Is it just me or is Karen Pletz kind of hot?
Sure, The Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences is calling her a thief and a liar in front of all of Kansas City media but that somehow only makes her more interesting.
Previously, I’ve noted that this upper class, executive power play doesn’t really have any impact on the lives of so many plebeian consumers of mass media. But the name calling, countersuits and intrigue now have my attention if only because it offers even more confirmation that the moneyed class are just as immoral as the rest of us.
Also, the medical school angle of this slapfight is apropos given that we’re on the cusp of enacting Socialism/Obamacare depending on your worldview/mood.
The long and short of it is that this story of medical professional excess represents that last dance during the vocation’s salad days.
Now let’s look at some of the damage (allegedly) done by this rich lady in smart clothes:
The board is trying to recover $2.3 million in assets it said are owed to the university. School officials said the suit was filed after a special committee’s internal investigation into Pletz’s activities and expenditures while she worked for KCUMB. Officials claim the expenses were made over a six-year period.
Like every fight with an employer, it’s going to get even uglier as the petty gets thrown in with the truly horrible.
Some of the allegedly fraudulent expenses were for as low as $10.50 for a lunch at McDonald’s, and into the hundreds of dollars for dinners at places like Plaza III.
Basically, Pletz is being dragged over the coals in public for playing fast and loose with her expense account.
Still, it’s hard to buy any kind of righteous indignation from the same bozos who agreed to pay the lady more than $1 MILLION DOLLARS a year that put her in the upper echelon of any Medical School President in the nation, all while riding high in the saddle in this cowtown. And once again I’ll note that (like all of mass media) I never feel comfortable saying anything nasty about a rich, old white lady. So, very much like political debates that so often turn into spitting matches I don’t really feel sorry for anybody. Not even for the practitioners of osteopathic medicine that seem weird to me because it’s not really en vogue in the United States and isn’t the subject of a primetime medical drama.
Tony Botello
smartman
Look for the sex angle in this story. If the only meat there is Big Macs and Prime Rib and not man-sausage this is a non story.
inafunkaboutthefunk
Hey T, glad to see this looting festival has caught the slightest bit of your eagle eye. It seems that Pletz is nailed dead to rights so you shouldn’t have to work that hard on this piece. If she really did even half of what she’s accused of doing, Pletz deserves jail time. As an aside, the Dalzell Family feasted at the University Trough as well… the biggest thing that seems to have come out so far was the bookkeeper for the Dalzell Restaurant Empire was paid for and employed by the University. It may be that the University bought all the food sold at 1924 Main, Chefburger and any other restaurant they were running. It will be interesting to see if this happened. Other than this, it seems that the Dalzell Restaurant Empire has crumbled and is only a recent memory.
Mr. Anderson
She is kind of hot. I’d hit it for a few thousand.
robertoe
I have a close friend who’s dealt with this bitch on non-KCUMB dealings. Karen Pletz is a selfish, wicked miscreant who deserves what’s forthcoming. Its called KARMA. These charges are way past errant meals on expense accounts. Lets review what was in the KCStar article:
“Pletz allowed minutes from university executive committee meetings that never occurred to be prepared and placed in the minute books, purporting to approve lump-sum payments to her that were over and above her regular compensation. The payments amounted to $195,000 a year.
Roger
This was all precipitated by an IRS audit. If not for that it would have gone on forever. Board also needs to be replaced for allowing this to happen.