I did a bit of poking around, and found this (these were cut & pasted, all typos as found). Copyrighted material is within the ***** boundries. *****Copyright The Arizona Daily Star May 2, 2001 The top administrator at Pima County Justice Court purchased the college degree he needed to secure his job from a defunct institution that promised degrees in exchange for just 27 days of work. Andrew Vesloski, 50, said he believed Columbia State University was a legitimate school and listed it as such on the rsum he submitted to become court administrator Nov. 6. But a Louisiana judge forced the mail-order institution to shut down in 1998 after state prosecutors described it as a "diploma mill" that produced "bogus" degrees. Vesloski is required to have a college degree for his position, and he could lose his job after the court's judges meet later this week to discuss his situation. "We're investigating it, but we're not prepared to take a position on this at this time," said Justice of the Peace Jose Luis Castillo Jr., the court's presiding judge. Vesloski said he believes the bachelor's degree in business administration he received from CSU in 1997 is valid. "I have a document from the school that says it's accredited, and I have no reason not to believe what they sent me," he said. He said he completed no coursework for most of the credits he received from the institution. "A lot of it was based on credit for training and my life experience," he said, citing professional education he pursued in a former job for the U.S. Department of Defense. He said he also completed a term paper. Vesloski said his degree was accepted without question by a professional training program he attended after serving as deputy court administrator for the Berks County Court of Common Pleas in Reading, Pa. Justice Court officials didn't begin questioning Vesloski's background until a reporter from ABC's "Good Morning America" interviewed him for a story about CSU. "Simply because a reporter says a degree isn't valid doesn't mean it's not a valid bachelor's degree," he said. The New York Times, ABC News and other media outlets have reported that Columbia State University operated via correspondence out of a post office box in Metairie, La. It sent potential degree candidates a flyer featuring a photo of an impressive looking campus building that turned out to be a mansion in New York City, those reports said. The Louisiana Attorney General's office said the institution sold bachelor's, master's, doctorate and law degrees at prices ranging from $1,700 to $3,500. Prosecutors in numerous states fielded complaints from consumers before the institution was shut down. Former Maine Attorney General Andrew Ketterer said CSU promised potential customers a degree after just 27 days of work, usually by giving them credit for things they'd already done.***** And this; *****Copyright The Arizona Daily Star May 19, 2001 The top administrator at Pima County Justice Court announced his resignation Friday, ending an investigation into the college degree he purchased from a so-called diploma mill. Andrew Vesloski, 50, was hired Nov. 6 after submitting a rsum that included a degree from Columbia State University. Court officials began questioning his credentials earlier this month after media reports revealed that Columbia State is a defunct institution that sold degrees by mail in return for little or no coursework. Vesloski, whose resignation is effective June 1, has said he believed the degree was legitimate. He could not be reached for comment Friday. "I never reached a conclusion as to whether there was some purposeful misrepresentation on his part," said Justice of the Peace Jose Luis Castillo Jr., the court's presiding judge. "He chose to resign, I respected that and there was no need to go any further." Castillo said court officials will begin searching for a new administrator as soon as possible. This time, he said, applicants' backgrounds will undergo increased scrutiny. "We did check things out to some degree (with Vesloski). I made some calls myself," Castillo said. "Obviously, this really illustrated to us that we need to be much more intensive than that." The New York Times, ABC News and other media outlets have reported that Columbia State University operated out of a post office box in Metairie, La., before it was shut down by a Louisiana judge in 1998. Potential customers were sent a flier with a photo of an impressive looking campus building that turned out to be a New York City mansion, those reports said. Louisiana prosecutors said the institution sold everything from bachelor's degrees to doctorates for prices ranging from $1,700 to $3,500. It promised degrees after just 27 days of work, usually by giving degree candidates credit for things they'd already done. Vesloski has said he completed some coursework, including a term paper. He also said he received credit for "life experience," including professional education he pursued during his work for the Defense Department.***** Perhaps this will dissuade some people from trying such shenanigans in the future. Probably not, but there is always hope. Bruce
The Arizona Republic did a paragraph on the Love Doctor, which can be found at http://arizonacweb3.azcentral.com/smartliving/articles/0519media19.html near the bottom of the page. ------------------ Bill Gossett
Mr. Vesloski worked (works?) as a court administrator. How in the world did his Columbia State "degree" make it past the watchful eyes of the investigator performing the background investigation for Mr. Vesloski's security clearance? Michael Barger [email protected]
Mr. Barger asks, <<How in the world did his Columbia State "degree" make it past the watchful eyes of the investigator performing the background investigation for Mr. Vesloski's security clearance?>> Indeed. And it is really much worse than that. As I mentioned elsewhere, during the GMA "interview," two of the judges came out to defend Mr. Vesloski. They said, on camera (which unfortunately didn't make it to the air) that even if he had a fake degree, it wasn't his fault, because he had been fooled by the fake school. Reporter Greg Hunter said, "Are you telling me that in Arizona, unlike the rest of America, ignorance of the law is an excuse?" Later Hunter shared what the judges said with a local trial lawyer, who apparently could hardly wait for the first opportunity to bring this up in court. ("My client was unaware that a red light means you have to stop, and so, just like Mr. Vesloski...")
John: Could I have the name and phone number of those two judges. I just got a speeding ticket on I-85, because I thought that 85 was the speed limit. Someone had spray painted over the "I," so all that was showing was the 85. I was fooled by this and think that with the help of these two judges I might be able to beat it in court. Russell
