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Los Angeles Times Puliafito Coverage

An overdose, a young companion, drug-fueled parties: The secret life of USC med school dean
Jul 17, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Paul Pringle, Harriet Ryan, Adam Elmahrek, Matt Hamilton and Sarah Parvini

In USC’s lecture halls, labs and executive offices, Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito was a towering figure. The dean of the Keck School of Medicine was a renowned eye surgeon whose skill in the operating room was matched by a gift for attracting money and talent to the university.
USC’s silence on its medical school dean’s double life is deafening (OPINION)
Jul 19, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By The Editorial Board

Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito, the former dean of the USC Keck School of Medicine, led quite a rollicking double life. According to a Times investigation, he was a highly respected doctor, administrator and prolific fundraiser for the university — but at the same time, according to explicit videos and interviews, he found time to party with a circle of criminals and drug users who said he used methamphetamine and other drugs with them.
USC president tries to quell outrage over drug allegations against former medical school dean
Jul 18, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Sarah Parvini

Acknowledging widespread concern on campus, USC President C.L. Max Nikias said Tuesday the university would “examine and address” a report in The Times that its 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

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)
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.
Alleged conduct by former USC dean 'horrible and despicable,' med school head tells angry students
Jul 19, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Sarah Parvini, Paul Pringle, Matt Hamilton and Adam Elmahrek

Addressing scores of bewildered and at times angry students, the dean of USC’s medical school said Wednesday that the university had launched multiple internal investigations into the conduct of his predecessor after The Times reported that he associated with criminals and drug abusers who told of using methamphetamine and other drugs with him.
Police union examines incident at Pasadena hotel involving a former USC dean after an officer is disciplined
Jul 19, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Matt Hamilton and Paul Pringle

The union that represents the Pasadena police officer who was disciplined for not filing a prompt report on a drug overdose witnessed by the then-dean of USC’s medical school is conducting a legal review of the incident, the labor organization said Thursday.
USC bosses flunk the leadership test amid shocking allegations about former medical school dean (OPINION)
Jul 20, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Steve Lopez

By now you probably know the details. Dr. Carmen Puliafito, a $1.1-million-a-year professor, doctor, dean and big-bucks rainmaker for the University of Southern California, left plenty of time in his busy schedule for extracurricular activities.
'We are outraged and disgusted:' USC orders outside investigation of former medical school dean's behavior
Jul 21, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Paul Pringle, Sarah Parvini and Adam Elmahrek

Faced with mounting anger and questions, USC announced Friday it was hiring an ex-federal prosecutor to investigate reports in The Times that the former dean of the university’s medical school associated with criminals and drug abusers and used methamphetamine and other drugs with them.
USC moves to fire, ban from campus former medical school dean over 'egregious behavior'
Jul 21, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Paul Pringle, Sarah Parvini and Adam Elmahrek

Faced with mounting questions and anger on campus, USC announced Friday it was hiring an ex-federal prosecutor to investigate a report by The Times that the former dean of the university’s medical school associated with criminals and drug abusers and used methamphetamine and other drugs with them.
Do you have information about USC's former med school dean? We want to hear from you
Jul 21, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Paul Pringle, Harriet Ryan, Adam Elmahrek, Matt Hamilton and Sarah Parvini

Hello, we’re the Los Angeles Times team who reported the story about the former dean of USC’s medical school, Dr. Carmen Puliafito. We’re interested in hearing from you.
1. USC received more than a year of questions about former medical school dean's conduct before scandal broke
Jul 23, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By By Paul Pringle, Adam Elmahrek, Matt Hamilton and Sarah Parvini

Four days after The Times published a story about drug use by the then-dean of USC’s medical school, the university announced it was moving to fire Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito and said it was “outraged and disgusted” by his conduct.
2. What did USC's leaders known about Dr. Puliafito's double life, and when did they know it? (Letters to the Editor)
Jul 24, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

To the editor: In 2010, The Times published my letter about the sanctions levied against USC’s football program, which denied knowledge of its players receiving anything improper. The people running the program were wildly successful and brought in money, talent and prestige to the university. Apparently that was sufficient to satisfy the administration. (“USC’s silence on its medical school dean’s double life is deafening,” editorial, July 19).
Doctors and drug abuse: Why addictions can be so difficult
Jul 24, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Soumya Karlamangla

Allegations that Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito used methamphetamine and ecstasy while he was dean of USC’s medical school have opened a window into the pervasiveness of drug use and addiction among physicians and the challenges they face when confronting it.
Pasadena officer who investigated overdose was skeptical of USC med school dean's story, recording shows
Jul 25, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Adam Elmahrek, Paul Pringle, Sarah Parvini and Matt Hamilton

The police officer who last year questioned the then-dean of USC’s medical school about his role in the drug overdose of a young woman expressed skepticism at Dr. Carmen Puliafito’s account, according to an audio recording that was made by the officer and released Tuesday.
Yet another USC scandal requires blunt talk about money culture and values on campus
Jul 26, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Steve Lopez

I don’t want to make too much of the fact that the word “scandal” begins with SC, but the current midsummer drama at the University of Southern California is certainly not the first in recent years.
USC president admits university 'could have done better' in handling reports of medical school dean's drug use
Jul 26, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Matt Hamilton, Paul Pringle and Sarah Parvini

USC President C.L. Max Nikias acknowledged Wednesday that the university “could have done better” in its handling of a former medical school dean who a Times investigation found took drugs and associated with criminals and drug abusers.
About that scandal: what took so long, USC? (Letters to the Editor)
Jul 27, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

To the editor: As someone who holds three degrees from USC, I believe that the board of trustees must step in immediately to gain control of the spreading scandal regarding the university's handling of the Puliafito affair. (Re: “What did USC know about dean, and when?" July 23)
Pasadena officer questions Dr. Carmen Puliafito after woman's overdose (AUDIO)
Jul 26, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

AUDIO LINK: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/94190583-132.html The police officer who last year questioned the then-dean of USC’s medical school at a hospital about his role in the drug overdose of a young woman expressed skepticism at Dr. Carmen Puliafito’s account.
Is USC committed to transparency, or just damage control? (OPINION)
Jul 28, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Editorial Board

Officials at the University of Southern California are now in full damage-control mode. Facing growing anger that the university ignored or mishandled reports alleging that the former medical school dean took drugs and partied with a circle of criminals and drug abusers, USC President C.L. Max Nikias finally admitted this week that “we could have done better.”
Twists, turns and maybe TMI about USC (Letters to the Editor)
Aug 5, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

The unfolding saga of the downfall of ex-USC medical school dean Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito has saddened, surprised and angered readers. Dozens of Times letter writers have reacted to the many angles of the developing scandal, with the weekend article detailing the history of internal complaints about Puliafito’s drinking and abusive behavior eliciting especially sharp replies.
Rich and powerful figures will set course in wake of scandal, behind closed doors.
Aug 6, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Sonali Kohli, Sarah Parvini, Matt Hamilton And Adam Elmahrek

How USC handles one of the biggest scandals in its history will be decided behind closed doors by a small group of wealthy and powerful people.
A lawyer who has been a defender of USC now must investigate the dean scandal. But can she be impartial?
Aug 12, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Victoria Kim

Debra Wong Yang is used to taking on headline-grabbing scandals.
Pasadena police's handling of drug overdose in USC dean's hotel room sparks debate
Aug 18, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Matt Hamilton and Paul Pringle

Facing criticism over his department’s handling of a drug overdose involving the then-dean of USC’s medical school, Pasadena’s police chief this week issued a directive reminding officers they must promptly file reports on overdose investigations.
USC downplays fundraising efforts of ex-dean at center of drug scandal
Aug 18, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Paul Pringle, Harriet Ryan, Matt Hamilton and Sarah Parvini

USC on Friday moved to further distance itself from the former dean of its medical school at the center of a scandal, downplaying Dr. Carmen Puliafito’s much-touted performance as a fundraiser for the university.
USC's dean drug scandal could take a costly toll on the school's legal battle with the UC system
Aug 21, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Harriet Ryan

ix months after Dr. Carmen Puliafito stepped down as dean of USC’s medical school, he was called by the university to give sworn testimony as a witness in a lawsuit the institution was facing.

Los Angeles Times Puliafito Coverage

An overdose, a young companion, drug-fueled parties: The secret life of USC med school dean

Jul 17, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

By Paul Pringle, Harriet Ryan, Adam Elmahrek, Matt Hamilton and Sarah Parvini

In USC’s lecture halls, labs and executive offices, Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito was a towering figure. The dean of the Keck School of Medicine was a renowned eye surgeon whose skill in the operating room was matched by a gift for attracting money and talent to the university.
In USC’s lecture halls, labs and executive offices, Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito was a towering figure. The dean of the Keck School of Medicine was a renowned eye surgeon whose skill in the operating room was matched by a gift for attracting money and talent to the university.
There was another side to the Harvard-educated physician.
During his tenure as dean, Puliafito kept company with a circle of criminals and drug users who said he used methamphetamine and other drugs with them, a Los Angeles Times investigation found.
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.

As dean, Puliafito oversaw hundreds of medical students, thousands of professors and clinicians, and research grants totaling more than $200 million. He was a key fundraiser for USC, bringing in more than $1 billion in donations, by his estimation.
Puliafito resigned his $1.1-million-a-year post in March 2016, in the middle of the spring term, saying he wanted to explore outside opportunities.

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. Puliafito has never spoken publicly about the incident, which is being reported here for the first time.
After he stepped down as dean, USC kept Puliafito on the medical school faculty, and he continues to accept new patients at campus eye clinics, according to Keck’s website. He also is a central witness in a $185-million lawsuit in which the University of California has accused USC of misconduct in its hiring away of a star researcher.
Puliafito did not respond to interview requests or written questions. Reached by phone last week, he hung up without commenting after hearing a brief summary of The Times’ reporting.
Earlier, in an email he sent to the newspaper shortly after resigning as dean, Puliafito said he made the move voluntarily in order to pursue a biotech job.
“Bottom line, I was dean for almost a decade. It was great, but I was ready and open to jumping on these opportunities when they came along,” he wrote.

USC President C.L. Max Nikias and Provost Michael Quick, who was Puliafito’s boss, did not respond to repeated requests for information about the circumstances surrounding Puliafito’s resignation. Nor did the university press office.
When reporters visited Nikias’ office to ask about the former dean, his chief of staff, Dennis Cornell, told them: “The president will not be speaking to The Times on this matter.”
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.
Puliafito has no known criminal record, and public records show no blemishes on the medical licenses he holds in California and three other states. A review of court records in those states found no malpractice claims against him.
He is highly regarded in the field of ophthalmology and regularly addresses doctors at national conventions and training seminars. Over the last decade, he has coauthored more than 60 medical journal articles on retinal disease and other topics. Since 2008, he has served on the governing board of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, the state agency that oversees stem cell research.
It was a tip about the incident in the Pasadena hotel that led The Times to discover Puliafito’s other life.
Just before 5 p.m. on March 4, 2016, an employee of the Hotel Constance, an upscale Colorado Boulevard landmark, called 911 to report that a guest had suffered an apparent overdose.
The hotel employee transferred a Fire Department dispatcher to a third-floor room. A man answered, identified himself as a doctor and said his companion’s condition was not serious, according to a recording of the call.
“My girlfriend here had a bunch of drinks and she’s sleeping,” he told the dispatcher. Asked whether the woman had taken anything else, he replied, “I think just the alcohol.”
After the ambulance arrived, another hotel employee placed a 911 call to ask that police be sent, too.

“I got somebody in one of the rooms, they [were] doing drugs in the room,” the employee told an emergency operator, according to the 911 recording. He added, “I think they [were] doing crystal meth.”
Paramedics took the woman to Huntington Memorial Hospital. Authorities did not release her name. The Times identified her as Warren through interviews, social media and property records.
Warren, now 22, has been in an Orange County drug treatment program since November, and said she no longer has contact with Puliafito. She talked about their relationship in a series of interviews.
She said she and Puliafito had been partying at the hotel for two days. Then she “took too much GHB” — gamma-hydroxybutyrate, the so-called date-rape drug that some users take in lower doses for its euphoric effect. Warren said the drug left her “completely incapacitated.”
After she awoke in the hospital six hours later, Puliafito picked her up, and “we went back to the hotel and got another room and continued the party,” she said.
The videos reviewed by The Times are consistent with Warren’s account.
A recording made the night before the overdose shows Puliafito and Warren in a room at the hotel. Warren asks him to help her crush methamphetamine in preparation for doing a “hot rail,” a method of snorting the drug.
“Absolutely,” Puliafito replies. Warren is later shown bending over a tray with several lines of white powder.
In a separate video of Puliafito and Warren, recorded at another hotel about a day after her overdose, she blames the Hotel Constance episode on GHB.
“Carmen saved my life,” she says on the video.
Puliafito is seen with what appears to be a meth pipe in his hand and, later, in his mouth.

Sources with access to these and other videos and photos of Puliafito allowed The Times to view the images on the condition they not be published.
A week after the hotel overdose, a witness filed an anonymous complaint through a city website urging Pasadena authorities to investigate Puliafito and the police handling of the incident, according to a copy of the complaint obtained through the California Public Records Act.
Three days later, the same witness phoned the office of USC president Nikias and told two employees about Puliafito’s role in the hotel incident. The witness spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity.
Phone records confirm that the witness made a six-minute call to Nikias’ office on March 14, 2016, 10 days after the overdose.
A week and a half later, Puliafito resigned as dean.
Concerned that Pasadena police were not investigating, the witness then approached The Times. The newspaper asked the Police Department for its report on the overdose.
Initially, a department spokeswoman said there was no report, apart from a call-for-service log. After The Times made repeated requests for additional information, the department acknowledged that an officer at the scene should have prepared a report. The officer was ordered to do so in June 2016 — three months after the incident.

In the report, Puliafito is identified as a witness to the overdose and a “friend” of the victim. The rest of the document is heavily redacted.
The department also released an evidence report that shows officers seized a little over a gram of methamphetamine from the hotel room. The name of the drug’s “owner” is redacted, and the Pasadena address listed as that person’s residence does not exist.
Under state law, possession of methamphetamine could be charged as a misdemeanor. Asked why no one was charged, Pasadena police spokeswoman Tracey Ibarra said officers would have had to determine who was “responsible” for the drugs. She declined to answer questions about the extent of the officers’ investigation. Warren said they never interviewed her.

Although Puliafito told the 911 operator he thought his companion was under the influence of alcohol alone, Ibarra said the woman was “obviously under the influence of narcotics — the same narcotics that were in the room.”
Ten years ago, USC went looking for a transformational leader for its medical program. U.S. News & World Report, in its annual report on the best American medical schools, ranked Keck 25 spots below UCLA in research. That was too low for USC leaders, who saw a top-rated medical school as crucial to their national aspirations. They needed a dean who could deliver the money and marquee researchers to make Keck an elite institution.
“Someone who could take a great school and make it even better,” then-USC President Steven Sample said at the close of the 2007 search process. “We found that person in Dr. Carmen Puliafito.”
Puliafito, a native of Buffalo, N.Y., who graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Medical School, had helped invent a laser technology — optical coherence tomography — that revolutionized the way doctors around the world diagnose and treat eye disease.
He had a track record of building institutions and raising their profiles. At Tufts University Medical School in Boston in the 1990s, Puliafito was founding director of the New England Eye Center. A complimentary 1993 profile in the Boston Globe described Puliafito’s “in your face” personality and likened him to “one of those Yellowstone Park mud pots: placid on the surface for a few minutes, then erupting for a moment, then calm again.”
Puliafito left Tufts to serve as director of the University of Miami’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute from 2001 to 2007. There, he presided over a doubling of faculty and tripling of research funding, according to school news releases.
His time at Miami was not trouble-free. Marc Brockman, an optometrist at the institute, filed a lawsuit against Puliafito in 2006 for assault and battery and accused the university of negligence in hiring him.
Brockman alleged in sworn testimony that Puliafito, in a profane “tantrum” over an inoperable piece of medical equipment, grabbed him by the collar of his lab coat and choked him.
Puliafito denied wrongdoing.
During the case, it emerged that the university had investigated separate complaints of sexual harassment against Puliafito, according to sworn testimony and court filings in the lawsuit. The records do not reveal the outcome of the investigation, and a university spokeswoman said in response to questions about the probe: “We don’t have anything to provide.”
Puliafito and the university reached a confidential settlement with Brockman in June 2007.

