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Fleeing the Congo for Phoenix

PHOENIX — Videlinata Istina Krishna grew up in a world most of us could never imagine, and she uses her life experiences to help those who have walked down similar paths.

Krishna, 24, was raised in the Republic of Congo in central Africa. She moved to Arizona in 2004 after spending four years in Cote d’Ivoire to get away from her war-torn country.

“We came here because of the war,” Krishna says. “They had to move us here.”

Krishna remembers when she first became afraid in her city Brazzaville, the capital of Congo. It was October 1997, Krishna was 13 years old. Bombs were dropped on her city.

The civil war had begun. Former military ruler Denis Sassou Nguesso seized power from President Pascal Lissouba in the Congo with help of Angolan troops, resulting in more than 10,000 deaths in Brazzaville alone. Although the war ended within the same month, shootings, bombings and other acts of violence continued for years.

Before the war, Krishna was allowed to go to school, ride the bus and go to the market for common items like milk.  But during the war, she was forced to stay inside and take care of the house while her mom went to work as a midwife at the city hospital. She remained at home watched after her two younger sisters.

“I cooked, and I cleaned,” Krishna says. “We were no longer allowed to go outside.”

She says had no knowledge of the tragic situation in her country besides it was too dangerous to go outside due to the bombing and shootings. People remained inside to hide from the violence, so there was not much talk or understanding about the civil war, Krishna says.

The civil war came to a halt in October 1997, but the violence did not.  In August 1998, militiamen loyal to the former government waged a guerilla war against President Nguesso. The militiamen and government conflict continued until May 2003, but the violence had staggering effects on the people and the economy.

More than 200,000 civilians were displaced due to the fighting in December 1998, according to the Global Security website. The government signed a cease-fire with the militiamen that month, but individual members continued to launch attacks. Since May 2003, the Republic of Congo has been in nearly stable, according to Global Security.

Krishna and her family left the Congo in 2000 amidst the fighting to find refuge in Cote d’Ivoire. They spent four years there before they could move to America, then moved to Arizona in 2004.

Once here, Krishna, then 20, started a new life by attending Glendale Community College to pursue an associate’s degree in the Arts. She then transferred to Arizona State University to study philosophy. Her goals are to go to law school after she graduates to study criminal law.

“Someone has to do it,” Krishna says. “It might as well be me.”

When Krishna transferred to ASU, she joined Community Outreach and Advocacy for Refugees (COAR), a nonprofit that aides resettled refugees in rebuilding their lives in America.

As a refugee herself, she knew the difficulty of moving to a new and different country.  Her first year she mentored high school refugee students in preparing for higher education; now she is the COAR Reaching Higher Mentor Coordinator, helping the mentors work with their students.

Wynter Fenn, president of ASU’s STAND, Students Anti-Genocide Coalition, tries to help people in countries like the Republic of Congo. Fenn, 19, says it is everyone’s responsibility to be aware of other people’s struggles all over the world.

“If you were in their position, you would want people to come to your aide,” Fenn says. “You can’t ignore it,” Fenn adds. “If we do, how it will get better?”

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>>Email the editor at aklaw@zoniereport.com.

Pima County in court over inmate suicide

TUCSON — The mother of a Tucson teenager claims officials at the Pima County Jail ignored several warning signs about her son’s suicidal tendencies, leading to his death just days after he was incarcerated.

Daryl Marie Kramer is suing the county, Sheriff Clarence Dupnik and Correctional Medical Services, a St. Louis-based government contractor that administers medical care in the jail, on behalf of her deceased son, Brian Kramer.

In November 2007, Daryl Kramer grew concerned about her son’s mental health while he was on probation, the complaint states. It does not mention the details behind his probationary status.

She called her son’s probation officer and told him to return Brian to the jail as an act of “tough love.” She claims she told the officer that Brian had attempted suicide three times recently, including once in the previous week. She claims she asked the officer to put him on suicide watch.

When Brian Kramer was admitted, jail officials noted that he had a small wound on his wrist that he had purposely re-opened, according to the complaint. This and other jail reports revealed several “red flags” that should have alerted the jail to Brian Kramer’s problems.

He was placed on suicide watch initially, the complaint claims, then removed and put into the general prison population a few days later. The complaint also claims that he was not receiving Zoloft or other medical treatment for his mental health.

Two days later, Brian Kramer tried to hang himself in his cell. He was taken to the hospital and pronounced brain dead upon arrival, after which he was taken off of life support and his organs were donated for transplants.

Daryl Kramer is suing for negligence and wrongful death. She is represented by Tucson lawyers Michael and Jack Redhair. The case is before Judge Michael Miller.

