Anesthesiologist behaving badly

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nimbus

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Yep, some scary ****. Very unfortunate that a good Anesthesiologist died because of this. I was hoping that these were unfounded rumors, but it's starting to appear likely. Makes you wonder why do hospitals ask all these questions during the credentialing process if they are just going to ignore them anyway
 
Yep, some scary ****. Very unfortunate that a good Anesthesiologist died because of this. I was hoping that these were unfounded rumors, but it's starting to appear likely. Makes you wonder why do hospitals ask all these questions during the credentialing process if they are just going to ignore them anyway


Need warm bodies to keep the factory running.
 
It’s far worse than being reported.
The anesthesiologist who died was my partner. Amazing lady who everyone loved.

A friend was the anesthesiologist for the 18 year old that was the last case transferred.
I never went to this surgery center but work with lots of these surgeons elsewhere. Several partners worked there.

This one hits way too close to home :-(
 
Damn. I remember seeing Mel around Baylor, early in my career, when she was with PAP. Didn’t realize she had passed. Absolute shame.
 
This is far worse than is currently being reported. It’s a homicide investigation and somewhere around 12 -15 patients had to be transferred over 4 months from this facility. Every anesthesiologist in north Texas has heard the rumors.…
Where can we read more about the investigation
 
It’s far worse than being reported.
The anesthesiologist who died was my partner. Amazing lady who everyone loved.

A friend was the anesthesiologist for the 18 year old that was the last case transferred.
I never went to this surgery center but work with lots of these surgeons elsewhere. Several partners worked there.

This one hits way too close to home :-(
Do you think she was given a spiked bag on purpose or did he just go through and mess with a bunch…
 
Do you think she was given a spiked bag on purpose or did he just go through and mess with a bunch…


Regardless, is it normal practice to send patients home with a spare bag of IVF? I’ve never seen it. Sadly this may not just be a case of malicious sabotage, but also VIP syndrome. If that tainted IV bag was administered in the surgery center while the patient was being monitored, she may have survived. At home the chance of survival was much lower.
 
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Regardless, is it normal practice to send patients home with a spare bag of IVF? I’ve never seen it. Sadly this may not just be a case of malicious sabotage, but also VIP syndrome. If that tainted IV bag was administered in the surgery center while the patient was being monitored, she may have survived. At home the chance of survival was much lower.
The reporting is very early so there are many things that haven’t come out yet. The story in town is that she worked that day in the center (i.e., not a patient), was not feeling well (GI bug) and decided to take some fluid home for hydration and then died shortly after starting the IV fluid. The rumors suggest that she unfortunately took a bag that had been spiked. If true, she was just a victim among many but since she was at home she didn’t have other clinicians to attempt resuscitation. This is sadly going to be a Dr. Death situation. Have to wonder why interventions were not made earlier? Also wonder who knew what and for how long if the reported number of cases/mortalities are anywhere near accurate.

The VIP syndrome might apply to her being allowed to remove fluid and IV supplies for home use though. Regardless, she shouldn’t have died.
 
The reporting is very early so there are many things that haven’t come out yet. The story in town is that she worked that day in the center (i.e., not a patient), was not feeling well (GI bug) and decided to take some fluid home for hydration and then died shortly after starting the IV fluid. The rumors suggest that she unfortunately took a bag that had been spiked. If true, she was just a victim among many but since she was at home she didn’t have other clinicians to attempt resuscitation. This is sadly going to be a Dr. Death situation. Have to wonder why interventions were not made earlier? Also wonder who knew what and for how long if the reported number of cases/mortalities are anywhere near accurate.

The VIP syndrome might apply to her being allowed to remove fluid and IV supplies for home use though. Regardless, she shouldn’t have died.


Thank you for the clarification. The second article linked said she “was treated as a patient” at the surgicenter but I guess that could mean she got some zofran and IVF, and was not necessarily a surgery patient.
 
Regardless, is it normal practice to send patients home with a spare bag of IVF? I’ve never seen it. Sadly this may not just be a case of malicious sabotage, but also VIP syndrome. If that tainted IV bag was administered in the surgery center while the patient was being monitored, she may have survived. At home the chance of survival was much lower.
I mean, LAST from a spiked IV bag would have never, ever occurred to me as being on the DDx at home, ASC, or the hospital. I have never seen LAST - could she have survived with supportive care that didn't include intralipid? I dunno.
 
