Ken Melani has some explaining to do. So does Melissa Myler.
The high-profile CEO of Highmark Inc. has been having an affair with Mrs. Myler, a special events coordinator for the health-insurance giant.
Now, we really don’t care if they’re doing the wango-tango; that’s a private matter. But it became a matter most public when, according to police, Mr. Melani, also married, barged into the Oakmont home of his mistress’ husband Sunday last and confronted both Mylers. All exchanged words; the men exchanged blows.
http://liarcatchers.com/adultery.html
Police say that in a call to his attorneys, Melani told them he would have killed the Mylers had police not shown up. Melani was charged Wednesday with simple assault and defiant trespass, both misdemeanors. He has a court hearing this week.
Melissa Myler supposedly went to see her husband, Mark, to tell him that Melani had hired a private investigator to look into her life. Mark Myler says Melani had threatened his wife.
Melani says all Melissa Myler wanted was his money. Mrs. Myler, who joined Highmark last October and has been living with Melani since January, had hired an attorney to help her leave Highmark.
Which begs some questions:
• Who paid for the private investigator, Melani or Highmark ratepayers?
• What was being investigated?
• What were Melani’s threats against Melissa Myler?
• What kind of separation package was she seeking from Highmark?
• How much? Who would pay — Melani, personally, or Highmark, corporately and, by extension, ratepayers?
• Would it serve as hush money?
• What else don’t we know?
Ken Melani is on an unpaid leave of absence from Highmark. Melissa Myler’s status? Unknown. But it’s difficult to see how the Highmark board can allow them to keep their situations.
After all, their credibility inside and outside the organization is shot, those trademark Highmark commercial “blue hands” suddenly have taken on a ribald meaning and all the cluckety-clucks and muckety-mucks over at chief rival UPMC surely already have begun penning the scripts for the skits they’ll perform at their next management retreat.
