads should roll at USC. (“The secret life of a USC dean,” July 17) What a sordid tangle of debauchery, sickness, corruption and malfeasance. Apparently, USC and other major universities overlook wrongdoing for the sake of money and prestige coming their way. The university is one more amoral institution in our increasingly corrupted society. T.R. Jahns, Hemet -
California School Addresses Drug Allegations Against Ex-Dean
Jul 19, 2017 | Associated Press
The president of the University of Southern California said officials will "examine and address" a newspaper report that the recently resigned dean of the medical school abused drugs and associated with criminals. -
LA Times' USC story is a real talker (OPINION)
Jul 19, 2017 | LA Observed
By Kevin Roderick
The Los Angeles Times investigation into the secret drug life of USC's former medical school dean has been (unscientifically, I admit) the most talked-about Los Angeles story since it broke Monday morning. In the works for many months, the story lays out skillfully and convincingly how Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito, an eye surgeon who was then dean of the Keck School of Medicine and a prolific rainmaker of donations and talent for USC, smoked meth and took other drugs with a skeevy crowd in Pasadena that included a prostitute 40 years younger than him. -
USC President: School will ‘examine and address’ ex-med school dean’s alleged drug abuse
Jul 19, 2017 | My News LA
By Debbite L. Sklar
Acknowledging widespread concern on campus, USC President C.L. Max Nikias says the university will “examine and address” a report in the Los Angeles Times that its former medical school dean abused drugs and associated with criminals and drug users. -
After ‘Girlfriend’ Suffers Overdose on Meth, the ‘Other' Life That Dean of USC Med School Led Is Uncovered
Jul 19, 2017 | Independent Journal Review
By Victoria Taft
The successful and brilliant career of the head of the USC Medical School appears to have gone up in a cloud of smoke from a crackling meth pipe. That’s what the Los Angeles Times reports about the former Dean of the Keck School of Medicine at USC.
Traditional Media
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Drug allegations involving former USC medical school dean are probed by Medical Board of California
Jul 19, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Matt Hamilton
The Medical Board of California confirmed Wednesday that it was investigating a report in the Los Angeles Times that USC’s former medical school dean abused drugs and associated with criminals and drug users.
"The Medical Board is looking into the allegations based upon the information provided in the L.A. Times article. However we do not discuss complaints or ongoing investigations by law," Cassandra Hockenson, a spokeswoman for the medical board, said in an emailed statement.
Asked Tuesday if the university had discussed the case of the former dean, Carmen A. Puliafito, with the medical board, USC said reports by peer review organizations were confidential.
“We can confirm, however, that the California Medical Board is aware of the situation,” USC said in a statement. “They have the sole authority to decide whether and how much to investigate.”
The medical board initiates investigations of doctors after receiving a complaint. According to the board, cases are given higher priority if the complaint concerns physician impairment or poses immediate harm to patients.
Puliafito, 66, a renowned eye surgeon, led the Keck School of Medicine for nearly a decade before resigning in 2016. He remained on the Keck faculty and continued to represent the university at public events as recently as Saturday.
On Monday, The Times published a lengthy article reporting that Puliafito, during his tenure as dean, kept company with a circle of criminals and addicts who said he smoked methamphetamine and other drugs with them.
The same day, USC said that Puliafito was no longer seeing patients and was on leave. Attempts to reach Puliafito were unsuccessful.
Puliafito resigned his $1.1-million-a-year dean’s post in March 2016, in the middle of the spring term, saying he wanted to explore outside opportunities.
He did not mention that three weeks earlier, a 21-year-old woman had overdosed in his presence in a Pasadena hotel room. The woman was rushed to a hospital, where she recovered. Police found methamphetamine in the hotel room, according to a police report, but made no arrests.
A tip about the episode prompted The Times to investigate. The newspaper interviewed six people who said they partied and used drugs with Puliafito in Pasadena, Huntington Beach and Las Vegas, as well as at USC. They ranged in age from their late teens to late thirties. None were USC students.
Members of the group captured their exploits in photos and videos shot in 2015 and 2016.
In one video, a tuxedo-clad Puliafito displays an orange pill on his tongue and says into the camera, “Thought I’d take an ecstasy before the ball.” Then he swallows the pill.
In another, Puliafito uses a butane torch to heat a large glass pipe outfitted for methamphetamine use. He inhales and then unleashes a thick plume of white smoke. Seated next to him on a sofa, a young woman appears to smoke heroin from a piece of heated foil.
USC has declined to say when it first learned of Puliafito’s conduct or how it responded.
On Tuesday, USC President C.L. Max Nikias said in a message to the campus that the the university would “examine and address” the Times reporting, adding “we understand the frustrations expressed about this situation.”
