“Then the company changed my route and I was going east. I never saw her again. What’s it been --- fifty years?”
“Fifty-eight,” Mark said.
“So why are you here now,” I asked, “after all these years?”
“It’s about Mom,” he said.
“How is she?” Dad asked.
“She’s dying. That’s why I’m here.”
“Oh my God,” Dad said, burying his face in his hands.
Davenport turned to me.
“I’ve been following your Dr. Death case very closely.”
"You mean through the newspapers?"
“No, actually, more than that. I know pretty much every detail about your undercover operation. I’m with the FBI.”
“You’re a Fed? What’s the FBI’s interest in our case?”
“They’re not. I’m interested. It’s personal.”
“Personal, how?”
“Mom’s been sick for a very long time. Pancreatic cancer. It’s spread throughout her body. She’s done the chemo and the radiation, but there’s nothing more they can do for her.”
“I’m really sorry to hear that. What does that have to do with our case?”
Then it dawned on me.
“No! No! You surely aren’t expecting me to hook you up with Dr. Death?”
“Walt, she’s in terrible pain. She’s begging to die.”
The specter of the dying patients in the Kevorkian movie filled my mind.
“Mark, you know this is illegal. How do I know you’re not just testing me? It wouldn’t be the first sting I’ve seen.”
“Walt, we don’t know each other, but we’re still flesh and blood. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t love her so much.
“She’s had a rough life, raising a kid all alone. She deserves to have her peace and leave this life with some dignity.”
Everyone was looking at me.
“But I’m a cop!” I said. “I’m supposed to be trying to catch this guy, not give him more business.”
Maggie took my hand.
“I understand what you’re going through here, Walt. Nobody’s going to try to make you do something you don’t feel comfortable with,” she said looking first at Dad and then at Mark. “You do what you feel is right in your heart.”
I remembered the chat I had with Pastor Bob. His last words that night were, “We have been given guidelines as to what is right and wrong, but circumstances alter cases, and all we can do is make the best choice possible at the time.”
I got a pencil and paper and wrote one name, Dr. Graves.
Davenport stuffed the paper in his pocket, hugged me and said, “You have no idea how much this means to me.”
As he walked out of the room, my only thought was, God help me if I’m wrong.
CHAPTER 13
A few days later, the captain called Ox and me into his office.
I was surprised to see Agent Blackburn with the FBI.
Oh crap, I thought, they’ve found out about the information that I leaked to Mark Davenport.
Apparently that was not the case, as Blackburn rose from his chair and extended his hand.
“Well if it isn’t Henry Gondorff,” he said with a smile. “Good to see you again.”
Henry Gondorff was the name I had recently used in a joint undercover operation with the FBI.
We had set up a sting to expose the corruption that existed between large pharmaceutical giants and government officials.
The sting had been a success, but the corporate executives, congressmen and bureaucrats involved had walked away with a mere slap on the wrist.
The end result was a blatant miscarriage of justice, but it had served as a wakeup call that our lives were being manipulated by the collusion of big business and government officials on the take.
“How may I be of service to the FBI today?” I asked.
Blackburn gave me a mischievous grin. “Is my aged David ready to take on another Goliath?”
I was still mad as hell that people of power and influence were somehow able to break the law with impunity and walk away scot-free.
“I might be,” I replied. “What do you have in mind?”
“First of all,” he said, “I want you to know that not everyone in government is corrupt.”
“You could have fooled me,” I replied. “Present company excepted, of course.”
“Our little sting operation got the attention of some folks in the Department of Justice who are not beneficiaries of the pharmaceutical company’s largesse.
“They had been concerned for some time about what they call ‘selective enforcement’ by some of our government agencies.
“The Rolotor drug fiasco that we exposed focused the spotlight on one of the worst offenders, the Food and Drug Administration.”
“If your new operation has anything to do with weeding out the corruption in the FDA, then I’m in,” I said. Then looking at the captain, “That is, if it’s all right with Captain Short.”
The captain smiled. “I think we can spare you and Ox for awhile for a good cause.
“Dr. Death seems to be off the radar for the moment and unless he resurfaces, we’d be happy to loan you to the FBI.”
I felt pretty sure that we wouldn’t be hearing from Thanatos in the next few days. He was probably on his way to Goodland, Kansas.
“So how can we help?” I asked.
“I’m sure you recall that the FDA has the authority to create a law, and one of their most absurd, states that only a drug can cure, prevent or treat a disease.”
I remembered all right.
In Kevin Trudeau’s book, Natural Cures “They” Don’t Want You To Know About, he gave an example of the absurdity of this 'law.'
He said that the disease of scurvy, which is a vitamin C deficiency, could be treated, prevented and cured by eating citrus fruit.
He went on to say that if a person were to hold up an orange and declare that it was a cure for scurvy, that orange would suddenly become a drug under their definition and the person making that claim could be arrested for selling a drug without a license.
