A private attorney hired by Milwaukee County has cost taxpayers nearly $204,000 over the past three years to defend the county against possible lawsuits or criminal charges over shoddy care at the Mental Health Complex.
The county initially hired Mark Cameli in December 2006 at $395 an hour to help the county with a possible criminal case after the death of a patient at the county's Mental Health Complex. Cindy Anczak died in August 2006 from complications of starvation. The state Department of Justice investigated the case, but no charges were filed.
Still, Cameli and his Milwaukee firm, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, have been kept under contract since then for the county's Behavioral Health Division, which runs the complex. His original contract had a $75,000 maximum, which has since been increased twice. In February 2008, the limit grew to $175,000. In March, while the county psychiatric hospital was under threat of cutoff of federal aid over patient assaults, the dollar limit of Cameli's contract was raised to $235,000.
The scope of his services, however, was never changed from the original contract purpose: "assistance with potential criminal litigation stemming from an investigation into the death of a patient."
Tim Schoewe, the county's acting corporation counsel, said Cameli was hired for his expertise on "highly technical" state and federal regulatory issues. Cameli is a former federal prosecutor and civil litigator.
His biography on the Reinhart firm's Web site touts Cameli's expertise in "persuading federal and state prosecutors not to charge public officials, health care professionals and other clients, avoiding all publicity and damage to the client's reputation."
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 14, 2010
Since I worked at Reinhart for almost 3 years, I think I will just keep my usual commentary to myself...the media seems to be handling it just fine without my input.
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