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After The Times' revelations about a former dean, heads should roll at USC (LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)
Jul 19, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Los Angeles Times Readers
To the editor: If this story about former Keck School of Medicine Dean Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito, who apparently partied with drug users and criminals, is largely accurate, heads should roll at USC. (“The secret life of a USC dean,” July 17)
What a sordid tangle of debauchery, sickness, corruption and malfeasance.
Apparently, USC and other major universities overlook wrongdoing for the sake of money and prestige coming their way. The university is one more amoral institution in our increasingly corrupted society.
T.R. Jahns, Hemet
To the editor: I confess that I read the entire piece on Puliafito and asked myself after finishing, “Am I reading The Times or a supermarket tabloid?”
Yes, Puliafito had a secret life. Lots of people have secret lives. All of the characters were willing participants. I will concede that the filming of some of his exploits was incredibly stupid and showed hubris.
But as you point out, Puliafito did great things for USC. This article will probably ruin his life. The Times should have loftier goals.
Doug Jones, Los Angeles
To the editor: Beyond the sensational headline-grabbing contents of this article lies the much more important issue of the erosion of medicine’s professional standing in society.
As a faculty member of the White Memorial Medical Center Family Medicine Residency Program, I discuss with our residents the unique standing physicians have in society. We have been given much autonomy to oversee our profession as part of a contract with society that depends on us holding ourselves accountable.
I am dismayed not by Puliafito’s personal faults, but by the number of physicians who were probably aware of some of his misconduct and may have let it go unreported. It may come out later that some physicians made efforts to report his inappropriate behavior, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they did not.
A cloak of silence in our profession slowly erodes society’s trust in us. This diminishes our standing, both in our offices with our patients and in public debates on healthcare reform.
Chris Hiromura, MD, Los Angeles
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California School Addresses Drug Allegations Against Ex-Dean
Jul 19, 2017 | Associated Press
The president of the University of Southern California said officials will "examine and address" a newspaper report that the recently resigned dean of the medical school abused drugs and associated with criminals.
In a letter Tuesday, USC President C.L. Max Nikias acknowledged concern on campus following the Los Angeles Times report that Dr. Carmen Puliafito, 66, was seen on video apparently smoking methamphetamine.
"Our university categorically condemns the unlawful possession, use, or distribution of drugs," the president said. "We are concerned about Dr. Puliafito and his family and hope that, if the article's assertions are true, he receives the help and treatment he may need for a full recovery."
The Times reported Monday (http://lat.ms/2u9Y66t ) that Puliafito, during his tenure as dean, kept company with a circle of criminals and addicts.
Puliafito, a renowned eye surgeon, led the Keck School of Medicine for nearly a decade before resigning in 2016. He remained on the Keck faculty and continued to represent the university at public events as recently as Saturday.
On Monday, USC said Puliafito was no longer seeing patients and was on leave. Attempts by The Associated Press to reach Puliafito were unsuccessful Wednesday. He has not spoken to the Times or commented publicly on the report.
Asked Tuesday if the university had discussed the Puliafito case with the California State Medical Board, USC said reports by peer review organizations were confidential.
"We can confirm, however, that the California Medical Board is aware of the situation," USC said in a statement. "They have the sole authority to decide whether and how much to investigate."
Puliafito resigned his $1.1 million-a-year dean's post in the middle of last year's spring term, saying he wanted to explore outside opportunities.
He did not mention that three weeks earlier, a 21-year-old woman had overdosed in his presence in a Pasadena hotel room, according to the Times. The woman was rushed to a hospital, where she recovered. Police found methamphetamine in the hotel room, according to a police report, but made no arrests.
The newspaper interviewed six people who said they used drugs with Puliafito in Pasadena, Huntington Beach and Las Vegas, as well as on the USC campus. They ranged in age from late teens to late thirties. None were USC students.
Members of the group captured their exploits in photos and videos shot in 2015 and 2016.
In one video, a tuxedo-clad Puliafito displays an orange pill on his tongue and says into the camera, "Thought I'd take an ecstasy before the ball." Then he swallows the pill.
In another, Puliafito uses a butane torch to heat a large glass pipe outfitted for methamphetamine use. He inhales and then unleashes a thick plume of white smoke. Seated next to him on a sofa, a young woman smokes heroin from a piece of heated foil.
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LA Times' USC story is a real talker (OPINION)
Jul 19, 2017 | LA Observed
By Kevin Roderick
The Los Angeles Times investigation into the secret drug life of USC's former medical school dean has been (unscientifically, I admit) the most talked-about Los Angeles story since it broke Monday morning. In the works for many months, the story lays out skillfully and convincingly how Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito, an eye surgeon who was then dean of the Keck School of Medicine and a prolific rainmaker of donations and talent for USC, smoked meth and took other drugs with a skeevy crowd in Pasadena that included a prostitute 40 years younger than him.