I mean, LAST from a spiked IV bag would have never, ever occurred to me as being on the DDx at home, ASC, or the hospital. I have never seen LAST - could she have survived with supportive care that didn't include intralipid? I dunno.

Yeah it’s ironic that if we didn’t suspect a contaminated IV bag, the first response might be to give more IVF from the same bag. People can be evil.
 
I am going to engage in rampant speculation here. I don’t know anybody in Texas. I’ve never practiced there. But let me present a hypothetical situation that could easily be the truth based on my time as an anesthesiologist.
“Why do they ask these questions if they aren’t going to pay attention to the answers“
“How could he have gotten credentialed?”

So it appears that Dr. O is 60 years old or so. Not boarded (red flag) Has been convicted in the past of domestic abuse (red flag) as well as cruelty to an animal (red flag). He has a disciplinary history with the Texas board (red flag).
Quite frankly, he sounds like a sociopath.
But he is practicing at the surgery center. With all these red flags, how? I will tell you how, he had protectors. Maybe it was some CEO or administrator. More likely I think it was a couple of surgeon buddies that he made through the years, possibly fellow sociopaths. These surgeon buddies would likely be significant moneymakers for the surgery center. Every time his past has been brought up or reviewed at the surgery center executive committee, he has skated likely because of the protection of these buddies of his. Maybe they shouted down any objectors with threats of taking their cases elsewhere. Maybe there were no objectors because the other people on that executive committee were weak or lacking in ethics. People who are weak and lacking in ethics are rampant in medicine.

Now why would Dr. O suddenly decide to start surreptitiously spiking IV bags with bupivacaine?? At the same surgery center where he works? My guess would be that the investigation around this recent Texas medical board case involving him awoke new objections from younger members of the surgery center medical staff. Maybe his surgeon buddies finally tired of his incompetence. Maybe one or two of them actually retired, leaving poor Dr. O to fend for himself. So what does a sociopath do when the wolves are at the gate and their livelihood is endangered? He smashes the entire thing.
From what I have read in the comments on this thread it sounds like it has been an open secret in the North Texas Anesthesia Community that there’s an anesthesiologist injuring and killing people. Or maybe it wasn’t that specific, maybe it was more that everyone knew that there was some sort of horrifying problem going on at that particular surgery center.
Guess who didn’t know? The patients.
Thank God there is a free press in this country to dig into stuff like this. Because from what it sounds like, no one else with the actual responsibility to deal with this has actually done their job.

Again, I present a hypothetical situation. I have no actual knowledge of any of the details of this situation other than what I have read from the same Internet sources that everyone else reads.
 
It kind of sounds like her freak death and autopsy is what prompted people to catch the guy(?) at least I hope he wasn’t actively working while under suspicion
 
It’s far worse than being reported.
The anesthesiologist who died was my partner. Amazing lady who everyone loved.

A friend was the anesthesiologist for the 18 year old that was the last case transferred.
I never went to this surgery center but work with lots of these surgeons elsewhere. Several partners worked there.

This one hits way too close to home :-(
Do you know what the staffing model is at the center? Doesn’t sound like any individual group contracts there, it a place people in other groups work from time to time? If so, how are they chosen? Might shed some light on how he was working there with so many red flags.
 
I am going to engage in rampant speculation here. I don’t know anybody in Texas. I’ve never practiced there. But let me present a hypothetical situation that could easily be the truth based on my time as an anesthesiologist.
“Why do they ask these questions if they aren’t going to pay attention to the answers“
“How could he have gotten credentialed?”

So it appears that Dr. O is 60 years old or so. Not boarded (red flag) Has been convicted in the past of domestic abuse (red flag) as well as cruelty to an animal (red flag). He has a disciplinary history with the Texas board (red flag).
Quite frankly, he sounds like a sociopath.
But he is practicing at the surgery center. With all these red flags, how? I will tell you how, he had protectors. Maybe it was some CEO or administrator. More likely I think it was a couple of surgeon buddies that he made through the years, possibly fellow sociopaths. These surgeon buddies would likely be significant moneymakers for the surgery center. Every time his past has been brought up or reviewed at the surgery center executive committee, he has skated likely because of the protection of these buddies of his. Maybe they shouted down any objectors with threats of taking their cases elsewhere. Maybe there were no objectors because the other people on that executive committee were weak or lacking in ethics. People who are weak and lacking in ethics are rampant in medicine.

