In 2001, Tadamasa Goto was one of the most feared names on the planet, one of the leaders of the Yakuza. This name suddenly went from making headlines in the Japanese press to slipping into American medicine. Was he banned from entering the United States, then?
Apparently the FBI allowed him to enter our country in exchange for a cooperation deal (a deal, with one of the Yakuza bosses!!!)
Tadamasa Goto needed a liver transplant at UCLA, and he got it while hundreds of Americans were dying on waiting lists… Influence of the Yakuza to buy supposedly incorruptible systems or the FBI sacrificing the medical fairness of Americans?
The deal with the FBI
Goto’s disease was terminal, and his only way out was an urgent transplant that could not be performed in his home country, but this man obtained a special visa after offering the FBI information about Yakuza operations in the United States.
Upon arriving in Los Angeles, he donated 100,000 dollars to UCLA and was operated on by Ronald Busuttil, one of the most prestigious surgeons in liver transplants. The problem was not only access, but that he skipped the waiting list: while that same year 186 people died waiting for a liver in Los Angeles, the mafia boss received his without obstacles. America first, they said…
Scandal and threats
The case came to light thanks to the work of journalist Jake Adelstein, who documented how at least four Japanese mobsters were operated on at UCLA between 2000 and 2004 under similar conditions…
When he tried to publish his findings in the Yomiuri Shimbun, he received death threats:
“Erase the story or you will be erased, and your family too.”
The investigation revealed that the FBI hardly obtained useful information from the deal and that Goto achieved his main goal, which was to save his life and return to Japan as if nothing had happened…
It is all money… unfortunately
The Yakuza, with approximately 80,000 members and more than 800 front companies, is one of the most powerful mafias in the world. Goto, known as the “John Gotti of Japan,” managed to manipulate both the FBI and the medical system.
And indeed, the scandal exposed that the money and connections of the “elites” are worth more than any other citizen, leaving aside people who needed those transplants and depended only on waiting lists. It is clear, unfortunately we are not all worth the same…
What is the Yakuza?
We are talking about one of the most dangerous mafias, based in Japan, operating with clans and codes of loyalty. They are responsible for organized crime and yes, they are still active in Japan.
Of course, the influence of this group in business, politics and daily life has made them a social and cultural phenomenon, but we must not forget what they are.
An episode that still resonates
The FBI defended its decision claiming that it needed information about the Yakuza, but it did not serve much. For UCLA this case left an indelible stain that still lasts, they say that protocols were followed, but the reality is that they assigned the organs with money while there were hundreds of people on those waiting lists… But of course, they did not have 100,000 dollars to pay for the surgery. And indeed, Tadamasa Goto is a reminder that when there is money, principles are lost (even if you belong to organized crime…)