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Paula Zahn Now
Minister's Son Becomes Bank Robber?; Prescription Drugs and Dollars; Polls Set to Open in Iraqi Elections; Residents in Florida Being Moved Out of Their Homes by the Government; Internet Gambling a Rising Problem for Students
Aired December 14, 2005 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everybody. Appreciate your being with us.
Tonight, the shocking reality for millions of you who buy generic prescription drugs -- you may be paying a lot more than you have to.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN (voice-over): Drugs and dollars -- generic drugs are supposed to save you money, but just wait until you see what we discovered -- same drug, different store. You will be shocked at the price difference.
HUNTER: So, a $50 drug here could cost $150, $200?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anywhere from $100 to $200 at other pharmacies.
ZAHN: Just ahead, the secrets that could save you thousands.
Tonight's "Eye Opener," the bone-snatchers, shocking allegations of body parts taken without permission.
VITO BRUNO, ALLEGED VICTIM'S SON: I was really angry and really concerned, concerned that these body parts went into other people; people got diseased body parts.
ZAHN: Who's protecting the dignity of our loved ones?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are more laws that regulating shipping a head of lettuce than there would be to ship -- ship a human head.
And B.R.O.C. Was there a bank robber on campus? What drove the president of his class and a minister's son to take one chance too many?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: And back with our lead story now -- just last year, Americans spent more than $18 billion on generic drugs. And, with skyrocketing health care costs, they have become essential for millions of us.
But you're not going to believe what we have discovered about the big differences in what generic drugs can cost. We found that some pharmacies charge up to 10 times more than others for the identical generic pills. That means you may be paying much more for your medicine than you really have to.
Consumer correspondent Greg Hunter has been working on this story for some time. Here is exactly what he found out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GREG HUNTER, CNN CONSUMER CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These days, the cost of prescription drugs may be a hard pill to swallow. It's a relief to know that choosing generic can save us a couple of bucks, right?
But, buyer, beware. You may still be spending a lot more than you have to, even on your generics. CVS, Walgreens, Sam's Club and Costco, we canvassed four well-known pharmacies and discovered that there can be a big difference in the cost of the exact same generic drug from pharmacy to pharmacy. How much of a difference? From a couple of dollars to a couple of hundred dollars.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I take Actos.
HUNTER: Since developing diabetes and then suffering a stroke, 59-year-old Gloria Weebley (ph) relies on 15 different medications to stay alive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is my Amaryl. That's for diabetes.
HUNTER: Twenty-nine pills a day, mostly generic, which she pays for out of pocket.
(on camera): Can you stop taking any one of these things?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
HUNTER: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would probably die.
(LAUGHTER)
HUNTER (voice-over): Because Gloria struggles to afford her hundreds of dollars of drugs every month, we did some price-shopping for her in the Tampa, Florida, area to see if we could save her some cash. Here's what we found.
(on camera): The generic muscle relaxer that Gloria uses to control her spasms from her diabetes is $11.68 at this Sam's Club.
At this CVS, that same medication, nearly $48.50.
And, at this Walgreens, the exact same generic muscle relaxer, nearly $64, more than five times the cost of the cheapest.
(voice-over): And that wasn't the only drug. Overall, we discovered we could save Gloria $120 per month on her generics simply by shopping around.
(on camera): Same drug.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait a minute. How come? It's all generic. It's the same thing.
HUNTER (voice-over): Hipp Phan (ph) is a pharmacist with Sam's Club, which is owned by Wal-Mart. It's where we found the best total price for Gloria's medicines. Phan (ph) sees big price differences all the time, especially when customers transfer their prescriptions from a competing pharmacy.
(on camera): So, a $50 drug here could cost $150, $200?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. It could cost anywhere from $100 to $200 at other pharmacies.
HUNTER: We priced some other common prescriptions. On the day we called, the generic form of Paxil was about $32 at Sam's Club, but $200 at Walgreens. The generic version of Cipro would run you only $19 at Costco. But, at CVS, it was $198, 10 times the price for the exact same prescription. We even found big differences in the cost of a well-known breast cancer drug.
(on camera): The generic cancer drug Tamoxifen sells for a little more than $39 at this Costco.
But that same generic cancer-fighting drug at CVS is $216, a staggering $177 difference.
CHARLIE CRIST, FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL: The wide range in prescription drugs is a -- is a problem in our state. It is a problem nationally.
HUNTER (voice-over): Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist finds the differences in drug prices in his state excessive.
CRIST: I'm all for people making a profit. And, obviously, that's what they're doing. But I'm not for people profiteering on the backs of people who need this in order to live.