Now why would Dr. O suddenly decide to start surreptitiously spiking IV bags with bupivacaine?? At the same surgery center where he works? My guess would be that the investigation around this recent Texas medical board case involving him awoke new objections from younger members of the surgery center medical staff. Maybe his surgeon buddies finally tired of his incompetence. Maybe one or two of them actually retired, leaving poor Dr. O to fend for himself. So what does a sociopath do when the wolves are at the gate and their livelihood is endangered? He smashes the entire thing.
From what I have read in the comments on this thread it sounds like it has been an open secret in the North Texas Anesthesia Community that there’s an anesthesiologist injuring and killing people. Or maybe it wasn’t that specific, maybe it was more that everyone knew that there was some sort of horrifying problem going on at that particular surgery center.
Guess who didn’t know? The patients.
Thank God there is a free press in this country to dig into stuff like this. Because from what it sounds like, no one else with the actual responsibility to deal with this has actually done their job.

Again, I present a hypothetical situation. I have no actual knowledge of any of the details of this situation other than what I have read from the same Internet sources that everyone else reads.

One other piece of speculation. A guy with a past like that will have two redeeming features to an a certain type of employer. He has few employment alternatives.

1. He will do whatever he is told.
2. He will work cheap.

IMO, The above is more likely than “buddies protecting him”

Also pure speculation.
 
One other piece of speculation. A guy with a past like that will have two redeeming features to an a certain type of employer. He has few employment alternatives.

1. He will do whatever he is told.
2. He will work cheap.

IMO, The above is more likely than “buddies protecting him”

Also pure speculation.
It’s may be a scenario that is not familiar to you. This is an open anesthesia staff and anyone can apply for privileges. it’s his practice (he is the owner and it only has another physician or two and a CRNA). He may very well “do whatever he is told” but it would be by the surgeons who consult him for their coverage needs. His “price” is whatever he negotiated with the payers. There isn’t a company employing him to obtain the features you suggest.

Taxable Entity Search (search this site for Garland Anesthesia Consultants).
 
Please don't misconstrue this as victim blaming... But I can't imagine taking/being told to take a bag of IVT and cannulation equipment home... That's a proceed directly to the inpatient detox facility, do-not-pass-go scenario until any misuse is completely excluded.

Terrible this happened to her.
 
Please don't misconstrue this as victim blaming... But I can't imagine taking/being told to take a bag of IVT and cannulation equipment home... That's a proceed directly to the inpatient detox facility, do-not-pass-go scenario until any misuse is completely excluded.

Terrible this happened to her.

I'm not sure what the culture is where you are, but I always hear of stories of RNs/docs/surgeons getting IVs or doing IVs for other colleagues in the hospital or out of the hospital for acute illness, dehydration, hangovers, etc. This is across state lines and across several different big hospitals, and IMO, it happens enough around here that people would not bat an eye if you had a bag of saline flowing through you at work. Same with getting ondansetron, lidocaine, ketorolac, etc. I've drawn blood in the OR for RNs who got stuck by an HIV+ patient because it's so much faster than calling HR, making an appointment, going to the lab and getting it drawn there.

I personally agree with the bad optics of taking stuff home as an anesthesiologist, but it's really not that uncommon or unheard of around here. I knew residents who took pumps/loads of 1L saline bags home because they drank so much on the weekends. Not for me, but to each their own.
 
Please don't misconstrue this as victim blaming... But I can't imagine taking/being told to take a bag of IVT and cannulation equipment home... That's a proceed directly to the inpatient detox facility, do-not-pass-go scenario until any misuse is completely excluded.

Terrible this happened to her.
In residency I distinctly recall classmates being up front about getting zofran, IVF so they could stay “on call” for their shift and not call out sick. In retrospect that was probably not ok, but the alternative of calling in sick and someone else having to take that call day would have been seen as being a “bad co-resident.”
 
