As the unprecedented, nothing-in-history-ever-has-been-like-it-before vetting of Dr. Ben (The Blade) Carson grinds on, the scourge of the secular progressive movement is proving to be something of a target-rich environment.

Pittsburgh dentist Alfonso A. Costa pleaded guilty to a felony count of health care fraud after an FBI probe into his oral surgery practice found he had charged for procedures he never performed, according to court records. Though the crime carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison, Costa was able to avoid prison time after Carson helped petition a federal judge for leniency. That's different from the position Carson took in 2013 as he prepared to launch his presidential campaign, saying those convicted of health care fraud should go to prison for at least a decade and be forced to forfeit "all of one's personal possessions."

The attraction of a brilliant neurosurgeon to the dingier precincts of his profession—this guy, Mannatech—is one of the more curious things about him. There are two possible reasons for this, and I think they're both true. The first is that there is something dangerously messianic to his personality that enables him to justify everything he does, including consorting with con-men and thieves, because he's the one doing the consorting, and whatever he does is justified through his brilliance, his biography, and/or his close personal relationship with certain Nazarene carpenters. The second is that he cannot see the flaws of anyone who sees the world the way he does. Make the right mouth-noises about "values" and the Bible, and you can be dismembering your grandmother in the backyard with a circular saw, and Dr. Ben will sit down and chat over economic policy with you. Neither of these is a trait we ought to encourage in our public officials.

Doug Watts, the campaign's spokesman, said Wednesday he was unable to immediately respond to specific questions about land deals involving Carson and Costa. The AP contacted Watts on Tuesday and again Wednesday. "I will confirm they are best friends and that they do hold business investments together," Watts said. Costa did not respond to messages seeking comment. The breadth of the two men's business ties has not been previously reported, partly because details can be obscured in property and incorporation records. Costa's company and its affiliates own properties in at least five states and overseas.

Nothing suspicious there. Move along, ya heathen bastids.

In 2007, a few months before Costa was charged, records show that a pair of corporations was established in Pennsylvania called BenCan LLC, and INBS LLC. Carson and his wife are listed as the sole members of the companies. Though the Carsons live outside Baltimore, the mailing address on the incorporation forms was Costa's home address in Pittsburgh.

Coincidences. The friends of Doctor Ben are full of them.

Charles P. Pierce Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976.

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