Research misconduct and breach of ethics

How Luis Serrano, CRG's (Barcelona) Director, lied to the Catalan/Spanish Court

Below is how His Excellency Luis Serrano, CRG Director (Spanish/Catalan research institute of Excellence™), did his best to protect reputat...

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

How Luis Serrano, CRG's (Barcelona) Director, lied to the Catalan/Spanish Court

Below is how His Excellency Luis Serrano, CRG Director (Spanish/Catalan research institute of Excellence™), did his best to protect reputation of his realm by having serially lied about the reason of a former employee's dismissal virtually performed by his miss-stress, Maria Lluch-Senar — he was unable to procure a PI position for her, so now she's a «scientific» executive in a yet another bogus biomed company — those, which are spinning off Academia's casa nostra like the fleas off a well cared pet…

«What a tangled web they weave when first they practice to deceive…»

[DropBox archive to the story]
  1. A year ago (Feb'17) CRG in Barcelona had ignored the conciliation officer`s proposal to accept that the dismissal was illegal and make things simple: i.e. to pay out a small fine (about one month wage) to me and to issue a document confirming that dismissal was illegal, their representative also told then that they needed the Court decision to make that small payment and they'd bring additional evidence. Below is this evidence.

    They've started with their style of menaces again, urging me to accept the following proposal: before the Court they admit that the dismissal was illegal and pay out that money, but in turn© I have to purge all materials on them I put online. They pay that symbolic fine, I clean, they go scot-free, as if nothing happened, as if they did nothing wrong and as if I am doing here even something criminal. If I do not accept this — they're to carry out their threats.
    I don't.
    I said no lies.

    What did kinda surprise me — that Catalan (Spanish) Court did not find anything abnormal in their menaces*) neither noticed any contradiction in their proposal with its own decision.
    The judge had a look rather petulant by me declining their menaces — thus he had to proceed with hearing, get himself busy.
    All that looked quite really medieval to me…

  2. On the Court hearing Luis Serrano, CRG Director, came to witness me «constantly refusing» to talk to his favorite, Maria Lluch-Senar.
    That was yet another sheer lie (unless just comical):
    I've updated the DropBox with the copies of correspondence which happened a month before my dismissal when I had to explain to M Lluch-Senar, biochemist, (© L. Serrano) how mass-spec really works (she tries to show up herself as if she understands it but pretty dumb to get a simple point). Finally, from the 3rd attempt, she gets it and even thanks me, reminding me one more time again that I'd be fired anyway. She's been obsessed repeating that in near every second her email with cc to Luis Serrano. I bet that seemed so sexy to her patron and sweet-heart.
    Chat between me and her is mentioned in the beginning of that correspondence. So the meeting was with me and her alone, at my initiative because in that case that did make sense.
    Luis Serrano was well aware of the meeting, he was in cc.
    In fact, I refused no meeting with his favorite. I've been just asking for assistance as she used to be damn blind, aggressive and incompetent, sabotaging any communication with the lab people and the colleagues involved in the project.
    Only once I refused her manipulations «if you want to talk… we can discuss» — I said I don't: she lied as if she looked at the app (all I was doing for them she kept calling «webpage» :)), there were nothing to discuss, she was unable to set a task for months and was reiterating what was already done (they both got hysterical after I said «I don't» then, although I could wait weeks for them just to look on what was going on with the project… — «ha-ha, Katerina wants to work!»).
    Another time it was «if you don't understand — come and ask» (another shiny feature of their culture is how they talk to people in general and to professionals in particular, this you can spot in their emails, see Dropbox — is it the EMBL's school too?… quite consistent with the EMBL…) 
    I said I have nothing to ask, I refused to recognize such scientific authority of the made-up biochemist, scientific authority, which they've started to claim after I complained to their set-up of Conflict Resolution Committee (I called for it, then they basely lied that this was them who called for it and I didn't obey it) — I was fired.
    You fill complaint about the incompetence and harassing from some person and they force you to recognize scientific \m/ authority of the very same person.
    This is how they make up their so called Conflict Resolution Committee...
    Nice, isn't it?

  3. That wasn't the only lie he told the Court, also he lied about me unrelated to his starring in «I think what maria proposed does not make any sense» (see there also their vile intrigue and slandering to make up that 3 month term) — that was in fact said after me trying to explain Maria the same, but not that way directly. I just did not discarded her suggestion completely (that'd be too risky! but minding now Serrano's confession to the Court — see in DropBox Court's decision: his favorite reported on me unsuitable for her right around the same time!)
    The related email is now in the DropBox too, my actual boss was in cc and Luis Serrano was surely reacting on this correspondence.