MARY ANN WAGNER, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHAIN DRUG STORES: I don't think you can consider profiteering when you're barely covering your costs to operate a business.
HUNTER: We asked for on-camera interviews with CVS and Walgreens, which, in our limited survey, had some of the higher prices. They sent us to Mary Ann Wagner from the National Association Of Chain Drug Stores.
WAGNER: When a pharmacy buys a drug from either the wholesaler or the manufacturer, those costs to the pharmacy may vary from day to day. And, then, on top of that, they have to add their costs for dispensing that prescription.
HUNTER (on camera): I mean, we are talking a cancer drug costs $150 more to dispense for the exact same cancer drug?
WAGNER: I have no idea what CVS paid for their Tamoxifen. I have no idea where that particular store is located and that store's cost of operation. I have no idea what their overhead is.
But I do know that CVS is a very successful company. They would not be in business today by overcharging customers. People just don't tolerate that.
HUNTER (voice-over): According to our research, pharmacies in membership clubs stores, like Costco and Sam's Club, almost always offer the cheapest prices. They told us they can do this by avoiding fancy displays, buying in bulk, and charging membership fees. Wagner says their sheer size helps, too.
WAGNER: Few have a pharmacy that the pharmacy is just one department out of, say, 20, in a large store. They have a different business model than a traditional chain store that may do 50, 60 or 70 percent of their business in the pharmacy.
HUNTER: So, a membership club store can afford to keep their drugs cheap. And most people don't know you do not have to be a member of the store to use their pharmacies, people like 56-year-old Carmen (ph).
(on camera): How much do you spend a month for drugs?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Over $1,000.
HUNTER: Over $1,000 a month?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mmm-hmm.
HUNTER: And you buy mostly generics?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mostly generics.
HUNTER (voice-over): Carmen (ph) takes a substitute for Lipitor called Lovastatin.
(on camera): Filled here at this Walgreens, a prescription can cost as much as $173. But if she would come right over here, to Sam's Club, that exact same prescription would be $105, a nearly $70 savings, simply for crossing the street.
(voice-over): We told Carmen (ph).
(on camera): When I tell you, you could have saved nearly $70 by walking right across the street, how do you feel?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It makes me angry.
HUNTER (voice-over): But Mary Ann Wagner agrees, if Carmen (ph) can get a better deal, she should go ahead and walk across the street.
WAGNER: If it's cheaper over there and she's going to be on the medication for some time, she should do that.
HUNTER (on camera): They're responsible for getting a good deal?
WAGNER: Sure, as they are with everything else in life.
HUNTER (voice-over): The good news is, now there is some help for consumers who are willing and able to do a little research to save themselves some money.
Several states now have Web sites that do the price-checking for you, including Florida. The site has recorded 700,000 visits since it started in July.
CRIST: It's a great public service. It gives them the opportunity to get the drugs they need at a price that is competitive.
HUNTER: A start for some. But the challenge now is getting that information to people without easy access to the Internet, like Carmen (ph) and Gloria (ph), who still feel caught in the system.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here I am, a middle-aged woman. I'm not on Medicare. And, you know, it just seems like we're the category that gets socked with everything. You know, give us a break.
HUNTER: Greg Hunter, CNN, Tampa, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: And then there's this to add.
Late today, we received a statement from the CVS pharmacy chain, saying that price surveys across multiple retailers don't give a complete picture. And CVS says you need to take into account the discount programs they offer, which they say can save you up to 40 percent.
Now, there are two other things you should keep in mind when shopping around for cheaper generic drugs. If you tell pharmacists about a better price, sometimes, they might even match it. And, if you transfer prescriptions, make sure to tell your pharmacist about any other drugs you're taking to prevent dangerous drug interactions and other side effects as well.
Coming up next, an unbelievable scandal in an industry that is supposed to save lives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNO: It's just beyond anything anybody could ever comprehend. It's just the sickest, sickest story you could hear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: So, what is the truth here? Stealing body parts for profit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What could possibly drive a 19-year-old college class president to allegedly rob this bank? I'm Adaora Udoji in Allentown. The answer afflicts far more people than you would ever guess -- the story when PAULA ZAHN continues.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: And, also ahead, a story that may outrage you. What would you do if the town where you live decided your house, your whole neighborhood should be torn down? It's a battle raging right now in Florida. We will take you there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: It's pretty well-known fact that President Bush has come under a lot of fire lately for his handling of the war in Iraq and for the intelligence used to make a case for the invasion.
