Flomenbaum Had Friends in High Places

Former state Senate president-turned-lobbyist Robert Travaglini, fondly known around here as "T-Vag," tried to save the hide of the recently fired state medical examiner, Mark Flomenbaum.

Last week, T-Vag went to the Flomenbaum's disciplinary hearing, which the Globe notes isn't the norm. T-Vag's partner, who was defending Flomenbaum at the hearing, summed up what T-Vag was trying to communicate: "There is a genuine desire by Dr. Flomenbaum to complete the mission."

T-Vag & Co. apparently saw some skills in Flomenbaum, but a recent independent report indicates that basic management wasn't one of them. In fact, Flomenbaum didn't even encourage people writing down basic policies, which probably could have facilitated training, a la a Dead Bodies 101.

The writers of the report then suggested that the state should hire a chief operating officer who could handle the basic management while the medical examiner got to focus on all the CSI stuff. Perhaps T-Vag was trying to strike a deal where his client Flomenbaum could focus on those things without losing his job. It's not exactly a victory for T-Vag & Co., but just about anyone would have had a tough time defending Flomenbaum in the face of that report.

Not everyone agrees with that report, though. Several individuals told the Globe that Flomenbaum was being made a scapegoat and that there's not enough funding, which may be true. Perhaps Flomenbaum didn't know what he was in for when he took the job. Getting rid of one guy won't solve the problems at the Office of the State Medical Examiner - but bringing in some basic management who train people properly is going to help a lot.

Image of last Six Feet Under DVD set from Amazon. Imagine Flomenbaum driving off in his tricked-out hearse.