By NBC Connecticut
Weston Police are expected to file charges against a New York woman on Tuesday accused posing as an autism expert and taking $300,000 from the Weston Board of Education.
Police plan to charge Stacy Lore with first-degree larceny. Investigators in Norwalk filed similar charges in March.
Between 2005 and 2008, investigators say Lore represented herself as a board-certified behavior analyst with a doctorate from NYU and a decade of experience working with special needs children.
The attorney general’s office said that during that time period, Lore and her company, Spectrum Kids LLC, were contracted by the public schools in Norwalk, Stamford, Weston, Bridgeport and Middlebury and she collected more than $635,000 in fees from those districts and the families of the children she worked with.
Most of those children are autistic.
There’s no legal requirement for schools to check the credentials of behavior analysts.
Suzanne Letso, executive director of the Connecticut Center for Child Development in Milford, said that’s why Lore’s alleged fraud went undetected by so many school officials and families for so long.
“Either licensed or certified is a requirement for every professional working in our public schools with disabilities except applied behavior analysts,” Letso said.
Last month, state lawmakers passed a bill to close that loophole. The measure establishes clear standards for behavior analysts to be put into effect by 2012. Gov. M. Jodi Rell has signe d the bill into law.
Lore is at the Niantic Correctional Institution for the charges out of Norwalk.
Source: http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local-beat/Weston-Police-to-Arrest-Fake-Autism-Therapist-95851049.html
Please share this news with friends, family and also with your contact list on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace.
McDonald's pulls 12M cadmium-tainted 'Shrek' glasses
By JUSTIN PRITCHARD
Associated Press
* Comments (36)
* Recommend
* Letter to the editor
* Share
o Facebook
o Twitter
o FarkIt
o Digg
o Del.icio.us
o Reddit
o Newsvine
o Buzz up!
*
Single-page view
Next Page
* 1
* | 2
Previous Page
Cadmium has been discovered in the painted design on "Shrek"-themed drinking glasses being sold nationwide at McDonald's, forcing the burger giant to recall 12 million of the cheap U.S.-made collectibles while dramatically expanding contamination concerns about the toxic metal beyond imported children's jewelry.
Quantcast
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which announced the voluntary recall early today, warned consumers to immediately stop using the glasses; McDonald's said it would post instructions on its Web site next week regarding refunds.
The 16-ounce glasses, being sold for about $2 each as part of a promotional campaign for the movie "Shrek Forever After," were available in four designs depicting the characters Shrek, Princess Fiona, Puss in Boots and Donkey.
In the animated comedy, which debuted May 21 as the latest installment of the successful DreamWorks Animation franchise, the voice of Shrek is performed by Mike Myers of "Austin Powers" fame, Cameron Diaz performs as Princess Fiona, Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots and Eddie Murphy voices Donkey. The movie has been No. 1 at the box office since its release.
The CPSC noted in its recall notice that "long-term exposure to cadmium can cause adverse health effects." Cadmium is a known carcinogen that research shows also can cause bone softening and severe kidney problems.
In the case of the "Shrek"-themed glassware, the potential danger would be long-term exposure to low levels of cadmium, which could leach from the paint onto a child's hand, then enter the body if the child puts that unwashed hand to his or her mouth.
Cadmium can be used to create reds and yellows in paint. McDonald's USA spokesman Bill Whitman said a pigment in paint on the glasses contained cadmium.
"A very small amount of cadmium can come to the surface of the glass, and in order to be as protective as possible of children, CPSC and McDonald's worked together on this recall," said CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson. He would not specify the amounts of cadmium that leached from the paint in tests, but said the amounts were "slightly above the protective level currently being developed by the agency."
[Page 2 of 2]
Wolfson said the glasses have "far less cadmium than the children's metal jewelry that CPSC has previously recalled."
Concerns about cadmium exposure emerged in January, when the Associated Press reported that some items of children's jewelry sold at major national chains contained up to 91% of the metal. Federal regulators worry that kids could ingest cadmium by biting, sucking or even swallowing contaminated pendants and bracelets.
The consumer protection agency has issued three recalls this spring for jewelry highlighted in the AP stories, including products sold at Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer; at Claire's, a major jewelry and accessories chain in North America and Europe; and at discount and dollar stores.
Those recalls all involved children's metal jewelry — and all of that jewelry was made in China.
