Japanese gangster offered $1 million for visa that would allow liver transplant at UCLA, sources say

Los Angeles Times, June 13, 2008

Desperate for a liver transplant at UCLA Medical Center, the leader of Japan's third-largest organized crime group offered as much as $1 million to potential intermediaries to help him obtain a U.S. visa, according to sources. The sources said they were asked to use their connections, which included politicians and embassy contacts, to help acquire the visa. One source said UCLA's top liver transplant surgeon, Ronald W. Busuttil, MD, wrote a letter sent to U.S. officials saying that Inagawa needed a liver and that UCLA was willing to perform the transplant.