Two months later, USC hired Puliafito.
When Warren first met Puliafito in early 2015 she was a 20-year-old college dropout who had recently moved out of her parents’ Huntington Beach home and was advertising on an escort website.
She offered him meth, she said, and he accepted. She said it was clear he was comfortable around drugs.
Warren said that after that first encounter, they began seeing each other regularly.
After a few weeks, she said, she Googled his name and learned that he was USC’s medical school dean.
“I thought, ‘This is wild,’” she recalled.
The images viewed by The Times reflect an easy familiarity between Warren and Puliafito. In the video that shows him smoking from a large glass pipe while she heats a piece of foil and inhales, Warren calls Puliafito “Tony,” short for Anthony, his middle name.
Looking into the camera, Warren says she and Puliafito are making a “good old-fashioned doing-drugs video” to send to a friend.
Law enforcement officials who watched the video at The Times’ request said that what it showed was consistent with smoking meth and heroin.
In another video, Warren takes a drag from a meth pipe, and as she exhales, Puliafito inhales the smoke from her mouth, a technique known as “shotgunning.”
In a separate series of photos, Warren sits on Puliafito’s lap as she smokes meth.
Puliafito rented apartments for her in Huntington Beach and near his home in Pasadena so she would always be available, she said. He gave her spending money and covered her legal bills, she said.
During their time together, Warren was arrested four times on charges that include drug possession, drunk driving and petty theft, court records show. She pleaded guilty or no contest in each case and was placed on probation, given community service or ordered to pay fines.
She said Puliafito told her he was taking care of her, but she came to view the money he gave her as “a trap.”
“It was never enough for me to save up and leave,” she said.
She said it seemed odd that someone with Puliafito’s responsibilities could devote so much time to her. She said he would spend the night with her in apartments or hotel rooms he paid for, leave early in the morning to go to his home and then return to her with breakfast.
“He was always with me,” she said. “It was as if he had nothing else to do.”
USC fundraising galas can be glittering affairs with movie stars and billionaire donors rubbing elbows in Beverly Hills ballrooms. Puliafito glided confidently through these events, posing for photos with Gwyneth Paltrow and Pierce Brosnan and chatting up tech mogul Larry Ellison and mega-developer Rick Caruso.
In these circles, Puliafito presented himself as an architect of USC’s rising reputation as a research institution. When asked about his extracurricular pursuits, he mentioned his award-winning stamp collection and spending time with his wife, a Harvard classmate, and three adult children.
Don Stokes was not part of that world.
Stokes, 39, is an Orange County karaoke deejay with multiple convictions for drug possession. Contacted by The Times, Stokes said that Warren introduced him to Puliafito, and that they would spend hours drinking and using drugs in bars and hotel rooms with a group that included addicts and prostitutes.
Stokes said Puliafito gave him meth, including while he was living at New Life Spirit, a Huntington Beach sober home for recovering addicts. Warren said she saw it happen.
Stokes said that Puliafito seemed to believe that showering the group with cash and gifts was a way of “tying into this generation.”

“He would say, ‘Money is not an issue,’” recalled Stokes, who recently completed another stint in rehab. “There was hardly a day when he wasn’t around.”
Another member of the group was Kyle Voigt, 37, an Iraq war veteran with a criminal record that dates to at least 2009 and includes convictions for possession of heroin for sale.
The Times reviewed numerous photos and videos of Voigt and Puliafito with other members of their circle.
A series of September 2015 photos show Voigt and Warren in Puliafito’s office at the USC health sciences campus. The time stamp indicates the photos were taken around 3 a.m.
In one shot, Warren, wearing a USC shirt, stands next to Puliafito’s desk. A portrait of the dean and his wife is visible, and framed Dodgers and Red Sox jerseys can be seen on the wall.
In another photo, Voigt is wearing an inflatable Trojan hat and a white Keck School lab coat embroidered with the dean’s name. Both he and Warren are holding pieces of aluminum foil with darkened patches in the middle. The Times showed the image to law enforcement officials, who said the patches were consistent with the marks left by smoking heroin. In the photo, Warren has a lighter in her hand.

Other photos, shot the same year at a Pasadena gas station, show Voigt at the wheel of Puliafito’s vintage Mercedes, with the dean seated in the rear. Voigt is holding a piece of foil in his lap.
At one in a string of court appearances in 2015, he was asked to provide his address on a legal form. He listed Puliafito’s residence, a $5-million Tudor Revival mansion in Pasadena.
In a brief interview this spring at the L.A. County jail, where he was being held on suspicion of identity theft, Voigt declined to explain why he provided Puliafito’s address as his own and would not discuss whether he used drugs with the doctor.
He did say that Puliafito frequently socialized with him, Warren and other young people.
“Carmen’s always there,” he said.
Puliafito twice scheduled visits to the jail to see Voigt, although records show the visits were canceled. On a May 13, 2016, reservation form, Puliafito said he had a “professional” relationship with the inmate.

On a Feb. 16, 2017, form, he described himself as a “friend.”
Warren said her younger brother was part of the group that hung out with Puliafito and used drugs with him.
Charles Warren, who lives with his parents in Huntington Beach, confirmed his sister’s account. He said in an interview that he was 17 and had little experience with drugs, beyond marijuana, when his sister introduced him to Puliafito in the spring of 2015.
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.
In early 2016, about a year after she first met Puliafito, Sarah Warren sought help for her drug problem. She spent time in two different rehab programs, and completed the second one, at Michael’s House in Palm Springs, in February 2016.

Less than three weeks later, she and Puliafito checked into the Hotel Constance in Pasadena.
On a sunny afternoon in June 2016, dozens of Puliafito’s colleagues gathered on a lawn at USC’s health sciences campus for a catered reception in his honor. It had been three months since he’d announced his resignation, and the school’s top administrators took turns lauding his accomplishments as head of the medical school.
Keck had climbed in national medical school rankings: U.S. News & World Report ranked it 31st in research last year, seven rungs higher than when Puliafito became dean.
“Today, we have one of the, not just the area’s, but the nation’s preeminent medical schools and medical enterprises — and, in many ways, thanks to the leadership of Carmen,” Nikias told the crowd.
Key to Keck’s rise in stature was Puliafito’s ability to headhunt the type of big-name researchers who brought grant money and prestige. He recruited more than 70 professors to Keck, according to a campus publication.
One of those coups was under intense scrutiny at the time of Puliafito’s resignation. In a court battle that is still playing out, the University of California filed suit in July 2015 against USC over its poaching of a leading Alzheimer’s disease researcher.
Puliafito was the self-described “quarterback” of efforts to land UC San Diego professor Paul Aisen, a star in the state university system.
Curing Alzheimer’s is a top priority for government agencies and pharmaceutical companies, and Aisen’s lab was overseeing groundbreaking research, including drug trials at 70 locations around the world. More than $340 million in funding was expected to flow to his lab, according to court records.
UC contended in its suit that its private school rival went beyond the bounds of academic recruiting by targeting professors and labs based on grant funding. The suit accused USC of civil conspiracy, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty and other misconduct.
USC denied any wrongdoing and countersued for defamation and other claims. At the time Puliafito stepped down, UC had yet to question him under oath.
A UC lawyer deposed the former dean in September 2016, and asked about his resignation. A USC attorney objected to the question as “vague” and “overbroad.” Puliafito ultimately answered that he had a “unique opportunity” to work in private industry and that he was on sabbatical from his faculty position.
He had accepted, in April 2016, a position as chief of strategic development at Ophthotech, a New York pharmaceutical company run by friends Puliafito had known since his time at Harvard. The job did not last. The company announced in December that a drug it had been developing failed in clinical trials.
Puliafito, along with 80% of the workforce, was laid off, a company spokeswoman said.

He continues to represent USC in public. On Saturday, 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.

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USC’s silence on its medical school dean’s double life is deafening (OPINION)

Jul 19, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

By The Editorial Board

Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito, the former dean of the USC Keck School of Medicine, led quite a rollicking double life. According to a Times investigation, he was a highly respected doctor, administrator and prolific fundraiser for the university — but at the same time, according to explicit videos and interviews, he found time to party with a circle of criminals and drug users who said he used methamphetamine and other drugs with them.
When Puliafito resigned last year, he announced he was leaving to explore outside opportunities. After stepping down, he was feted by his colleagues. USC President C.L. Max Nikias praised Puliafito for helping Keck rise in the all-important U.S. News & World Report rankings of medical schools.
But there was no mention that the dean’s resignation came just three weeks after a 21-year-old woman overdosed in his presence in a Pasadena hotel room. Police found methamphetamine at the scene, and Puliafito was listed as a witness to the overdose on the official police report (which was written not at the time of the incident, but only after repeated inquiries by Times reporters.) Puliafito was not arrested or charged, even though the police found illegal drugs, but an anonymous witness called USC President Nikias’ office and told two employees about the dean’s presence at the time of the hotel overdose. Shortly after the witness called, Puliafito stepped down.
Beyond the salacious details, Puliafito’s double life and his resignation last year raise troubling questions for both the university and the Pasadena police. How much did university officials know about the dean’s behavior, and when did they learn it? Why did the university keep him on the medical faculty after learning about the incident at the hotel? Why was no police report written at the time of the overdose? Why was there so little follow-up? Were the police right not to arrest anyone?
The Times’ investigation uncovered apparent breaches of medical ethics, as well as possible criminal violations. Interviews and documents showed that Puliafito — an ophthalmologist — wrote a prescription for asthma inhalers for two of his party buddies, apparently to soothe lungs raw from smoking marijuana and methamphetamine. Another man said the dean gave him meth while the man was living at a sober home for recovering addicts. And during the overdose at the hotel, Puliafito told the 911 operator that the woman had just drunk alcohol, when police later confirmed that she was “obviously under the influence of narcotics,” which were found in the room.
USC President Nikias and Provost Michael Quick, who was Puliafito’s boss, refused repeated requests for information. The university finally released a statement Monday, after The Times’ article appeared, that said: “If the assertions … are true, we hope that Carmen receives care and treatment that will lead him to a full recovery.”
We don’t know for sure why USC was so reluctant to discuss the subject. But it has been estimated that Puliafito raised more than $1 billion for the school. As recently as this past weekend, Puliafito spoke at a Keck-sponsored program in Pasadena, and his USC web page said he still was accepting patients at campus eye clinics. The university’s statement on Monday said that he is on leave and not seeing patients.

USC is a private institution but it receives considerable public funding for its medical research and serves the public through its hospitals and clinics. As dean, Puliafito oversaw hundreds of medical students and thousands of professors and clinicians. The possibility that the dean engaged in serious criminal and ethical transgressions is more than a personnel matter — it reflects on the values and leadership of the university as a whole. USC’s silence is deafening.

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USC president tries to quell outrage over drug allegations against former medical school dean

Jul 18, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

By Sarah Parvini

Acknowledging widespread concern on campus, USC President C.L. Max Nikias said Tuesday the university would “examine and address” a report in The 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,” 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.”
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 Puliafito was no longer seeing patients and was on leave. Attempts to reach Puliafito were unsuccessful Tuesday.
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.”
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, 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 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.
USC has declined to say when it first learned of Puliafito’s conduct or how it responded.
A few days after the incident at the Pasadena hotel last year, a witness phoned Nikias’ office and told two employees about what happened, the witness told The Times on condition of anonymity.
Phone records confirm that the witness made a six-minute call to Nikias’ office on March 14, 2016, 10 days after the overdose.
In his letter Tuesday, Nikias said the university was continuing “the path to improve our support system” for people with substance abuse issues.
“Unfortunately, the issue of substance abuse is not uncommon and impacts individuals at all levels of society,” he wrote. “Reports of high-powered executives, doctors, and others with substance abuse issues have become all too common —individuals who function in their workplace but have serious issues affecting their private lives.”
USC officials hired the Harvard-educated Puliafito in 2007 to raise the profile and ranking of the Keck School.

As dean, he oversaw hundreds of medical students and thousands of professors and clinicians. He was also a key fundraiser for USC, bringing in more than $1 billion in donations, by his own estimation.

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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

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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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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Alleged conduct by former USC dean 'horrible and despicable,' med school head tells angry students

Jul 19, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

By Sarah Parvini, Paul Pringle, Matt Hamilton and Adam Elmahrek

Addressing scores of bewildered and at times angry students, the dean of USC’s medical school said Wednesday that the university had launched multiple internal investigations into the conduct of his predecessor after The Times reported that he associated with criminals and drug abusers who told of using methamphetamine and other drugs with him.
“These allegations, if they are true, they are horrible and despicable,” Dr. Rohit Varma told the gathering of scores of medical scholars and graduate students at the Keck School of Medicine in Boyle Heights, who were summoned to a town-hall-type meeting to discuss The Times’ article about Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito. The newspaper obtained a recording of the meeting.
“He’s a man who had a brilliant career, all gone down the drain,” Varma said. “I’m standing in this place where my predecessor now has this taint. ... It is sad.”
He also said Puliafito, who stepped down as dean last year, had sought treatment in the past for alcoholism, but that the allegations in the article that he used drugs “came as a complete shock to us.”
On Monday, when The Times’ lengthy investigation was published, USC announced that Puliafito, 66, had been placed on leave from his positions as a faculty member and Keck eye surgeon, and was no longer treating patients. The school has been struggling to contend with the fallout from the accounts that the renowned ophthalmologist, who headed the medical school for nearly a decade, led a second life involving meth and other drugs he used with a circle of much younger people.
At the meeting on the Keck campus, students — some wearing hospital scrubs — said university administrators should have known more about Puliafito’s troubling behavior, including reports that he appeared drunk or otherwise intoxicated at campus events. One woman said that it “seems shocking that no one has been able to figure anything out in the last 10 years. ... People are now going to be questioning our professionalism.”
Letter to USC faculty from Provist Michael Quick about Carmen Puliafito
Another student said, “It’s pretty unfathomable to believe there was … no one in the loop and that no one had any idea and that everyone is completely blindsided. … We want to be assured that there will be people held accountable that this was allowed to take place.”
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 the late teens to late 30s. 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.
Near the end of his remarks Wednesday, Varma said he had recently spoken with Puliafito, and he asked those present in the auditorium not to share with others the “personal interaction” he had with the former dean.
An overdose, a young companion, drug-fueled parties: The secret life of USC med school dean »
“He called me yesterday and he apologized for what had happened and for putting me and the school and SC through what has happened, and he informed me that he’s going to go and get help.”
USC has declined to say when it first learned about Puliafito’s alleged conduct or how it responded. Varma said at Wednesday’s meeting that USC Provost Michael Quick told him that Puliafito had resigned because “he cannot continue his activities here anymore as dean.”
Varma said Quick provided no other information about the resignation. “That is what was communicated to me,” he said. “There were no other additional aspects.”
Three days later after the overdose, a witness to the incidents phoned the office of USC President C.L. Max Nikias and told two employees about Puliafito’s role. The witness spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity.
Phone records confirm that the witness made a six-minute call to Nikias’ office on March 14, 2016, 10 days after the overdose.
A third student at Wednesday’s meeting said that if Nikias did receive the call, his handling of the affair needed further scrutiny.
“If this is true, if it turns out that it is a cultural problem with the university, with President Nikias, will you fight for President Nikias to be let go, so we can bring in another president who wouldn’t let this happen?” the student asked.
Varma told the students that university officials had not corroborated that the call had been placed. “There was no evidence particularly of that phone call,” he said. “There is a full-on series of investigations.”
Nikias did not respond to an interview request.
The Medical Board of California said Wednesday that it had opened an investigation into Puliafito.

In a statement Wednesday, USC said “we have multiple investigations ongoing, and much of this situation is complicated by confidentiality. The university also said that Varma held the meeting with “good intentions” but did not intend it as a public statement.

