I-Team: Questions Over Thomason CEO’s Expenditures
EL PASO, TX. – Thomason HospitalCEO Jim Valenti has spent thousands wining and dining prospective doctors and stakeholders and some of that money is coming from taxpayers.
Over the past three years, ThomasonCEO Jim Valenti has spent $400 dollars here and $250 dollars there for dinners, many of which included alcohol. But the Thomason board president says Valenti was just doing his job.
Valenti has spent more than $17,000 dollars since 2004 on medical conferences, hotel stays, airfare and meals, but whatwas most interestingwere the alcohol purchases. Valenti bought two bottles of expensive wine during a $425 dollar dinnerat Downtown’s Caf Central.
He also entertained doctors at Jaxon’s, buying them a variety of beer. He also spent upwards of $200 dollars a night on hotel rooms in California, Chicago and WashingtonDC while at medical conferences.
What’s interesting is who’s paying for it; Board President Ron Acton toldABC-7 some of the funding for these meals and stays comes from taxpayers. Some of these receipts are not itemized, either.
In fact, the only ones that actually list what specifically was purchased are breakfast receipts. “I think when you look through the entire sample, and you have a large sample there, you’ll find that I’ve given summary receipts and so what’s important is that the receipts are there,” said Valenti.
Board president Ron Acton toldABC-7 Valenti has sinced reimbursed the hospital for those alcohol purchases. Actonadded that Thomason has changed its policies to prohibit alcohol purchases from being reimbursed.
