Judge Adjourned Sentencing

Oneida County Court Judge Michael L. Dwyer “reluctantly” adjourned the sentencing of former financial adviser Dorene Dorn after she hired a new attorney.

Dorn was due to be sentenced Monday after she was found guilty in early February of second-degree grand larceny and fourth-degree conspiracy related to the thefts of more than $350,000 from an elderly client between 2003 and 2004.

But after Dorn recently hired attorney Frank Policelli to replace attorney Les Lewis, who had represented Dorn throughout the trial, Dwyer agreed to postpone the sentencing until Monday, May 11.

Full Article and Source:
Judge ‘reluctantly’ adjourns Dorn sentencing

A generous $20,000 gift from an elderly Utica man to his attorney Mary Helene Hamlin set in motion the scheme that ultimately would drain more than $350,000 from his estate, Hamlin said in Oneida County Court. Hamlin pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny.

During her plea, Hamlin explained how the funds of John B. Hatfield Sr. were unknowingly transferred from his account to her trust fund and other accounts between 2003 and 2004.

Although Hamlin accepted her own guilt, she did not hesitate to mention another woman’s role in the misappropriation of funds that left Hatfield’s estate roughly half its size by the time of his death in early 2005.

Hamlin’s co-defendant, Dorene Dorn, could be seen writing notes from the back of the courtroom as Hamlin repeatedly implicated Dorn.

Hamlin said of the stolen funds: “Some went to Dorene, some went to me.”

Full Article and Source:
Ex-attorney pleads guilty in theft from client

More information:
Hamlin testifies against Dorn, now jury to deliberate

Defendant doesn't take the stand in Dorn case

Dorene Dorn found guilty of grand larceny and conspiracy

Guardian Ad Litem Authority

On January 7, 2006, the Crawford County Department of Job and Family Services removed two-month-old C.T. from the custody of his mother, Naomi Agapay.

Two days later the common pleas court awarded temporary custody of C.T. to the Department of Job and Family Services (DJFS), and appointed Geoffrey Stoll as the child's guardian ad litem. A guardian ad litem is a person appointed by a court as guardian of an infant or child to act on his behalf. For the time being, C.T. was placed in foster care.

In March 2006, the court adjudicated C.T. a dependent child. One month later the court adopted the DJFS's case plan to address safety issues for the child. Naomi responded to that by filing a motion to modify the dispositional order and to return C.T. to her custody.

But the DJFS had other plans; it filed a motion to extend the period of temporary custody. In January 2007, following a hearing, the court denied Naomi's motion and extended temporary custody by DJFS for an additional six months.

Later in January, Geoffrey Stoll filed a motion requesting that the court grant permanent custody of C.T. to the DJFS. Neither Naomi nor DJFS filed a memorandum opposing Stoll's motion. Following a hearing on Stoll's motion, the court terminated Naomi's parental rights and committed C.T. to the permanent custody of the DJFS on June 28, 2007.

Upon review, however, the court of appeals reversed the judgment of the trial court. The court of appeals ruled that the matter should go back to the trial court on the basis that Stoll, as a guardian ad litem, lacked standing to file a motion for permanent custody.

After that ruling, the case came before the Supreme Court of Ohio for a final review.

How did the court of appeals reach the conclusion that Stoll lacked standing?

"By a seven-to-zero vote, we concluded that a guardian ad litem has authority under Ohio law to file and prosecute a motion to terminate parental rights and award permanent custody in a child welfare case."

Full Article and Source:
Guardian ad litem has wide latitude to act for children

"Tough Choices" Budget

According to Chancellor William B. Chandler IV is the Delaware Office of the Public Guardian, the office of last resort for those who can no longer manage their own affairs and have no one else to do it.

More staff, more money, more tools are needed to address the increasing demand, and Chandler, the top judicial officer in the Court of Chancery, which oversees the Office of the Public Guardian, noted in a letter to Gov. Jack Markell that a July review by the National Guardianship Association will bring other recommendations.

"It is no exaggeration to say that the ability of the Office of the Public Guardian to accommodate its wards is at the breaking point," Chandler wrote.

The timing for those requests couldn't be much worse, with Markell and all state agencies looking for ways to plug an estimated $750 million gouge in 2010 revenue. In his budget address this month, the governor acknowledged that legitimate requests and services had been cut from his "tough choices" budget. The Office of Public Guardian's already small $500,000 budget would be trimmed a bit more.

Full Article and Source:
Guardians of helpless ask Del. for help

Guardian Accused of Exploitation

The court trusted Cindy Laws to look after the lives of incapacitated and vulnerable people. Now she's charged with exploiting one of them.

Laws is accused of felony "abuse, exploitation or neglect of a vulnerable adult" for allegedly stealing more than $6,000 from a 93-year-old woman with dementia.

Laws was a member of the Twin Falls County Board of Community Guardians, and court records show the court appointed her guardian of at least three incapacitated people. The court has since removed her as a guardian.

Twin Falls County commissioner George Urie, who serves on the board said that an "indirect effect" of the case against Laws filed this week in Twin Falls 5th District Court was that the county's board stopped taking new clients.

Three people who were recently under Laws' guardianship are unable to care for themselves and live on Social Security payments from the government.

The criminal case against Laws unfolded after an adult protection investigator with Area IV Office on Aging asked Laws to sign a "release of information" on Jan. 7. "The release was obtained in connection with an investigation of possible wrongdoing."

The probe turned to Laws when investigators discovered the 93-year-old victim got billed for cell phone service that she is not receiving, along with other questionable charges.

Full Article and Source:
Guardian accused of exploiting elderly woman

More information:
S. Idaho guardian charged with exploiting woman

Will Forger Gets Jail

Authorities claim Edward Blomfield forged the will of Beverly Graham after she was shot and killed in her apartment by Jennifer San Marco just before San Marco went on a shooting spree at the Goleta U.S. Postal Service distribution center in January 2006, killing six others and then herself. The forged will left Graham’s entire estate, estimated to be worth $750,000, to Blomfield.

Less than a month after Graham’s death, Blomfield produced the will, which Graham’s family immediately contested in probate court. As the result of a complicated civil suit, in which a forensic examiner determined the will was forged, Blomfield was ordered to pay $340,000 in restitution to the Graham family and indicted in criminal court for burglary, financial elder abuse, forgery, conspiracy, and two counts of perjury. Blomfield pled guilty to all charges.

He will serve one year in Santa Barbara County Jail and five years of felony probation. Judge Brian Hill also granted District Attorney Mary Barron two additional requests: that Blomfield not be allowed to act in a fiduciary capacity for anyone and that any current or future employers know of his psychiatric condition.

Full Article and Source:
Will Forger Gets One Year in Jail, Probation

Former Lawyer Denied License

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has rejected a request by David V. Jennings III of Cedarburg to reinstate his law license, saying his moral character is lacking.

Jennings says the decision is devastating. The furniture store manager says he wanted to get back into law to "offset some of the harm that I caused."

Jennings lost his license in 1993, the year he pleaded guilty to embezzling $550,000 from a company he represented in bankruptcy proceedings and from his mother's living trust.

Full Article and Source:
Former Wis. lawyer who embezzled denied license

Attorney is Facing Criminal Charges

A Naperville attorney is facing criminal charges on suspicion he stole and mishandled hundreds of thousands of dollars from his clients and former law partners.

Prosecutors charged Steven D. Gustafson with theft up to $500,000, forgery, financial institution fraud and financial crimes enterprise.

The 44-year-old Naperville man became licensed to practice law in Illinois Nov. 7, 1991. His focus is estate planning and trusts.

The allegations began while he was a shareholder in the now-defunct law firm of James, Gustafson & Thompson. The firm was dissolved Feb. 21, 2006, and all but one of Gustafson's former partners have sued him.

Full Article and Source:
Naperville attorney accused of stealing from clients, partners

Real Estate Agent Indicted

A Springfield real estate agent has been indicted on charges he stole more than $400,000 from a trust and more than $200,000 from an aunt for whom he had power of attorney.

Timothy Spengler is charged with felony theft in connection with the trust and with financial exploitation of the elderly, theft and two counts of conspiracy in connection with the alleged theft from his 89-year-old great-aunt.

Spengler’s wife, Cindy, was indicted on the same charges in the case involving her husband’s aunt’s money. She is not charged in the alleged land trust theft.

The indictments, handed down by a Sangamon County grand jury, are the result of an investigation by the Illinois State Police and the state’s attorney’s office involving a Christian County trust of which Timothy Spengler was trustee.

