The Body Show

It’s been a year-and-a-half since we first uncovered the controversy behind human bodies – stripped of their skin and preserved with plastic – put on display in for-profit shows. Our investigation began with the basic fact that the corpses on display at San Francisco’s Masonic Center were leaking human fat and silicone. The local Health Department decided the leaks didn’t pose an imminent risk to the public. We also revealed the huge amount of money these shows rake in – hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide – and the controversial origin of the bodies. We traced them to an emerging industry in China, where bodies of the country’s homeless and inmates wind up in what are called “plastination factories”. Our reports sparked outrage and protests by the Bay Area’s Chinese American community. Then-Supervisor Fiona Ma sponsored an ordinance banning such for-profit shows, without the expressed consent of the deceased or their next of kin.

Fast forward to today …

Another body show in another city is sparking the same reaction. “Bodies…The Exhibition” is running now in Seattle. Several members of the Washington State House of Representatives have sponsored a bill based on the San Francisco ordinance; HB-1253 would ban the shows statewide.

Over the past several months, we’ve been fielding calls from Seattle for the information we uncovered in 2005. Now, we’ve called newly-elected California State Assembly Member Fiona Ma to see if she’s considering taking her San Francisco ordinance to Sacramento. We’ll get back to you.

By the way, did you catch last week’s Boston Legal? The body show controversy made it into the primetime dramedy. Here’s the show summary from ABC.com:

“Alan Shore pulls double-duty in court, representing two separate clients -- a woman who stole her late father's plastinized body from an art museum, and a cognitive therapist fired from his job at a hospital for imparting his belief in UFOs to his clients.”

Two I-Team Headlines

We broke the story today about the City Attorney’s investigation into whether the woman with whom San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom had an affair got preferential treatment. At issue – her salary history, most notably, for 2006. Ruby Rippey-Tourk was Newsom’s Appointments Secretary when they began having an affair in the summer of 2005; her husband is Alex Tourk, Newsom’s close friend and trusted aide at the time. Ruby Tourk’s spokesman told us tonight that she underwent alcohol rehab (“no drugs involved”) in May, June and July of last year. At first, that was listed on the city payroll as unpaid leave. After Ruby Tourk resigned on July 21st (you can read her resignation letter here), the city changed the unpaid leave to paid leave, and cut Tourk a check for $10,154.64. Late today, Tourk’s spokesman claimed she was able to collect that money because two city employees (he wouldn’t provide their names) donated some of their own time to Tourk under the “Catastrophic Illness Program”. There are serious questions whether alcohol rehab qualifies under the program. One city official explained to me this evening that the “Catastrophic Illness Program” is meant for terminal illnesses, such as AIDS or cancer. City employees are allowed to donate their vacation or sick time to someone going through the final stages of a catastrophic illness. Here is part of the San Francisco Administrative Code that applies:

SEC. 16.9-29A. T. J. ANTHONY EMPLOYEE CATASTROPHIC ILLNESS PROGRAM--TRANSFER OF SICK LEAVE AND VACATION CREDITS TO INDIVIDUAL CATASTROPHICALLY ILL EMPLOYEES OR TO A POOL OF CATASTROPHICALLY ILL EMPLOYEES.

(a) Purpose. To enable catastrophically-ill employees to continue to be paid through donations of sick leave and vacation hours from other employees, as authorized by Charter Sections A8.364 and A8.441. This program shall be known as the Catastrophically Ill Program, or "CIP." This Section only provides for receipt of such credits as are donated and does not provide for an absolute right of continued paid leave.

(b) Establishment of Pool; Administration and Rule-Making Authority. There is hereby established a pool into which employees may donate sick leave and/or vacation credits to benefit catastrophically-ill employees. The Controller shall have authority to administer the CIP program, including the authority to make and enforce rules not inconsistent with this Section, with consultation from the Director of Health.

(c) Definitions.

(1) A "catastrophic illness" shall mean a life-threatening illness or injury, as determined by the Department of Public Health.