Manufactured by ARC International of Millville, N.J., the glasses were to be sold from May 21 into June. Roughly seven million of the glasses had been sold; another approximately five million are in stores or have not yet been shipped, said Whitman.
Associated Press reporters tried unsuccessfully to buy the glasses late Thursday at McDonald's in New York, Los Angeles and northern New Jersey but were alternately told the merchandise was sold out, no longer available or "there'll be more tomorrow."
E-mails sent after business hours to two spokesmen for ARC International seeking comment were not immediately returned.
McDonald's said it was asking customers to stop using the glasses "out of an abundance of caution."
"We believe the 'Shrek' glassware is safe for consumer use," Whitman said. "However, again to ensure that our customers receive safe products from us, we made the decision to stop selling them and voluntarily recall these products effective immediately."
Whitman said that as the CPSC develops new protocols and standards for cadmium in consumer products, "we adjust as necessary to ensure that our customers can continue to trust what they receive from McDonald's."
Federal scrutiny of the glasses began last week. The Washington office of U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, a California Democrat who has proposed strictly limiting cadmium in jewelry, received what a spokesman described as an anonymous tip that testing with an X-ray gun that estimates how much cadmium an item contains indicated the metal was present in the glass paint. Speier's office requested samples of the glasses from the tipster, and upon receiving them May 27 sent them to the CPSC for further investigation.
"Our children's health should not depend on the consciences of anonymous sources," Speier said in a statement today. "Although McDonald's did the right thing by recalling these products, we need stronger testing standards to ensure that all children's products are proven safe before they hit the shelves."
Single-page view
Next Page
* 1
* | 2
Previous Page
36
Comments >>
Read and share your thoughts on this story.
McDonald's is recalling “Shrek Forever After 3D” collectible drinking glasses because the designs on the glasses contain cadmium. (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission/ AP)
McDonald's is recalling “Shrek Forever After 3D” collectible drinking glasses because the designs on the glasses contain cadmium. (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission/ AP)
More business headlines
* GM saves 900 more dealerships
* Cereal behind the wheel? It's been seen
* Car, smartphone tech collide at Novi conference
* Automakers defend new fuel-economy rules
* Fire-prone wiper-fluid gear sparks GM recall
Wolfson said the glasses have "far less cadmium than the children's metal jewelry that CPSC has previously recalled."
Concerns about cadmium exposure emerged in January, when the Associated Press reported that some items of children's jewelry sold at major national chains contained up to 91% of the metal. Federal regulators worry that kids could ingest cadmium by biting, sucking or even swallowing contaminated pendants and bracelets.
The consumer protection agency has issued three recalls this spring for jewelry highlighted in the AP stories, including products sold at Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer; at Claire's, a major jewelry and accessories chain in North America and Europe; and at discount and dollar stores.
Those recalls all involved children's metal jewelry — and all of that jewelry was made in China.
Manufactured by ARC International of Millville, N.J., the glasses were to be sold from May 21 into June. Roughly seven million of the glasses had been sold; another approximately five million are in stores or have not yet been shipped, said Whitman.
Associated Press reporters tried unsuccessfully to buy the glasses late Thursday at McDonald's in New York, Los Angeles and northern New Jersey but were alternately told the merchandise was sold out, no longer available or "there'll be more tomorrow."
E-mails sent after business hours to two spokesmen for ARC International seeking comment were not immediately returned.
McDonald's said it was asking customers to stop using the glasses "out of an abundance of caution."
"We believe the 'Shrek' glassware is safe for consumer use," Whitman said. "However, again to ensure that our customers receive safe products from us, we made the decision to stop selling them and voluntarily recall these products effective immediately."
Whitman said that as the CPSC develops new protocols and standards for cadmium in consumer products, "we adjust as necessary to ensure that our customers can continue to trust what they receive from McDonald's."
Federal scrutiny of the glasses began last week. The Washington office of U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, a California Democrat who has proposed strictly limiting cadmium in jewelry, received what a spokesman described as an anonymous tip that testing with an X-ray gun that estimates how much cadmium an item contains indicated the metal was present in the glass paint. Speier's office requested samples of the glasses from the tipster, and upon receiving them May 27 sent them to the CPSC for further investigation.
"Our children's health should not depend on the consciences of anonymous sources," Speier said in a statement today. "Although McDonald's did the right thing by recalling these products, we need stronger testing standards to ensure that all children's products are proven safe before they hit the shelves.
No comments:
Post a Comment