Authorities said one of the beneficiaries of the Zelma E. Ostermeier trust, established in 1999, noticed irregularities in withdrawals from the trust and brought them to the attention of investigators.

A hearing is set on the guardianship issue April 2 and on an order of protection against Timothy Spengler for April 3.

Full Article and Source:

Area real estate agent, wife accused of theft

Power-Of-Attorney Measure

A state Senate panel was urged to approve a power-of-attorney measure aimed at protecting seniors from abuses by caregivers and, in some cases, their own children.

SB314, reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee, would erase limited power-of-attorney laws and replace them with a much broader act proposed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.

Proponents of SB314 included Lora Myles of the RSVP CARE Law Program, which assists seniors: "the existing Nevada laws make it tough on seniors in dealing with banks or with authorities when seniors become victims of exploitation."

Myles described a case in which a woman confessed to using a power of attorney “to rip her mother off for a very large sum of money” but police and a district attorney wouldn’t prosecute the case, saying they lacked the authority under existing state law.

Full Article and Source:
Bill focuses on power-of-attorney abuse against seniors

Information Fair

Medicaid fraud and abuse investigator Nikki Henderson will be guest speaker at an information fair about elder abuse and neglect that the University of Louisville is sponsoring.

Kent School of Social Work students who will graduate this year with a gerontology specialization have planned the fair for professionals who work in aging services and for older adults who could use such services. The students will be available to discuss elder issues such as emotional, physical, sexual and financial abuse.

Henderson, a retired Louisville police sergeant and Kent alumna, now works for the state Office of the Attorney General as an investigator in the Medicaid fraud and abuse control division. Her talk will be from noon to 1 p.m. The luncheon starts at 11:30 a.m.

Continuing education credits are available to professionals who attend.

April 23, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
The Kling Center, 219 W. Ormsby Ave.
Admission is free and open to the public. Luncheon seating is limited.
Make reservations by April 10 with Martha Fuller or 502-852-3933, or Linda Exton or 502-852-3934.

Full Article and Source:
Information fair targets elder abuse, neglect

Alzheimer’s Association Conference

The Alzheimer’s Association Greater PA Chapter will sponsor a conference, “Preventing Elder Abuse,” April 16 at the Mohegan Sun Conference Center.

Presenters include Attorney Dr. Ronald Costen, director of the Institute on Protective Services, Temple University; Carol L. Lavery, MPW, Office of the Victim Advocate, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and James Siberski, MS, coordinator of the Gerontology Education Center, Misericordia University.

The registration deadline is April 8.

For additional information, contact the Alzheimer’s Association at 822-9915.

Source:
Alzheimer’s Association schedules ‘Preventing Elder Abuse’ seminar

Grandmother Seeking Guardianship

Renee Pernice’s mother is seeking guardianship of the missing woman’s two children.

In a court filing, Linda Lockwood said the father of her grandchildren, Shon Pernice, was unfit to be a parent and unable to care for the children.

Lockwood and her husband, Douglas Lockwood, made the filing this month in Clay County Circuit Court. She noted in the petition that her daughter has been missing since early January and that the Clay County prosecutor has said there is substantial evidence that she is dead.

Lockwood said that she and other relatives felt they had to act after Clay County authorities charged Pernice with felony theft for allegedly stealing a neighbor’s handgun.

The petition also contends that Shon Pernice left the boys, ages 9 and 6, alone at their Northland home at least once, brandished a gun in front of the children, and tried to withdraw money from accounts in his wife’s name alone that were set up for the children.

Investigators have said Shon Pernice is a person of interest in his wife’s disappearance. He has not been arrested or charged.

Full Article and Source:
Mother of missing woman seeks guardianship of her two children

More information:
Renee Pernice's Mom Seeks Custody Of Kids

Renee Pernice's Parents Call Husband 'Unfit' Father

Ruling in Lokuta's Favor

The state Supreme Court made a couple of rulings in favor of former Luzerne County Judge Ann Lokuta.

It stayed the Court of Judicial Discipline ruling that bounced her off the bench, and directed that it re-examine her case. She had been tried after numerous complaints about her conduct in and out of the courtroom.

Lokuta says some testimony against her was part of a plan by former judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan to get rid of her because of some of the things she exposed. Ciavarella and Conanhan admitted they took kickback money relative to a juvenile detention center and are awaiting sentencing.

The high court also ruled that her empty seat should be removed from the ballot.

Full Article and Source:
Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Lokuta

More information:
Pennsylvania: Judge’s Case to Be Reheard

See also:
Lokuta's Motion Denied

Judge Wants New Hearing

Removing "Bully" Judge

Judges Plead Guilty

Two Pennsylvania judges agreed to plead guilty to fraud charges accusing them of taking $2.6 million in kickbacks in return for placing juvenile offenders into certain detention facilities.

The plea agreements for Luzerne County President Judge Mark Ciavarella and Senior Judge Michael Conahan call for sentences of more than seven years in prison. Ciavarella resigned from the bench in a Jan. 23 letter to Gov. Ed Rendell. Conahan has agreed to resign within 10 days of a judge's acceptance of the plea.

Authorities say the judges took kickbacks between 2003 and 2007 in exchange for guaranteeing the placement of juvenile offenders into facilities operated by PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care LLC. In some cases, Ciavarella ordered children into detention even when juvenile probation officers did not recommend it.

Deron Roberts, chief of the FBI's Scranton office: "They sold their oaths of offices to the highest bidders."

Full Article and Source:
2 Pa. Judges to Plead Guilty to Public Corruption

See also:
Class Action Against Judges

"When Judges Stain Our Kids"

Kickback Scheme Judges Sued

Alleged Public Corruption

Attorney Charged with Theft

A Chippewa Falls woman is accused of withdrawing thousands of dollars from one of her client's bank accounts.

Lynda Larson is charged with three counts of theft in a business setting over $10,000.

According to the criminal complaint, Larson was an attorney for Ingvald Melgaard who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and died in March of 2006.

The complaint says Larson had a joint bank account with Melgaard and withdrew more than $200,000 of his money without his consent including about $100,000 she used to purchase a business for herself.

Larson will make her initial appearance in court on April 28.

Full Article and Source:
Attorney Charged With Taking Money From Her Client

More information:
Chippewa Falls woman charged with theft of nearly $375,000

Complaint: Guardian Not Following Orders

Instead of acting in their best interest, a Dunbar woman is alleging a Ripley attorney appointed as her children's guardian has aided and abetted her ex-husband in alienating them from her.

In a complaint filed March 2 with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, the investigative arm of the state Bar, Teresa Lowe alleges that Leah R. Chappell has failed to follow court orders granting her regular visitation with the sons she shares with her ex-husband, Troy Welling. Also, Lowe alleges Chappell has fabricated information about her as an excuse to deny her visitation.

Chappell is the guardian ad litem for Lowe's and Welling's sons, T.J., 14, and Eric, 9.

Full Article and Source:
Complaint: Guardian in Jackson family case not following orders

Legal Fees Top $2.7 Million

According to the Los Angeles Times, Britney Spears conservators have hired a total of 17 lawyers and law firms to deal with her affairs over the last 14 months. So far, she's racked up $2.7 million in legal fees -- and counting. But she's had a lot going on, including custody proceedings involving her ex-husband Kevin Federline, her driving-without-a-license trial and the latest restraining order situation with her former manager.

Retired probate judge Arnold Gold says the fees aren't necessarily uncommon for a celebrity, explaining, "It's quite appropriate, particularly in the entertainment field, to incur and have to pay very, very, very sizable attorneys' fees."

Full Article and Source:
Britney Spears Spends Big Money On Lawyers

See also:
Conservatorship is "Officially Made Permanent"

Two Dads on a Birth Certificate

A federal judge has ruled that Louisiana has 15 days to add the names of both fathers to the birth certificate of a boy born in Shreveport and adopted by a gay couple from out-of-state.

The state is asking the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the ruling by U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey, and to halt the order, state Attorney General Buddy Caldwell said.

He wrote in a brief e-mailed statement:"The federal district court has significantly misinterpreted Louisiana vital records law, forcing Louisiana to import and adopt New York law."

Oren Adar and Mickey Ray Smith, who now live in San Diego, but adopted the boy in New York state, want both their names on his birth certificate.

State officials say that's illegal because, under Louisiana law, two single people cannot adopt a child. Zainey ruled in December that because the adoption became formal in New York, the Office of Vital Records must recognize that state's adoption law on the matter.

New York officials decided in January that same-sex couples could list both names on their children's birth certificates.

Full Article and Source:
La. must add 2 dads' names to birth certificate

Looking For Shooting Suspect

AL - The Escambia County Sheriff's Office have released the name and picture of a suspect in the shooting of an elderly man.