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Police union examines incident at Pasadena hotel involving a former USC dean after an officer is disciplined

Jul 19, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

By Matt Hamilton and Paul Pringle

The union that represents the Pasadena police officer who was disciplined for not filing a prompt report on a drug overdose witnessed by the then-dean of USC’s medical school is conducting a legal review of the incident, the labor organization said Thursday.
A tip about the March 2016 overdose of a young woman at the Hotel Constance in Pasadena led to a Times investigation that found that Dr. Carmen Puliafito associated with criminals and drug abusers who said they used methamphetamine and other drugs with him while he headed the Keck School of Medicine.
Puliafito, 66, resigned as dean three weeks after the overdose. USC kept the renowned ophthalmologist on faculty and he continued to accept patients at university medical offices, according to a USC website. The overdose suffered by Sarah Warren, who survived after being rushed to a hospital, was not publicly reported until The Times published its findings Monday.
Officer Alfonso Garcia did not write a required report on the overdose until three months after the incident — in response to repeated requests by The Times for information about the episode.
Garcia did not respond to an interview request made through the Pasadena city manager’s office Thursday. He otherwise could not be reached.
The president of the Pasadena Police Officers Assn., Sgt. Roger Roldan, said in emails that attorneys for the union are reviewing the circumstances surrounding the overdose. Roldan declined to provide any details about the review, including whether it was aimed at challenging the discipline of Garcia.
The type of discipline has not been disclosed.
Last year, a Pasadena police spokeswoman said Garcia’s failure to file the report was a “training issue,” but offered no details. This week, city spokesman William Boyer said Garcia was disciplined.
City Manager Steve Mermell said in an email Thursday that the Times’ findings “have raised many questions. As it relates to the city, I have made a public commitment to review the facts and circumstances involving city personnel. I expect to have more information in the near future.”
Mermell did not elaborate.
Puliafito has not responded to numerous interview requests. In an email shortly after resigning the $1.1-million-a-year deanship, Puliafito told The Times he made the move voluntarily to pursue a biotech job.
In the wake of The Times’ investigation, USC has said that Puliafito is on leave from the university and is no longer seeing patients. Puliafito’s successor as dean, Dr. Rohit Varma, on Wednesday told a gathering of students, many of them angry about the affair, that Puliafito’s conduct is the subject of several internal investigations.
The Medical Board of California has said it is also investigating Puliafito on the basis of The Times’ reporting.
In the months after the overdose, authorities did not release Warren’s name. The Times identified her through interviews, social media and property records.
Now 22, Warren has been in an Orange County drug treatment program since November, and said she no longer has contact with Puliafito. She told The Times in interviews that she and Puliafito had been partying at the hotel for two days. Then she “took too much GHB” — gamma-hydroxybutyrate, the so-called date-rape drug that some users take in lower doses for its euphoric effect. Warren said the drug left her “completely incapacitated.”
After she awoke in the hospital six hours later, Puliafito picked her up, and “we went back to the hotel and got another room and continued the party,” she said.
Puliafito and his much younger acquaintance captured many of their exploits together in videos and photos. Sources allowed The Times to review dozens of the images on condition the videos not be published. They were consistent with Warren’s account of drug use at the Hotel Constance.
The police confiscated a little more than a gram of meth in the hotel room. No arrests were made, and Warren said the police never interviewed her.
A week after the March 4, 2016, overdose, a witness filed an anonymous complaint through a city website urging Pasadena authorities to investigate Puliafito and the police handling of the incident, according to a copy of the complaint obtained through the California Public Records Act.
Three days later, the same witness phoned the office of USC President C.L. Max Nikias and told two employees about Puliafito’s role in the hotel incident. The witness spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity.
Phone records confirm that the witness made a six-minute call to Nikias’ office on March 14, 2016, 10 days after the overdose.

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USC bosses flunk the leadership test amid shocking allegations about former medical school dean (OPINION)

Jul 20, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

By Steve Lopez

By now you probably know the details.

Dr. Carmen Puliafito, a $1.1-million-a-year professor, doctor, dean and big-bucks rainmaker for the University of Southern California, left plenty of time in his busy schedule for extracurricular activities.
They included drug-fueled parties with a prostitute, convicted criminals and drug addicts. Los Angeles Times sleuths dug up photos of Puliafito’s exploits in hotel rooms, apartments and even the dean’s office at USC, including a shot of him using a butane torch to light a glass pipe while a female companion smoked heroin.
In Monday’s bombshell expose in The Times, reporters Paul Pringle, Harriet Ryan, Adam Elmahrek, Matt Hamilton and Sarah Parvini also reported the details of a 911 call from a Pasadena hotel where a woman had overdosed before being hospitalized. She later told reporters that she and Puliafito had been partying together for two days.No police report of hotel overdose
But I’m not interested in pounding on Puliafito here. The man appears to have serious problems. He needs help and I hope he gets it.
“Complex addiction doesn’t respect age, income or title,” said a USC-trained physician, who added that he thinks USC will survive this episode, but Puliafito and his family may need help to get through it.
The physician, who didn’t want his name used, also suggested that, given the private school’s endless quest for money, Puliafito’s strengths made him “like a star quarterback … and he was worth keeping in the game if they could keep the incident private, too.”
And that’s the part of the story that interests me most — the actions and non-actions of USC administrators and the Pasadena Police Department.
Let me start with the latter.
On March 4, 2016, paramedics and police responded to the call from the hotel where Puliafito’s companion had passed out. But the responding officer did not file a report on the incident, even though methamphetamine was found in the room. After dogged questioning by my colleague Paul Pringle, Pasadena officials said a report should have been filed and the officer had been disciplined.
Does anyone think for a minute that if an average Joe had been in that room, he wouldn’t have been written up, investigated and possibly charged?Where’s the outrage?
Did someone influential intercede on behalf of Puliafito to protect his reputation and preserve his status as a prodigious USC fundraiser who schmoozed with the likes of billionaire Larry Ellison, Jay Leno, Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Martin Short and developer Rick Caruso?
“If the allegations are true,” said Caruso, a USC graduate and member of the school’s board of trustees, “I'm very disturbed and condemn the illegal use of drugs, especially by someone who holds the highest level of trust and care.”
But, like I said, I’m less disturbed by what Puliafito might have done, and more disturbed by what his bosses didn’t do.
The Times reported that 10 days after the hotel incident, an anonymous complaint about Puliafito was submitted to two employees in the office of USC President C.L. Max Nikias. A week and a half later, Puliafito resigned as dean. He later told The Times by email that he had voluntarily decided to move on and pursue a job in biotech.
That sounded suspicious, given what The Times knew. But a Nikias staffer told our reporters: “The president will not be speaking to The Times on this matter.”
Maybe that’s because Nikias was too busy planning a celebratory, catered wingding for Puliafito. If you’re poor and have a drug problem, you land on skid row. If you’re rich and connected, it’s cocktails and kudos.
In June of last year, three months after Puliafito’s resignation as dean, he was honored by various USC administrators, including Nikias.
“Today, we have one of the, not just the area’s, but the nation’s preeminent medical schools and medical enterprises — and, in many ways, thanks to the leadership of Carmen,” Nikias gushed.It’s about more than money
Are money and prestige all that matter?
Did Puliafito’s prolific fundraising and ability to draw top medical talent earn him not just a pass, but a party?
Reporter Pringle sent numerous emails to Nikias and his associates over more than a year, respectfully asking for an interview. He was ignored each time.
Pringle sent Nikias an email with numerous questions about the Pasadena hotel incident and USC’s handling of the Puliafito matter, and requested, yet again, an interview with the president.
No interview was granted. (Nor did I get anywhere Wednesday with my requests for an interview with Nikias and Puliafito).
And here’s a detail that might make any self-respecting Trojan root for UCLA next year:
Despite having resigned as dean, Puliafito remained on the faculty and continued to see patients for more than a year.
Only after the story hit on Monday did USC release a statement saying Puliafito is “currently on leave from his roles at USC, including seeing patients.” And then on Tuesday, Nikias sent a letter to the “USC community” saying “we are working to determine how we can best prevent these kinds of circumstances going forward.”
Shouldn’t that have begun more than a year ago, when The Times first started asking questions?‘Stunned depression’ at USC
“The mood on campus is one of stunned depression,” a USC physician said in an email to me, asking me not to use his name. “Students are upset that this was allowed to happen at their medical school, while the faculty are flabbergasted as well as embarrassed.” The physician said that in his opinion, Puliafito should have been immediately suspended in March 2016 and an investigation launched.
“By allowing him to continue to practice,” he said, “patients’ health was put at risk.”
That’s consistent with sentiments expressed Wednesday when the dean who replaced Puliafito told a gathering of students that his predecessor’s alleged actions were “horrible and despicable.”
Students at that meeting said university officials should have known more about Puliafito’s behavior. One woman said it “seems shocking that no one has been able to figure anything out.”
“What an embarrassing time to work for USC and Keck School of Medicine,” said a second faculty member I heard from. “To me, it seems like the university needs a complete moral inventory/overhaul.”
At the very least, Nikias needs to break the silence and tell what he knew and when he knew it.

If he refuses, USC would be better off without him.

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'We are outraged and disgusted:' USC orders outside investigation of former medical school dean's behavior

Jul 21, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

By Paul Pringle, Sarah Parvini and Adam Elmahrek

Faced with mounting anger and questions, USC announced Friday it was hiring an ex-federal prosecutor to investigate reports in The Times that the former dean of the university’s medical school associated with criminals and drug abusers and used methamphetamine and other drugs with them.
“We are outraged and disgusted by this individual’s behavior,” USC President C.L. Max Nikias said in a letter to the campus community, referring to Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito, former dean of the Keck School of Medicine.
“It is crucial that we understand how these events occurred,” Nikias said.
The investigation will be overseen by Debra Wong Yang, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Los Angeles and a former member of the Los Angeles Police Commission, which oversees the Los Angeles Police Department. She was an L.A. Superior Court judge and was appointed U. S. attorney for the Central District of California in May 2002 by President George W. Bush. She is a graduate of Pitzer College and Boston College Law School.
He said that Yang would “conduct a thorough investigation into the details of Carmen Puliafito’s conduct, the university’s response, as well as our existing policies and procedures.”
Letter from USC announcing investigation of former medical school dean's behavior
“All of us must cooperate fully and swiftly” with the investigation, the letter said. “It is critical we understand how and why this happened so we can do everything possible to improve our ability to prevent something like this from happening again.”
Nikias said Yang would present findings and recommendations to the executive committee of the USC board of trustees. He did not say whether the findings would be made public.
Nikias has declined interview requests by The Times, and did not respond to written questions addressing how USC handled the Puliafito affair.
On Monday, when The Times’ lengthy investigation was published, USC announced that Puliafito, 66, had been placed on leave from his positions as a faculty member and Keck eye surgeon, and was no longer seeing patients. The school has been struggling to contend with the fallout from the accounts that the renowned ophthalmologist, who headed the medical school for nearly a decade, led a second life involving meth and other drugs he used with a circle of much younger people.
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 the late teens to late 30s. 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.
On Wednesday, the current medical school dean addressed angry students.
“These allegations, if they are true, they are horrible and despicable,” Dr. Rohit Varma told the gathering of scores of medical scholars and graduate students at the Keck School of Medicine in Boyle Heights.
“He’s a man who had a brilliant career, all gone down the drain,” Varma said. “I’m standing in this place where my predecessor now has this taint. ... It is sad.”
He also said that Puliafito had sought treatment in the past for alcoholism, but that the allegations in the article that he used drugs “came as a complete shock to us.”

At the meeting on the Keck campus, students — some wearing hospital scrubs — said university administrators should have known more about Puliafito’s troubling behavior, including reports that he appeared drunk or otherwise intoxicated at campus events. One woman said that it “seems shocking that no one has been able to figure anything out in the last 10 years. ... People are now going to be questioning our professionalism.”

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USC moves to fire, ban from campus former medical school dean over 'egregious behavior'

Jul 21, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

By Paul Pringle, Sarah Parvini and Adam Elmahrek

Faced with mounting questions and anger on campus, USC announced Friday it was hiring an ex-federal prosecutor to investigate a report by The Times that the former dean of the university’s medical school associated with criminals and drug abusers and used methamphetamine and other drugs with them.
“We are outraged and disgusted by this individual’s behavior,” USC President C.L. Max Nikias said in a letter to the campus community, referring to Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito, former dean of the Keck School of Medicine.
USC officials said they had begun the process to strip Puliafito of his faculty tenure and terminate him. In a separate letter to the faculty, Provost Michael W. Quick said the university had just learned about “egregious behavior on the part of the former dean concerning substance abuse activities with people who aren’t affiliated with USC.”
The statements by USC’s top officials were much more strongly worded than comments they made earlier in the week.
Quick said that shift was due to evidence officials reviewed Friday.
“This was the first time we saw such information first-hand,” Quick wrote. “It is extremely troubling and we need to take serious action.”
He did not reveal the evidence or say how it was different from the detailed account of Puliafito’s behavior published in The Times on Monday.
Puliafito is “barred from our campuses and any association with USC, including attending or participating in university events,” the provost said.
Puliafito had continued to represent USC in public as recently as Saturday, when he spoke at a medical education seminar in Pasadena sponsored by the Keck School.
The Times report said that Puliafito used drugs with a circle of much younger people while leading the medical school.
“It is crucial that we understand how these events occurred,” Nikias said in his letter.
The university’s investigation will be overseen by Debra Wong Yang, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Los Angeles and a former member of the Los Angeles Police Commission.
Yang represented USC when it faced a wrongful-death lawsuit filed against USC in 2012 by the parents of two graduate students who were slain off-campus. The suit was dismissed in 2013.
Yang's profile page on the Gibson Dunn website says she has worked as an adjunct professor for USC's law school. It does not say when she taught there. She did not immediately respond to an interview request.
Nikias said that Yang would “conduct a thorough investigation into the details of Carmen Puliafito’s conduct, the university’s response, as well as our existing policies and procedures.”
“All of us must cooperate fully and swiftly” with the investigation, the letter said. “It is critical we understand how and why this happened so we can do everything possible to improve our ability to prevent something like this from happening again.”
Nikias said Yang would present findings and recommendations to the executive committee of the USC board of trustees. He did not say whether the findings would be made public.
Nikias has declined interview requests by The Times, and did not respond to written questions addressing how USC handled the Puliafito affair.
On Monday, when The Times’ lengthy investigation was published, USC announced that Puliafito, 66, had been placed on leave from his positions as a faculty member and Keck eye surgeon, and was no longer seeing patients.
Puliafito, who led the medical school for nearly a decade, 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 the late teens to late 30s. 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.
On Wednesday, the current medical school dean addressed angry students.
“These allegations, if they are true, they are horrible and despicable,” Dr. Rohit Varma told the gathering of scores of medical scholars and graduate students at the Keck School of Medicine in Boyle Heights.
“He’s a man who had a brilliant career, all gone down the drain,” Varma said. “I’m standing in this place where my predecessor now has this taint. ... It is sad.”
He also said that Puliafito had sought treatment in the past for alcoholism, but that the allegations in the article that he used drugs “came as a complete shock to us.”
At the meeting on the Keck campus, students — some wearing hospital scrubs — said university administrators should have known more about Puliafito’s troubling behavior, including reports that he appeared drunk or otherwise intoxicated at campus events. One woman said that it “seems shocking that no one has been able to figure anything out in the last 10 years. ... People are now going to be questioning our professionalism.”

Yang was an L.A. Superior Court judge and was appointed U. S. attorney for the Central District of California in May 2002 by President George W. Bush. She is a graduate of Pitzer College and Boston College Law School.

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Do you have information about USC's former med school dean? We want to hear from you

Jul 21, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

By Paul Pringle, Harriet Ryan, Adam Elmahrek, Matt Hamilton and Sarah Parvini

Hello, we’re the Los Angeles Times team who reported the story about the former dean of USC’s medical school, Dr. Carmen Puliafito. We’re interested in hearing from you.
If you have information you would like to share about Puliafito, USC’s Keck School of Medicine or the USC administration, please let us know.

You can help inform our ongoing coverage by contacting us at investigations@latimes.com or 213-237-7675.