This all seems like speculation so hopefully we will get a follow up story with details of the investigation. Seems odd for a doc (even a shady one) to risk his livelihood 20 plus years into his career when he supposedly still has the contract with his CRNAs. Maybe this is something as stupid as the Surgericenter trying to make cheap bags of tumescent local for their plastics cases and the pharmacy tech or PA messed up on meds and labeling…who knows.
 
Sounds like a dirtbag in a social context but how/why would he be connected to a bag of iv fluid administered in someone’s home?
 
Please don't misconstrue this as victim blaming... But I can't imagine taking/being told to take a bag of IVT and cannulation equipment home... That's a proceed directly to the inpatient detox facility, do-not-pass-go scenario until any misuse is completely excluded.

Terrible this happened to her.
I disagree. I don't see a problem with giving an IV to a co-worker and hydrating them - or taking a few supplies to prevent your 12 y/o from having to come sit in the ER for 4 hours when all they need is a bag of fluid because they have thrown up for 3 days.

Speaking of Dr Death, isn't this the same place he worked?
 
I disagree. I don't see a problem with giving an IV to a co-worker and hydrating them - or taking a few supplies to prevent your 12 y/o from having to come sit in the ER for 4 hours when all they need is a bag of fluid because they have thrown up for 3 days.

Speaking of Dr Death, isn't this the same place he worked?

I think @woopedazz is practicing in Australia (?) maybe different culture there.

My PDs wouldn’t bat an eye for giving each other IVF. Especially for something that can be treated easily and not spent hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in this crazy system.
 
I am going to engage in rampant speculation here. I don’t know anybody in Texas. I’ve never practiced there. But let me present a hypothetical situation that could easily be the truth based on my time as an anesthesiologist.
“Why do they ask these questions if they aren’t going to pay attention to the answers“
“How could he have gotten credentialed?”

So it appears that Dr. O is 60 years old or so. Not boarded (red flag) Has been convicted in the past of domestic abuse (red flag) as well as cruelty to an animal (red flag). He has a disciplinary history with the Texas board (red flag).
Quite frankly, he sounds like a sociopath.
But he is practicing at the surgery center. With all these red flags, how? I will tell you how, he had protectors. Maybe it was some CEO or administrator. More likely I think it was a couple of surgeon buddies that he made through the years, possibly fellow sociopaths. These surgeon buddies would likely be significant moneymakers for the surgery center. Every time his past has been brought up or reviewed at the surgery center executive committee, he has skated likely because of the protection of these buddies of his. Maybe they shouted down any objectors with threats of taking their cases elsewhere. Maybe there were no objectors because the other people on that executive committee were weak or lacking in ethics. People who are weak and lacking in ethics are rampant in medicine.

Now why would Dr. O suddenly decide to start surreptitiously spiking IV bags with bupivacaine?? At the same surgery center where he works? My guess would be that the investigation around this recent Texas medical board case involving him awoke new objections from younger members of the surgery center medical staff. Maybe his surgeon buddies finally tired of his incompetence. Maybe one or two of them actually retired, leaving poor Dr. O to fend for himself. So what does a sociopath do when the wolves are at the gate and their livelihood is endangered? He smashes the entire thing.
From what I have read in the comments on this thread it sounds like it has been an open secret in the North Texas Anesthesia Community that there’s an anesthesiologist injuring and killing people. Or maybe it wasn’t that specific, maybe it was more that everyone knew that there was some sort of horrifying problem going on at that particular surgery center.
Guess who didn’t know? The patients.
Thank God there is a free press in this country to dig into stuff like this. Because from what it sounds like, no one else with the actual responsibility to deal with this has actually done their job.

Again, I present a hypothetical situation. I have no actual knowledge of any of the details of this situation other than what I have read from the same Internet sources that everyone else reads.

Your “hypothetical” sounds earily similar to a real life individual I came across at one point in my career.