Police say Tracy Konewko shot and pistol whipped 81-year-old Charles Moore Thursday afternoon during a robbery at his home on Emory Drive. Fortunately, Moore survived the attack.

If you know where to find Konewko, please call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at 850.436.9620 and ask for Investigator James O’Hara or call Crime Stoppers at 850.433.STOP.

Source:
Woman Wanted For Shooting Elderly Man

Deputies Looking For Shooting Suspect

Conservatorship Spat Continues

A legal battle between Peter Falk's wife of 32 years and his adopted daughter over whether a conservator should be appointed for the Emmy-winning actor resumed with another court hearing.

In court papers filed Dec. 12, Catherine Falk said her adoptive father, now 81, is no longer able take care of himself due to deteriorating health -- she says he suffers from Alzheimer's disease and dementia -- and should be placed under a conservatorship order to protect him and so she can visit him regularly.

Falk's current wife, Shera Danese Falk, maintains in her opposition papers that there is no need for a conservatorship, but that if one is established, she should be named conservator for her husband.

Alyce Mayo, Falk's former wife, on Friday weighed in with a sworn declaration in which she defends Catherine's position. Mayo was married to the actor from 1960 to 1976 and during that time two girls, Catherine and Jackie, were adopted by the couple.

Mayo says Shera Falk and Catherine had some disagreements, but overall have remained close despite alleged attempts by Shera to keep them from seeing each other.

Full Article and Source:
Hearing set in conservatorship spat between actor Falk's wife, daughter

See also:
Opposite Opinions

War Over Falk

"My Dad Has Alzheimer's"

Lawyers and Trust Accounts

Odiator Arugu was reprimanded and placed on probation for two years, following a Feb. 12 court order. Arugu did not properly maintain his trust account records to support disbursement and receipt of funds to the account; nor did he properly maintain client ledgers and journals. An audit of Arugu's trust records for May 2005 through December 2007 indicated that Arugu was not in compliance with Florida Bar rules regulating trust accounts.

Gregory R. Deal was suspended until further order, following a Jan. 5 court order. According to an emergency suspension order, Deal appeared to be causing great public harm by misappropriating funds held in trust. The Bar's audit showed that in October 2008, Deal's trust account had a shortage of more than $65,000, which was created by Deal writing checks to himself.

Jay Charles Floyd was suspended until further order, following a Dec. 23, 2008 court order. According to an emergency suspension order, Jay Charles Floyd appeared to be causing great public harm by misappropriating funds from his trust account. In one instance, a check for $11,000 written on Floyd's trust account was returned due to insufficient funds. In a second matter, Floyd received a settlement in the amount of $5,500 for a personal injury client. He admitted to misappropriating the money for his personal use.

Laura L. Hess was disbarred for five years, effective immediately, following a Jan. 15 court order. Among Hess' violations, she operated a law firm in which her partner was a non-lawyer; she led clients to believe she had deposited their funds in trust accounts, when in fact, she had not; her law firms letterhead improperly reflected addresses for out-of-state law offices; and Hess allowed individuals not licensed to practice law in Florida to represent clients.

Michael Edward Hill was disbarred, effective immediately, following a Feb. 12 court order. Hill admitted that he did not follow The Florida Bar's required rules regarding trust accounts. In May 2008, the Bar was informed by a bank that Hill's trust account check of more than $9,000 had been returned for insufficient funds. The Bar then served Hill with a subpoena for bank account records and other documents. Hill neglected to produce all of the requested items.

Erik Owen Leavell was disbarred effective 30 days from a Feb. 12 court order. In June 2008, The Florida Bar was informed by a bank that Leavell's trust account had a negative balance of more than $18,000. The Bar served Leavell with a subpoena for bank account records, which he failed to produce.

Raymond Earl Miller was disbarred effective 30 days from a Jan. 8 court order. After a complaint was filed against Miller, alleging delays in making the final disbursement in an estate, he made the payment, but failed to provide an accounting. An examination of Miller's trust account records and ledger cards revealed that he failed to maintain a balance in the trust account sufficient to cover the estate. He also failed to maintain records required by The Florida Bar's rules.

Jolyon Wilson Morris was placed on probation for two years, effective immediately, following a Feb. 5 court order. An investigation of Morris' trust account revealed that he was not in compliance with basic trust account rules as required by The Florida Bar, including client ledger cards, receipt and disbursement journals and bank and client reconciliations.

Okechukwu Josiah Odunna was suspended until further order, following a Jan. 5 court order. According to an emergency suspension order, Odunna appeared to be causing great public harm. He failed to record at least 17 original deeds and 21 original mortgages, exposing a title insurance fund to more than $10 million in claims exposure. A Florida Bar compliance audit of Odunna's trust accounting records determined that he misappropriated more than $370,000 in client funds.

Ronald Thomas Rider was suspended until further order, following a Dec. 23, 2008 court order. According to an emergency suspension order, Rider appeared to be causing great public harm by misappropriating funds held in trust. An audit by The Florida Bar found that Rider had a shortage in his trust account of more than $63,000 as of July 1, 2008, and $87,000 as of Nov. 13, 2008.

Full Article and Source:
Pensacola lawyer one of 35 disciplined by the state courts

$6 Million Settlement

In a child-abuse case that shocked many people, the state and three other parties have agreed to pay $6 million to settle a lawsuit brought on behalf of a boy who was intentionally starved by his father and his girlfriend.

The state and three other parties have agreed to pay $6 million to settle a lawsuit brought on behalf of a boy who was intentionally starved by his father and the man's girlfriend.

The settlement, reached during mediation, stemmed from the case of Shayne Abegg, who weighed only 22 pounds at age 4 when authorities rescued him on March 7, 2007, from his Everett home. A year earlier, when Shayne came to live with his father, he had weighed 38 pounds.

Under the settlement, which requires approval by a judge, the state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) agreed to pay $5 million, with the remainder to be split between state-contracted therapist Brad Simkins and two social-service agencies that hired him.

The boy, through his guardian, originally sought $22 million in a tort claim filed with the state.

The lawsuit, filed in Snohomish County Superior Court, alleged DSHS, Simkins and the others failed to protect Shayne, who couldn't sit or walk when he was found. In addition, the boy's temperature had reached the dangerously low level of 87 degrees and his muscles were wasting.

The settlement comes at a time when state legislators are considering privatizing some social services to fix what critics call a broken child-welfare system. The Children's Administration, which is part of DSHS, has been plagued by problems for years, including dozens of child fatalities.

Full Article and Source:
$6M settlement for starved Everett boy

Adoption Ban Trial

A lawsuit seeking to undo Arkansas' voter-approved law limiting access to adoption and foster care survived its first challenge when a Pulaski County circuit judge ruled the case should go to trial.

But Judge Chris Piazza did side with state attorneys in throwing out one part of the 11-point lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union - a challenge to the title of the ballot initiative that became Initiated Act 1 of 2008 by attracting 57 percent of the vote in the November election. The ACLU, representing 24 adults and children, is seeking to overturn the law, which bars cohabiting unmarried adults from fostering or adopting children, claiming the measure is unconstitutional.

Byron Babione, an Arizona attorney representing Family Council Action Committee, the conservative Christian political action committee that championed the law, Cordi contended that the ACLU was trying to fabricate a constitutional right that doesn't exist, a right by children to be adopted or placed in foster care. Adoption and foster care law arises from state statute, not the Arkansas or U.S. constitutions, they argued.

Babione: "There's no deep-rooted right in this nation's laws or history to adopt or foster."

Full Article and Source:
Trial on adoption ban approved

See also:
Halted Efforts

Act One Under Fire

No Help for Veteran

This is the story of a World War II veteran and his family who is desperately trying to get him home. We have come to know him as Uncle Charlie. He was lost in the system for years. Now his family wants to bring him back to North Carolina, but no one can seem to help, not the Veterans Administration or even a US Congressman.

He came home in 1947 suffering from shell shock. Laurica says her grandmother talked about how "the war made my son crazy." Uncle Charlie wandered off into the woods and did other things that scared people. Laurica's grandmother contacted the Army who then came for Uncle Charlie. The family says he was placed in the care of the Army and the Veterans Administration.

Uncle Charlie was moved to a VA supervised group home in Tennessee. He stayed there for many years and in the 1960's, Uncle Charlie was moved to another supervised home in Ohio. In 1974, the VA determined that Mr. Newkirk was incompetent and an attorney, Richard Dimond, became legal guardian. Later, Uncle Charlie was diagnosed with schizophrenia by health care professionals. In 2002, Uncle Charlie was admitted to the VA in Chillicothe and has remained there since.