(2) An "active participant" in the CIP is defined as a City employee who has applied for Catastrophic Illness Status and been notified of his or her acceptance in the CIP by the Department of Public Health or its designee and whose participation in the CIP has not terminated, regardless of whether or not the employee has actually received or used any donated sick leave and/or vacation credits.

(d) Eligibility of Employees To Participate in CIP. Any employee of the City and County of San Francisco may participate in the CIP if the employee meets all of the following conditions:

(1) The employee is eligible to accumulate and use sick leave and vacation credits;

(2) The employee is catastrophically ill;

(3) The employee has exhausted all of his/her available paid leave; and

(4) The employee does not participate in a short or long-term disability program for which the City pays in whole, directly or indirectly, or if the employee participates in such a program, the employee agrees to, and does, apply for disability benefits immediately upon becoming eligible for such benefits. Any employee who participates in a short or long-term disability program for which the City pays in whole, directly or indirectly, may participate in the CIP program until the employee receives or is qualified to receive benefits under the terms of a short or long-term disability program for which the City pays in whole, directly or indirectly. Any employee who is receiving or is qualified to receive short or long term disability benefits from a short or long term disability program for which the City pays in whole, directly or indirectly, may not participate in the CIP program until and unless the employee's disability benefits terminate. Any employee who, while or after participating in the CIP program, retroactively receives or is qualified to receive short or long term disability benefits from a short or long term disability program for which the City pays in whole, directly or indirectly, must reimburse the City for the CIP payments received during the period which the short or long term disability program applies. Failure to do so will result in the City's placing a lien for the unreimbursed amount on the employee's future wages and benefits (not including workers' compensation or retirement.) This paragraph does not apply to employees who are active participants in the CIP as of the effective date of this Amendment and have been active participants since March 29, 2002.

So, the question is, did Public Health Director Mitch Katz approve Ruby Tourk’s alcohol problem as a “catastrophic illness”? If so, why? We called him at home tonight and left a message, and his spokeswoman said he probably wouldn’t comment tonight – “we’re going to be getting that question tomorrow”. They sure will.

The other odd twist – just a few months after the affair began, Mayor Newsom, Ruby Tourk and her husband, Alex, attended a mandatory sexual harassment seminar together. Here’s Gavin Newsom’s certificate of completion from the 2-hour course.

The other headline – good sources are telling us that SFPD investigators presented the Baker’s Dozen case to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office today. We could hear as early as tomorrow whether D.A. Kamala Harris will pursue charges against the local college students and Marines, suspected of beating members of the Yale choir over New Year’s. Excuse the cliché – stay tuned.

Marine Involved in Yale Choir Incident

We first reported Monday that a Marine from San Francisco was apparently involved in the beating of a Yale University singing group “The Baker’s Dozen” over New Year’s. Several members were injured, some seriously. We can now give you more details about the young man, and the response the I-Team has received from the U.S. Marine Corps Command.

Twenty-year-old Marino Peradotto is part of the 2nd Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team (FAST) Company based at the Naval Weapons Station in Yorktown, Virginia. The elite unit is responsible for sensitive missions such as guarding nuclear submarines and protecting the Coalition Provisional Authority headquarters in Iraq. "Each Marine is highly trained in ... urban combat techniques and martial arts," according to a US military press release.

Peradotto on the far left, with the Aicardi brothers who were also there that night

The public affairs officer at II Marine Expeditionary Force in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina says Peradotto told his commanding officer about the incident after returning from San Francisco, but claimed, “He’s a witness and nothing more than a witness. … He was not an active participant, he did not implicate himself.”

That doesn’t jive with a witness account given to police by a member of the Baker’s Dozen. Lawyers for the group say the Yale student identified Peradotto as one of eight men who punched and kicked Evan Gogel, while he was on the ground.

Evan Gogel

Gogel suffered a serious concussion, along with a black eye and other bruises. Police records obtained by the I-Team show police detained four men identified by the witness, including Marino Peradotto. Officers made no arrests that night, or in the six weeks since the incident.