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1. USC received more than a year of questions about former medical school dean's conduct before scandal broke

Jul 23, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

By By Paul Pringle, Adam Elmahrek, Matt Hamilton and Sarah Parvini

Four days after The Times published a story about drug use by the then-dean of USC’s medical school, the university announced it was moving to fire Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito and said it was “outraged and disgusted” by his conduct.
USC Provost Michael Quick said the university decided to act because it had been shown “extremely troubling” information that same day about Puliafito’s behavior. Quick provided no details. But he said it was “the first time we saw such information firsthand.”
“I know many people wanted us to act on allegations and hearsay, but we needed actual facts,” Quick wrote in a letter to the faculty.
It remains unclear when top USC officials first learned about the allegations involving Puliafito. But The Times made repeated inquiries over the last 15 months about Puliafito, in some cases describing information reporters had gathered about the dean.
More than a year of questions
USC’s leaders never responded to the inquiries. Numerous phone calls were not returned, emails went unanswered and a letter seeking an interview with USC President C.L. Max Nikias to discuss Puliafito was returned to The Times by courier, unopened.
Only after The Times published its report Monday did USC address the matter publicly. By Friday, officials deplored Puliafito’s conduct and said they had engaged a law firm to look into the administration’s handling of the matter.
Medical ethicists said USC had a duty to look into allegations about Puliafito immediately, even if they were incomplete or uncorroborated. A prompt internal investigation was necessary, they said, regardless of whether the university decided it could answer The Times’ questions.
Dr. Daniel Sulmasy, a Georgetown University professor of biomedical ethics, said the need for a swift inquiry was especially pressing because of Puliafito’s role as an overseer of faculty members, clinicians, students and research grants. “These professionals are held to a higher moral standard than other persons,” he said.
“The allegations are so serious, he could put patients at risk,” said Art Caplan, founding head of the Division of Bioethics at New York University’s Langone Medical Center. “I would say if you’re not going to fire him outright because you’re waiting to get confirmation of the facts, I would be at least moving to suspend him and figure out what’s going on here.”
The Times report, published Monday, described in detail how Puliafito kept company with a circle of criminals and drug addicts and used methamphetamine and other drugs while serving as dean of the Keck School of Medicine. The article cited photos and videos reviewed by The Times that showed Puliafito and his friends, who were in their 20s and 30s, partying in 2015 and 2016.
The images include some in which Puliafito’s companions are seen holding drug paraphernalia during an after-hours visit to the dean’s office at USC.
An abrupt resignation
One member of Puliafito’s circle was a 21-year-old woman who overdosed in his presence at a Pasadena hotel three weeks before he abruptly quit as dean in March 2016, in the middle of the spring term.
USC has not said whether the incident was related to Puliafito’s resignation.
After stepping down as dean, the Harvard-educated Puliafito, a renowned eye surgeon, remained on the Keck faculty, continued to accept new patients and represented the university in public as recently as last weekend.
On Tuesday, a day after The Times report was published, Nikias said in a letter to the campus community that USC would “examine and address” the accounts but also suggested the school had not determined whether they were true. His statement did not say whether the university had known about the details before the article was published.
“Our university categorically condemns the unlawful possession, use, or distribution of drugs,” the president wrote. “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.”
On Friday, Nikias released a strongly worded statement, saying “we are outraged and disgusted by this individual’s behavior.” The same day, Quick told the faculty that Puliafito had been barred from the campus and from “any association with USC.”
The Times investigation began with a tip about the Pasadena hotel incident. Paramedics rushed the woman, Sarah Warren, to a hospital, where she recovered. A police report said officers found methamphetamine in the hotel room. No arrests were made.
A witness to the incident told the newspaper of phoning Nikias’ office, giving two employees an anonymous account of the overdose and demanding that USC take action against Puliafito.
Phone records reviewed by The Times showed the witness made a six-minute call to Nikias’ office on March 14, 2016, 10 days after the overdose. The tipster said he did not expect a call back but had told the USC employees he would go to the media if action wasn’t taken.
Last week, Puliafito’s successor as dean, Dr. Rohit Varma, told a gathering of scores of students that USC had found “no evidence, particularly, of that phone call.” Varma told the students that Puliafito had appeared drunk at off-campus events and had sought treatment for alcoholism. He said details in the story came as a shock.
The Times first contacted USC about Puliafito the month after the overdose. In response, Puliafito said in an April 20, 2016, email that he resigned as dean to take a position in the biotech industry. He never again replied to interview requests or written questions.
In May 2016, The Times left a phone message and sent an email to USC’s senior vice president for university relations, Thomas Sayles. The email said, without going into detail, that the newspaper was aware of the circumstances preceding Puliafito’s resignation and wanted to hear from USC about how it dealt with the matter. Sayles did not respond.
The next month, USC hosted a catered reception for Puliafito on a sun-splashed lawn at USC’s health sciences campus in Boyle Heights. As dozens of Keck employees looked on, Nikias praised Puliafito’s contributions to the school as dean.
The Times continued to gather information about the overdose. In a November 2016 email, a reporter asked to interview Nikias and Quick, saying an upcoming story would examine “in detail the off-campus events that preceded Dr. Puliafito’s resignation.” Again, there was no reply.
A sealed envelope unopened
Last January, a reporter visited Nikias’ San Marino home. He was away, and the reporter gave a note for him to Nikias’ wife. The note was in a sealed envelope; it similarly asked Nikias to speak to the reporter about the events surrounding Puliafito’s resignation.
The next day, the envelope was returned unopened to The Times by courier, with a letter of complaint from Brenda Maceo, USC’s vice president for public relations and marketing. The letter said the reporter had “crossed the line” by visiting the Nikias home.
The Times did more reporting. On March 2 of this year, the newspaper emailed an interview request and a list of questions to Nikias. It said a reporter had learned of the witness’ call to Nikias’ office. The email also said that the hotel room where the young woman overdosed had been registered to Puliafito and that meth was found in the room.
Attached to the email was a recording of the 911 call a hotel employee made to report the apparent overdose. On the recording, Puliafito is heard identifying himself as a doctor and saying the woman was his girlfriend. He told the 911 dispatcher that the woman “had a bunch of drinks and she’s sleeping.”
When the dispatcher asked if she had taken anything else, Puliafito said, “I think just the alcohol.” A police spokeswoman later told The Times the woman had overdosed on the same drugs found in the room — methamphetamine.
Nikias did not respond to the March 2 email. Two reporters visited his office that day to ask for an interview. Nikias’ chief of staff, Dennis Cornell, told them, “The president will not be speaking to The Times on this matter.”
This month, Nikias did not reply to a final email from The Times requesting an interview before the newspaper’s investigation was published.
Ann Fromholz, a Pasadena lawyer and USC law school alumna who has conducted hundreds of workplace investigations, said it’s common for employers to launch investigations prompted by anonymous tips or inquiries from outside institutions.
“Even though the employer doesn’t know the details of the complaining party, they are nonetheless obligated to investigate and determine if misconduct occurred,” Fromholz said.
‘A deliberative and careful manner’
As outrage over the Puliafito revelations grew, Quick on Wednesday wrote the USC facility a memo attempting to explain the university’s actions.
“I want to reassure you that all along we have taken this matter very seriously, that we made what we felt were the best decisions we could make, as swiftly as could be done in a prudent and thoughtful manner, and given the information that we had at any given time,” he wrote.
Responding to those on campus who asked why the university didn’t take “unilateral actions” against Puliafito, the provost said it followed the rules.
“If any of us were in a similar situation, we would want the university to follow its established processes in a deliberative and careful manner,” he wrote.
On Friday, Nikias announced that former federal prosecutor Debra Wong Yang would lead “a thorough investigation” into both Puliafito’s conduct and “the university’s response.”
Nikias said that in this “process of examination,” USC officials would “look to improve ways in which we could have recognized the severity of the situation sooner.”
He called on all USC employees to “cooperate fully and swiftly” with the investigation.
Yang is a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, a firm with close ties to USC.
The firm’s managing partner, Kenneth M. Doran, is a graduate of USC’s Gould School of Law and a former chairman of its board of councilors. He has also been a prominent fundraiser for the school. Gibson Dunn was cited on the USC law school website in 2014 for achieving “100% participation” by USC alumni at the firm in a fundraising drive.
Yang represented USC when it faced a wrongful-death lawsuit in 2012 filed by the parents of two graduate students who were slain off-campus. The suit was dismissed in 2013.
Yang’s profile page on the Gibson Dunn website says she has worked as an adjunct professor at the USC law school. She last taught classes there in the late 1990s, according to a USC spokesman.

USC declined to comment further on Saturday, saying in a statement “it is imperative to let the inquiry by Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher run its course so as to not impede its progress or cloud the recollections of those who may have information to share. Our priority now is to obtain a clear picture of exactly what happened and to ensure the well-being and trust of our students at USC, the patients at the Keck School and our entire university community.”

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2. What did USC's leaders known about Dr. Puliafito's double life, and when did they know it? (Letters to the Editor)

Jul 24, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

To the editor: In 2010, The Times published my letter about the sanctions levied against USC’s football program, which denied knowledge of its players receiving anything improper. The people running the program were wildly successful and brought in money, talent and prestige to the university. Apparently that was sufficient to satisfy the administration. (“USC’s silence on its medical school dean’s double life is deafening,” editorial, July 19).
brought in money, talent and prestige to the university. Apparently that was sufficient to satisfy the administration. (“USC’s silence on its medical school dean’s double life is deafening,” editorial, July 19).
Fast forward to now, and we have Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito, the former dean of USC’s Keck School of Medicine. The Times states that “it is unclear why USC was so reluctant to discuss” Puliafito’s double life.
However, in established USC tradition, Puliafito seems to be cut from the same cloth: He brought in money and raised the ranking of the medical school. He was still representing the school at a function last weekend.
The leadership of the university apparently still pursues money and prestige, apparently at any cost.
Susan Fredericks, Calabasas
..
To the editor: High marks to The Times for turning up long-concealed facts about Puliafito’s illicit drug activity and association with criminals. Plaudits to columnist Steve Lopez too. He focuses on USC administrators’ assiduous efforts to keep The Times, and the public, in the dark about the professor and supernumerary fundraiser.
As a UCLA alumna, I’m proud to have attended a university whose venerable motto is “let there be light.” I especially appreciate Lopez’s take that the shady Puliafito episode “might make any self-respecting Trojan root for UCLA.”
An utter shame, that Puliafito let success go to his head. Perhaps USC will consider changing its motto, “let whoever earns the palm bear it,” to something less subject to misinterpretation.
Devra Mindell, Santa Monica
::
To the editor: On the front page of Friday’s Times, O.J. Simpson’s parole was reported.
In Wednesday’s paper, it was reported that USC President C.L. Max Nikias expressed contrition and promised to “examine and address” the after-hours activities of Puliafito.
In Friday’s Sports section, a spokesperson was quoted as saying that USC recognizes Simpson for his football accomplishments, and his off-field behavior is beyond USC’s scope.
In spite of Nikias’ words, the university’s actions speak louder and reveal its blind eye for integrity.
Jeffrey R. Knott, Fullerton
To the editor: Am I the only person who doesn’t care about what Puliafito did in his private life?
From what I’ve heard, he was a brilliant surgeon who never put his patients or students at risk and worked hard on behalf of USC. I imagine he is not the only high-achieving professional to have personal problems.
How does this qualify as front-page news?
Paula Goldman, Santa Monica
..
To the editor: As a graduate of USC with a doctorate, I am appalled at the lack of an appropriate response to the outrageous behavior of the former Keck dean.
Steve Lopez stated at the end of his column that if Nikias doesn’t come clean about what he knew and when, USC would be better off without him. I could not agree more.

Carol Woodward, Agoura Hills

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Doctors and drug abuse: Why addictions can be so difficult

Jul 24, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

By Soumya Karlamangla

Allegations that Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito used methamphetamine and ecstasy while he was dean of USC’s medical school have opened a window into the pervasiveness of drug use and addiction among physicians and the challenges they face when confronting it.
Experts say physicians become substance abusers at about the same rate as the general population. But they are often reluctant to seek treatment out of fear of losing their medical licenses and livelihoods.
They also know the signs of drug use — and how to hide them — better than others, allowing them to evade notice and their addiction to escalate, experts say.
“There’s an invulnerability: ‘Well, I’ll just do this the right way, and it’ll never be a problem. I’ll just do this the right way and I’ll never overdose,’ ” said Dr. Marvin Seppala, addiction expert and chief medical officer at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. “Somehow they believe their knowledge is going to be more powerful than addiction.”
Some experts say physicians in California are less likely to address their addictions than those elsewhere. A decade ago the state ended its rehab program that allowed them to seek treatment without putting their licenses at risk. The vast majority of states still offer such programs.
The Times reported Monday that Puliafito, a renowned eye surgeon, had used drugs extensively while serving as dean of the USC Keck School of Medicine. He stepped down in March 2016, three weeks after a 21-year-old woman with whom he had been partying overdosed in a Pasadena hotel room, but had still been seeing patients as of earlier this month.
USC officials have not said how much they knew about Puliafito’s situation before the story ran. On Monday, they said he was no longer seeing patients.
“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,” USC president C.L. Max Nikias said in a statement released Tuesday. “Reports of high-powered executives, doctors, and others with substance abuse issues have become all too common — individuals who function in their workplace but have serious issues affecting their private lives.”
By Friday, the university was taking a decidedly harder line, announcing it had hired a former federal prosecutor to investigate.
“We are outraged and disgusted by this individual’s behavior,” Nikias wrote Friday in a letter to the university.
Officials said they had begun the process to strip Puliafito of his faculty tenure and terminate him. Moveover, Puliafito was now “barred from our campuses and any association with USC, including attending or participating in university events.”
Many questions remain about the dean’s conduct and how USC responded to it.
How doctors hide their addictions
Between 8% and 12% of people — whether they are doctors or not — will develop a substance abuse problem at some point in their lives, said Dr. Lisa Merlo, a psychiatry professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine who studies addiction among healthcare professionals.
As with most addicts, doctors are most commonly addicted to alcohol, followed by opiates.
The physicians with the most addiction problems tend to be anesthesiologists, emergency room doctors and psychiatrists; men are more likely to be referred for treatment than women, she said. Physicians who are stressed and working long hours may turn to drugs as a coping strategy, experts say.
“You’re on a pedestal as a physician, and you’ve got all these societal expectations ... in some ways it’s harder to ask for help because nobody expects you to want or need help,” said Dr. Peter Grinspoon, a physician in Boston who was addicted to Vicodin for years.
Seppala, with the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, said a doctor’s marriage might fall apart, his personal life in shambles, but signs of distress won’t always appear at work.
If doctors are injecting drugs, they remember to wear long-sleeved shirts in the operating room, he said. They know which eye drops will make their pupils appear normal. Seppala said an emergency room physician from California who became addicted to methamphetamine worked up to the day he was admitted to rehab.
“That’s where the risk lies, because these people are really bright, and because they know illnesses and do all these things to try and hide it ... the obvious things are always really late,” Seppala said.
Money also comes into play.
Nurses who work for alcoholic doctors might not report them out of fear of losing their job. Hospitals could lose revenue if their star doctors go on leave for treatment or lose their licenses, he said.
“A neurosurgeon or something that’s a big income producer for the hospital, they may be really resistant to putting that person in treatment,” Seppala said. “You’ve got some perverse incentives.”
The challenge of getting doctors into treatment
Many state medical boards run special rehab programs for physicians. If doctors are reported because of a drug problem and they complete the state program, the medical board won’t go after their license.
The philosophy behind these so-called physician health programs is that doctors will come forward earlier for help if they know it won’t endanger their career. Many programs are also confidential, so patients can’t find out if their doctors were treated for abuse.
California ran such a program until 2008, but several state audits found it was failing. Physicians weren’t always forced to temporarily stop practicing after testing positive for a drug and entering into rehab, and one audit found one-quarter of scheduled drug tests were not administered.
“It was all just very inefficient and frankly, a fraud,” said Julianne D'Angelo Fellmeth with the Center for Public Interest Law, who closely evaluated the program before it was scrapped.
Only a small fraction of the state’s doctors participated. The program had an average of 250 doctors enrolled out of the 125,000 doctors licensed in California in 2008, according to state data.
Still, advocates for physician health programs say California’s closure has led to fewer physicians seeking treatment. The state enacted a law last year to create a new physician health program, but the details are still being worked out.
Without the program, employers and hospitals might be more reluctant to report doctors they suspect of having a problem, some say. Before, they could push them into treatment without endangering their medical license, but now, reporting them to the board could result in disciplinary action.
“Now people are more inclined to say, ‘I don’t want this guy to lose his license, and I think ignore it or underplay it,” said Francine Farrell, who founded the Pacific Assistance Group, a rehabilitation program for healthcare professionals, after the state shut down its program in 2008.
The medical board took action against 43 physicians for drug or alcohol abuse in the 2015-16 fiscal year, including some whose licenses were revoked or suspended, according to the board’s latest annual report.
Merlo said doctors typically benefit from being in a treatment program with other health professionals so they don’t assume a doctor role and start treating other participants like their patients.
Studies have found that recovery rates among doctors are higher than in the general population. Many physicians are highly motivated to return to their careers, experts say. The five-year recovery rate for addicts who participate in physician health programs is 80%, said Merlo, compared with 40% after one year in the general population.
Grinspoon, the primary care doctor in Boston, completed rehab through his state’s physician health program and now sees patients at Massachusetts General Hospital. But he said taboos around addiction still keep people from seeking treatment, and many are fearful they’ll lose patients if they find out about a substance abuse problem.