AG sues major drugmaker for false advertising

TUCSON — Pfizer misrepresented the risks associated with one of its products and recruited doctors to promote it in order to reap up to $4 billion in sales, a recent lawsuit claims.

The Arizona Attorney General filed a 15-page court complaint recently that alleges New York-based Pfizer Inc. repeatedly deceived consumers to pump up sales of Bextra, which the FDA approved for treatment of arthritis and menstrual pains.

Specifically, the complaint in Pima County Superior Court claims that Pfizer:

• Withheld studies that showed safety risks,
• Deployed an enormous sales staff to promote Bextra’s “off-label” uses,
• Gave improper gifts to physicians in return for their help marketing the product.

Lawyers for state Attorney General Terry Goddard claim the deceptions began in 2001 after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to approve Bextra for all of the “off-label” uses Pfizer was counting on to make Bextra a financial “blockbuster,” the complaint states. It has since settled with the federal government for almost $900 million.

The state claims Pfizer was trying to push Bextra as a treatment for acute and perioperative pain and as a way to reduce gastrointestinal side effects without the research to prove it or tell both sides of the drug’s story.

The controversy involves a line of drugs called COX-2 inhibitors. These drugs block one of two enzymes that make the feeling of pain and inflammation more pronounced.

Three types of this drug received FDA approval, according to the complaint. Pfizer released Celebrex in early 1999, which was followed several months later by Vioxx from Merck, a Pfizer competitor. Vioxx was withdrawn from the market in 2004; Bextra was withdrawn in 2005; and Celebrex was given a “black box” warning on its label for certain risks associated with COX-2 drugs, the complaint states.

Still, Pfizer allegedly persisted in selling Bextra under its new pain-killing role. The state claims it cast negative studies associated with Bextra as a fluke, bought research from advertising agencies it had under contract and, in one case, got positive studies published in a major medical journal before editors could retract it.

It also disclosed only “favorable” data for Bextra, and ran several ad campaigns that touted Bextra as the ideal pain-killer for the “weekend warrior.”

The company “also sought out and developed physician speakers who were high prescribers of Bextra and supported its off-label use,” the complaint claims. “These health care providers were then paid to give lunch or dinner talks relating to off-label use of Bextra.”

Sales staff often accompanied doctors on their presentations, which were usually held at the best restaurants in town, the complaint claims. The most successful doctors were rewarded with “preceptorships” in which they received up to $500 to allow Bextra sales reps to accompany them on their rounds or in the operating room.

The state Attorney General is seeking a permanent injunction that bars Pfizer from continuing these alleged practices in Arizona, as well as civil penalties and attorney’s fees. The state is represented by assistant Arizona Attorney General Noreen R. Matts in Tucson.

Catfight brews over pet cemetery

TUCSON — An outside investor group wrested control of one of the city’s largest pet cemeteries away from its original owner, thanks in part to its connections at the Bank of Tucson, a recent lawsuit claims.

The court action comes from Darla Norrish, who ran the Pet Cemetery of Tucson from 1998 until last May. She claims an investor group comprised mostly of officials from the Bank of Tucson conspired against her to gain control of the business, and she is asking Pima County Superior Court Judge John Kelly to give it back.

The roots of her complaint date back to December 2006. That’s when Norrish says the group, led by business broker Lea Marquez-Peterson, approached her with an offer to invest in the cemetery . The cemetery is located just south of Fort Lowell Park near Craycroft and Grant roads.

At the time, Norrish says she was licensed to provide cemetery, mortuary and crematory services there for pet owners in Tucson. But she had outstanding debts.

So when the investor group offered her a $134,000 loan, she accepted and used the money to clean up the debt. They included $40,000 in delinquent taxes, $78,600 in outstanding loans for cremation equipment and other liabilities, and a $15,000 consulting fee for Marquez-Peterson, according to the complaint.

But only weeks later, relations between Norrish and the group allegedly soured. She says a sales agreement was never reached, but that the investors did not demand she repay the note.

That demand came later, in December 2007, Norrish claims. Two months later, Dennis J. Clancy named himself the new trustee under the cemetery’s deed of trust and put the business up for sale at public auction on the same day, the complaint claims. The basis for the sale was that Norrish had failed to pay off the loan.

Norrish claims she never received a notice of breach prior to the sale, or that the sale notice was posted on the property. When the auction was held in May, the investor group bought the cemetery. The group is comprised of Sylvia E. Cotton and Patricia A. Taylor, who are a director and an officer for the Bank of Tucson, respectively.

But the saga continued. Norrish claims she was physically removed from the property on the day of the sale, and that she was barred from retrieving her car and other items. They included a 1993 Ford Taurus and eight pot-bellied pigs.

She was allowe