Well, today, in the last of four speeches outlining his strategy in Iraq, the president admitted mistakes were made on the road to war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is true that much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong. As president, I am responsible for the decision to go into Iraq. And I'm also responsible for fixing what went wrong by reforming our intelligence capabilities. And we're doing just that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: The president then lashed out at those who voted for the war, but now criticize his strategy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: Some of the most irresponsible comments about manipulating intelligence have come from politicians who saw the same intelligence I saw and then voted to authorize the use of force against Saddam Hussein.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: In Iraq itself, polls are set to open in just a few hours for historic parliamentary elections. Security there is extraordinarily tight.
Chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is in Baghdad with the very latest for us tonight.
Describe, Christiane, just how tight the security is.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Paula, we have seen it twice before, in January's election and in the referendum in October. They have closed the borders. The roads have now been deserted. There's been a several-day national holiday called. And, really, there's virtually nobody out and no traffic on the road. U.S. forces, obviously, are organizing the security. But in the front of the security on Election Day will be the Iraqi army and the police, as they were in October. They will be the ones around the polling stations.
ZAHN: Given the repeated insurgent threats, how scared are people to vote?
AMANPOUR: Well, this time, the threats have been much, much less than they were last time around.
In fact, there seems to be -- according to some Sunni politicians -- you know, the Sunnis are the ones who basically are -- are most affected and the ones whose -- whose -- who are -- who are fueling the insurgency. The Sunni politicians are saying that, now, the insurgents are essentially waiting out the system, waiting out this election, waiting to see whether Sunnis get more of a voice in parliament, before deciding how to proceed in the future.
In other words, they're sort of sitting on the sidelines this election.
ZAHN: Nevertheless, I know a lot of the folks you have talked with aren't all that confident about this whole process of going to the polls. What have folks told you about the prospect of voting and what it means to them?
AMANPOUR: Well, I think, obviously, everybody is going to turn out. When I say everybody, we expect a huge turnout for these elections. People really do want to vote, but they're extremely concerned about the future.
For them, the violence and the potential for civil war and the breakup of this country remains very real. They live with this violence every single day. They're concerned about the constitution that was voted on in -- in October, which provides for autonomy by some of the various different provinces. And they are afraid that the country will spin off into protracted civil war, if this political process doesn't work.
ZAHN: Christiane Amanpour will be on duty through the night, as polls get set to open in about three hours from now.
Thanks so much for the update. Appreciate it, Christiane.
And, still ahead tonight, life's little annoyances, like people with more than 10 items in the express lane, even though the little sign says you can't do that, and strategies that you actually can use to beat them -- all that and more ahead, but some of the other top stories from Erica Hill at Headline News right now -- Erica.
ERICA HILL, HEADLINE NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Paula. Nice to see you tonight. ZAHN: Thank you.
HILL: We start this evening in Washington, where the House has voted to approve a revised Patriot Act today.
Now, among the changes here, the FBI would gain more power to wiretap the phones of terror suspects, but it would make it more difficult to gather personal records without a court order. It still must be approved by the Senate. That comes next.
U.S. Marshals are expanding their watch for terror suspects to the nation's train and bus terminals. Now, it's a three-day test of whether to expand marshal protection beyond airliners.
In New York, seven million subway and bus riders are bracing for a strike that could jam the Big Apple starting Friday morning. Workers are threatening to ignore a law that could cost them millions of dollars in fines.
And, in New Mexico, it's going to be the home of the new $225 million port for space tourism. Virgin Galactic chose New Mexico to begin launching the space tours as early as the year 2010.
And, Paula, get this. Virgin says it has already signed up 100 people at $200,000 each. That's just the deposit.
ZAHN: Have you made that deposit yet, Erica?
HILL: You know, I keep forgetting to put it down.
ZAHN: Yes.
HILL: Maybe Santa will do it for me.
(LAUGHTER)
HILL: Santa is a very busy guy this time of year. I'm not sure that's what he had in mind, Erica.
HILL: Probably not.
ZAHN: But...
(LAUGHTER)
ZAHN: ... we will address that during the commercial break.
Thank you.
Still ahead, why does a popular college student, the president of his class, and the son of a minister now face charges he robbed a bank?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's embarrassed. He is just saddened by what he has done to the folks at the bank, to his family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: A shocking story about a teenager whose life suddenly came crashing down.
But, first, a chilling investigation into allegations of people profiting from stolen body parts.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: We want to warn you now that some of the pictures you're about to see may be too much for the kids, may even be too much for you. We have been investigating a scandal that may just be the tip of the iceberg nationwide.
We're talking about people snatching body parts for profit. And the family members of the deceased never find out about it, until now.