The doctor brought his druggie friends to his USC office, allegedly prescribed inhalers to soothe their smoked-out throats, and let videos and photos be taken of their partying together. The secret life only began to come to light after the prostitute overdosed in Puliafito's presence in a Pasadena hotel room, following a couple of failed attempts by her to get off drugs. She survived and talked to the Times for the story.
Monday's main story bore five reporter bylines: Paul Pringle, Harriet Ryan, Adam Elmahrek, Matt Hamilton and Sarah Parvini. Here are a few of their nut grafs:
The Times interviewed six people who partied with Puliafito in Pasadena, Huntington Beach and Las Vegas, as well as at USC. They ranged in age from late teens to late thirties. None were USC students.
One, Sarah Warren, was the woman who overdosed in the Pasadena hotel room. She told The Times she met Puliafito in early 2015 while working as a prostitute. She said they were constant companions for more than a year and a half, and that Puliafito used drugs with her and sometimes brought her and other members of their circle to the USC campus after hours to party.
“He would say, ‘They love me around here. The medical students think I am God,’” Warren said.
USC and Puliafito both refused to comment for the story: deny, confirm, explain, anything. He stepped down abruptly as dean in March 2016, a few weeks after Warren's overdose. But he remained on the USC faculty — just this past Saturday, the Times reports, he spoke at a Keck-sponsored program at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena — "one of the hotels Sarah Warren said she frequented with him." Boom. I'll note here that the hotel where Warren OD'd (on a March afternoon) was the Hotel Constance on Colorado Boulevard.
I gave the investigation big props in my LA Observed segment on KCRW on Monday (4:44 p.m. every Monday.) I liked how the reporters were transparent about what they knew and what they didn't. Mostly they did know. The story also explained how the whole thing began for the paper: "It was a tip about the incident in the Pasadena hotel that led The Times to discover Puliafito’s other life."
After stonewalling the first day, USC officials said late Monday that Puliafito would no longer see patients at USC facilities. On Tuesday, USC president C. L. Max Nikias sent a letter to the campus saying that “we understand the frustrations expressed about this situation...[and] we are working to determine how we can best prevent these kinds of circumstances moving forward.” Adding to the intrigue, Pasadena police did not write a report on the hotel overdose and tried at first to put the Times off the story. An officer has been disciplined, the story says.
The first place I saw the story getting big reaction was among investigative journalists on Twitter, particularly those who pursue stories in the health field (and ex-LA Times reporters):
Charles Ornstein ✔ @charlesornstein
· Holy shit story. During his tenure, USC Med School dean kept company with a circle of criminals and drug users http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-usc-doctor-20170717-htmlstory.html …
o 8:58 AM - 17 Jul 2017
o 95 Retweets 171 likes
Tracyweber ✔ @tracyweber
· Seriously still marveling at this story. AND NO COMMENT FROM @KeckMedUSC http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-usc-doctor-20170717-htmlstory.html …
o 10:08 AM - 17 Jul 2017
o 9 Retweets 13 likes
Ellen Umansky @umanskyellen
· This story is CRAZY. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-usc-doctor-20170717-htmlstory.html …
o 1:08 PM - 17 Jul 2017
o 2 Retweets 0 likes
Nick Riccardi ✔ @NickRiccardi
· Also a reminder that LA is the country's most undercovered city. https://twitter.com/nickriccardi/status/886989358162735107 …
· 12:51 PM - 17 Jul 2017
· 3 Retweets 19 likes
On Tuesday the Columbia Journalism Review said the Times investigation "highlights local news that gets results." Excerpt:
The Los Angeles Times’s investigation into the troubling behavior of Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito—dean of USC’s Keck School of Medicine, renowned eye surgeon, and key fundraiser—managed to break through the national conversation percolating with news out of DC by engaging in that most honorable tradition in local journalism: taking on a powerful institution and getting results....
Five Times reporters—Paul Pringle, Harriet Ryan, Adam Elmahrek, Matt Hamilton, and Sarah Parvini—contributed to the story, an impressive allocation of resources for a paper that has faced difficulties both financial and internal in recent years. They contacted witnesses, dug through police reports and emergency call records, and gained access to video evidence, producing a 4,000-word story that resulted in Puliafito no longer seeing patients and disciplinary action for a Pasadena police officer who failed to report the hotel overdose of Puliafito’s companion.
While the salacious details of the story no doubt helped propel its reach, the Times reporters deserve credit for delivering local news that packs a punch. Beyond the work of those five journalists, the paper’s investment of time and resources into the investigation is commendable. At CJR, we dedicated our most recent print issue to local news in all its successes, failures, and experimentations. It’s nice to have a story break through that highlights the value of what a well-supported group of reporters can accomplish when they get a tip about a powerful institution and are given free rein to chase it down.
