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Senator Orrin Hatch Needs To Be Named In Opioid Lawsuits Filed Nationwide!

U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (Utah) announced his retirement from the Senate at 83 years old.

Before Mr. Hatch attends his retirement party as Chairman of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, maybe some vital matters should be addressed.  Hatch was a member of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee in 2012 when an investigation into the prescription opioid epidemic was launched naming several pharmaceutical companies as well as The American Pain Foundation, The American Academy of Pain Medicine and The American Pain Society, as well as several physicians.  Two of the physicians named in the investigation were Perry Fine, MD and Lynn Webster, MD both from Utah.  I am calling for Hatch to be charged with obstruction of justice and named as a defendant in the many lawsuits filed throughout the country against pharmaceutical companies such as Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin.  My call for Orrin Hatch to be brought into legal action is based on the following information as regards the investigation into the prescription opioid epidemic addicting and killing in the tens of thousands:

1)  Senator Hatch arbitrarily sealed the completed report into the prescription opioid epidemic devastating every state in the country after it was submitted for publication by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.

2)  Hatch’s friend, Lynn R. Webster, MD (named in the U.S. Senate Finance Committee investigation report sealed by Hatch) had his pain clinic raided by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) several years ago after a rash of deaths under Webster’s care.  The DEA conducted a four-year investigation into the deaths of patients at Webster’s pain clinic.  The agents documented that an entire file cabinet was labeled “deceased patients”.  Shortly before Webster was to be charged for the deaths in his clinic, the investigation was halted.  If any attorneys general or private law firms filing lawsuits throughout the country would like information into why charges were dropped, I am providing you with US Attorney John Huber of Utah’s email address.  It is john.huber@usdoj.gov.  Webster settled individual lawsuits initiated by deceased patients families out of court and it was reported that he can no longer prescribe prescription opioids.  Webster has now reinvented himself as pharma’s golden “recreational drug use clinical trial researcher.”

3)  Hatch’s other friend is Perry Fine, MD (also under investigation by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee – report sealed by Hatch).  Fine is associated with the School of Medicine, University of Utah.   Fine was called as an “expert witness” in the late celebrity, Anna Nicole Smith’s suspicious death. During the trial, Dr. Fine said he believed Smith had a “high tolerance for drugs” but was “not addicted.”  Ms. Smith was taking 1,500 pills/opioids.  “She woke up and functioned from day to day,” Fine said. Here is my link to an article I wrote on Fine in 2012 and his attempt to admonish me. https://salem-news.com/articles/august122012/perry-fine-folo-ms.php

4)  The American Pain Foundation named in the US Senate Finance Committee investigation (and report sealed by Orrin Hatch) closed its doors within days of the launch of the Senate probe.  Above is a photo of Perry Fine, MD presenting U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch with the American Pain Foundation’s Public Service Award.

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5)  The American Academy of Pain Medicine named in the U.S. Senate Finance Committee investigation (and report sealed by Orrin Hatch) had Lynn R. Webster, MD serve as past president.

6)  The American Pain Society named in the US Senate Finance Committee investigation (and report sealed by (Orrin Hatch) had Lynn R. Webster, MD in a leadership position.

U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch can be compared to the arsonist in a community who ravages people’s lives and homes, but whose profession is “firefighter” and paid to put out fires he caused.

Hopefully, Hatch’s blatant obstruction of justice which has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and addictions will result in attorneys general and law firms naming him as a defendant in lawsuits.  He would be in good company with his pals Lynn R. Webster, MD and Perry Fine, MD who he has protected by sealing a critical report prepared by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.

Article posted with permission from Marianne Skolek Perez as originally published in Global News Centre

Marianne Perez

Marianne Perez, Salem-News.com Investigative Reporter, is an Activist for Victims of OxyContin and Purdue Pharma throughout the United States and Canada. In July 2007, she testified against Purdue Pharma in Federal Court in Virginia at the sentencing of their three CEO's - Michael Friedman, Howard Udell and Paul Goldenheim - who pleaded guilty to charges of marketing OxyContin as less likely to be addictive or abused to physicians and patients. She also testified against Purdue Pharma at a Judiciary Hearing of the U.S. Senate in July 2007. Marianne works with government agencies and private attorneys in having a voice for her daughter Jill, who died in 2002 after being prescribed OxyContin, as well as the voice for scores of victims of OxyContin. She is currently working on a book that exposes Purdue Pharma for their continued criminal marketing of OxyContin. Marianne is a nurse, graduated in 1991 as president of her class, and also has a Paralegal certification. Marianne served on a Community Service Board for the Courier News, a Gannet newspaper in NJ, writing articles predominantly regarding AIDS patients and their emotional issues. She was awarded a Community Service Award in 1993 by the Hunterdon County, NJ HIV/AIDS Task Force in recognition of and appreciation for the donated time, energy and love in facilitating a Support Group for persons with HIV/AIDS.

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