Laurica went to court to try to gain guardianship over Uncle Charlie from Richard Dimond. Richard Dimond was very forthcoming about Uncle Charlie's situation. He said the court was acting in the best interest of the veteran, not the family. Dimond also says the court believed it's too traumatic to move Uncle Charlie with his medical conditions. Dimond admits he does not go to visit Uncle Charlie very often, but he said he was there last week to take him some clothing and new pajamas.

Laurica disagrees and believes the fight is really over money.

Laurica offered to allow Dimond to keep guardianship of Uncle Charlie and control of the money, if he would just not oppose Uncle Charlie to come home to North Carolina.

She turned to the VA who couldn't help because of the court's ruling. Then, she asked Congressman Howard Coble for help.

Congressman Coble personally wrote the VA: "Ms. Oliver has no ulterior motive except for the good will that would be generated within the family to have Uncle Charlie back home. Most of the time we can work through the snafus. But, we've run into a brick wall on this one."

Full Article and Source:
Uncle Charlie's War

Protest Against Budget Cuts

250 petitions demand state restore funds for kin caregivers

Grandparents and other family members raising children took to the streets to protest state budget cuts they say are hurting their kids.

Participants chanted as they marched: "Fight, fight, fight for grandparents' rights."

Carrying signs that read, "Not on the backs of children,'' "No more budget cuts'' and "Old people rock,'' dozens marched the seven blocks from Armory Park, where they held a rally, to the State of Arizona Administration Building, 400 W. Congress St.

About 100 caregivers and children delivered 250 petitions, demanding that legislators restore 20 percent cuts in aid to families caring for the children of relatives. The cuts, made by state legislators last month, impact more than 10,000 Arizona children, according to organizers.

Full Article and Source:
Grandparents, family members protest cuts to state assistance

Attorney Skips Out

Martin “Kirby” Watson was in deep trouble to begin with. The disbarred attorney faces prison if convicted of bilking clients out of $500,000.

But authorities say he made a mistake that no one who went to law school should ever make: He skipped out on his own criminal trial.

Instead of picking a jury, Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Christine Hellinger revoked Martin’s $70,000 bond and issued a warrant for his arrest.

Full Article and Source:
Disbarred St. Petersburg attorney skips out on his own trial

Bishop's Estate

Longtime Newport Beach resident and Rat Pack comedian Joey Bishop’s longtime, live-in companion this week settled part of her lawsuit alleging that the late entertainer’s financial planners tried to cheat her out of part of his estate. Now Newport Beach Chabad Center, a Jewish community center and religious organization claims that Bishop intended to leave part of his multimillion-dollar estate to found a children’s charity, court documents obtained by the Daily Pilot show.

Nora Garibotti, Bishop’s former golfing companion, who lived with him in the later years of his life, stands to inherit 70% of Bishop’s residual estate, according to the terms of the settlement, agreed upon in Los Angeles County probate court. The remaining 30% will be divided between Bishop’s agent, Ed “Hook” Hookstratten, who once represented Elvis Presley, and Bishop’s financial advisor, Myles Hymes, according to court documents.

A lawsuit Newport Beach Chabad Center filed in Orange County Superior Court claims that Bishop’s attorney, agent, financial advisor and live-in caretaker blocked Bishop’s final wishes to have part of his estate go toward setting up a charity for special-needs children in Orange County.

Chabad’s suit names Hookstratten, Orange County attorney James “Kimo” McCormick, Hymes and Garibotti.

Newport Beach Chabad is seeking damages in excess of $10 million for legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty, among other claims, according to court documents.

Full Article and Source:
Chabad files suit for estate

See also:
Countersuit Denied

Fees Under Fire

A bill that could limit the amount of attorney fees awarded in fee-shifting cases has riled plaintiffs’ attorneys.

The legislation, introduced earlier this month, would require that where a statute provides for the award of attorney fees to a successful litigant, judges must take into consideration the reasonableness of the fees sought in relation to the amount of damages awarded to the prevailing party.

The bill also contains a provision mandating that if a plaintiff claiming an award of attorney fees rejected a Rule 68 offer of judgment and failed to obtain a verdict in excess of the offer, the plaintiff will not get any fees after the date of the offer.

Opponents of the bill are concerned it will cause attorneys to refuse cases where the amount in dispute is minimal, like some landlord-tenant matters or debt collection cases.

Attorney Michael Bryant, president-elect of the Minnesota Association for Justice: “If you won’t get paid for what you put into it, why do it? Who’s going to do it? To me that’s the problem.”

Minneapolis civil rights attorney Justin Cummins agreed that it’s going to be much more difficult to get the private bar involved if attorney fees are contingent on actual damages awarded. “It would really create a disincentive for the private bar to come forward with public interest cases.”

The legislation could impact any claim for which there is a statutory fee-shifting provision, including cases involving:

Debt collection

Landlord-tenant disputes

Civil rights

Discrimination

Whistleblowers

Overtime and minimum wage

Failure to pay wages

Full Article and Source:
Attorney fees under fire

Lawyer Claims Dementia

Louis M. Smith Jr. was indicted on four counts of wire fraud for allegedly misappropriating $467,000 from a dead person's estate.

The indictment alleges in part that Smith misrepresented the true value of the estate to heirs, according to a news release issued by the U.S. attorney's office.

He also is charged with two counts of transporting across state lines more than $5,000 belonging to a trust account of another person and the estate of a dead person.

The maximum penalties for the crimes are 100 years in prison and a $1.5 million fine.

Smith was suspended from practice by the Kentucky Supreme Court in March 2008. He is charged in Jefferson Circuit Court with stealing $680,000 from one client who was elderly and another who is deceased; he is also accused of the unauthorized practice of law and other offenses. He has pleaded not guilty in that case, which is set for trial in May.

Steve Romines, Smith's attorney, could not be reached for comment. But Romines has said in court that his client has been diagnosed with dementia, and he has asserted in court papers that the diagnosis could provide a "complete defense or at the least lessen his criminal responsibility."

Full Article and Source:
Suspended, former lawyers charged

Elder Abuse Course

Lawmakers were told that many doctors, counselors and other professionals who deal with seniors don't always recognize signs of abuse and need to get online training that would help them spot such mistreatment.

AB260 would create an online course on recognizing different kinds of elder abuse and require professionals who deal with seniors to complete the course once a year. The course would highlight problems such as medication mismanagement to keep seniors sedated and identifying bruises resulting from physical abuse rather than accidental falls.

The bill would require at least 30 different types of professionals in fields such as dentistry, optometry, podiatry and chiropractic to take the course, along with other types of workers more traditionally associated with senior care such as medical and nursing home staffers, social workers and group caregivers. Also included are marriage and family therapists, athletic trainers, coroners and ambulance drivers.

Full Article and Source:
Elder abuse course outlined

Wine Tasting Event

Volunteer Guardianship One-on-One will hold its annual Wine Tasting event at Copper Hill Country Club here on Sunday, March 29, 2-5 p.m. It's sponsored by Central Liquor of Flemington.

The wines will vary in price from the extravagant to very affordable. At the end of the event the votes will be tallied to determine which staff member has chosen the most-popular wines.
Tickets cost $50.

Volunteer Guardianship One-on-One, a unique group in New Jersey, provides services for people with no family or friends willing to serve as their guardian.
Proceeds from the event go to support, training and organization that the volunteers need. To reserve tickets, call Central Liquors at 782-2518 or email the store manager at carlweber@rcn.com

Full Article and Source:
Volunteer Guardians Set Wine Tasting Event In Raritan

Second Guessing

Nearly three years before Deshaunsay Sykes-Crowder was allegedly killed by the woman who became her guardian in the wake of abuse by her mother, Dane County pondered whether to bring the two back to Madison to review a protection plan for the girl.

A report issued by the state Department of Children and Families second-guessed the decision by the Dane County Department of Health and Family Services not to bring Deshaunsay and her aunt, Lynda Sykes, back when it became apparent Sykes was not cooperating with the protection plan.

Deshaunsay was 6 years old on July 16 when her guardian, Sykes allegedly inflicted the injuries that killed the girl in Cleveland, Ohio, where they were living. She is charged with aggravated murder, a death penalty offense in Ohio, and is in the Cuyahoga County Jail awaiting a May trial.

Ohio court records show Sykes abused Deshaunsay, leading to her removal from Sykes’ home from May 2007 to April 2008. Then on July 16, she was arrested and accused of killing Deshaunsay.