The details aren’t important. The point is people like this, although rare, do exist, can be hiding in plain sight for years, and it can be incredibly difficult to do something about them, even in the face of what some may feel looks like a smoking gun.
 
ive seen this happen many times at multiple hospitals i worked at. not feeling well and getting an IV. seems kind of wrong to deny a coworker a IVF bag if having GI bug and dehydrated and instead tell them to go to the ED...

but with that said, all the IVFs here are sealed. I would never use a unsealed IVF bag. the LRs are in plastic bags that you have to open. and the NS has the foil covering
 
ive seen this happen many times at multiple hospitals i worked at. not feeling well and getting an IV. seems kind of wrong to deny a coworker a IVF bag if having GI bug and dehydrated and instead tell them to go to the ED...

but with that said, all the IVFs here are sealed. I would never use a unsealed IVF bag. the LRs are in plastic bags that you have to open. and the NS has the foil covering
From what I’m hearing that would not protect you. The bag can still be compromised without removing it from the outer ”protective” plastic wrapper.
 
interesting. shoving a needle thru the wrapper? i guess i wouldnt notice the tiny hole.

is that the word on the street? didnt see it in the article
 
ive seen this happen many times at multiple hospitals i worked at. not feeling well and getting an IV. seems kind of wrong to deny a coworker a IVF bag if having GI bug and dehydrated and instead tell them to go to the ED...

but with that said, all the IVFs here are sealed. I would never use a unsealed IVF bag. the LRs are in plastic bags that you have to open. and the NS has the foil covering
If someone wanted they could place a needle through the outer bag and through the stopper, probably wouldn’t notice unless you really scrutinized the bag.
 
I still don’t get it. So why did this particular anesthesiologist spike the bags with bupi? Was he actively just trying to kill patients?
 
This is one of the reasons we can’t pre spike LR fluid bags ahead of time and leave it unattended (trauma rooms). But I’m not sure that would have saved people even if the bags were in a secure location. He could have poked a small needle through various bags and most people would not have notice a small hole since we just rip the bags open when we need it.
 
It’s also possible that the anesthesiologist is a terrible, shady doctor, but not the one responsible for spiking the IV bags. There are lots of people who can access these things and usually no security cameras in the storage/OR areas. He’s running his own anesthesiology company. What would be his motivation to change things in one year? Unless his contract was about to expire and he wanted to justify his importance as an anesthesiologist by “coming to the rescue.”
 
In residency I distinctly recall classmates being up front about getting zofran, IVF so they could stay “on call” for their shift and not call out sick. In retrospect that was probably not ok, but the alternative of calling in sick and someone else having to take that call day would have been seen as being a “bad co-resident.”
I got an IV in residency 2 months before graduation. I asked to go take a nap in the call room since there were so many free people, and I was on call, so I'd feel better after sleep. The charge doc said I wasn't on call; I tried arguing that I was. He said, no you're not you're getting an IV then going home.

This is when when had dozens of spiked LR bags all over the place ready for patients. I never would've thought of something malicious happening to the bags. The hospitals I went to after charged each patient per bag when it was removed from the pyxis, so it made sense not to have them hanging around.
 
First of all, it’s a huge problem with our profession where you are sick enough to require IV fluids, but still feel compelled to come to work. Please do not be taking care of my family member if you are that impaired. That’s exactly what you are…you are impaired and should not be providing medical care at that time.

Secondly, where the heck was the Texas department of health during all of this? If this was such an “open secret,” why was this surgery center still open? The worst crimes occur when people cover up for institutions.
 
First of all, it’s a huge problem with our profession where you are sick enough to require IV fluids, but still feel compelled to come to work. Please do not be taking care of my family member if you are that impaired. That’s exactly what you are…you are impaired and should not be providing medical care at that time.

Secondly, where the heck was the Texas department of health during all of this? If this was such an “open secret,” why was this surgery center still open? The worst crimes occur when people cover up for institutions.

wasnt there a thread about coming to work while sick/using sick days, not long ago?

but yes there def is a huge problem with our profession
 
The investigation is very early on and limited official information is coming out… I can only hope that that is because they are trying to make an air tight case.
Thank you for the clarification. The second article linked said she “was treated as a patient” at the surgicenter but I guess that could mean she got some zofran and IVF, and was not necessarily a surgery patient.
The press got it wrong. She took fluids home with her
 
Where I trained IVF for a coworker would not fly. I probably wouldn’t do it. I have an IV bag at home in case of emergency, but would take a real severe illness to have to use it, definitely not for mild dehydration.
 