Deborah Feyerick has been working on this. She has just filed tonight's "Eye Opener."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Michael Bruno was a good old city New York cab driver with an opinion about everything, even his own death. After a losing battle with cancer two years ago, his son, Vito, honored his last wishes.
VITO BRUNO, ALLEGED VICTIM'S SON: My father had requested to be cremated.
FEYERICK: And today, in this box, lie Michael Bruno's remains. At least, that is what Vito used to think. Now he's not so sure.
BRUNO: He said this was the remains of Michael Bruno.
FEYERICK (on camera): And now what do you think?
BRUNO: I don't know what this is. I don't know what's in here at all.
FEYERICK (voice-over): That's because Michael Bruno may have been unwilling become the victim of a scandal that is making ghoulish headlines. It's sending shockwaves through a billion-dollar industry that, until now, has remained out of the spotlight, the business of human body parts.
It's an industry that relies on the goodwill of donors, who believe they're helping medical research or saving lives. And business is booming. Heads, torsos, limbs, you name it, command hefty prices. By one estimate, a single body chopped into pieces can be worth up to $150,000.
The donor never sees a penny, but it seems everyone else does, including the funeral home, which can charge $1,000 per body for storage and transportation.
DR. TODD R. OLSON, ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: We are dealing simply with an open market, where the supply and the demand is the only limiting factor on how much people are going to be able to profit.
FEYERICK: New York City investigators believe Michael Bruno is one of hundreds, if not more, whose body parts were taken without permission and passed off as legitimate donations to companies which make money processing the bodies and providing them to the medical community.
Now, the Brooklyn district attorney is leading a massive investigation, which could implicate as many as six New York City funeral homes and a company that procures organs for hospitals and research.
At the center of the case, two men, Dr. Michael Mastromarino of Biomedical Tissue Services in New Jersey, and his partner, embalmer Joseph Nicelli. Both are under investigation for allegedly carving up bodies without consent and selling them for profit.
(on camera): The alleged body-snatching was discovered here by the new owners of this Brooklyn funeral home. One of them told investigators she was shocked to touch a corpse's leg and discover plumbing pipe, instead of bone. The funeral home is now closed and its signs torn down.
BRUNO: It's beyond anything anybody could ever comprehend. It's just the sickest, sickest story you could -- you could hear.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Vito Bruno says he learned of the alleged theft when a New York City detective showed up at his door with a donation consent form Bruno had supposedly signed.
BRUNO: It was not my signature. So, they had forged my name.
FEYERICK: Also changed, according to Bruno, was his father's cause of death was, listed as heart disease, instead of kidney cancer.
BRUNO: I was really angry and really concerned, you know, concerned that these body parts went into other people; people got diseased body parts.
FEYERICK: How many other victims were there? And how long had body parts theft gone undetected?
In Denver, Colorado, some 1,800 miles away, an apparent whistle- blower.
(on camera): How many people could receive tissue from a single donor?
DR. MICHAEL BAUER, BONFILS BLOOD CENTER: We have had a recent case where we have -- we have traced it back, and there were over 90 different patients who were benefiting by one donation. FEYERICK: Ninety different patients?
BAUER: That's exactly right.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Michael Bauer tests donated tissue for disease. He says he discovered phone numbers on donor records sent by Mastromarino's company were bogus.
BAUER: I still hoped that there would be a logical explanation for it. What was going through my mind was, Dr. Mastromarino had not received permission to recover these tissues.
FEYERICK: It was then, Bauer says, that he called the New Jersey doctor.
BAUER: His answer to me was: I wasn't -- I wasn't calling the families. The funeral homes were.
MARIO GALLUCCI, ATTORNEY FOR MICHAEL MASTROMARINO: Dr. Bauer is being less than forthcoming with you and the public.
FEYERICK: Mario Gallucci is the attorney for Dr. Mastromarino.
(on camera): What is being alleged is serious. That is, signatures were forged. Medical records were doctored. Can you see, not as relates to your client, how this would be shocking to many people?
GALLUCCI: Without a doubt. I'm human. I would be very upset if -- to find out that my loved one, who I didn't consent to, had tissue taken from them without my consent. Of course I would be upset.
FEYERICK: But your client had nothing to do with it?
GALLUCCI: Nothing at all.
FEYERICK (voice-over): That's little comfort to people like Rolando Estrada, a Texas man living with the knowledge that he might have stolen tissue in his knee.
ROLANDO ESTRADA, RECIPIENT OF ALLEGED STOLEN TISSUE: I guess it will be like -- almost like if you get your car fixed and -- and they use stolen parts on it, I guess. I don't know. It's just kind of weird. It's hard to think about it. You don't really expect to have -- have to go through that.