The state review generally found little fault with the way Dane County Human Services handled Deshaunsay’s history with Sykes, who has a history of violent crime and went to prison in 1996 for stabbing another woman.

But Human Services Director Lynn Green said the state is “Monday morning quarterbacking” in its report when it said it is now requiring Dane County to send child protection cases back to judges whenever they fit the circumstances of Deshaunsay’s case — when a child under protection moves out of state and has no protection plan set up in the new home state.

Green also questioned why Dane County alone must do this, when there is no legal requirement that any other county in the state do the same thing.

Full Article and Source:
State report second-guesses Dane County child protection decision

See also:
Unfit Guardian?

Contested Omnibus Hearing

The attorneys for both of the young women charged as adults in the case of alleged abuse at Good Samaritan Society of Albert Lea have filed motions in Freeborn County District Court to suppress statements obtained from their clients to law enforcement officials.

Attorney Craig Nelson said he received a notice of motion in the mail from Larry Maus, Brianna Broitzman’s attorney, requesting a contested omnibus hearing for his client.

Nelson said the court will consider issues such as suppression of statements obtained from Broitzman “on the grounds that the statement was obtained in violation of her constitutional rights,” along with an order of the court dismissing the criminal complaint against her for lack of probable cause.

Broitzman’s court appearance was continued to March 30.

Co-defendant Ashton Larson court appearance is still to be held, according to court officials. That could be continued at the last minute to a new date as well, however, depending on the wishes of Larson’s attorney, Evan Larson.

Larson has also requested a contested omnibus hearing. Among other things, he too seeks suppression of the statements obtained from Larson.

Full Article and Source:
Suppress statements in elder abuse case?

See also:
Support Group Formed

Community Outrage

CPS Caseworker Turnover

Child Protective Services has seen greater turnover in caseworkers despite added investigators and reduced caseloads, according to a state audit released this week.

Turnover among caseworkers grew from 23 percent in fiscal year 2004 to 34 percent in fiscal 2007, the audit found.

In Tarrant County, the turnover rate was 31 percent last year, an official said.

Statewide, workers cited poor working conditions, issues with supervisors and better pay or benefits at another job as reasons for leaving.

Full Article and Source:
CPS caseworker turnover up despite changes

More information:
Child Protective Services was designed as a state agency to speak for those who can't. But an audit obtained by FOX 26 News shows that may not be happening. It shows despite the state pumping more than $300 million into CPS over the last three years the agency still has major problems. Bobby Parnell, former CPS worker: "It's scary when our most vulnerable are at risk because our system has failed them."
Officials Release CPS Audit

A new report says legislative efforts in 2007 led to more caseworkers for Child Protective Services but failed to solve high turnover rates and rising overtime costs.
CPS Report: More caseworkers, but less stay

A new audit of Child Protective Services finds there’s a long way to go to protect kids in San Antonio from being abused. That report shows the efforts to cut down on the number of cases for investigators and reduce turnover rate aren’t working.
CPS problems could keep sisters apart

New Elder Abuse Scam

CA - There's a new scam on the streets of Fresno which is targeting seniors.

Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer says that an elderly victim was recently contacted by a male and female at her residence who claimed to be an "undercover" police officer.

The female asked the victim to step out of her home in the area of Hedges and Palm so they could discuss the recent burglaries in the area. When the victim stepped outside into the front yard, the male entered the victims home through a door located in the backyard.

Dyer says the male entered then entered the home taking money and documents which contained personal information from a bedroom.

The two suspects were last seen leaving the area in a black full size van.

Police are now asking for the public's help in locating the suspects. The individuals are described as:

Female Suspect:
A 38-42 year-old Hispanic female
5'01"-5'03", weighing 160-170
With shoulder length light brown hair, brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a black shirt and blue jeans.

Male Suspect:
30-32 year-old White or Hispanic male
5'07", weighing 160-170 pounds
Last seen wearing a baseball cap with the word "POLICE" on it, black T-shirt, and black pants.

Anyone with information on this case is encouraged to contact Detective Richard Jones at 621-6208 or remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 498-STOP.

Source:
Fresno Police Warn Of Elder Abuse Scam

Baby Mia

Child Protective Services was granted emergency custody of a newborn who was found abandoned in an old dryer.

The baby girl was found wrapped in a towel inside a trash bag that was put in an old dryer at the Registry Apartments, 6111Winsome Lane near Greenridge Drive, on Tuesday at about 3 p.m.

The newborn was taken to Texas Children's Hospital, where she is listed in good condition.

The baby is black and weighed 6 pounds 12 ounces when found. The hospital's staff named her Mia.

CPS officials released a picture of the baby in hopes that a relative, family friend or anyone might recognize her.

The baby's umbilical cord was still attached. Police said they believe the baby was born sometime between Sunday and Tuesday.

Attorneys Gary Polland and Elizabeth Whyburn were appointed to represent the abandoned baby.

Full Article and Source:
CPS Gets Custody Of Baby Found In Dryer

More information:
A judge granted child welfare officials emergency custody of a newborn girl who was found in a clothes dryer behind a southwest Houston apartment complex. Another hearing is scheduled to determine whether the child, nicknamed Mia, should remain with Child Protective Services. State District Judge Pat Shelton told CPS officials and attorneys for the child to release her photo to the media in hopes that her family members, or someone who knows them, will be moved to contact authorities.
CPS gets custody of newborn found in dryer

She's being called "Baby Mia." The name means "mine." But no one has come forward to claim the tiny newborn, found tossed near some trash. For now, a Family Court Judge says she belongs to the state.
CPS Gets Custody of Baby Found in Dryer

The Story Behind the Story

In November 2005, the Los Angeles Times published a four-part investigative series titled "Guardians for Profit." The series shed light on unjust aspects of the business of professional conservatorship. The story was co-written by three Times reporters: Robin Fields, Evelyn Larrubia and Jack Leonard. Their reporting found that the elderly in California could be put under the complete legal control of a conservator with little to no notification, input or reason. Once under the thumb of a conservator, not only was it nearly impossible to remove the designation, but the conservator would often sap the financial resources of the victim, bleeding them dry. The story detailed shocking, saddening and ultimately scary accounts of seniors having their independence pulled from them before being isolated from loved ones and taken advantage of, with little to no judicial oversight.

But reporter Jack Leonard said digging up the truth was far from an easy task when it came to "Guardians for Profit." His story behind the story gives some insight into what it really takes to cut it as a journalist.

The story of how "Guardians for Profit" came to be starts in the summer of 2002, more than three years before it was published.

Full Article and Source:
Guardians Of The Truth

Guardians For Profit:
PART ONE GUARDIANS FOR PROFIT
When a Family Matter Turns Into a Business
By Robin Fields, Evelyn Larrubia and Jack Leonard
Photos: Part 1: A Sudden Loss of Independence
Conservators are supposed to protect the elderly and infirm. But some neglect their clients, isolate them -- even plunder their assets.
November 13, 2005

PART TWO GUARDIANS FOR PROFIT
Justice Sleeps While Seniors Suffer
By Jack Leonard, Robin Fields and Evelyn Larrubia
Photos: Part 2: Neglect — and Outright Theft
Probate courts are supposed to watch conservators' conduct and discipline those who abuse their authority. They've failed dismally in this vital role.
November 14, 2005

PART THREE GUARDIANS FOR PROFIT
Missing Money, Unpaid Bills and Forgotten Clients
By Evelyn Larrubia, Jack Leonard and Robin Fields
Photos: Missing Money and Unpaid Bills
Anne L. Chavis, a churchgoing nurse, had sweeping power over wards' lives. It took years for the VA and others to rein her in.
November 15, 2005

LAST OF FOUR PARTS
For Most Vulnerable,a Promise Abandoned
By Robin Fields, Evelyn Larrubia and Jack Leonard
PHOTOS: A Public Agency’s Painful Decline
GRAPHIC: Little room for the needy
L.A.'s public guardian, stripped of county funding for over a decade, turns away many in need.
November 16, 2005

Guardians' Adoptions

The state Supreme Court upheld a law making it easier for legal guardians to adopt children, saying youngsters need a stable home and a guardian doesn't have to prove that the child's biological parents are unfit.

The case involved children placed with guardians at a family member's request, usually because the parents can't care for them. If parents object, a judge must decide whether parental custody would be harmful to the child.

A 2004 state law allows a guardian to adopt a child after two years if a judge agrees. Before the law was passed, guardians could adopt only if the parents had abandoned the child, committed a crime showing unfitness or were mentally ill.

In upholding the new law, the court unanimously rejected a Yolo County woman's challenge to her 5-year-old daughter's adoption by guardians who had taken care of her for 3 1/2 years.