“What we end up doing is pretending these problems don’t exist,” he said. “But what’s really unsafe is a physician that nobody knows is addicted … it’s the untreated physician who’s really dangerous.”

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Pasadena officer who investigated overdose was skeptical of USC med school dean's story, recording shows

Jul 25, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

By Adam Elmahrek, Paul Pringle, Sarah Parvini and Matt Hamilton

The police officer who last year questioned the then-dean of USC’s medical school about his role in the drug overdose of a young woman expressed skepticism at Dr. Carmen Puliafito’s account, according to an audio recording that was made by the officer and released Tuesday.
Puliafito told the officer he was at the Pasadena hotel room where the overdose occurred as a family friend to help the woman, who was later rushed to Huntington Memorial Hospital.
The unidentified officer is asked by a social worker at the hospital what he thought of the account offered by Puliafito.
“You buy it?” says the social worker on the recording that Pasadena police released in response to a California Public Records Act request by The Times.
“No,” the officer replies.
The social worker later laughs and says: “A friend of the father. Excuse me? That’s funny.”
The officer and social worker then speculated about Puliafito’s relationship with the woman and discussed the drugs and “provocative clothing” found at the scene.
Despite the officer’s doubts, a required report on the overdose at a Pasadena hotel was not filed until three months later, after The Times made repeated requests for information. No arrests were made.
In a statement Tuesday, Pasadena Police Chief Phillip L. Sanchez defended his department’s handling of the overdose, saying it lacked evidence to arrest Puliafito in connection with methamphetamine that officers found in the hotel room registered in his name. It remained unclear if the department followed up on its investigation after questioning Puliafito at the hospital.
The woman who overdosed, Sarah Warren, now 22, told The Times the police never interviewed her. About six hours after she overdosed, Warren said, Puliafito picked her up at the hospital and they returned to the hotel to resume using drugs.
Puliafito, 66, resigned as dean of the Keck School of Medicine three weeks after the overdose, saying he wanted to pursue opportunities in the biotech industry. His involvement in the incident was not publicly reported until The Times published an investigation last week that found Puliafito associated with a circle of younger criminals who said he abused drugs with them.
After he stepped down as dean, Puliafito remained on the USC faculty and continued to accept new patients, according to the school’s website.
The Pasadena police’s handling of Warren’s overdose and Puliafito’s involvement have been the subject of intense scrutiny and criticism.
Last week, Pasadena City Manager Steve Mermell sent a memo to council members saying that The Times’ account of the hotel incident “reflects poorly on the city and the Pasadena Police Department.”
“As indicated in the article, initially there was no police report made of the incident,” Mermell said. “There should have been and that was a failure on the part of our responding officer. Once this came to light, [police] undertook an appropriate investigation and ultimately the involved officer was the subject of disciplinary action.”
It’s unclear whether the officer in the recording was disciplined.
On Friday, USC administrators announced that Puliafito had been suspended from the faculty and barred from seeing patients, and that the school had begun the process to fire him.
The Medical Board of California has said it is investigating Puliafito, based on The Times report.
The overdose occurred March 4, 2016, at the Hotel Constance on Colorado Boulevard. A hotel employee called 911 to report an apparent overdose. On the recording, Puliafito is heard identifying himself as a doctor and saying the woman was his girlfriend. He told the 911 dispatcher that the woman “had a bunch of drinks and she’s sleeping.”
Paramedics arrived at the hotel and took Warren to the hospital. The police officer met Puliafito at the hospital, where he interviewed the doctor.
On the police officer’s recording, Puliafito can be heard telling the officer that he’s a friend of Warren’s father.
When asked if he has a “romantic relationship” with Warren, Puliafito responds “no.”
Puliafito said he “thought she was sleeping, and she was breathing and you know, and hadn’t thrown up or anything.”
“You as a doctor, did you notice anything that would have alarmed you?” the officer asked.
Puliafito responded that he was an ophthalmologist and eye surgeon.
“So not an emergency medicine physician. I mean, I basically looked at her respirations, you know,” he said. “When I saw her at the beginning, she was responding to me.” Later, he said, Warren “didn’t seem to be waking up.”
A witness to the incident told The Times of phoning USC President C.L. Max Nikias’ office, giving two employees an anonymous account of the overdose and demanding that USC take action against Puliafito.
Phone records reviewed by The Times showed the witness made a six-minute call to Nikias’ office on March 14, 2016, 10 days after the overdose.
Last week, Puliafito’s successor as dean, Dr. Rohit Varma, told a gathering of scores of students that USC had found “no evidence, particularly, of that phone call.”

But on Tuesday, a crisis management specialist representing USC, Charles Sipkins, said that Nikias’ office did receive an anonymous call about Puliafito’s presence at the hotel overdose. However, the anonymous report did not make it to top university officials, Sipkins said.

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Yet another USC scandal requires blunt talk about money culture and values on campus

Jul 26, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

By Steve Lopez

I don’t want to make too much of the fact that the word “scandal” begins with SC, but the current midsummer drama at the University of Southern California is certainly not the first in recent years.
The administration’s disastrous handling of former medical school dean Carmen Puliafito, who remained on the faculty after reports of drug use with criminals and addicts, drew this observation from a USC physician who asked that I not reveal his name:
“This reminds me of the Steve Sarkisian fiasco.”
That’s a reference to the former Trojan football coach, who was dumped in 2015 after a loss to his former school, the University of Washington.
Either USC didn’t do its homework before hiring Sarkisian in 2013, or it did, but ignored its own findings. Once at the helm in L.A., Sarkisian was kept on the job despite slurring words, denigrating an opponent and using foul language at a booster event. He later skipped practice and was placed on leave and eventually fired after an L.A. Times investigation about his alcohol use in his previous coaching job.
The SC athletic director at the time, former Trojan quarterback Pat Haden, was second-guessed by some for his handling of the Sarkisian affair. And The Times reported that while raking in $2.5 million annually at SC, Haden made about a half million dollars a yearfor seven corporate boards and charitable foundations, despite acknowledging he put in “very little” time in those roles. Haden resigned last year with quite a few achievements but a mixed legacy.
Haden, by the way, had been hired in 2010 to restore USC’s badly tarnished athletic reputation. The NCAA had just dropped a hammer on the school for violations involving gifts and benefits given by agents to star football player Reggie Bush and basketball player O.J. Mayo. In the NCAA crackdown, which followed an investigation begun in 2006, the NCAA cited USC’s “lack of institutional control.”
Throughout this storm of dark clouds, there’s been a constant at USC. Dating back to the NCAA investigation, all the way up through Puliafito, C.L. Max Nikias was a central figure in the institutional control of USC. I don’t know the extent of his involvement in each controversy, and my requests for interviews have not been granted. But Nikias was USC provost from 2005 until 2010, and he’s been president ever since.
Nikias, by some measures, has been a huge success at USC, raising the profile of an already-elite school and achieving his goal of raising a staggering $6 billion in donations. The money is being used to pad the school’s endowment fund, erect new buildings and research centers, and pump up the financial aid pool.
But you have to wonder if the price of success is too steep.
Puliafito was a prolific fundraiser and talent recruiter himself, which is enough to raise suspicion about how the renowned eye surgeon stayed on the job — as teacher and doctor — more than a year after he stepped down as dean in the wake of an incident in a Pasadena hotel where a female companion overdosed in Puliafito’s presence and had to be hospitalized.
A Times investigation — by Paul Pringle, Harriet Ryan, Adam Elmahrek, Matt Hamilton and Sarah Parvini — turned up solid evidence of Puliafito partying on several occasions with a circle of criminals and drug addicts in hotels, apartments and even the dean’s USC office.
Like I said in my column last week, as disturbing as that is, I’m more disturbed by the non-actions of Nikias and Provost Michael Quick, who were asked by Times reporters numerous times over the last 15 months to discuss Puliafito. At one point, reporters were turned away from Nikias’ office and told the president would not be discussing this matter.
Given his mummy act, we don’t know what Nikias knew.
We don’t know if he read the emails from The Times, one of which included a link to a 911 call about the woman who overdosed in the hotel room. We don’t know if he got word of an anonymous complaint to his staff about Puliafito.
If Nikias was in the dark, despite repeated requests for an interview about a troubling matter involving a high-profile doctor who was still seeing patients, that doesn’t speak well for his judgment or leadership.
In any case, USC employees, students and alums are owed answers, not a series of carefully massaged statements.
Four days after the story broke last week, Provost Quick said the university had seen “extremely troubling” information about Puliafito and it was “the first time we saw such information firsthand.” Nikias released a statement saying he was “outraged and disgusted.”
Not since Capt. Renault in “Casablanca” has anyone been so shocked, shocked, shocked by what’s going on right under their noses.
Nikias said last week that the university has to examine “ways in which we could have recognized the severity of the situation sooner.”
I’ve got two tips on that:
First, open your eyes.
Second, think about something other than money, prestige and football championships.
Now, of course, Nikias and company are dead serious about getting to the bottom of the Puliafito matter. So serious that they have hired a former prosecutor to investigate.
Lovely, except that the lawyer is a former USC teacher who later represented the university in a wrongful death suit. Her law firm’s managing partner is a USC grad and former chair of its board of councilors, and the firm was cited by USC for its fundraising efforts by former Trojans.
More than one reader sent me a fox-in-the-henhouse email.
USC faculty members I’ve been in touch with are incensed that a doctor was allowed to take patients for more than a year after his drug-fueled behavior was reported to the university, and they’re not buying the administration’s claims of ignorance. They tell me the trust of faculty and students has been eroded.
One parent of a USC student said he was “appalled … by the lack of honesty and character and integrity within USC’s leadership team.” Another parent told me she wanted USC trustees to take a hard look at “the true values of the university.”
I asked one USC physician if he thought Nikias would keep his job.

“I hope not,” he said. “But money wins out.”

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USC president admits university 'could have done better' in handling reports of medical school dean's drug use

Jul 26, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

By Matt Hamilton, Paul Pringle and Sarah Parvini

USC President C.L. Max Nikias acknowledged Wednesday that the university “could have done better” in its handling of a former medical school dean who a Times investigation found took drugs and associated with criminals and drug abusers.
Nikias didn’t detail how the university could have done more but said USC currently has “only loosely defined procedures and guidelines for dealing with employee behavior outside the workplace.” He announced a new committee that would look at strengthening those procedures.
His comments marked the first time USC has conceded that it could have taken more decisive action to address the dean’s behavior more than a year ago. Nikias and his administration have been under growing pressure from faculty and students to explain why they didn’t act sooner.
On Wednesday, USC’s board of trustees made its first public statement on the issue, saying it was confident that Nikias and his team would work to “put in place policies and procedures to prevent something like this from happening again.”
It came a day after USC acknowledged that it received a call in March 2016 from a witness reporting that Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito had been found in a Pasadena hotel room with a young woman who overdosed on drugs.
Ann Fromholz, a Pasadena-based lawyer who has conducted hundreds of workplace investigations, said universities and corporations typically have procedures in place for dealing with complaints.
“People call the head of the organization. Sometimes it’s the only person they know to call; sometimes they feel frustrated they haven’t gotten answers from someone else,” Fromholz said. “There are invariably procedures in a CEO or president’s office to handle calls exactly like this, and it gets triaged to the appropriate department, whether it is human resources, legal or public safety.”
The witness told The Times of phoning Nikias’ office, giving two employees an anonymous account of the overdose and demanding that USC take action against Puliafito.
Phone records reviewed by The Times showed the witness made a six-minute call to Nikias’ office on March 14, 2016, 10 days after the overdose. The tipster did not expect a call back but had told the USC employees the media would be alerted if action wasn’t taken, the person said.
Last week, Puliafito’s successor as dean, Dr. Rohit Varma, told a gathering of scores of students that USC had found “no evidence, particularly, of that phone call.”
But Tuesday evening, a crisis management specialist representing USC, Charles Sipkins, said that Nikias’ office did receive an anonymous call about Puliafito’s presence at the hotel overdose. However, the anonymous report did not make it to senior administrators, Sipkins said.
The witness told The Times of initially speaking to a woman who answered calls to Nikias’ office, giving her a brief account of what occurred at the Hotel Constance in Pasadena and asking to speak to a person in authority. According to the witness, the call was transferred to a second woman, who was given a detailed account of the overdose and Puliafito’s involvement.
In a letter to the campus community released Wednesday afternoon, Nikias said that “presently, the university has very limited capacity to conduct investigations and follow up on leads or anonymous reports of such employee behavior.”
It remains unclear when top USC administrators first learned about the allegations involving Puliafito or whether it took any action against him before The Times investigation was published July 17.
But The Times made repeated inquiries over the last 15 months about Puliafito, in some cases describing information reporters had gathered about the dean.
USC’s leaders never responded to the inquiries. Numerous phone calls were not returned, emails went unanswered and a letter seeking an interview with Nikias to discuss Puliafito was returned to The Times by courier, unopened. The courier also delivered a letter of complaint from Brenda Maceo, USC’s vice president for public relations and marketing, who said the reporter had “crossed the line” by visiting the Nikias home to deliver the letter.
The Times report last week described in detail how Puliafito kept company with a circle of criminals and drug addicts and used methamphetamine and other drugs while serving as dean of the Keck School of Medicine. The article cited photos and videos reviewed by The Times that showed Puliafito and his friends, who were in their 20s and 30s, partying in 2015 and 2016.
The images include some in which Puliafito’s companions are seen holding drug paraphernalia during an after-hours visit to the dean’s office at USC.
One member of Puliafito’s circle was a 21-year-old woman who overdosed in his presence at the Pasadena hotel three weeks before he abruptly quit as dean in March 2016, in the middle of the spring term.
USC has not said whether the incident was related to Puliafito’s resignation.
After stepping down as dean, the Harvard-educated Puliafito, a renowned eye surgeon, remained on the Keck faculty, continued to accept new patients and represented the university in public as recently this month.
Nikias’ comments come amid anger and questions directed at USC over Puliafito’s behavior and how the university handled it.
The day The Times investigation was published, Nikias said in a letter to the campus community that USC would “examine and address” the accounts but also suggested the school had not determined whether they were true.
By last Friday, Nikias released a more strongly worded statement, saying “we are outraged and disgusted by this individual’s behavior.” The same day, officials announced it hired a former federal prosecutor who works for a law firm with close ties to USC to investigate the affair. Moreover, they said Puliafito had been barred from the campus and from “any association with USC.”
The president announced that USC Provost Michael Quick and senior vice president for administration Todd Dickey would form a task force to address how the university could improve the way it handles these types of incidents. He said the task force would discuss how to improve communication between various parts of the organization and a better way to track and investigate anonymous complaints, as well as better training and services for those with mental health and other issues.
“While we are processing our feelings, whether that is regret, outrage, disgust, or sympathy, I want to make clear that the unfortunate actions of one individual in no way reflect the broader actions of the university and our thousands of faculty members and employees,” Nikias wrote.
John Mork, the chairman of the USC board of trustees, released a statement expressing confidence in Nikias and Quick to deal with “this challenging time.”