FEYERICK: Earlier this year, Estrada underwent surgery to replace torn ligament. But after the FDA recalled all tissue from Mastromarino's company, Estrada spent a nervous week waiting to see if his new ligament was infected with HIV, hepatitis or syphilis.
ESTRADA: That's when it really sank in that I could have been exposed to something life-threatening, and that's kind of when I started getting really worried.
FEYERICK: Estrada's test results came back negative. But his case is just one of many. For more than a year, tissue from Mastromarino's company was distributed to doctors and hospitals throughout the U.S. and Canada.
So far, there have been no reports of illnesses stemming from those issues.
SANFORD RUBENSTEIN, ATTORNEY FOR VITO BRUNO: ... is a deterrent.
FEYERICK: Sanford Rubenstein is Bruno's attorney in a lawsuit against the New Jersey doctor, his partner, and the funeral home which handled his father's cremation.
RUBENSTEIN: This is a double outrage. It's an outrage not just to the families who, without consent, saw their loved one's body parts used in others, but it's an outrage to those people who received tissues.
OLSON: I wish I could tell you I was shocked, but I'm not.
FEYERICK: Dr. Todd Olson teaches anatomy at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In recent years, he has watched the corpse trade explode.
OLSON: It's the ideal, you know, capitalistic commodity here. You get it for nothing. And all you are doing is charging for processing, packaging, shipping, storing, and disposing of it.
FEYERICK: Federal law prohibits the sale of any human body parts, but it does allow for go-betweens to be reimbursed for reasonable expenses.
The problem is there are no limits as to what's considered reasonable and no paper trail to track the movement, and there is little regulation or oversight.
OLSON: There are more laws that regulate shipping a head of lettuce into the state of California than there would be to ship a human head.
I think the general public would be outraged if they knew the amount of money that is involved in this.
GALLUCI: You get a fee for procuring the blood sample. You get a fee for storing the tissue. You get a fee for shipping the tissue and that's it. That's the only money transpired with the doctor is that.
FEYERICK (on camera): Can you get rich by doing what the doctor is doing?
GALLUCI: Rich? No, I don't think you can get rich.
FEYERICK: People are calling your client Dr. Frankenstein, a ghoul, a grave robber. What's your response?
GALLUCI: It's a pioneering industry. He's making mankind better. Nobody has shown us that absolutely anything has been done inappropriately. These allegations, nobody's been charged with any crime.
FEYERICK (voice over): In New York, investigators have begun the grizzly task of digging up bodies from cemeteries like this one to see for themselves if bones, limbs and other body parts are missing.
The funeral home which handled Michael Bruno's body denied any ties to the alleged body snatching ring. Embalmer Joseph Nascelli (ph) and his attorney both denied our requests for an interview.
Vito Bruno, meanwhile, is left with anger and doubt.
(on camera): To think that you could actually make a business by illegally selling, illegally taking, body parts.
BRUNO: Sounds look a bad movie, doesn't it?
FEYERICK (voice over): But it's not. It's a real-life bone snatching scam which, if proven, could expose the dark side of the death business.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: And that was Deborah Feyerick reporting for us tonight.
One more thing it is important to know that organ donation is a legitimate business. It saves many lives, more than 27,000 alone last year. Tissue transplants improve the quality of life for about a million people every year. And medical schools depend on body donations to train thousands of new doctors every year.
Coming up next, we change our focus to a college campus absolutely stunned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think everybody is just really shocked, doesn't know what to make of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: After a class president is arrested and charged with robbing a bank.
And still ahead, a Florida neighborhood outraged. Should the government be allowed to bulldoze their homes to make room for new development?
Also, don't you hate those silly subscription cards that fall out of magazines every time you open them up? Well, we found a solution for that and for some of life's other little nuisances that could drive you nuts. J
Jeanne Moos will be along.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: Beautiful cold night here in New York City tonight under a full moon.
But we turn our attention to the campus of Pennsylvania's Lehigh University tonight. It is still in a state of shock after the arrest of one of its most popular and promising students.
Police say a young man calmly walked into a bank last Friday and robbed it of nearly $3,000.
Our Adaora Udoji spent the day talking with people who knew him and found out that a crippling addiction may have led to a desperate criminal act.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It looks like a mighty fall for Greg Hogan, a 19-year-old sophomore, who was so popular at Lehigh University, classmates voted him 2008 class president. He belonged to a well-liked fraternity, won the second cello seat in the orchestra.
But this son of a affluent Ohio Baptist minister also had a terrible secret his lawyer says led him down a very dark road.
