I was listening to the radio yesterday--to a station other than WFMU--and I heard one of those vague "news reports" that don't actually tell you anything. Sometimes they're only a sentence long and leave you with a LOT of questions, which I find very frustrating. This one said something along the lines of the MTA was cracking down on workers' comp fraud, including one woman bus driver who played drums with a rock band while she was out on disability. "Uh-oh," I thought, because I know of only one woman in the world who meets that description, but of course that's all the so-called report said before they were off to another account of traffic on roads that I don't even know where they are.
It wasn't until I saw the Daily News this morning that my worst fears were confirmed: Valerie Scroggins has been indicted by a Brooklyn grand jury for taking more than $13,000 in workers' comp payments for a shoulder injury that left her unable to drive a city bus, while she toured Europe playing drums with ESG. "Drummer snared in $13G MTA scandal" said the headline, complete with a mugshot and a photo of VS on drums that featured a banner reading "Caught in the act!"
ESG has been one of my favorite bands since the '80s, and one of the highpoints of my life was when I got to introduce them at a WFMU benefit show some years back, even though I kind of mangled what ESG stands for (Emerald, Sapphire, and Gold) and was wearing the infamous "Eat Pie" t-shirt. But still. And I really admire Ms. Scroggins and kind of paid tribute to her in another blog post here. So I'm not unbiased. But it seems to me that it's a lot more important to have a healthy shoulder when driving a bus full of passengers than when playing drums. Couldn't an injury be severe enough to prevent safe driving, and not be so bad that you couldn't bang out a beat? Couldn't it?
No.
No, it couldn't.
As much as you may feel sympathy for your double-dipping friend, it's fraud. And while it may seem like a drop in the bucket in the big picture, it's just one more reason the MTA keeps asking for rate increases.
Posted by: Dale Hazelton | May 10, 2007 at 10:59 AM
Ever heard about that quaint old "innocent until proven guilty" concept Dale? It seems totally plausible to me that--as Ms. Scroggins' lawyer claims--she was indeed drumming with only one arm at those shows. Maybe it's just me, but I like my bus drivers to have both hands firmly in control of the steering wheel.
Posted by: Hatch | May 10, 2007 at 11:42 AM
"But yer honnah, it wuz a Def Leppard tribute band"... queue the sound of a one armed rim-shot.
Posted by: K. | May 10, 2007 at 12:12 PM
Well if you're seriously expecting somebody replying to a blog post to research Ms. Scroggins' lawyer's claims of one armed drumming, and if you're going to chew them out for it, then you could at least have checked youtube first where there are many clips of ESG performing in the september 06 to january 07 timeframe. Here are a couple where you can clearly see quaint old two armed drumming.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBvRbxWhNOE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hvTRBWk1OE
As much as I like ESG I don't see why why the MTA should subsidise their sojourns to Europe.
Posted by: Stursky | May 10, 2007 at 12:31 PM
Maybe if the arts were subsidized they wouldn't be dominated by no-talent trust funders
Posted by: bartelby | May 10, 2007 at 12:36 PM
It takes very little shoulder movement to play the drums. And the shoulder movement that it does take does not put very much stress on the shoulder joint. Unlike say, turning the wheel of an 8 ton bus at slow speed. They are an entirely different range of motion.
In the videos Stursky posted she barely raises her arms and she never is putting her shoulder under rotational stress.
Posted by: MrDork | May 10, 2007 at 12:50 PM
Tough to make a call without reading the medical report detailing what movements or stresses the doctor described as within or outside her capacity. More evidence needed.
More speculatively, the occasional high-profile bust makes the MTA look like it has its finances in order to get the spotlight off of them. They're "doing something" by cracking down in this case.
In any event, lawyers have the strongest chance of making the most green from this case, not the MTA or those who fund it.
Posted by: Listener James from Westwood | May 10, 2007 at 02:31 PM
It says the MTA investigator came to Europe and had her sign an autograph at an ESG show. So, it cost the MTA, what, $20,000 to hunt down Valerie on her $13,000 alleged comp scam? I'm jumping some turnstiles!
Posted by: BrianTurner | May 10, 2007 at 03:06 PM
And if you get mugged for $20 and it costs the police $100 to catch the guy, well, why bother then, right..? Great logic.
Posted by: Chris R. | May 11, 2007 at 06:23 AM
What if they caught her driving the tour bus? Now THAT would be funny.....
Posted by: Dale Hazelton | May 11, 2007 at 08:15 AM
Good drumming is in the wrists, nothing to do with the shoulders. Just watch Charlie Watts or Ziggy Modeliste.
Posted by: E-Man | May 12, 2007 at 08:26 AM