Peradotto may have told his immediate commander something about the incident, but apparently no one up the chain of command knew. Major Jeffrey Sammons from the headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia told us, “No one in this command had even heard of this incident until you brought it up.” They are now aware of the SFPD investigation into the beating, and Sammons tells us, “The Marine Corps’ lawyers have been talking with the San Francisco Police Department on this. The Marine Corps is fully cooperating with SFPD on this investigation. … The bottom line is the San Francisco police department has an open investigation, and if they need military assistance, all they have to do is ask for it. ... If the San Francisco police department needs to talk with (Peradotto), all they have to do is contact the Marine Corps lawyers and they will provide this gentleman for investigation purposes.”

We understand that Peradotto is now on duty in Japan, and SFPD investigators have not interviewed him yet. Lawyers for the Baker’s Dozen sent a letter to the Marines last week which reveals Peradotto used his cell phone camera to take pictures of what the letter calls “wounds to the knuckles of his fellow attackers.” Police investigators apparently have those pictures.

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris told us yesterday she expects to make a decision on whether to file charges within days; we’re staying on top of the story.

Baker’s Dozen Developments

There were a few intriguing developments in the Yale Choir beating story today. We revealed more about one of the young men who was detained that night by police, after the Yale students identified him and three others. Marino Peradotto is a member of an elite Marine anti-terrorism unit, trained in martial arts and close-quarters combat. He’s now stationed in Japan. Families of the Yale students are upset that police haven’t even interviewed Peradotto or made any arrest in the case. What we didn’t say on the air today was that we’re hearing at least three Marines from San Francisco were involved in the incident with the Baker’s Dozen.

Then, there are the pictures. Jim Hammer is a former San Francisco prosecutor who’s now representing the Yale students and their families, along with two other attorneys. Hammer sent this letter to the U.S. Marine Corps on Friday and it reveals for the first time that Peradotto used his cell phone camera to take pictures of what the letter calls “wounds to the knuckles of his fellow attackers.” The accusation here is that Peradotto took “bragging photos” to commemorate the beating his friends gave the Yale singers. We’ll see if that turns out to be the truth.

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris has agreed to sit down with us tomorrow morning and talk about the case. We’ll have that Tuesday on the news at six.

Day of Bombshells

Well, sorry the blog’s late, but I’ve never had a day like this – three different investigations breaking at once.

We started this day following up on our investigation into the Mayor’s Press Secretary, Peter Ragone. He finally admitted he used phony names to post comments on blogs – including the I-Teams’ – blasting the mayor’s critics and me.

Then, I got word the San Francisco Medical Examiner had finally wrapped up its investigation into Nick Torrico’s death. We first reported last October how the twenty-seven-year-old from Seattle died in a fall from a rooftop, after a failed rescue attempt. Torrico’s toxicology results were negative – he had no alcohol or drugs in his system. The M.E. did not rule it a suicide, because “the physical intervention and struggle with a fire department officer immediately prior to his fall can be interpreted as a sufficient intervening act, without which he may not have died.” We also reported the SFFD sent the family a bill for the young man’s medical care – more than $1,000.

Throughout the day, we heard rumblings that a female staffer for Gavin Newsom was complaining that Newsom had harassed her. Then, Newsom’s Campaign Manager Alex Tourk announced he was resigning for personal reasons. We thought there might be a connection – we had heard rumors of an affair between Ruby Rippey-Tourk and Newsom over the past six months. It came to a head when SF Gate went on-line this evening with a report that said Alex Tourk resigned after confronting Newsom about the affair.

We’ll be chasing that story Thursday. Oh, by the way, we have a very strong investigation into a restaurant owner who continued charging customers’ credit cards, months after the business shut down – and for much more money than you would pay for a Chinese dinner.

It might be another multiple-story day for the I-Team. You never know what the news day will bring.