(on-camera): Did he realize he had a big gambling problem?
JOHN WALDRON, GREG HOGAN'S LAWYER: I don't think he realized to the extent that he had this gambling problem and clearly his family -- his dad is a minister. Mom has a doctorate in nursing. They would have been there in a second.
UDOJI (voice over): Instead says Hogan's lawyer the young man was so desperate to pay off a $5,000 online poker debt, he decided to steal the money. His life came crashing down Friday.
Police say Hogan asked a fraternity brother for a ride to the bank to cash a check.
(on-camera): But police say Hogan walked into this bank not wearing a mask or covered in any way and handed the teller a note demanding money indicating he had a gun.
(voice over): His lawyer says there was no gun. Still Hogan got away with nearly $3,000. Hours later he was arrested at his fraternity house.
WALDRON: He's embarrassed. He is just saddened by what he's done to the folks at the bank, to his family, and he is trying to cope with it through counselors.
UDOJI: Students at the Lehigh campus thought at first it was a joke.
KATIE PAXSON, SENIOR, LEHIGH UNIVERSITY: I think everybody is just really shocked. Doesn't know what to make of it.
BOBBY OUILAN, SOPHOMORE, LEHIGH UNIVERSITY: It made you wonder who you voted for.
UDOJI: But other students told us lots of students play poker online. It's a favorite past time with easy access to the Internet.
KEITH WHYTE, NATL COUNCIL ON PROBLEM GAMBLING: We think that percentage wise, the 18 to 24 age range has both the highest rates of participation in gambling and the highest rates of gambling problems.
UDOJI: This week, Hogan should have been taking finals with his classmates. Instead, he's confronting a gambling addiction and facing felony bank robbery charges.
Adaora Udoji, CNN, Allentown, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: And joining me now to talk about the problem of online gambling from Baltimore, Michael Osborne of the Osborne Center on Problem Gambling. He says his gambling addiction nearly ruined his family.
Thank so much for joining us tonight, Michael.
MICHAEL OSBORNE, OSBORNE CENTER ON PROBLEM GAMBLING: No problem.
ZAHN: So being a recovering gambling addict, can you help us understand what would drive such a strong student with such a supportive family to rob a bank?
OSBORNE: Once these individuals cross that line of social gambling to pathological gambling there is no rationale anymore. They are not thinking of the consequence. The need to be in action or to satisfy a debt, as a result of the gambling, is so great that they are willing to cross any line, not think of the consequence and deal with the problem later.
ZAHN: So how quickly can they get sucked in by this?
OSBORNE: They can get sucked in anywhere from six months of gambling to someone who gets sucked in two weeks into gambling. A lot of it, I think, depends on an individual's personality. They tend to be competitive people. But the bottom line is, with this addiction, you're getting sucked into it and you don't even know it until you're in the grips of the addiction.
ZAHN: I guess that's what's so hard to understand for those of us who haven't been through what you've been through, how you completely lose that sense of reality.
OSBORNE: It leaves a lot of the family and friends scratching their heads. Usually you see an intelligent individual who is well- liked, very popular, great sense of responsibility, never a problem with the law in their life and they live this hidden life. And when the walls come crashing down, the family cannot get over the fact that how can you be so smart but yet you've done something so stupid? But again, it's the need of the addiction.
ZAHN: Mike, we're hearing one of the men in that report just saying that the 18 to 24-year-olds have the highest participation of online gambling. I find that absolutely stunning. How much have you seen in the work that you do?
OSBORNE: You know, it's incredible. On the national hotline I answer, our calls have increased 300 percent since...
ZAHN: Wow!
OSBORNE: ...the, you know, evolution of online gambling. And lately, the craze and the popularity craze of the Texas Hold Em tournaments online. It's just, like I said, the calls have increased and the crowd is getting younger and younger. That's the scary part.
ZAHN: Parents should be warned. Friends should be warned tonight. Beware. Thank you, Mike Osborne for bringing this to our attention. We appreciate it.
OSBORNE: You're welcome.
ZAHN: Coming up next, is it neighborhood redevelopment or just an outrage?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A year ago, I bought a piece of property that was my dream home. And now I'm being told that I won't have it anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Folks in one Florida community and their battle against government plans to tear down their homes, to tear down a complete neighborhood.
And still ahead, the things that drive you up the wall, like junk mail. How you can fight them?