“These individuals have a long and highly-respected track record guiding USC to excellence with vision and integrity,” Mork wrote. “As Chairman, I am certain they will work quickly and decisively to make all necessary changes and will put in place policies and procedures to prevent something like this from happening again.”

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About that scandal: what took so long, USC? (Letters to the Editor)

Jul 27, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

To the editor: As someone who holds three degrees from USC, I believe that the board of trustees must step in immediately to gain control of the spreading scandal regarding the university's handling of the Puliafito affair. (Re: “What did USC know about dean, and when?" July 23)
Appoint an investigator independent of USC who will report and reporting to the board to determine who knew what and when. And create a code of ethics that USC's upper level managers must follow.
Nowhere to date have I heard such a code mentioned in the Puliafito affair.
Eddie Dawes, Hacienda Heights
::
To the editor: Isn’t it shocking that at no time did anyone at USC appear to notice anything odd or unusual about Carmen Puliafito's behavior, and that credible evidence of his drug use was ignored, putting students and patients at risk.
I think USC was acting just like the Republican Congress both by its actions and inactions, and by basically insinuating that calls from The Times were "fake news.".
Jayne Gordon, Santa Monica
::
To the editor: While it is absurd and insulting that USC essentially covered up — or at the very least, did not act upon — what it they knew or suspected about Puliafito a year ago, it is even more absurd that it has they have hired an attorney (along with her firm) with close ties to USC. Does anyone actually believe this can be an unbiased investigation?
Holly Cantos, Los Angeles
::
To the editor: There remains an intriguing question in the case of Puliafito, who ran USC's Keck School of Medicine. He is a noted eye surgeon, a first-class researcher and a prodigious fundraiser.
With such an overloaded -plate in his day job, where did this man find the energy and stamina to allegedly spend his nights doing drugs — and perhaps other activities — with young women and men one-third his age?
If Puliafito could share the formula for such an achievement, he would make a real contribution to medical science.
Tom Tugend, Sherman Oaks
::
To the editor: Shame on The Times for its editorial crucifixion of Puliafito, and shame on USC for denying one of its own. Both The Times and USC have often stated that addiction is a disease, and should be treated as such.
Associating with criminals is a consequence of this disease, and for The Times and USC to paint it as a character flaw is hypocrisy.
Puliafito has been a compassionate physician and a benefactor of Keck and Los Angeles. He deserves compassion and treatment, not holier-than-thou condemnation.
Rachel and David Todd, San Marino
::
To the editor: As a USC alumna, I am outraged at the handling of the Puliafito affair.
As a private citizen, I am not surprised, because money, power and greed seem to be the norm for all aspects of our society. They acted no differently than the Catholic Church with pedophile priests, or Enron, or Volkswagen.
Honesty is at the heart of the matter. From the very beginning, this was handled very badly.
The end result is that it has damaged the fine reputation of the university, and hiring a lawyer to investigate is not going to undo all the harm done. The Keck School of Medicine is an excellent medical institution and this PR crisis should not deter patients from seeing their medical professionals.
Joan Kerr, Torrance
::
To the editor: Your reporting feels smeary, destructive and breathlessly sensational.
This man was obviously able to do his job, benefit the university and did not engage in bad behavior with other students or faculty members.
So why are you trying to destroy him and his family and play big man on campus?
I enjoyed it much more when you reported on the solar eclipse.

Karin Howard, Los Angeles

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Pasadena officer questions Dr. Carmen Puliafito after woman's overdose (AUDIO)

Jul 26, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

AUDIO LINK: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/94190583-132.html

The police officer who last year questioned the then-dean of USC’s medical school at a hospital about his role in the drug overdose of a young woman expressed skepticism at Dr. Carmen Puliafito’s account.

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Is USC committed to transparency, or just damage control? (OPINION)

Jul 28, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

By Editorial Board

Officials at the University of Southern California are now in full damage-control mode. Facing growing anger that the university ignored or mishandled reports alleging that the former medical school dean took drugs and partied with a circle of criminals and drug abusers, USC President C.L. Max Nikias finally admitted this week that “we could have done better.”
But even though Nikias has now acknowledged the obvious, it’s not entirely clear yet that he and other USC leaders are committed to a comprehensive, independent and transparent evaluation of what went wrong.
The full story should have come out last year, after Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito, a powerhouse dean and prolific fundraiser, abruptly resigned in March 2016. But it did not. There was no mention at the time of the resignation that just three weeks earlier, a 21-year-old woman overdosed in his presence in a Pasadena hotel room.
Shortly after the incident, an anonymous witness called Nikias’ office and told two employees there about the dean’s presence at the hotel. The witness also told The Times, prompting a 15-month investigation by reporters that uncovered photos and videos that appear to show Puliafito using methamphetamine and other drugs in hotels, cars and even his USC office, as well as apparent breaches of medical ethics.
Yet during that period — even several months after Puliafito resigned — Nikias and other university leaders continued to praise the former dean for helping Keck Medical School rise in national rankings. Puliafito remained on the Keck faculty, continued to accept new patients and represented USC in public as recently as this month, when The Times’ investigation was published
If Nikias and other USC leaders were indeed ignorant of Puliafito’s conduct, they were willfully ignorant. Times reporters made numerous phone calls and sent repeated emails to USC leaders to talk about the allegations — and were repeatedly ignored or rebuffed. They showed up at Nikias’ office to ask for an interview and were turned away.
A reporter even hand-delivered a letter to Nikias’ home, asking to discuss the circumstances of Puliafito’s resignation. The letter was returned to The Times by courier, along with a letter of complaint from USC’s vice president for public relations who said the reporter “crossed the line” by taking a letter to Nikias’ house. How, then, can USC leaders be taken seriously when they feign shock and outrage at the Puliafito story?
Nikias announced last week that the university has hired former U.S. Attorney Debra Wong Yang to investigate Puliafito’s conduct and the university’s response. But even that decision raised eyebrows — Yang represented USC in a wrongful-death lawsuit in 2012 and taught classes at the law school. Her firm was cited for its fundraising efforts by former USC grads.

Ultimately, the USC Board of Trustees, which is a veritable who’s who of power brokers in Los Angeles, will have to sort out what went wrong and why. They ought to do so honestly and transparently.

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Twists, turns and maybe TMI about USC (Letters to the Editor)

Aug 5, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

The unfolding saga of the downfall of ex-USC medical school dean Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito has saddened, surprised and angered readers. Dozens of Times letter writers have reacted to the many angles of the developing scandal, with the weekend article detailing the history of internal complaints about Puliafito’s drinking and abusive behavior eliciting especially sharp replies.
Here are a few of the responses.
Sandra Perez in Santa Maria has praise:
I can’t thank your reporters enough for so doggedly pursuing the appalling story of how USC all but ignored Puliafito’s egregious conduct while continuing to exploit his fund-raising prowess.
In Culver City, Meta Valentic is direct:
I read the article and wondered how USC could keep Puliafito at the helm of the Keck School of Medicine despite the many complaints logged about his behavior. Then, I found the answer in one short quote from former HR director James Lynch: “He’s kind of a pain in the ass, but he gets results.”
It's remarkable how uninterested I am in knowing more about the crazy former dean of the USC medical school.
— Nick Batzdorf, Sherman Oaks
That's entitled privilege laid bare. Until USC looks at its problem with enabling people like Puliafito, they won't find any answers in this embarrassing debacle.
From Sherman Oaks, Nick Batzdorf questions The Times’ priorities:
We are living in tumultuous times with all kinds of vitally important things going on locally, nationally, and internationally. It's remarkable how uninterested I am in knowing more about the crazy former dean of the USC medical school. Is it possible that these many above-the-fold stories about this idiot is excessive?
Observes Nancy A. Stone from Santa Monica:
The lengths to which USC’s administrators went to bury the Puliafito story speaks volumes about the university’s misplaced priorities. Obviously, money is far more important than integrity to the Trojan brand.
Cheryl Clark-O'Brien of Long Beach offers:
When I first read about the allegations against Dr. Puliafito, I thought he must be some kind of superhuman, raging with 20-year-olds by night, saving eyesight by day. Grudging respect.
Now it seems his colleagues already thought he was a bully and were concerned about his drinking. They tried to go through channels, but the doctor remained an honored employee. What a surprise.
Added Armen Goenjian, a physician from Long Beach:
Missing in these reports was a salient feature of the narrative, that the dean was suffering from a progressive disease.
The humiliating repetitive description of his inappropriate behavior adds insult to his psychological injuries, reduces the chances of his recovery and ability to find decent employment in the future.
Nancy Becklund Spencer in Glendale sees it differently:
Once again, a very good article ... My anger is that he is now portrayed as a victim. The victims are the great doctors and nurses at USC and those who left.

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Rich and powerful figures will set course in wake of scandal, behind closed doors.

Aug 6, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

By Sonali Kohli, Sarah Parvini, Matt Hamilton And Adam Elmahrek

How USC handles one of the biggest scandals in its history will be decided behind closed doors by a small group of wealthy and powerful people.
Composed of 57 voting members, USC’s board of trustees includes noted philanthropists, accomplished alumni, Hollywood insiders and industrial tycoons. The group’s influence extends from the floor of Staples Center to metropolises in India and China.
A small executive committee makes many of the significant decisions facing the university. A USC spokesman refused to identify who is on this committee. Nor would the university disclose what happens at its meetings or release minutes.
It is this elite group that is overseeing the investigation into how the university handled the case of former medical school dean Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito. The Times reported last month that Puliafito, while leading USC’s Keck School of Medicine, partied with a circle of addicts, prostitutes and other criminals who said he used drugs with them, including on campus.
The full board of trustees, which includes director Steven Spielberg, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and mall magnate Rick J. Caruso, must ultimately determine whether USC President C.L. Max Nikias, himself a voting member, and other top administrators acted appropriately with regard to Puliafito.
Since the scandal broke, the trustees have been largely silent. Times reporters attempted to contact all 57 voting members by phone, email or both. Reporters also sent requests to USC’s press office seeking comment from trustees. Only two commented to The Times. The rest did not reply, or declined to comment. Nikias did not respond to requests for interviews but has released letters to the USC community.
Several trustees told reporters to take their questions to the USC administration.
“They’ve asked us not to speak,” said Lydia Kennard, founder and chief executive of KDG Construction Consulting. “All calls should be referred to the university.”
Caruso, who completed his undergraduate degree at USC, told Times columnist Steve Lopez:
“If the allegations are true ... I'm very disturbed and condemn the illegal use of drugs, especially by someone who holds the highest level of trust and care.”
Rick J. Caruso
founder and chief executive, Caruso Affiliated
In a short statement to The Times, board Chairman John Mork, a Denver oil executive, did not discuss the trustees’ plans for moving forward but expressed support for Nikias and the university provost, Michael Quick.
“As chairman, I am certain they will work quickly and decisively to make all necessary changes and will put in place policies and procedures to prevent something like this from happening again," the statement read.
Some experts said the limited information about the board and its activities could present challenges for USC as it tries to navigate the scandal.
The USC bylaws “give a huge amount of power to the executive committee,” said Michael Poliakoff, president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni and a former vice president for academic affairs and research at the University of Colorado.
USC’s bylaws state that the executive committee must include seven to 17 trustees, including the board chairman and the university president. The document gives the small assembly almost all decision-making power when the full board is not in session.
"There will be a fair number of board members who are not engaged in serious decision-making,” Poliakoff said. “The problem with empowering the executive committee in that manner is that a great number of trustees … are more or less in the dark. They become decorative backdrop rather than actually filling the fiduciary role. That is not a healthy situation in governance.”
The USC board is larger than most — private university boards are usually around 30 members, and best practices suggest that no more than 15 people oversee a university, Poliakoff said.
Stanford University, by comparison, has 32 voting trustees. The entire 10-campus University of California system has 26 regents responsible for decision-making.
USC declined to comment on the board’s structure or why the body is so large. But universities, especially those trying to fundraise, retain large boards because their trustees are expected to donate — and often the more impressive the trustees, the more likely others are to give to the college, said Michael Useem, a University of Pennsylvania management professor who writes about governance.
Under Nikias’ leadership, USC recently completed a $6-billion fundraising goal, aided by multimillion-dollar gifts by trustees including philanthropist Wallis Annenberg and Suzanne Dworak-Peck, a prominent social worker.
Wealth is a common thread in the trustee roster. About a dozen are billionaires, including developer Ed Roski; Miriam Adelson, an addiction specialist and the wife of casino owner Sheldon Adelson; Salesforce Chief Executive Marc Benioff; and Tamara Hughes Gustavson, the daughter of Public Storage Inc. co-founder B. Wayne Hughes.
Some on the board are USC alums, such as Benioff, construction magnate Ronald Tutor, and David Bohnett, a philanthropist and technology investor.
Over the years, more international figures have joined the ranks, including the head of Korean Air, Yang Ho Cho; Indian industrialist Ratan N. Tata;and Wenxue Wang, a Chinese developer.
The trustees’ public silence is not surprising, nonprofit governance experts said — many boards choose to speak with a unified voice during investigations, especially when information is still coming out.
But the trustees should internally be examining their practices and communications, said Cathleen Kaveny, a Boston College professor who specializes in law, ethics and medical ethics.
“The board can’t let itself off the hook. This is a question of trustee ethics,” Kaveny said. “A healthy board is going to ask itself: ‘Have we participated in the creation of a culture where the most egregious ethical lapses are ignored because the money is coming in?’ ”
Nikias announced last month that the university was hiring a former federal prosecutor, Debra Wong Yang, to lead the outside investigation. USC would not say whether it was the board or Nikias who selected Yang.
In response to questions about who made the choice and who would oversee the investigation, Mork released another statement to The Times on Monday. In it he wrote that the president and top administration officials “regularly engage with the board's executive committee to provide updates and seek advice on important matters related to the university.”
“I have utmost confidence and trust in President Nikias' and Provost Quick's ability to lead USC through this challenging time and to move the university forward.”
John Mork
chairman, USC Board of Trustees; chief executive, Energy Corp. of America
Nikias noted in his July 21 letter to the USC community that Yang will report “findings and recommendations” to the executive committee.
Yang has close ties to USC and served as the university’s attorney in at least four court cases.
Among the questions Yang is likely to examine: What did top administrators know about Puliafito’s problems while he was leading the medical school?
Current and former university employees told The Times that in 2012 when the university was deciding whether to give Puliafito another term, they complained repeatedly about what they considered Puliafito’s hair-trigger temper, public humiliation of colleagues and perceived drinking problem, and many were adamant he be removed.
Still, Nikias opted to reappoint Puliafito, giving him a new five-year term with an annual salary of more than $1 million.
In March 2016, the then-dean was with a 21-year-old woman in a Pasadena hotel room when she overdosed.
A witness to the overdose phoned Nikias’ office 10 days later and threatened to go to the media if the school didn’t take action against the dean. In a letter to the campus community released July 28 — 11 days after The Times broke the story — Nikias said that two receptionists who spoke to the witness did not find the report credible and did not pass it on to supervisors.
A week and a half after the witness called Nikias’ office, Puliafito resigned. The Harvard-trained ophthalmologist was allowed to continue seeing patients at USC clinics, represent the university at official functions and remain on the faculty.
Governance and ethics experts said Nikias’ role on the board deserves scrutiny.
C. L. Max Nikias
president, University of Southern California
Nikias has not responded to requests for interviews, but has publicly released letters to the USC community
Kirk Hanson, the executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, said it is not uncommon for a president to serve as a voting member of a board. But if assessing his actions is part of the investigation, Hanson said, Nikias should recuse himself.
“It would be best practice to have the board supervise the investigation and discuss findings without him present,” Hanson said.
A USC spokesman declined to say whether Nikias would recuse himself or whether the results of the investigation would be made public.
Poliakoff said USC might help itself by being transparent in the process.
“Secrecy is something that needs to have a compelling justification,” Poliakoff said. “And when an institution has been in such a reputational crisis as USC is currently experiencing, sunshine is indeed … the best disinfectant.”
Contacting the trustees:
Times reporters attempted to contact all 57 voting members by phone, email or both. Reporters tried to reach trustees using personal phone numbers and/or email addresses. When those were not available or the attempts were unsuccessful, reporters tried to reach the trustees at work, either through direct calls and/or emails or through company spokespeople. The Times also sent requests to USC media relations to speak with trustees.
Only two trustees commented. The rest did not respond, or declined to comment when reached by phone or through spokespeople and assistants. Nikias did not respond to requests for interviews, but has publicly released letters to the USC community.