"After years of guardianship, the child has a fully developed interest in a stable, continuing and permanent placement with a fully committed caregiver," the court said.

Kimball Sargeant, lawyer for the Yolo County woman, argued that the law is unconstitutional because it removes rights from a parent without proof that the parent is unfit.

Full Article and Source:
California court upholds guardians' adoptions

More information:
California Supreme Court bolsters guardians' right to adopt

High court makes it easier for guardians to adopt children

Exploitation of Residents

A man who once worked with the developmentally disabled in Los Lunas pleaded guilty last week to charges that he took money from two clients who were under his care.

Randy Menear pleaded guilty to one count of exploitation of a resident, a fourth-degree felony. Menear admitted taking money from a developmentally disabled Medicaid recipient in 2003 and 2004. As part of his plea agreement, a second count of financial exploitation of a second resident was dismissed, although District Judge John Pope ordered that the defendant must make restitution to both individuals.

Judge Pope ordered Menear to be placed on probation for 18 months and make restitution to both victims in the amount of $1,650. As an additional consequence, the conviction will exclude Menear from future employment in any facility receiving Medicaid or any other federally funded health care program.

Full Article and Source:
Caretaker pleads guilty of exploitation of residents

Out-of-Control Discovery

A joint report by two legal organizations says that out-of-control discovery in civil cases can be so expensive that it prevents parties from litigating legitimate disputes.

Prepared by the American College of Trial Lawyers task force and the Denver-based Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, it calls for discovery rules to be revised to comport with the age of e-mail and computerized documents, reports the Associated Press.

In addition to limiting discovery, the state and federal court systems should also assign a single judge to handle each case from start to finish and give judges the power to order mediation, when appropriate, the report recommends.

Source:
Curb Out-of-Control Discovery, Report by Trial Lawyers Group Recommends

The report:
THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF TRIAL LAWYERS TASK FORCE ON DISCOVERY

Elder Exploitation - Again

When Tina Palagi was sentenced in court on charges of elder exploitation in December, she got a suspended sentence and a strong warning to stay out of trouble.

Now the Great Falls woman is accused of stealing from her own mother while her mother was ill, causing the elderly woman to lose her home to foreclosure just months before it should have been paid off.

Palagi made her initial appearance in Cascade County District Court on the newest charge of elder exploitation. That charge comes on the heels of a host of other new charges, accusing Palagi of other counts of elder exploitation and felony theft.

According to the charging documents, a Great Falls Police detective was questioning Palagi's mother during an ongoing investigation into Palagi's suspected role in numerous financial schemes.

According to charging documents, the detective learned Palagi had been trusted to manage her mother's finances while her mother was seriously ill.

According to court documents, the older woman bought her house in 1973 and should have made the last payment in 2003. Instead, she learned her home was in foreclosure when sheriff's deputies told her she was being evicted and had 30 minutes to vacate the house. The charges say Palagi took out a loan against the house in 2000 and failed to pay back the loan, causing the house to go into foreclosure. Palagi had been authorized to govern her mother's affairs, but her mother did not know about the loan.

Palagi also is accused of stealing her mother's retirement benefits while her mother was sick.

Full Article and Source:
Woman convicted of elder exploitation now charged with bilking mom

More information:
Woman charged with bilking mom, who lost house

Crime Stopper Tip Results in Arrest

TX - On January 7, an Aggravated Robbery took place at the Quick Cash Beer and Liquor Store. The Robbery was caught on video and released to all media outlets on January 23rd. The most disturbing scene on the video was one of the suspects beating an elderly man on crutches in front of the store. On January 28th, an anonymous citizen called into the Crime Stoppers Tip Line with information that led to the identification and charging of Darius Bariell Bogan as the suspect seen on the video beating the man. Charges of Aggravated Robbery were filed on Bogan on January 29th and the 351st District Court issued warrant 1201172 for his arrest.

On the morning of Monday March 2, 2009 another anonymous citizen called the Crime Stoppers Tip Line to provide information on the location of Darius Bogan. Later that afternoon he was arrested by the Gulf Coast Violent Offender's Task Force in the 3200 block of Royal Avenue in Baytown.

Crime Stoppers is proud to partner with the citizens, law enforcement, and media in helping to bring violent fugitives to justice.

Crime Stoppers offers up to $5,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and charging of any felony suspect. Callers are urged to call 713-222-TIPS or log on to www.crime-stoppers.org with any information. All callers remain anonymous.

Source:
Crime Stopper tip results in arrest of violent robber

Lawyer Ordered to Repay

A lawyer, who has claimed he is fighting to protect his longtime client's desire to leave the bulk of his estimated $50 million fortune to the poor children of Panama, has been smacked by a Palm Beach County judge.

Attorney Richard Lehman has been ordered to repay $1 million to the estate of Wilson Charles Lucom, an eccentric Palm Beach millionaire who moved to Panama in the last years of his life.

Calling Lehman a "covetous opportunist," Circuit Judge John Phillips said Lehman misused $655,000 that was part of Lucom's Florida estate to get his hands on tens of millions in Panama. In an 11-page ruling, Phillips ordered Lehman to repay the money along with the $390,000 that was spent tracking how the money was spent.

He also ordered Lehman to pay the fees of lawyers who represented Lucom's Panamanian widow and her children.

Lehman disputed Phillips' findings. "I never put a dollar in my pocket and I spent $1million of my own money defending the estate," said Lehman, vowing to appeal.

Full Article and Source:
Boca Raton lawyer ordered to repay $1 million to client's estate

Virtual Caretaker

If British researchers are successful, it may soon be easier for people with dementia to remain in their own homes.

The investigators are working on “smart” home sensing systems capable of doing everything from reminding people to turn off the faucet to automatically switching lights and appliances on and off. The idea is to create a sort of virtual caregiver, even to the point of using the voices of friends and relatives to record the reminders and other messages.

The technology is currently being trialed in two care homes in Great Britain, where it has been helping people for more than a year now. “The driver really has been to arrive at a creative engineering solution that addresses real problems faced by real people with real needs,” system developer Professor Roger Orpwood was quoted as saying. “The key is to focus on enabling people, not on taking decisions away from them.”

The systems are aimed at taking some of the burden off of caregivers, and in some cases, may even allow people with dementia to live on their own. The next step will be to ensure they can be managed by local health care providers. If that pans out, Professor Orpwood believes we could see these types of systems go on the market in the next five years.

Presented at the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council's "Pioneers '09," March 4, 2009, London

Source:
Smart Homes Liberate People with Dementia

Elder Abuse Fatality Review Team

Prompted in part by the freezing death of an Alzheimer's patient who wandered outside her nursing home in the middle of the night last month, DuPage County is setting up a team to investigate allegations of physical abuse of senior citizens in nursing homes, as well as in-home health-care situations.

State's Atty. Joseph Birkett has asked the Illinois Department on Aging to allow the establishment of an Elder Abuse Fatality Review Team that would investigate claims of violence against county residents 60 and older. A state law allows approved programs to access restricted information such as nursing home records.

The team would consist of representatives from the state's attorney's office, the sheriff, the county coroner, police, nursing home associations, and county and state senior citizens agencies.

Heidi Leon, a 23-year-old nursing assistant, was charged with criminal neglect of a long-term care facility resident, criminal neglect of an elderly person and obstruction of justice in connection with the death of Sarah Wentworth, 89, whose body was found in an Itasca nursing home's courtyard after she was outside for perhaps as long as five hours.

Full Article and Source:
Abuse of DuPage elderly to get closer scrutiny

Financial Planning Seminars

According to the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, 44.4 million caregivers (or one out of every five households ) are involved in caregiving to persons aged 18 or over, and 34 million caregivers provide care for someone aged 50+. Are you one of the millions? Will you be someday? Find out how to make a plan for the future with one of these free financial planning seminars offered by Georgian Court's Office of Planned Giving.

Maja Meighan, director of planned giving: "The Lofty Pines Society Seminars are designed to give people a better understanding on how to plan their finances for the future.”

The following seminars are offered:

* Planning Your Legacy; Wednesday, April 1, 2:004:00 p.m., Casino Ballroom

* Maximizing Life Insurance, Annuities, and Long-Term Care with Andrew M. Horn & Associates, Wednesday, April 8, 2:004:00 p.m., North Dining Room

* The Rules of Guardianship with Carole Hedinger, CPA, '83 & Douglas J Hull, Esq. Wednesday, April 29, 12:002:00 p.m., North Dining Room

All seminars will be held on the GCU Lakewood campus. Although they are free, registration is required. Online registration is available at www.georgian.edu/gift_planning_reg.htm
You may also register by calling the Office of Conferences and Special Events at 732.987.2263.