And at the top of the hour, LARRY KING LIVE, jailed some 26 years for brutally killing his wife and kids, now Jeffrey McDonald's current wife, Katherine, speaks out. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: It is something that seems completely at odds with what most Americans believe, the right to keep your home safe from seizure by the government. We're talking about politicians condemning your house, tossing you out, taking away your property, just because they think they can do something better with it. Well, this is just what hundreds of homeowners are now facing in Riviera Beach, Florida. Here is John Zarrella with more on the battle.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This long-time resident, who calls herself Maggie, will be the first to tell you she's down on her luck and living in this Riviera Beach neighborhood hasn't made it any easier.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is combat zone, zone three.
MAYOR MICHAEL BROWN, RIVIERA BEACH, FLORIDA: It is.
That's why we have to clean it up.
ZARRELLA: But cleaning up the violence, drugs, prostitution, has put mayor Michael Brown right in the middle of what property rights organizations call the largest eminent domain case in the nation in 50 years.
BROWN: This area is subject to being demolished. And as you can see, there are a lot of houses here that need demolishing.
ZARRELLA: Thousands of homes and apartments sitting on more than 400 acres would be condemned and bulldozed. Nearly all sit on prime real estate near the intercoastal waterway which stretches. It stretches from one end of Riviera Beach to the other, an area big enough to hold at least 25 baseball parks.
A ten-year, $1 billion redevelopment plan would allow private developers to replace these blighted neighborhoods with hotels, new low-income housing, a yacht club, shops, theaters and an aquarium. At city council meetings, hundreds of people gather to look at the plans and blueprints that will change their lives.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A year ago, I bought a piece of property that was my dream home. And now I'm being told that I won't have it anymore.
ZARRELLA: It may be a year before the first shovel full of dirt is turned, but the mayor is certain it will happen.
BROWN: Look at this this, this is a road to nowhere.
ZARRELLA: The mayor and city leaders believe the plan will create jobs, increase tax revenue and improve the area's quality of life. The mayor insists no more than 100 people will have to be relocated. That's ridiculous, says Martha Babson. She says the real number is in the thousands. Babson's home sits in the redevelopment zone. She and other opponents think this is just a mammoth land grab to benefit the wealthy and line developer's pockets.
MARTHA BABSON, RIVIERA BEACH RESIDENT: Problem? problem? This is America. I can understand hearing this in Cuba or Russia, but the fact that they just simply want the land I'm on and, therefore, they can take it? And they base it on baloney like this? It's absolutely unAmerican.
ZARRELLA: A 2001 study commissioned by the city concluded parts of Riviera Beach were blighted and redevelopment was necessary for the public good. Babson decided to do her own survey and came up with different and surprising results. Where the city's reported fought blighted, empty lots, she found there were homes on some, nice homes.
BABSON: This home right here was built in 1997 and they declared this and most all of the others along this street as vacant lots.
BROWN: Look, is our report absolutely 100 percent perfect? No. What is? The fact is, look around here. And I challenge anybody to say that this area is not in need of rescuing.
ZARRELLA: Dick McKee doesn't think his property needs rescuing. For 25 years, he and a partner have run a successful business. The mariner marine boat dealership. He's angry that anyone could force him to move.
DICK MCKEE, MARINER MARINE OWNER: No, no. Especially if it's the government. We certainly don't feel good about government taking private property and doing that.
ZARRELLA: The city's plan includes moving the main road, the dealership and other businesses sit along. McKee and Babson believe a recent Supreme Court ruling in a Connecticut case that forced some homeowners off their properties has created open season on private property.
BABSON: The government everywhere, all over the United States, since the Supreme Court decision has the ability to come in and say, you know, I think this would be a lot better off as a four plex condo or a 20-story high rise.
ZARRELLA: City officials say people will be compensated for their sacrifice and that it's for the greater good. Opponents say the only people sacrificing are those who can least afford it.
John Zarrella, CNN, Riviera Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: And then there's this to take in. At least 35 states, including Florida, are now considering passing laws that would make it more difficult for the government to take your property.
"Larry King Live" gets started in just about nine minutes and 32 seconds.
Hi, Larry. Who's going to be joining you tonight?
LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: Now it's 9:30 and those two seconds have elapsed.
ZAHN: I know. You've got to talk quickly Larry because I am timing you. You get 29 more.
KING: OK. She's strict.
ZAHN: Just because they put a clock on my head too so, you know.
KING: We all remember the case of Captain Jeffrey MacDonald convicted of killing his wife and children. A brutal slaying at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. The slaying took place 35 years ago. He was convicted nine years later. There have been lots of appeals, all turned down.
Now an extraordinary new story, if true, could upheaval this whole story, including a bad look at the man who prosecuted, if the account is true that we're going to hear about tonight. Captain MacDonald says he didn't do it and apparently there's new evidence that says maybe he didn't.