  4. The third lie:
    CRG attorney told the Court (and Luis Serrano repeated it) that I was given 3 months to follow discipline I allegedly violated.
    In fact, the next day after Serrano told me that his favorite M Lluch-Senar was my boss (yet another one, as I still had to ask my official boss for holidays and the like), less than 3 months before my dismissal, I've got a letter from her, that she had «talked with Luis and he said me that he has given you the opportunity to work for three months in the lab and to finish the project». That is I was told I'd be fired anyway. Serrano was in cc in that email (see in DropBox too).
    No way he didn't know, I was pointing on that assertion (that I'd be fired anyway) to the HR, Conflict resolution Committee.
    They didn't care, they served to M Lluch-Senar and her henpecked one like dogs, despite the law — «it'll be illegal and you can go to the Court then». Well, we'll kill you, what's the matter? — your relatives can go to our Court then (the Court won't find anything wrong in that).
    Luis Serrano, CRG Director, lied his face off to the Court.
    Their events fabrication was supported by no single legit document, proving their falsehood.

    Not to mention the repeated falsehood about Conflict Resolution Committee, implying that they called for it to make me obey them — yet another lie: who could think that my call for Conflict Resolution Committee they'd unscrupulously use for themselves….
    Not to mention the lies about the reason of my transfer to the Serrano lab:
    in order to mob and fire actually, as he explicitly confirmed himself — his favorite reports on me that she's unhappy to work with me, meanwhile, after her discussion with me he writes to several colleagues that her proposals, criticized by myself, make no sense — the best way of a corporate intrigant: he makes sure that she'd hate me, — and voilá: he transfers me to his lab and coerces me to talk to Sra. Lluch only alone.
    — Nice trick, isn't it?
    Later, on the Court hearing, he refers to this intrigue as if they had transferred me for the sake of discipline I allegedly violated. Before I even could have gotten to know who was my yet another boss whose scientific authority I had to obey or what could be that disobedience (apparently the logic isn't a Spanish/academic talent).
    Oh, yes, no word about corruption, let alone ignoble conduct of those who know no decency.
    True modern scientific leadership although with quite questionable practice, but who cares when it comes to money laundering so successfully sold out as that true research activity, right?
    Just givvus more money, we are saving humanity's health, kids from starvation, we are saving the Earth!! Preserve our strata whatever it takes (skip it now).
    Needless to say now that this Spanish Court did not give me the floor unless defendant party would have asked for it.
    Of course they were not interested to ask.
So this Spanish/Catalan Court has taken CRG Director's words as they are along with their dismissal notice (citing me «I have nothing to ask» as a reason to fire me) as a proof of my disobedience and made decision that my dismissal was legal.
You can enjoy reading on DropBox their decision: nothing from my part is even mentioned
— yet another achievement of Spanish science and Social Justice ⚖️ in Spain/Catalunya… But thank Providence and post medieval (just neo-fascist?) world: otherwise I'd have been put on fire literally, in the Auto-da-fé / or shot dead by these franquists pokemons under the new brand of la nueva Alianza de Excelencia SOMM (Severo Ochoa y María de Maeztu — WTH is this clownacy?) and Whole-Cell Modelling. The latter is quite a fancy way to make friends and money with their US peers like Jonathan Karr and whoever else is so happy to support Spanish research misconduct to have grant money for their trips in EU from US… — sure they assure you that those Spanish scientists were just defamed. But look at the DropBox docs — they show up themselves: their style of doing science speaks for itself.

alike Maria Lluch-Senar and Luis Serrano in CRG use-case

Story archive in Dropbox
Docs, story: CRG, Barcelona on Github

And the cherry on the cake:

I had to make waiting the reverend scientist and the Court for about an hour as I insisted on the interpreter being assisting me on the hearing (my Spanish isn't fluent):
that was my right they had failed to lock in on their own — thus that utterly corrupt fascist Spanish/Catalan Court did not give a damn whether I could even understand them.
At the end the Judge had rudely interrupted my attorney: no use to get into the subject, really. Everything was so clear in advance.
Otherwise it was just yet another routine Spanish way of showing their respect and culture, no worries.

Summarizing all this shame CRG/Barcelona Excellence™ in the anecdote:
Luis Serrano:
    — what maria proposed does not make any sense.
Maria:
    — she does not obey to do what I propose!
Luis Serrano & Maria Lluch-Senar:
(both very «con tensiones en la empresa por ello»):
    — you are fired!

Don't you ask yourself now:
why the hell the CRG in Barcelona, Luis Serrano Pubul, his mistress or work-wife, whatever) Maria Lluch-Senar — why did they feel necessity in all that execution-style spectacle?

Why were they unable to make things at least as civilized people would do when they didn't like each other: to dismiss me a decent way, by mutual agreement? — I didn't even ask for their money, I suggested that Luis Serrano the very next moment when his Maria promised me that I'd be fired anyway after he told me that I had to get along with her and the lab folk (they slandered I can work with no one, no one confirmed that to my knowledge), especially that the condition to get along with the lab folk was yet another fabrication: you can see it from the Court decision — Serrano claimed I had to obey to his favorite only.
— So, why this spectacle? why their Juan Valcarcel lied me, that I can go to the Court and their Court would decide that my dismissal was illegal?


*) artículo 169 del Código Penal of Spain: «Amenazas son un delito o una falta… el anuncio de un mal futuro ilícito que es posible… con la finalidad de causar inquietud o miedo…»
=
«Threats are a crime or a fault... the announcement of a bad illicit future that is possible ... with the purpose of causing concern or fear ...»