Miriam Adelson
founder and chairperson, Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Clinic for Drug Abuse, Treatment and Research
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Michael E. Adler
Greenberg, Whitcombe, Takeuchi, Gibson, Grayver LLP
“I don't have any ... I can't, I'm sorry.”

Wallis Annenberg
chairman, president and chief executive, Annenberg Foundation
Declined to comment.

Wanda M. Austin
president and chief executive (retired), the Aerospace Corp.
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Thomas J. Barrack Jr.
founder and executive chairman, Colony Capital Inc.
Declined to comment.

Marc Benioff
chief executive and chairman, salesforce.com
Declined to comment.

David C. Bohnett
chairman, David Bohnett Foundation
“I'm aware of it [the investigation] and I have no comment.”

Joseph M. Boskovich Sr.
chairman and chief investment officer, Old West Investment Management LLC
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Robert A. Bradway
chairman and chief executive, Amgen
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Jeanie Buss
president/governor, Los Angeles Lakers
Declined to comment.

Charles G. Cale
managing member, Griffin Opportunities LLC
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Ramona L. Cappello
president and chief executive, Sun Harvest Salt LLC
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Alan I. Casden
chairman and chief executive, Casden Property Co. LP
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Ronnie C. Chan
chairman, Hang Lung Group Ltd and Hang Lung Properties Ltd
Declined to comment.

Yang Ho Cho
chairman and chief executive, Korean Air
Declined to comment.

Christopher Cox
president, Morgan Lewis Consulting LLC; partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Frank H. Cruz
president, Cruz & Associates
Did not respond to requests for comment.

David H. Dornsife
chairman, the Herrick Corp.
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Suzanne Dworak-Peck
ambassador, International Federation of Social Workers
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Michele Dedeaux Engemann
community leader
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Daniel J. Epstein
executive chairman and founder, ConAm Management
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Frank J. Fertitta III
chairman and chief executive, Fertitta Entertainment
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Stanley P. Gold
chairman, Shamrock Holdings Inc.
Declined to comment.

Tamara Hughes Gustavson
partner, American Commercial Equities
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Jane Harman
director, president and chief executive, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Declined to comment.

Ming Hsieh
chairman and chief executive, Fulgent Therapeutics
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Suzanne Nora Johnson
former vice chairman, the Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Declined to comment.

Lydia H. Kennard
chairman and chief executive, KDG Construction Consulting
“I really can't speak to you. ...They've asked us not to speak. ... All calls should be referred to the university.”

Kenneth R. Klein
chairman and chief executive, Tintri Inc.
Declined to comment.

John Kusmiersky
president, the Brickstone Cos.
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Kathy Leventhal
community leader
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Mitchell Lew
chief executive, Prospect Medical Systems
“The university has a communications department that is handling everything.”

William J. McMorrow
chairman and chief executive, Kennedy Wilson
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Rod Y. Nakamoto
co-founder, theUgroup at Merrill Lynch
Declined to comment.

Carmen Nava
senior vice president for premium care and customer loyalty, AT&T Entertainment Group
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Shelly Nemirovsky
community leader
“I would have no comment right now...I think at this juncture it would be inappropriate.”

Dominic Ng
chairman and chief executive, East West Bank
Declined to comment.

J. Kris Popovich
chairman, the Hoffman Foundation
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Blake Quinn
chairman and chief executive, Quinn Group Inc.
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Edward P. Roski Jr.
president and chairman, Majestic Realty Co.
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Amy A. Ross
biotechnology executive (retired)
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Frederick J. Ryan Jr.
publisher and chief executive, the Washington Post
Declined to comment.

Leonard D. Schaeffer
founding chairman and chief executive, WellPoint Inc.
Did not respond to requests for comment.

William E. B. Siart
chairman, ExED
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Jeffrey H. Smulyan
chairman, Emmis Communications
“I cannot comment... I think the university will handle it and I hope you'll understand.”

Steven Spielberg
principal partner, DreamWorks SKG
Declined to comment.

Heliane M. Steden
former managing director, Merrill Lynch
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Mark A. Stevens
managing partner, S-Cubed Capital; special limited partner and former managing partner, Sequoia Capital
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Ronald D. Sugar
chairman emeritus, Northrop Grumman Corp.
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Tracy M. Sykes
doctor of physical therapy
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Ratan N. Tata
chairman emeritus, Tata Sons, Tata Industries, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Tata Chemicals
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Daniel M. Tsai
chairman, Fubon Financial
Did not respond to requests for comment.

Ronald N. Tutor
chairman and chief executive, Tutor Perini Corp.
“I have no interest in talking to the L.A. Times. ...Just draw a line through my name.”

Wenxue Wang
founder and chairman, China Fortune Land Development Co. Ltd.
Did not respond to requests for comment.

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A lawyer who has been a defender of USC now must investigate the dean scandal. But can she be impartial?

Aug 12, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

By Victoria Kim

Debra Wong Yang is used to taking on headline-grabbing scandals.
She was one of five attorneys New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie hired to examine his involvement in a scandal over closing lanes of the George Washington Bridge to punish a political rival. After the investigation cleared Christie, a federal judge criticized the attorneys for “opacity and gamesmanship” in not preserving complete records of the interviews they conducted.
When the city of Vernon was rocked by a series of public corruption scandals, it turned to Yang, at $990 an hour, to examine whether voters from outside the city were casting ballots in an effort to take over the City Council. One by one, she decided whether 64 voters who cast ballots in a city council election were legally eligible residents of the city. Her rulings changed the outcome of the race, putting into office a candidate supported by the Vernon Chamber of Commerce and some city leaders.
Now, the University of Southern California has turned to Yang, a former U.S. attorney and L.A. County Superior Court judge, to investigate questions about what its leaders knew and when about the conduct of former medical school dean Dr. Carmen Puliafito.
Yang, a partner in blue-chip law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, is no stranger to USC. She has represented the university in at least four lawsuits in recent years, and taught trial advocacy at its law school as an adjunct professor in the 1990s.
Her firm has extensive ties to USC. Its managing partner, Kenneth M. Doran, is a graduate of the USC law school and a former chairman of its board of councilors. He and the firm’s partners have been generous donors to the school.
Yang has not run afoul of any established legal ethics rules in accepting the assignment, experts say. But some experts said her conclusions might face questions because of her relationship with USC.
“Looking just downstream on this, whatever is found is going to be subject to second guessing,” said Michael Useem, a management professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and an expert in corporate risk management and governance. “The investigating entity is not truly independent of the university administration.”
Bruce Budner, a lecturer in legal ethics at UC Berkeley, said he would have expected an institution such as USC to have gone out of its way to hire someone whose neutrality could not be questioned.
“That’s not a question of legal ethics, that’s a question of optics,” he said.
Yang, 57, a short-listed candidate to head the Securities and Exchange Commission for the Trump administration, said in an interview the executive committee of the university’s board of trustees had given her a “broad mandate” to conduct a thorough investigation.
She said she considered her review “independent” because the board has not put any restrictions on her.
“I take my past experience and my responsibility very seriously. It’s not the kind of matter I’m going to risk my integrity over,” she said, noting that investigations comprise more than 50% of her practice. “My job is to take it wherever the facts go.”
Yang declined to discuss the extent of her representation of the university, or who at the university makes the decision to hire her on other matters, citing attorney-client privilege. She said she did not know Puliafito.
Gibson Dunn’s website lists her as head of the firm’s Crisis Management Practice Group. The firm says the group is “renowned for taking immediate action to manage any situation, executing a strategic communication plan and guiding clients through difficult events.”
“The Crisis Management group's team of media-savvy lawyers will quickly craft a communication plan to effectively manage any situation — a whistleblower's surprise allegation, a significant and unexpected accounting problem, a product recall, a government investigation,” according to the firm’s website.
Yang’s external investigation will parallel the work of an internal task force, USC President C.L. Max Nikias wrote in a letter to the campus. Yang was assigned to conduct "a thorough investigation into the details of Carmen Puliafito's conduct, the university's response, as well as our existing policies and procedures," he wrote.
A Times investigation published last month found that the dean used drugs and partied with a group of younger addicts, prostitutes and other criminals in 2015 and 2016, and brought some to his Keck School of Medicine office in the middle of the night.
The disclosures sparked anger and questions at USC over how administrators handled the dean’s case. In March 2016, the dean was with a 21-year-old woman in a Pasadena hotel room when she overdosed. The woman, Sarah Warren, told The Times she and Puliafito resumed using drugs as soon as she was released from the hospital.
A witness to the overdose phoned Nikias’ office March 14 and threatened to go to the press if the school didn’t take action against the dean. Nikias said in a letter to the campus community dated July 28 that two receptionists who spoke to the witness did not find the report credible and did not pass it on to supervisors.
Yang is currently representing USC as the attorney of record in two matters in state and federal court. In one, involving a dispute between USC and the Doheny Eye Institute arising out of the two institutions severing their decades-long affiliation in 2011 and how an employment claim should be handled in arbitration, Yang was listed as the lead attorney on a court filing as recently as late June.
In another, a class action lawsuit filed by employees alleging mismanagement of USC’s retirement plan, Yang has been representing the school since last September in federal court.
Yang said she was not involved in the day-to-day management of the ongoing cases.
Yang also defended the university in a 2012 suit filed by the parents of two Chinese graduate students who were murdered outside campus. The parents argued that USC didn’t provide sufficient security and misled them into thinking the area was safe.
The judge on the case sided with USC, throwing out the parents’ case as not being legally valid even if the alleged facts were assumed to be true.
In another case that concluded last year, Yang defended the university in a lawsuit filed by African American students who alleged their civil rights were violated when a party they were attending was shut down by police, with the assistance of officers from the school’s Department of Public Safety, and that they were battered and assaulted in the process. USC won a judgment that the university was not liable because the school’s officers were acting at LAPD’s direction; the city later settled the case for $450,000.
Yang was part of the team of Gibson Dunn attorneys hired by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie at taxpayer expense in 2014 to look into his role in the Bridgegate scandal. She was the second of five attorneys, all former federal prosecutors, listed on the report as “key members” of the investigative team.
The controversy involved efforts by the governor’s office to orchestrate a traffic jam at the George Washington Bridge to punish a mayor who wouldn’t endorse the governor’s reelection bid.
For four days in September 2013, officials closed the access lanes to the bridge, sending Fort Lee, N.J. into gridlock.
Christie was never charged in the case. Two associates were convicted last year on conspiracy and wire fraud charges.
Yang, a friend of Christie’s who has vacationed with him, co-hosted a $2,700-a-person fundraiser for his presidential campaign while her firm was still working on the case.
The investigation concluded that Christie “did not know of the lane realignment beforehand and had no involvement in the decision to realign the lanes.”
A federal judge in Newark, presiding over the associates’ criminal case the following year, criticized the Gibson Dunn attorneys for engaging in “opacity and gamesmanship” by preserving no raw notes, transcripts or recordings of more than 70 interviews conducted as part of the $9.5 million probe, keeping only edited summaries. Noting that was not the firm’s typical practice, the judge wrote in an opinion that even though attorneys “did not delete or shred documents, the process of overwriting their interview notes and drafts of the summaries had the same effect.”
“This was a clever tactic, but when public investigations are involved, straightforward lawyering is superior to calculated strategy,” U.S. District Court Judge Susan Wigenton wrote.
When Yang’s name was floated to head the SEC, N.J. state Sen. Loretta Weinberg wrote to senators urging them to block the potential appointment, lambasting Yang and her firm for the Bridgegate review that she wrote “was marketed as an impartial investigation, but was revealed … to be more of a cover-up.”
Yang said the criticism of the report was politically motivated and that she did not believe her personal friendship with Christie “compromised me in any shape or form.” She said her team of highly qualified attorneys conducted a thorough, quick investigation and reached the same conclusions that the state Senate and federal prosecutors also reached months later.
“I put that to the side when I do my work. I call the balls and strikes as they appear,” she said.
Nikias said Yang would present findings and recommendations to the executive committee of the USC board of trustees. He did not say whether the findings would be made public.
Andrew Perlman, dean of the law school at Boston’s Suffolk University who served on the American Bar Association’s Commission on Ethics, said Yang’s past or ongoing representation of the school in a handful of cases did not in and of itself raise questions of conflict of interest.
If the school were going to her for all its outside legal work and directing millions of dollars in legal fees to her firm based on that relationship, or if she had personally represented individuals in the university administration, she might be seen as “insufficiently independent,” he said. Otherwise, the university retaining her for an internal review did not appear problematic, Perlman said.
Aaron Lewis, a partner at the firm Covington & Burling who was part of the team that conducted an investigation for Uber on sexual harassment and corporate culture within the ride-sharing company, said USC might have wanted to hire an attorney already familiar with the institution, rather than someone who would have to start from scratch. Lewis, a former federal prosecutor, said given Yang’s reputation, he had no doubt she would be able to conduct an objective inquiry.

Richard Zitrin, who teaches legal ethics at UC Hastings, said the issue isn’t whether Yang can “write a fair report,” but whether “her prior representation of the university, particularly on litigation matters, calls into question her objectivity.”

