Whistle-blowers help recover $9.3 billion

Whistle-blowers help recover $9.3 billion

WASHINGTON — Whistle-blowers helped authorities recover at least $9.3 billion from health-care providers accused of defrauding states and the federal government, according to an analysis of Justice Department records.

The department ramped up efforts in the 1990s to combat health-care fraud by using private citizens with inside knowledge of wrongdoing. They now initiate more than 90 percent of the department’s lawsuits focusing on health care fraud.

Whistle-blowers start cases by filing a sealed complaint in federal court. The department investigates the allegation and can intervene, assuming the lead role in the lawsuit. Whistle-blowers then get between 15 percent and 25 percent of the amount recovered.

Of the $9.3 billion recovered between 1996 and 2005, whistle-blowers got more than $1 billion, say analysts, writing for the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Raikes takes over as CEO of Gates foundation

SEATTLE — The arrival of a new CEO at the world’s largest charitable foundation comes with much less fanfare than Bill Gates’ own decision to leave Microsoft Corp. to focus more on his family’s philanthropy.

Jeff Raikes, 50, a former top executive at the software giant, will be the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s second leader since its inception in 1997. He is replacing Patty Stonesifer, another former Microsoft exec and friend of Bill and Melinda Gates, who announced in February that she would step down.

Raikes will start his job today in silence, as the charity has denied requests for media interviews in order to give him 100 days of solitude to focus on his new job.

Iraqis take responsiblity for security in Anbar

BAGHDAD — American forces handed over security responsibility to the Iraqis on Monday in a province that the U.S. once feared was lost — a sign of the stunning reversal of fortunes since local Sunnis turned against al-Qaida in Iraq.

But a Sunni Arab leader criticized the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for failing to embrace its newfound allies, underlining the threat that sectarian tensions still pose to a lasting peace.

Nevertheless, the transfer of Anbar province, the cradle of the Sunni insurgency and the birthplace of al-Qaida in Iraq, marked a dramatic milestone in America’s plan to eventually hand over all 18 provinces to Iraqi control so U.S. troops can go home.

The 25,000 American troops remaining in Anbar will focus on training Iraq’s military and police forces and standing by to help if the Iraqis are unable to cope with any surge in violence.

Europe gets involved in Russia-Georgia dispute

WASHINGTON — The United States welcomed Europe’s involvement in the Russia-Georgia dispute as laid out Monday in decisions by European Union leaders in an extraordinary summit meeting at Brussels.

In Brussels, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, current head of the European Union, said he would lead an EU delegation to Moscow next Monday for talks on the crisis.

The White House praised EU involvement in trying to reverse Russia’s recognition of two breakaway Georgia regions — Abkhazia and South Ossetia — and promised U.S. cooperation in reconstruction of the small Caucasus country, a former Soviet republic.

The statement from President Bush’s press secretary also urged the EU to deploy cease-fire monitors quickly to ensure that Russia fulfills its promises.

1 killed during protests against Thai government

BANGKOK, Thailand — Protesters seeking to topple Thailand’s prime minister and mobs of his supporters clashed early today, leaving one dead and dozens injured hours after state workers sympathetic to anti-government demonstrators threatened to cut essential services.

A coalition of 43 unions representing workers at state companies including water, electric, phone and the national airline said they would cut off services to the government starting Wednesday in support of the anti-government protests. They already were disrupting rail service and planned to cut back public bus transportation.

The labor federation said 200,000 members would stop work in support of an alliance of right-wing protesters that has occupied Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej’s office for a week, trying to bring down the government.

Phone-tapping accusation troubles Brazil’s leaders

BRASILIA, Brazil — Brazil’s president tried to avert a political crisis Monday after the national intelligence service was accused of tapping the phones of the Supreme Court chief and other top officials.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met with Chief Justice Gilmar Mendes for more than two hours Monday after the Veja newsweekly published transcripts of what it said was a conversation between Mendes and opposition Sen. Demostenes Torres.

According to the magazine, Torres was asking Mendes for help in overturning a lower-court decision to keep a witness from appearing before his senate committee investigating pedophilia.

Police: 11 heads burned

MEXICO CITY — The heads of 11 decapitated bodies discovered in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula last week may have been burned in a ritual, investigators said.

Police said they found an altar to the skeletal figure of the “Santa Muerte,” an unofficial patron saint of death, in the home of two men arrested in connection with the slayings, while several scorched spots were discovered in a nearby clearing.

Police suspect the heads were burned in the clearing, according to a statement from the Public Safety Department. The department did not say what evidence it had to support that theory. Public Safety officials declined to give further details Monday, citing an ongoing investigation.

Decapitations have become more frequent in battles between Mexico’s powerful drug cartels. The 11 corpses appeared to be the largest group of beheadings since gunmen tossed five human heads into a bar two years ago.

Raises to be skimpy, but merit pay holds hope

NEW YORK — U.S. workers can expect skimpy raises in their base salaries next year, but top performers may still fatten their paychecks with merit compensation.

A study released today by Hewitt Associates, a human resources consulting firm, found base pay will rise by 3.8 percent in 2009, marking the seventh consecutive year of flat growth.

One-time performance-based pay, however, is expected to grow by 10.6 percent. That’s down slightly from 10.8 percent this year and 11.8 percent in 2007.

Performance-based rewards are popular since they don’t commit companies to ongoing costs, said Ken Abosch, leader of Hewitt’s compensation consulting business. The survey measured one-time performance-based awards and did not include raises based on performance.

Associated Press