I don’t think this was an open secret in north Texas. Before Wednesday aug 24 I hadn’t heard anything about that surgicare (there’s more than one btw).
As far as I know this had been going on only since the end of June…. I’m not aware of an incident before that- although the gossip in town is that it’s happened before at other surgery centers.
Speculation can’t really help now. Let’s be patient and hope the authorities are making a fabulous case against someone.
I, more than anyone except for maybe some of my partners and her husband, want justice for Mel - and the other patients harmed.

Whoever is responsible?
Well I’m sorry they can only die once… and I’ll be glad to supervise the med student putting that 16g in…. I’ll let them try maybe 5 times before I’ll do it myself.

I don’t think dr O should’ve had privileges - but that’s because of his lack of board certification and history of violence to animals - his personal life and drama with his exs really should be his business unless there are actually assault or abuse allegations I’m not aware of. His inability to have a stable romantic relationship shouldn’t matter to his ability to be a good doctor.
 
What I want to know is, what evidence is there that this guy is the culprit? Or are they just pointing the finger at him because he's a giant douche canoe that happened to be at that location?
 
wasnt there a thread about coming to work while sick/using sick days, not long ago?

but yes there def is a huge problem with our profession

My point is that if you’re sick enough to need IV fluids then you shouldn’t be at work. I don’t even think that’s debatable. Would you want that person caring for your family member? I think it’s absolutely absurd the amount of people raising their hand saying they’ve given or received IV fluid in order to complete a shift. In my mind that person is no different than someone who has had a couple drinks before coming in to do a case. The machoism in medicine gets really stupid at times.
 
What I want to know is, what evidence is there that this guy is the culprit? Or are they just pointing the finger at him because he's a giant douche canoe that happened to be at that location?


It will be interesting to see how this develops. Hopefully they’ll have physical evidence like video or fingerprints. Otherwise all you have are IVF bags spiked with bupivacaine. That said, it is a fairly sophisticated sabotage and one that is unlikely to be committed by your average Joe. Will be on a true crime show one day.
 
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My point is that if you’re sick enough to need IV fluids then you shouldn’t be at work. I don’t even think that’s debatable. Would you want that person caring for your family member? I think it’s absolutely absurd the amount of people raising their hand saying they’ve given or received IV fluid in order to complete a shift. In my mind that person is no different than someone who has had a couple drinks before coming in to do a case. The machoism in medicine gets really stupid at times.
I hope covid is changing this. In my case, it was almost 10 years ago for the IV, I felt a little bad with a GI thing at the start of the day, and I got sent home after my first case when I was told I "looked like death" (acute change).

In Dec 19/Jan 20, I had what I'm sure was covid. I was sick, and my hospital sent an email out saying "everyone is sick, come to work and wear a mask." I called in sick with a fever 1/2 when I was precall after sleeping for the 2 day holiday we had before being on call the weekend. Then covid happened during allergy season... If anyone sneezed they wanted you to go home.
 
My point is that if you’re sick enough to need IV fluids then you shouldn’t be at work. I don’t even think that’s debatable. Would you want that person caring for your family member? I think it’s absolutely absurd the amount of people raising their hand saying they’ve given or received IV fluid in order to complete a shift. In my mind that person is no different than someone who has had a couple drinks before coming in to do a case. The machoism in medicine gets really stupid at times.
I think it comes back to a combination of not having enough backup or extra people to pick up your workload and not wanting to abandon your patients. I don't say this as if it's a good thing. I'm only a family doctor but in residency there were a couple times I worked in various stages of illness because I didn't want to burden one of my fellow residents with having to take a shift for me. I don't think I'm alone in feeling that way at the time.
 
Please don't misconstrue this as victim blaming... But I can't imagine taking/being told to take a bag of IVT and cannulation equipment home... That's a proceed directly to the inpatient detox facility, do-not-pass-go scenario until any misuse is completely excluded.

Terrible this happened to her.
This is normal in America.
 
A good source told me they have 3000 hours of video they have turned into the police. I have also hear that the events have correlated with when dr O has been in town and not occurred when he wasn’t. I am hoping they have more evidence that they aren’t sharing right now.
That second article loosely linking dr o to the center seems like a little bit of a plant from the last plaintiffs attorney. Steckler is a well known and aggressive malpractice attorney here. That article suggested a link without really saying there is one. It’s not really news- it’s juicy gossip carefully worded to avoid actually implicating him. Praying more concrete details come out this week
 
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