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Pasadena police's handling of drug overdose in USC dean's hotel room sparks debate

Aug 18, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

By Matt Hamilton and Paul Pringle

Facing criticism over his department’s handling of a drug overdose involving the then-dean of USC’s medical school, Pasadena’s police chief this week issued a directive reminding officers they must promptly file reports on overdose investigations.
Chief Phillip L. Sanchez made the move while acknowledging that the department erred by not immediately writing a report when police responded last year to a young woman’s overdose in a hotel room registered to the dean, Dr. Carmen Puliafito.
The responding officer did not file a report on the incident until three months later, after a Times reporter repeatedly sought information. The woman who overdosed, Sarah Warren, then 21, said police never interviewed her.
The Pasadena Police Department’s handling of the March 4, 2016, incident sparked controversy after The Times reported last month that Puliafito used drugs and partied with a group of criminals, prostitutes and addicts during his tenure as dean. Warren’s overdose at the Hotel Constance occurred three weeks before Puliafito, 66, resigned from his post at the Keck School of Medicine. USC kept him on the medical school faculty and allowed him to accept new patients.
Joseph Giacalone, a former New York City homicide sergeant who teaches investigations at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said it was “mind-boggling” that the officer had not written a report until prompted by questions.
He said officers should treat every overdose that requires a trip to the hospital as a “potential death,” which should mandate a report.
“You don’t get a second chance to do it right,” he said. “Once you leave that scene, it’s gone.”
In his first public comments on the matter, Sanchez said Wednesday at a meeting of the Pasadena City Council’s public safety committee that, apart from the failure to write a report, his department dealt with the overdose and its aftermath properly.
He also said Puliafito did not receive any kind of special treatment because of his position.
“It does look or can present the appearance that, oh you knew who Dr. [Puliafito] was and so, as ludicrous as this might sound, there was a directive from on high to have the officer forgo that report because of this person’s prominence,” Sanchez said. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”
The Pasadena Police Department’s policy manual states that an officer must write a report on any incident resulting in an injury from a drug overdose. Sanchez’s order this week was aimed at reinforcing that policy in the wake of the Puliafito revelations. The officer who handled the Warren investigation has since been disciplined.
After The Times story was published in July, USC moved to fire Puliafito and barred him from campus. The doctor did not respond to a voicemail message Thursday seeking comment.
Sanchez said the officer’s initial investigation included recorded interviews with Puliafito, hotel staffers and medical professionals. The officer uploaded those recordings to the department’s digital storage system, he said.
The officer seized a small amount of methamphetamine from the room and booked it into evidence. Sanchez said the officer attempted to interview Warren at the hospital but could not because she was incoherent.
In addressing why no arrests were made, Sanchez cited California’s good Samaritan overdose law, which took effect in 2013. The law aims to reduce drug deaths by encouraging those present at an overdose to call for medical aid without fear of legal repercussions.
The law gives limited immunity to those involved in an overdose who “in good faith” seek medical help for the victim and cooperate with authorities.
A witness told The Times that Puliafito tried to dissuade hotel staff from alerting paramedics, and in a recording of a 911 call, Puliafito told the dispatcher that the woman had been drinking, but he did not mention drugs.
The Harvard-trained ophthalmologist identified the woman as his “girlfriend” in the 911 call. In an interview with the police officer at Huntington Memorial Hospital, Puliafito said he was a friend of Warren’s father, according to a recording released in response to a California Public Records Act request by The Times.
When the officer asked if he slept overnight at the hotel, he said, “I visited her in the room, but I did not spend the night.”
Later in the recording, the officer was asked by a social worker at the hospital what he thought of the dean’s account.
“You buy it?” says the social worker.
“No,” the officer replies.
The social worker later laughs and says: “A friend of the father. Excuse me? That’s funny.”
As for the drugs found in the hotel room, Sanchez said he didn’t think that they alone should warrant an arrest.
“The 1.16 grams of methamphetamine found inside an unoccupied hotel room were not in anyone’s physical possession, limiting the value as possible evidence for prosecution,” Sanchez said.
He said the department still lacks evidence showing Puliafito committed a crime — a point that drew a sharp rebuke from a small group of attendees at the meeting.
“Of course not,” said civil rights attorney Dale Gronemeier. “You didn’t investigate it.”
Gronemeier, a frequent critic of the Police Department, told the public safety committee that the officer didn’t investigate the drugs and the overdose thoroughly enough.
“We need an independent investigation, because this doesn’t cut it,” Gronemeier said.
David Llanes, a board member for the union representing Pasadena’s rank-and-file officers, told the committee that police treat overdoses as medical emergencies — a shift in public policy that’s been largely applauded by civil rights groups.
Llanes said it was ironic that those same people supporting the decriminalization of drug violations were criticizing police for not pursuing a criminal case. “If you expect us to take each misdemeanor crime and investigate it like it’s a homicide and spend the hard-earned tax dollars … then take that into consideration and allocate it in a budget.”

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USC downplays fundraising efforts of ex-dean at center of drug scandal

Aug 18, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

By Paul Pringle, Harriet Ryan, Matt Hamilton and Sarah Parvini

USC on Friday moved to further distance itself from the former dean of its medical school at the center of a scandal, downplaying Dr. Carmen Puliafito’s much-touted performance as a fundraiser for the university.
USC’s senior vice president for university advancement said in a letter to alumni and supporters that assertions that Puliafito raised more than $1 billion while leading the Keck School of Medicine were overblown and that the physician was personally responsible for collecting barely 1% of that amount over the last seven years.
A Times investigation published last month reported that Puliafito, while Keck dean, associated with a circle of drug abusers and criminals who said he often used methamphetamine and other drugs with them. He served nearly a decade as dean before abruptly resigning in March 2016.
The letter from Albert Checcio said the credit for the $1.2 billion in gifts to Keck in the last seven years is shared by many people, including individual researchers, department chairs and physicians, as well as USC President C.L. Max Nikias.
“What these gifts illustrate is that fundraising at a multifaceted research university like USC is a collaborative effort, especially in medicine, where the relationships that donors build with all members of their health care team are paramount to philanthropic support,” Checcio wrote.
“No single individual is ever responsible for — or can take sole credit for — raising the money.”
Checcio and Puliafito did not respond to interview requests.
University leaders, including Nikias, previously praised Puliafito’s prowess with donors, going back to his arrival at USC. Introducing him to the campus in 2007, then-provost Nikias, who led the search committee that selected the dean, described him as “a fundraiser of singular quality.”
When Puliafito was up for reappointment in 2012, he listed fundraising as a key accomplishment, writing in a self-assessment that he had secured $500 million in contributions in his nearly five years as dean at that point. Nikias, who had become president, decided to keep Puliafito on for a second term over the objections of some faculty and staff, who expressed concerns about what they said was brusque behavior and excessive drinking.
In a letter that year announcing Puliafito’s reappointment, provost Elizabeth Garrett said the positive feedback the university had received about him included his “involvement in USC’s historic fundraising campaign.”
Evaluations of Puliafito noted “the increase in research funding during his tenure” as a “significant” achievement, Garrett wrote.
When a biotech company hired Puliafito last year, it said in a news release that the dean was responsible for “fundraising initiatives resulting in over $1 billion in gifts and pledges” for USC. The firm, Ophthotech Corp., later laid off Puliafito and scores of other employees after reporting poor results from a drug trial.
Throughout his years as dean, Puliafito was a public face of the school’s efforts to court donors. He co-hosted Westside galas that raised money for Keck, welcoming celebrity guests such as Jay Leno and Pierce Brosnan and praising the gathered philanthropists.
Photos of these events show Puliafito posing with big-name donors like Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, the late Paramount Pictures Chairman Brad Grey, and David and Dana Dornsife.
Puliafito stepped down as dean three weeks after a young woman suffered a drug overdose in his presence in a Pasadena hotel room. His involvement in the overdose was not publicly disclosed until The Times report on July 17.
A witness to the overdose told the newspaper of calling Nikias’ office in March 2016 to inform USC of Puliafito’s role in the incident at the Hotel Constance. After The Times investigation was published, USC administrators acknowledged having received the call, but said it was handled by two receptionists who did not pass on the witness’ account to their superiors because they did not find it credible.
Administrators also said they had received complaints from employees about Puliafito’s behavior, including two shortly before he resigned as dean. USC allowed Puliafito to remain on the Keck faculty and see patients. He also continued to represent the school at medicine-related events.
After the Times story, USC moved to fire Puliafito, forbid him to see patients and barred him from campus.
Much of Checcio’s letter Friday addressed USC’s recent successes in fundraising overall, including more than $794 million in gifts and pledges in the last fiscal year.
Laura Fredericks, a philanthropy consultant and lecturer at New York University, said it is highly unusual for a university to publicly dispute how much a key administrator raised.
Fredericks said fundraising is often a group effort.
"Having been in fundraising for 25-plus years, it’s very difficult for anyone to say who exactly raised X amount," she said. "We all know in fundraising, there's many people who put many balls in motion to raise gifts.”

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USC's dean drug scandal could take a costly toll on the school's legal battle with the UC system

Aug 21, 2017 | Los Angeles Times

By Harriet Ryan

Six months after Dr. Carmen Puliafito stepped down as dean of USC’s medical school, he was called by the university to give sworn testimony as a witness in a lawsuit the institution was facing.
It was a sensitive matter with hundreds of millions of dollars potentially at stake, and two attorneys for the university sat with him as he answered questions.
Almost immediately, the opposing lawyer hit on a topic that was a closely guarded secret at USC: The circumstances of Puliafito’s abrupt resignation in March 2016.
The former dean had a ready explanation, saying he had taken advantage of a “unique opportunity” at a biotech company. The response was succinct, matter-of-fact and, in light of recent revelations about his drug use and troubled tenure at USC, far from the whole story.
Of the many consequences of the Puliafito scandal for USC, few are as high-stakes as the possible effect on the court case that prompted his testimony last year.
Puliafito was expected to play a role in defending USC in the legal battle with the University of California over the defection of a star UC Alzheimer's disease researcher.
Puliafito helped woo the scientist and dozens of other prominent academics as part of a strategy by USC President C.L. Max Nikias to vault the university into the ranks of elite research institutions.
UC is seeking $185 million in damages along with a punitive award that could be several times that amount.
“With all that’s out there about him, he’s going to have a serious problem coming off as credible and being believed,” said Los Angeles attorney Brian Panish, a civil litigator who has represented clients in suits against both schools.
A Times investigation published last month revealed that Puliafito partied and used drugs with a circle of criminals and addicts while serving as dean. Puliafito engaged in this behavior during the period in 2015 in which he was recruiting the researcher, according to interviews with his associates and text messages they exchanged with him.
A UC spokeswoman said the school would not discuss its legal strategy “other than to say we are vigorously pursuing this case against USC.”
An attorney for USC said no decision had been made on whether to call Puliafito as a witness, but insisted the former dean’s testimony was not important to the university’s defense.
“He’s a bit player in this,” said attorney John Quinn.
In court filings earlier this year, lawyers for USC highlighted a portion of the dean’s testimony in arguing that the case should be dismissed.
Puliafito testified that the university wanted UC San Diego researcher Paul Aisen to join the faculty whether or not he brought along hundreds of millions of dollars in grant funding, a rejection of UC’s claim that USC was motivated by money in recruiting the scientist.
Legal experts said that even if USC decides not to use Puliafito’s testimony, UC’s legal team could ask for copies of his personnel record and attempt to make an issue in court of his conduct. That would set up a fight between USC and UC over whether jurors should be told about the skeletons in Puliafito’s closet if the case went to trial.
“The trial judge would have to decide whether the prejudicial, inflammatory value is outweighed by the probative value,” said Manhattan Beach civil lawyer John Taylor, who has represented clients with legal claims against USC.
The judge, Taylor added, “might say, ‘Suppose he was out partying like a rock star? How does that make it more or less believable to a jury?’”
USC is anticipating that UC will try to make Puliafito’s drug use a line of attack.
“I believe that they would do anything they could to try to poison the well, including introducing the dean’s personal problems,” USC lawyer Quinn said, adding that he expected a judge to reject such attempts as irrelevant.
The case is on hold while USC appeals a U.S. district judge’s ruling that moved the suit from federal court to San Diego County Superior Court, where it was originally filed. No trial date has been set.
By the time Puliafito was scheduled to be questioned under oath, the case was in its second year and UC had brushed off entreaties by USC to settle the matter out of court. USC deputy general counsel Stacy Bratcher and other university lawyers met with the former dean three times to prepare him for the deposition, he later testified.
On the day of his testimony, Bratcher and another lawyer sat with him at a downtown law firm as he was questioned for about six hours, according to a transcript of the testimony. Portions of the transcript were redacted at the request of USC.
Puliafito said he had been deposed 20 times in his life, including in court cases where he was a medical expert. On a video recording of part of the deposition, he appears self-assured, offering short, precise responses and brushing aside many questions as hypothetical and difficult to answer.
A few minutes into his testimony, he was asked for “the circumstances of your ceasing to be dean of the medical school.” An attorney for USC’s outside law firm, Viola Trebicka, initially protested that the question was “overbroad” and “vague” — objections a judge would rule on a later date — and then directed him to “go ahead” and answer.
“I had a unique opportunity in the ophthalmic biotechnology industry, and I was able to continue my employment at USC on sabbatical and work for this biotech company,” he said.
The full story was more complicated. USC acknowledged after The Times’ report that the dean quit his post during a confrontation with the university provost about his behavior and job performance. That showdown capped years of complaints from faculty and staff about Puliafito’s drinking, temper and public humiliation of colleagues, according to interviews with former co-workers and written complaints to the administration.
He was not offered the biotech job at Ophthotech, a firm run by two longtime friends, until more than a month after he resigned, according to a company spokesman.
Quinn said he did not know whether lawyers for USC and Puliafito discussed how he would answer questions about his resignation before the deposition. He said that attorneys for his firm “would never sponsor false testimony. We would never knowingly permit a witness to lie.” In a statement, a USC spokesman said the university general counsel’s office, where Bratcher works, “would never encourage a witness to perjure himself.”
Experts said UC could ask a judge to reopen the deposition in light of the new information about Puliafito’s past conduct.
“I would get the personnel file and also question him about what happened. Maybe there is more that is not out there yet,” Panish said.
The court fight is being closely watched in academic circles. UC took the highly unusual step of suing its academic rival in 2015 after years of frustration over USC’s recruitment of faculty members who were the recipients of big research grants. These grants are an important income source for the state system.
These “transformative faculty,” as they are known at USC, have been key to President Nikias’ strategy for raising the university’s national reputation. Puliafito spearheaded the effort during his eight-year tenure as dean, recruiting more than 70 academics from the UC schools, Stanford, Harvard and other prestigious rivals.
After Puliafito helped woo away two well-funded UCLA neurology researchers in 2013, UC administrators were outraged, and complained to government regulators, according to court filings. It was not unusual for professors to move to other institutions, often with the first university cooperating in the transfer of grant funding to the new school. But in UC’s view, USC had acted beyond accepted norms by targeting academics based on grant funding and strategizing secretly with those researchers while they were still employed by UC about moving grants to USC. The schools reached a confidential settlement requiring USC to pay UCLA more than $2 million, according to a copy of the agreement obtained through a public records request.
Late the next year, the dean set his sights on another UC prize: Alzheimer’s expert Paul Aisen. The UC San Diego neurology professor was a global leader in the search for a cure for the disease, and federal agencies and drug companies were expected to send more than $340 million in research grants to the lab he ran over the next five years.
“I am going to get more involved in this personally and quarterback the process,” he wrote in an email to Provost Michael Quick in April 2015. “We need this to happen.”
USC offered Aisen annual compensation of $500,000 — a salary bump of $110,000 — along with a home loan and other perks. He moved to USC in June 2015.
The loss reverberated at the highest levels of the UC system. President Janet Napolitano unsuccessfully lobbied the head of drug company Eli Lilly, a major funder of Aisen’s work, to keep its grant money at UC.
In July 2015, UC sued USC, Aisen and his lab colleagues for breach of fiduciary duty, interference with contracts, computer crimes and other claims. The university said USC had conspired with the researcher while he was still working for UCSD to interfere with the public university’s contractual relationships with grant funders and to seize control of critical clinical trial data.
Subsequent filings suggested the depths of the hard feelings. In one, UC complained that the departing scientists had even made off with paper clips paid for by UCSD. In another, their lawyers described USC as a “predatory private university” with a “law-of-the-jungle mind-set.”
USC and Aisen countersued for defamation and other charges. Their lawyers wrote in the complaint that they were ready to settle the litigation and suggested the blame rested with UC for failing to fund Aisen’s work adequately. When he found a school that would, they wrote, UC engaged in “petty academic politics,” including trying to make him sign a loyalty oath and cutting off his email and phone service, tactics that they claimed endangered patient safety.
Aisen, Puliafito and other USC administrators insisted in depositions that the university had done nothing wrong. In his sworn testimony, the former dean testified that he was prepared to offer Aisen a faculty position even if his lucrative research grants stayed behind at UCSD.
“You were indifferent to whether or not the grant funding transferred with Dr. Aisen,” the UC lawyer asked.
“Yes,” Puliafito said, adding: “That’s the risk we were willing to take.”
San Francisco lawyer Stephen Hirschfeld, who has defended UC and other universities in civil suits, said the involvement of other officials in Aisen’s recruitment could blunt the impact of Puliafito’s credibility issues.
The university provost, a faculty chair, medical school administrators, and human resources officers played key roles in luring Aisen, according to court filings and deposition testimony.
“You could have a situation where the dean says one thing and several other administrators confirm that it is true,” Hirschfeld said. Focusing too much on Puliafito, he said, might make UC look cruel or desperate to the jury.
“You’ve got to think really hard if it’s worth it to attack this guy in this way,” he said.
Taylor, the Manhattan Beach lawyer, said that jurors could see Puliafito as a reflection “of the values of the university and the decision makers there.”
“If terrible evidence comes in about him, it is terrible evidence for the school,” he said.
The deposition offers tantalizing clues about the relationship between Puliafito and USC. At one point, the former dean was asked when he had last looked at the USC ethics code.
“Six months ago,” he replied. The deposition was on Sept. 23, 2016 — just a day short of the six-month anniversary of the meeting at which the provost confronted him with complaints from colleagues about his behavior.

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