Full Article and Source:
Free financial planning seminars at Georgian Court University

Broken Trust: Elders, Family and Finances

Elder financial abuse costs older Americans more than $2.6 billion per year and is most often perpetrated by family members and caregivers, according to a new report released by the MetLife Mature Market Institute (MMI) entitled, Broken Trust: Elders, Family and Finances, which is accompanied by tip sheets for older adults and families on how to prevent such issues.

The report, produced in conjunction with the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (NCPEA) and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, states up to one million older Americans may be targeted yearly and that related costs like health care, social services, investigations, legal fees, prosecution, lost income and assets reach tens of millions of dollars annually. The study indicates that for each case of abuse reported, there are an estimated four or more that go unreported. The economic downturn may increase vulnerability. Family members and caregivers are the culprits in 55% of cases, although financial losses are higher with investment fraud scams.

The National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA) suggests that the “typical” victim of elder financial abuse is between the ages of 70 and 89, white, female, frail and cognitively impaired. She is trusting of others and may be lonely or isolated, although reports show that there is a very diverse population of victims.

Sandra Timmermann, Ed.D., director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute: “Elder financial abuse has been called the ‘crime of the 21st century. With the present state of the economy, older Americans are at a greater risk than ever of having their financial security threatened. And, for every dollar lost to theft and abuse, there are still more related costs associated with stress and health care and the intervention of social service, investigative and legal entities."

Elder financial abuse takes many forms, including, but not limited to: fraud (coupon, telemarketing, mail); repair and contracting scams; “sweetheart scams;” false/fraudulent advice from loan officers, stock brokers, insurance salespersons, accountants and bank officials; undue influence; illegal viatical settlements; abuse of powers of attorney and guardianship; identity theft; Internet “phishing;” failure to fulfill contracted health care services; and Medicare and Medicaid fraud.

Full Article and Source:
Financial Abuse Costs Elders More Than $2.6 Billion Annually, According to MetLife Mature Market Institute Study, Though Four in Five Cases Are Not Reported

Withholding of Consent Case

Below is a summary of an important new decision by the Pennsylvania Superior Court regarding whether, and under what circumstances, a guardian has the authority to refuse treatment for an incapacitated person who does not have an end-stage medical condition or is permanently unconscious. In brief, the court held as follows:

1. A court order that appoints a person as a plenary guardian does not authorize that person to refuse life-sustaining treatment for incapacitated persons who do not have end-stage medical conditions or who are not permanently unconscious. In other words, a guardianship order by itself does not authorize the guardian to make such a decision.

2. A guardian must secure a special court order to allow him to refuse life-sustaining treatment for an incapacitated person who does not have an end-stage medical condition or who is not permanently unconscious. The guardian has an "extraordinary burden" to prove by clear and convincing evidence that death would be in the incapacitated person's best interests, i.e., that extending life would be inhumane under the circumstances. The guardian must present specific medical evidence about the incapacitated person's diagnosis, prognosis, pain, etc. and, if at all possible, evidence concerning the incapacitated person's wishes either prior to or during the treatment. The individuals cognitive disability should generally not be considered.

This decision will make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for a guardian to secure an order that would allow him to refuse life-sustaining treatment when an incapacitated person does not have an end-stage medical condition or is not permanently unconscious.

Full Article and Source:
DRN Offers Summary of New Guardianship/Withholding of Consent to Treatment Case

Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania (DRN) is a statewide, non-profit corporation designated as the federally-mandated organization to advance and protect the civil rights of adults and children with disabilities.

Fostering Connections Act of 2008

A new law, The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 is designed to better connect foster children with their relatives, promote permanent families through relative guardianship, and improve education and health care for foster children.

The law provides:
* Subsidized guardianship to enable children in the care of grandparents and other relatives to exit foster care into permanency
* Kinship navigator programs to help link relative caregivers to a broad range of services and supports that will help meet their needs and the needs of the children in their care
* Notices to adult relatives of a child placed into foster care
* Options for states to waive non safety related licensing standards for relative foster parents

It also offers federal reimbursement to states for support provided to foster youth up to age 21, and requires increased efforts to keep siblings together when placed in foster care.

Full Article and Source:
Fostering Connections Act of 2008

More information:
Summary of the law

Short summary of the law

Actual text of the law

Kinship provisions

New Rule Hurts Nursing-Home Residents

The Bush administration shut off a source of information last fall about abuse and neglect in long-term care facilities that people suing nursing homes consider crucial to their cases.

The change, which affects the $144 billion nursing-home industry, was enacted with no public notice or attention.

The rule designates state inspectors and Medicare and Medicaid contractors as federal employees, a group usually shielded from providing evidence for either side in private litigation.

The restrictions affect about 16,000 nursing facilities and 3 million residents in the United States. The practical effect is to force litigants to go to greater lengths, including seeking court orders, to get inspection reports or depositions for cases they are pursuing or defending.

Eric M. Carlson, an attorney with the National Senior Citizens Law Center: "This change hurts nursing-home residents and their families by allowing bad practices to be kept in secret by nursing homes and inspectors. Government inspectors have the right to go into nursing homes and investigate, and they learn things that residents and families otherwise could never find out."

The new rule, which was issued in September, generally prohibits state health departments and contractors from participating in private lawsuits involving facilities that are in the federal assistance program without approval by the head of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Full Article and Source:
New Rule Enacted by Bush Administration Impedes Cases Against Nursing Homes

Arts Contest Focused on Elder Abuse

Attorney General Terry Goddard invited high school juniors across the state to participate in an arts contest focused on elder abuse.

Participants are asked to submit original posters, poems or essays that address the question, “Why should I care about elder abuse?”

Submissions must be received by 5 p.m. on March 31. Contest results will be announced in April. Contest winners will receive first, second and third place prizes of $500, $250, and $100, sponsored by Wells Fargo and Free Arts of Arizona.

Winning works will also be printed on a poster to be distributed as part of the statewide Elder Abuse Awareness campaign held to coincide with World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15, 2009.

For additional information and contest rules, go to www.azag.gov

Source:
Contest to help elders

Caretaker Allegedly Bilked Elderly

Aauthorities said that the live-in caretaker of an 84-year-old Huntington Beach woman allegedly took out fraudulent loans in her name, bilking the older woman out of about $200,000 and putting the woman's home in danger of foreclosure.

Cindi Dee Powell, 54, has been charged with financial elder abuse, grand theft, identity theft, vehicle theft, fraud and forgery. She remains in custody.

According to police, Powell moved in with Constance Wakefield to help the woman, who uses a wheelchair, around the house and drive her to appointments. Wakefield hired Powell through a classified ad and was not aware that Powell was on probation in another elder abuse case.

Beginning in 2006, police said, Powell took out fraudulent loans on Wakefield's home and opened bank accounts in her name, using the money to buy and sell cars -- including Wakefield's.

Wakefield is now under water on her mortgage and could face foreclosure.

Full Article and Source:
Live-in caretaker charged with financial elder abuse, fraud and forgery

More information:
Caregiver suspected of taking $122,000 from woman - Worker who had cared for Huntington Beach woman since 2006 was on probation for elder financial abuse

Caretaker charged with stealing from elderly woman

System Lost Track

Shortly after Christmas, Julia Lucas got a call at home in New York from her mother's nursing home in St. Petersburg. Her mother, ailing with dementia, was getting violent and needed to move to a more secure facility.

So when Lucas wanted to wish her mother a happy birthday on March 2, she called the new nursing home. A man said she wasn't listed in her mother's file. A day later, after some frantic phone calls, a hospital chaplain called.

He said: "Do you have anyone there with you? I have something to tell you. Your mother died on Jan. 27 in the emergency room."

Lucas' mother, Anne Whitney Mataix, had been dead for five weeks. Unclaimed, she was turned over to the county, which cremated her body.

Mataix was a 65-year-old woman who led a difficult life, often on the fringes and estranged from her family. But when she died, she had lived for months in a licensed nursing home, had a daughter in contact with her caretakers and had an appointed health care surrogate.

Still, the vulnerable woman's death went unmarked by a system that lost track of the most vital details of her life.

Full Article and Source:
Call to mom at Gulfport nursing home leads to dire news: She died weeks ago

Estate Battle Rages

Her romantic watercolors and sketches of old-fashioned family farm life made Tasha Tudor a beloved children's illustrator. The clever marketing of her back-to-basics lifestyle - weaving and gardening while raising goats, chickens, and children on her New England farm - made Tudor a cult hero to craftswomen, an unconventional Martha Stewart.