We'll get into all that with his wife and others at the top of the hour.
ZAHN: Sounds interesting. I wasn't familiar with all of this new information. So, we will be listening with rapt attention tonight Larry.
Hey, Larry because you were such a good do be and followed that little time line, you get ten more seconds. Anything else you would like to say to us tonight?
KING: You look so good tonight, Paula, that...
ZAHN: That's not what I had in mind but I appreciate it.
KING: You're forthright and you have -- in addition, I've never said this to you, the best, the best teeth on television.
ZAHN: OK.
KING: I just thought I would point that out.
ZAHN: And they're real too.
All right, Larry. Thanks. Have a good show.
Coming up next, what do you do about those life's little annoyances that come your way like rotten drivers?
Jeanne Moos shows us strategies to keep those things from getting you down when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: So, no matter how even tempered and well adjusted you are, there's something that I'm sure gets to you annoying little things other people do that drive you absolutely nuts.
And tonight, Jeanne Moos has some solutions for all of us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Name your pet peeve. Is it cell phones, junk mail, crazy drivers? Well, thanks to life's little annoyances, we've got strategies to fight back.
Take those subscription cards that cascade out of magazines. Some folks mail them back blank just to make the publisher foot the bill for the prepaid postage.
And there is one guy who fills junk mail reply envelopes with actual junk to make them heavier and cost the sender more.
"New York Times" reporter Ian Urbina collected such anecdotes for his book. Annoyances like Starbucks lingo. They want you to call a small a tall. Resist.
IAN URBINA, AUTHOR, "LIFE'S LITTLE ANNOYANCES": The same thing is kicking that Coke machine when it keeps your coins. It is not going to get your soda, but it feels pretty good doing it.
MOOS: What annoys David Terry is the adult video store near his Hamilton, New Jersey home. He calls it a dump. So, whenever he sees someone going into the porn store, he does the honk and wave to mortify patrons.
DAVID TERRY, ANNOYED BY ADULT VIDEO STORE: And they are thinking like, who was that? Was that my brother-in-law? Was that my boss?
MOOS: Maybe bad parking drives you nuts. When Jason Brunet (ph) sees someone taking up two spaces, he leaves a leaflet offering a free parking tutorial at this web site. Wrong, wrong. Correct.
But bad driving rather than bad parking spawned roadragecards.com. There's a card for every occasion like this really mean one to flash when you see a driver putting on makeup.
With signs like, I hope your cell phone gives you cancer. No wonder the cards carry a disclaimer, may result in injury or even death. Though some folks can take a joke each phrase comes in reverse so you can insult drivers in their mirror.
Who would think of this as a weapon against tailgaters? Allan Doeksen modified his rear wiper squirter.
ALLAN DOEKSEN, ANNOYED BY CARTS BLOCKING AISLES: Spray directly on their vehicle when they're behind me.
MOOS: Allan also gets mad at shoppers who leave their grocery carts blocking the aisles.
DOEKSEN: I would put expensive items in their cart or possibly some embarrassing items like condoms perhaps in their cart, as well, when they are not looking. So when they go to the checkout line they are slightly embarrassed.
MOOS: What annoys Chris Baker (ph) is when the person in front of him in the express checkout has too many items.
(on-camera): So what this guy does is count the culprits items out loud as the cashier scans each one, five, six, seven. But almost nothing annoys folks more than loud cell phone conversations. So a Chicago graphic designer has created cards you hand out to offenders.
We're aware that your ongoing conversation about your husband's vasectomy is very important to you, but we thought you would like you to know that it doesn't interest us in the least.
If you're very tall maybe you're annoyed by airline seats.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was tired of being bopped in the knees by reclining seats.
MOOS: So Ira Goldman (ph) invented and now sells the knee defender.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The table comes down take the knee defenders seat won't recline.
MOOS: Whatever you do, don't use this on us. "TV B Gone" was dreamed up by a guy who was sick of seeing televisions everywhere. This universal remote turns off any TV. We caused confusion in the news room.
ROB FREHSE, CNN ASSIGNMENT MANAGER: Did you see our TVS? They're all going black.
MOOS: Now, what could cause that?
Sometimes all these tactics do is give you a chuckle. But when facing life's annoyances, laughter is music to your ears.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: Oh, it is all a matter of personal taste Jeanne. "Life's Little Annoyances" includes it's only little annoyance, a legal disclaimer, which Jeanne showed us in fine print saying the book does not recommend or condone dangerous or illegal activity.
Thanks for joining us tonight. We will back same place tomorrow night. Good night.
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