His claim was that the FDA used this tactic, in collusion with the big drug companies to keep natural products off the market, thereby giving the drug giants a monopoly with their expensive, patented drugs.
Blackburn brought me back to the present.
“One of the classic cases of ‘selective enforcement’ occurred in the late seventies.
“Through extensive research, a man and his wife developed a bread product, made of all-natural ingredients that had the ability to curb hunger.
“Testing showed that it was effective in weight loss and that the natural fiber contained in the bread could potentially lower the risk of certain cancers.
“This, of course, drew the attention of the drug giants who set loose their minions in the FDA.
“It was a tragic case. The poor man did everything possible to comply with the FDA’s requirements for a new food product, but they declared it to be a drug. It wasn’t a drug. It was bread! But by their definition, he was selling a drug without a license.
“The guy fought tooth and nail, but in the end, the FDA had all the bread seized. There was enough bread to feed nearly a million people, but rather than give it away, they had it buried in a landfill. Bread!
“The fiasco included collusion beginning with the local FDA office, through congress and all the way to the White House. National television stations and major newspapers were involved as well.
“The man fought so hard that a friend of his who had inside information, told him that if he didn’t back off, his family could be the target of an assassination attempt.”
I could certainly believe that.
Our sting operation had linked at least seven deaths to the Rolotor drug cover-up.
“Truly a David versus Goliath story, for sure,” I said. “So what is David going to have in his sling to take down the giants this time?”
�
�Elderberries,” he replied.
“You’ve got to be kidding!”
“Nope,” he replied. “Elderberries are our perfect weapons.
“Their medicinal properties have been known as far back as Hippocrates.
“They are high in vitamins A, B and C and they have a high concentration of a thing called anthocyanin, one of the most powerful antioxidants known to man.
“Among its other uses is the ability to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease by reducing the oxidation of LDL cholesterol in the blood --- and you know how uptight the drug companies get when you try to introduce a natural product that competes with their statin drugs.”
“So how do Ox and I fit into this picture?”
“You’re going to help us get the Bob Gordon Elderberry.”
I had to think where I had heard that name, and then it came to me.
Bob Gordon and his wife, Kay, were the proprietors of Gordon’s Orchard in Osceola, Mo.
Maggie and I had met them when we stopped at the orchard on the way to Branson.
Then a year or so later, another case involving religious extremists had taken me to Osceola during which time we made several more trips to the orchard for their succulent peaches and tomatoes.
“So what does Bob Gordon have to do with elderberries?” I asked.
“The University of Missouri Extension was collecting samples of elderberry germplasm to test. In 1999, Bob Gordon submitted cuttings of the berries growing wild on his land. After extensive research, his berry was selected by the University as the prototype they wanted, and they named it the 'Bob Gordon Elderberry.'
“I’m still not getting the connection,” I said.
“It’s the perfect setup!” Blackburn said. “Gordon has the elderberry named after him and he has a thriving market.
“We want to set him up with the equipment to process the berries into juice which he will sell in his market with a label that promotes the healing qualities of the juice.
“We’ll run ads for the stuff that will get the attention of the drug companies.
“When they unleash their FDA dogs, we’ll round up the whole bunch.”
“So all I have to do is convince a seventy-year old couple to spit in the face of the federal government and the pharmaceutical giants?”
“Something like that. We’ll have their back all the way.”
“Yeah, I’m sure that will be a comfort.”
As Ox and I drove the two hours from Kansas City to Osceola, I tried my best to come up with a reasonable argument to persuade the Gordon’s to participate in Blackburn’s hare-brained scheme --- but I came up empty.
How do you convince someone to put something they had built over thirty-five years on the line, especially when the outcome was unpredictable?
I had dug into the bread story that Blackburn had shared and I discovered that the FDA had completely ruined the guy and cost him tens of thousands in legal fees.
It wasn’t exactly a persuasive argument.
We decided that the best approach was to just be honest, lay everything on the line and see what happened.
When we walked into the market, Bob was behind the counter wearing the same old leather hat I had seen three years ago.
“Hi Mr. Gordon,” I said. “Do you remember me?”
“Sure,” he said. You’re that cop fella from Kansas City. You’re too late for the peaches, but we’ve got lots of apples.”
“Actually, we’re not here just for the fruit. This is my partner, George Wilson. I wonder if we could have a few minutes with you and your wife?”
“Come on over to the house. I think Kay just took a pie out of the oven.”
Bob invited us to sit around the big oak table in the kitchen while Kay was busy spooning big slabs of hot apple pie onto plates.
While we ate, I explained the reason for our visit.
Bob sat quietly until I was finished.
“I see a few problems here,” he said. “First, I don’t have the equipment to extract the juice from the elderberry and second, even if I did, I don’t have enough berries to make the quantities you’re talking about.”
“The FBI has that all covered,” Ox said. “They will install the berry presses and they have made arrangements for berries to be shipped in.