Yep. And it should be noted, for those who have bought into the lazy and false narrative that reporters at big American newspapers carry out some agenda of their corporate owners, the Times has plenty of partnerships with USC. The editor of the paper is also the publisher who deals with USC on non-journalistic things like the annual Festival of Books. No matter: when a tip on a good story came up, the newsroom got the go-ahead and the resources to chase it. That's how it's supposed to work.
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USC President: School will ‘examine and address’ ex-med school dean’s alleged drug abuse
Jul 19, 2017 | My News LA
By Debbite L. Sklar
Acknowledging widespread concern on campus, USC President C.L. Max Nikias says the university will “examine and address” a report in the Los Angeles Times that its former medical school dean abused drugs and associated with criminals and drug users.
Nikias, speaking about the controversy for the first time in a letter to the campus community, said that “we understand the frustrations expressed about this situation” involving Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito and “we are working to determine how we can best prevent these kinds of circumstances moving forward.”
“Our university categorically condemns the unlawful possession, use, or distribution of drugs,” Nikias said, The Times reported. “We are concerned about Dr. Puliafito and his family and hope that, if the article’s assertions are true, he receives the help and treatment he may need for a full recovery.”
Puliafito, 66, a renowned eye surgeon, led the Keck School of Medicine for nearly a decade before resigning in 2016. He remained on the Keck faculty and continued to represent the university at public events as recently as Saturday.
On Monday, The Times published an article reporting that Puliafito, during his tenure as dean, kept company with a circle of criminals and addicts who said he used drugs with them. The same day, USC said Puliafito was no longer seeing patients and was on leave.
Asked if the university had discussed the Puliafito case with the California State Medical Board, USC said reports by peer review organizations were confidential, The Times reported.
“We can confirm, however, that the California Medical Board is aware of the situation,” USC said in a statement quoted by The Times. “They have the sole authority to decide whether and how much to investigate.”
In California, the medical board initiates investigations of doctors after receiving a complaint. According to the board, cases are given higher priority if the complaint concerns physician impairment or poses immediate harm to patients.
Puliafito resigned his $1.1 million-a-year dean’s post in March 2016, saying he wanted to explore outside opportunities.
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Jul 19, 2017 | Independent Journal Review
By Victoria Taft
The successful and brilliant career of the head of the USC Medical School appears to have gone up in a cloud of smoke from a crackling meth pipe. That’s what the Los Angeles Timesreports about the former Dean of the Keck School of Medicine at USC.
The L.A. Times reports that after calling 911 for his ‘girlfriend’ when she overdosed on meth in a Pasadena motel room, reporters began chasing down leads about the secret life of renowned eye surgeon Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito:
Puliafito, 66, and these much younger acquaintances captured their exploits in photos and videos. The Times reviewed dozens of the images.
Shot in 2015 and 2016, they show Puliafito and the others partying in hotel rooms, cars, apartments and the dean’s office at USC.
In one video, a tuxedo-clad Puliafito displays an orange pill on his tongue and says into the camera, “Thought I’d take an ecstasy before the ball.” Then he swallows the pill.
In another, Puliafito uses a butane torch to heat a large glass pipe outfitted for methamphetamine use. He inhales and then unleashes a thick plume of white smoke. Seated next to him on a sofa, a young woman smokes heroin from a piece of heated foil.
The Times' investigation found that three weeks after making the 911 call, Puliafito resigned his $1.1 million position and went back to a faculty position and seeing patients. The Times reports that now he’s stopped seeing patients, according to the university.
The Times adds that the well-respected doctor hung out often with his long time ‘escort,’ Sarah Warren, and her drug addicted friends. He reportedly wrote prescriptions for inhalers for Warren and her 17-year-old brother to treat lung damage from marijuana and meth use:
Sarah and Charles Warren said Puliafito wrote them prescriptions for asthma inhalers to soothe lungs raw from smoking marijuana and methamphetamine. Charles Warren, now 19, provided The Times a copy of a CVS prescription history, dated Dec. 30, 2015, for an Advair inhaler that shows Puliafito as the prescribing physician and Charles Warren as the patient.
Puliafito was well known for his fundraising and hiring top flight researchers during his time at USC, Tufts University Medical School, and at the University of Miami.
USC President C.L. Max Nikias issued a statement wishing their colleague the best:
“Our university categorically condemns the unlawful possession, use, or distribution of drugs,. We are concerned about Dr. Puliafito and his family and hope that, if the article’s assertions are true, he receives the help and treatment he may need for a full recovery.”
The statement noted that people in high powered positions sometimes fall victim to drug use and stress and indicated that the medical school has a peer-to-peer counseling program.
The California State Medical Board may take up the issue, but its investigations are confidential.
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