But Tudor's death last June exposed a much less endearing image of the eccentric artist's own family. Three of her four children were cut out of her will almost entirely. The 92-year-old artist left her home, her copyrights and her business - called "Tasha Tudor & Family" - to one son and grandson who still cultivate her brand. The other three children are contesting the will in Marlboro Probate Court, accusing their brother, Seth, of wielding improper influence over their mother to claim an estate worth more than $2 million. Seth, in court papers, has branded the claims as a baseless attack on a valid will.

The dispute over the estate was frustratingly easy to anticipate, said Tudor's youngest child, Efner Tudor Holmes, now 60. "Some of the last words she said to me were, 'Oh, will there ever be a cat and dogfight when I die. But I don't care. I won't be here to see it."

Full Article and Source:
The fall of the House of Tudor

Lawsuit Thrown Out

A federal court threw out a lawsuit against nursing home chain Extendicare, ruling that the plaintiffs' allegations were not specific enough to form an actionable claim.

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota in October, alleged that Extendicare overstated the quality of its services in pamphlets and promotional materials, thereby luring elderly residents into their facilities. According to the complaint, however, once residents arrived there, they found that the service what it was cracked up to be. The suit was filed on behalf of lead plaintiff Laura Bernstein, and defined a class consisting of "all residents who lived in a Minnesota Extendicare facility from Oct. 29, 2002 through Oct. 29, 2008."

Full Article and Source:
Extendicare Suit Tossed for Vagueness

More information:
Federal Court Throws Out Class Action Lawsuit Against Extendicare

Observation Stay

Patients aren't admitted to the hospital so insurance may not cover some expenses

Judith Quinn was sure she had been admitted to the hospital. After all, she had stayed two weeks on a hospital ward, attended by hospital nurses, eating hospital food and examined by hospital physicians, after suffering a severe seizure.

But Quinn soon learned she was mistaken. The hospital's staff didn't consider Quinn an inpatient. Instead, they decided she was there for an "observation stay," a little-known category of medical care.

As a result, her Medicare coverage wouldn't pay for the oral medications she took there or for three weeks she spent recovering in a nursing home after being discharged. Only inpatients get these benefits.

Quinn's case and others like it are raising concern in some medical quarters about observation care—a step up from the emergency room but a step down from a formal hospital stay.

The number of patients affected by the classification is growing because Medicare and private insurers want only the sickest people to be treated in costly, resource-intensive medical centers.

Full Article and Source:
Hospitals' use of 'observation stay' is questioned

Guardianship Costs - A Tragic Ending

When she had a choice, Mary Mellinger lived a simple, hard-working life -- raising scores of orphaned, abandoned and needy kids in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco, North Africa.

She mothered them, taught them, prayed with them, comforted them, disciplined them. More than 80 were in her care at one time or another -- including Daoud Sefiane, now a 48-year-old father of three, living in Milford.

"She was strict, but you always felt the love," he said. "And when she would come back from furlough in the United States, she always came back with big suitcases full of gifts for each kid."

If she had her choice, she would still be there at the Children's Haven she founded in 1953 with Irena Wenholz, helping more kids get a strong start in life, pouring her heart and soul into each.

But senility started to eat away at Mellinger's choices about five years ago. As others stepped in to help, her life took a hard turn, unfolding finally in Delaware courtrooms where more of those Moroccan-born children -- now adults -- spent three years battling over who could best care for her and manage her affairs.

Now 93, Mellinger lives on Medicaid and Social Security in a Texas nursing home, unaware of the developments that threatened her health, drained her modest savings, produced thousands in legal fees and left one of those children with a criminal conviction for financial exploitation.

Full Article and Source:
Mommy Mary's life mission - She never thought her elder days would be like this

Seeking Man Who Killed Elderly Woman

TX - Police and family member of an elderly woman killed in a vicious attack are getting closer to finding the person who stabbed her to death, but detectives say there may be someone who has the key to piecing the case all together.

On February 10, 2009 at approximately 3:54 p.m., Dorothy Hickman, 91, was attacked while watching TV inside her home at 8103 Honewood Trail. Ms. Hickman answered the door to a man claiming to be a maintenance man. He entered her apartment, uninvited, and asked her for money. When Ms. Hickman told the suspect she didn't have any money, he stabbed her more than once in the neck, took her purse, and fled on foot.

Mrs. Hickman died as a result of her injuries on Saturday, Feb 21.

The man was described as tall and thin, wearing black clothing and a black cap. He was armed with what looks like a bone handled hunting knife.

Port Arthur Police Officer Wendy Billot says this could have been anyone's grandmother.

Billot: "The fact is, she was someone's grandmother and I believe someone out there can help us solve this senseless murder."

If you have any information on this crime, please call EasTex Crimestoppers at 724-TIPS or log on to http://www.724tips.com/

Source:
Crimestoppers Seeking Man Who Killed Elderly Woman

Giving Up Parental Rights

An out-of-work widower who left 9 of his 10 children at a Nebraska hospital under the state's old safe-haven law has given up his parental rights.

Gary Staton dropped off the children last September, saying he was overwhelmed by his family responsibilities.

Court records show he has relinquished his parental rights. The step paves the way for the children to be adopted or be placed in long-term guardianship.

Staton left his children, ranging in age from a toddler to 17, at Creighton University Medical Center. His tenth child, the family's oldest, was too old to be taken in by state authorities.

Nebraska's old safe-haven law had no age limit. It was amended last November to put an age limit of 30 days.

Source:
Neb. man gives up rights to 9 kids

More information:
Safe Haven Dad Gives Up Parental Rights

Father of nine gives up parental rights

More about the Safe-Haven Law:
Finding a Fix for Nebraska's Safe Haven Law

'Safe Haven' bill advances; compromise work ahead

Neb. senators want $30 million for safe-haven bill

Children in the Mental Health Void

$1.1 Million Diverted

The Office of Attorney General Lori Swanson has filed a criminal complaint in Rice County District Court charging a Dakota County woman, Connie Ruth Rott, with nine felony counts of theft by swindle and five felony counts of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult for diverting over $1.1 million held in trust for the benefit of Rott’s elderly mother, D.S.

In 2000, D.S. placed real estate she owned in Northfield, Minnesota that she originally farmed with her late husband into a revocable trust to be used for her care, comfort, support, and maintenance, naming her daughter Rott as Trustee. D.S. also signed a durable power of attorney naming Rott as her attorney-in-fact, and in 2003, Rott was named D.S.’s legal guardian. In 2004, D.S. was admitted to the dementia unit of the Three Links Care Center, a Northfield nursing home. D.S. requires total assistance with activities of daily living. Rott agreed to make timely payments to Three Links using D.S.’s income and assets.

The complaint alleges that, between 2004 and 2007, Rott sold three pieces of the real estate D.S. placed into trust, for a net amount of over $1.3 million, and then diverted over $1.1 million in proceeds from the sale of the real estate to her own benefit or for the benefit of persons other than D.S. For example, the complaint alleges that disbursements from the trust included, among other things:
· $59,056 for Rott’s mortgage and property taxes
· $754 on alcohol
· $47,936 in ATM withdrawals/cash
· $157,887 payable to third persons, including Rott’s children
· Thousands of dollars in travel costs
· Thousands of dollars in court fees, criminal defense attorney costs, and other related legal expenses for Rott’s son, who was convicted of first degree manufacture of methamphetamine
· $8,685 in expenses for Rott’s family snow plowing and yard service

In October, 2007, Rott stopped issuing payments on D.S.’s behalf for the care provided to her at the Three Links Care Center nursing home. By June, 2008 D.S.’s account at Three Links was eight months past due and, because of the non-payment, the nursing home issued a notice of intent to discharge D.S. in June, 2008. That same month, Rott told the nursing home she planned to remove her mother from the facility.

An emergency guardianship and conservator proceeding was then filed by Rice County Adult Protective Services, and on June 27, 2008 the court granted an emergency guardianship and conservatorship.

D.S.’s court-appointed emergency guardian applied for a “hardship waiver” so as to obtain Medical Assistance benefits to pay for D.S.’s health care at Three Links. As a result, the taxpayer-financed medical assistance program is now paying approximately $4,200 per month for D.S.’s care.

The case is being prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Division.

Full Article and Source:
Attorney General charges woman with felony theft

More information:
Dakota Co. woman accused of stealing $1.1M from mom

Daughter accused of stealing more than $1.1M from ailing mother

Lakeville woman charged with swindling her mother

Document: Connie Ruth Rott criminal complaint