“The bottles are even ready with the labels.”
“According to the story you told us about the man with the bread,” Kay said, “the FDA could come in at any time and shut down the whole market and we could even be open to criminal charges.”
“We hope that is exactly what will happen. We want the FDA to raid the market, but as far as any criminal charges, you will have complete immunity and the DOJ will reimburse you for any lost business.”
“And for your co-operation,” Ox added, “you can keep the juice presses and any profits from juice sales that come in before the raid.”
“Plus,” I said, “you get two extra laborers for free. Ox and I will be here to oversee the project to the end. The FBI is putting us up in a hotel in Clinton, so we will be just a half-hour away.”
“I don’t suppose we could get all that in writing?” Bob asked.
“Got it right here,” I said, pulling a sheaf of documents out of my briefcase.
“You all have another piece of pie while Kay and I talk,” he said.
I politely declined, but Ox gladly accepted another piece and dug in.
He had just put the last bite in his mouth when the Gordon’s returned.
“We’ve been at this for thirty-five years,” he said. “We’ve been thinking of selling and letting some younger folks try their hand.
“Maybe this is the answer we’ve been looking for. If we’re gonna go out, we might as well go out with a bang!”
It was settled.
A sixty-eight year old cop and two seventy-year old farmers were about to grab another pharmaceutical tiger by the tail.
The setup ran like clockwork.
The berry presses were installed, boxes of bottles with the incriminating labels arrived, and soon refrigerated trucks began unloading crates of elderberry heads.
While all this was going on, Ox and I were given a crash course in the orchard business.
We took turns in the field picking apples and Bob even let me drive the tractor.
I hadn’t driven a tractor since I was a boy on my grandpa’s farm. I was like a kid in a candy store.
But the thing that I wanted to do the most was drive the forklift. Since my high school days as a stock boy at the local supermarket, the powerful machines that lifted the huge pallets of groceries had fascinated me. The lift was, of course, off limits to a sixteen year-old kid.
At the orchard, the apples were brought in from the field in huge wooden crates weighing hundreds of pounds.
The forklift would carry the crates into an enormous walk-in cooler where they were stacked to the ceiling.
With some misgivings, Bob instructed me in the use of the lift.
The first time I tried it on my own, I saw Bob watching and his hands were behind his back. I’m guessing he had his fingers crossed.
Once the elderberry operation was underway, Ox and I learned to operate the press.
We discovered right away that another characteristic of the juice is that it stains --- horribly!
After my first day in the pressroom, I emerged looking more like Willie than Walt.
The bumblings of Ox and I that first day, brought back memories of that I Love Lucy classic where Lucy and Ethel were in the big vat stomping grapes barefooted.
Thankfully, we weren’t required to take off our shoes.
It wasn’t long before the first bottles of elderberry elixir were ready to sell.
As promised, the Fibbies ran full-page ads in the Clinton, Springfield and Kansas City newspapers extolling the virtues of the juice as a way to control cholesterol levels naturally, with no damaging side effects at a fraction of the cost of statin drugs.
The day the new
spapers hit the streets, the phones began to ring and cars began pouring into the market parking lot.
We sold out of our first batch in two days and worked late into the night to prepare more of the sought-after juice.
Sales skyrocketed, and for the moment, the Gordon’s were pleased with their decision.
The bulk of the sales were for cash and Kay found herself making daily trips to the bank.
About ten days into the operation, Bob approached us waving a letter in his hand.
“I think you’ve got someone’s attention,” he said, handing us the letter.
The letter was exactly what we had anticipated.
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH EDUCATION AND WELFARE
Mr. Robert Gordon
Osceola, Mo.
Dear Mr. Gordon,
Our investigation has revealed that you have been marketing Gordon’s Elderberry Elixir with the label bearing a claim that your product will reduce the oxidation of LDL cholesterol in the blood thereby preventing cardiovascular disease.
Such claims and statements cause this elixir to be a new drug. A new drug cannot be marketed until the Food and Drug Administration has received and approved a New Drug Application (NDA) for the product.
In summary, it is the opinion of the Food and Drug Administration that Gordon’s Elderberry Elixir is a new drug and as labeled is seriously misbranded and, therefore, may not be marketed with its present labeling in the absence of an approved new Drug Application.
In view of the above and in the public interest, we request that you immediately discontinue marketing Gordon’s Elderberry Elixir as labeled and immediately discontinue all distribution of promotional literature.
We request that you reply within ten (10) days after receipt of this letter, stating the action you will take to discontinue the marketing of this drug product. If such corrective action is not promptly undertaken, the Food and Drug Administration is prepared to initiate legal action to enforce the law.
The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act provides for seizure of illegal products and/or injunction against the manufacturer or distributor of illegal product, 21 U.S.C. 332 and 334.
Sincerely,
[Lady Justice 06] - Lady Justice and Dr. Death Page 10