Felons Working in Florida Nursing Homes

Florida seniors and disabled adults too frail to live on their own have been beaten, neglected and robbed by caregivers with criminal records.

A cancer patient at a Pompano Beach assisted living facility watched helplessly from bed as a nurse's aide with a record for theft rifled through her handbag and stole $165.

"What are you doing with my bag?" a police report quoted her as saying. "You have no right. Put it down."

A video camera caught an aide at a North Miami Beach group home for the disabled shoving a cerebral palsy patient face-first to the floor, busting her lip. The aide had previously pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and never should have been working there.

More than 3,500 people with criminal records — including rape, robbery and murder — have been allowed to work with the elderly, disabled and infirm through exemptions granted by the state the past two decades, a Sun Sentinel investigation found. Hundreds more slipped through because employers failed to check their backgrounds or kept them on the job despite their criminal past.

Screening gaps
Florida has a patchwork of controls for checking caregivers of the elderly that seems to put more emphasis on protecting against embezzlement than safeguarding patients.

Full Article and Source:
Convicted Felongs Could Be Working in Your Mother's or Father's Nursing Home

Federal Program Misses Problem Nursing Homes

A government program that brings extra scrutiny to poorly performing nursing homes leaves out hundreds of troubled facilities, investigators report.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services identifies up to 136 nursing homes as "special focus facilities" subject to more frequent inspections because of their living conditions. In every state except for Alaska, there are between one and six such facilities. But investigators said four times as many homes, or 580, could be considered among the nation's worst.

The report from the Government Accountability Office does not identify the homes.

The chairman of the Senate Aging Committee said it indicated to him that the special focus is too limited. At the least, Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., wants more explicit warnings about nursing homes as people study quality ratings on a Medicare Web site, Nursing Home Compare — http://www.medicare.gov/nhcompare

"If far more than 136 nursing homes boast the bleakest conditions, then perhaps we should consider expanding" the program, said Kohl, who requested the study with Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

The GAO said it made just that recommendation two years ago. Federal officials agreed with the concept, but said they didn't have the resources to do so.

The report also suggests adjusting the methods used to identify the worst performing nursing homes. The home now under special attention are the worst performing in their state. But not all states are created equal when it comes to nursing home quality. Comparing the homes nationally would ensure that scarce resources go to inspecting the nursing homes that truly need the most attention, according to the report.

Full Article and Source:
Federal Program Misses Problem Nursing Homes

Read the GAO report- Nursing Homes: CMS's Special Focus Facility Methodology Should Better Target the Most Poorly Performing Homes, Which Tended to Be Chain Affiliated and For-Profit

Former Attorney to be Released

Former Flint attorney Shannon Pitcher is about to be released from state prison, two years after she admitted to embezzling money from the vulnerable clients she was supposed to protect.

A spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections confirmed Pitcher has been granted conditional parole effective Oct. 20, closing a chapter in one of the most sensational white collar criminal cases in recent Genesee County history.

Pitcher's release comes even as the county court system continues to grapple with which of more than two dozen alleged victims are still owed money investigators seized from Pitcher after her 2006 arrest.

Pitcher will have served slightly more than her minimum 23-month sentence but far less than her maximum 10 years when she is freed.

Full Article and Source:
Former Attorney Shannon Pitcher Set to be Released from Prison Next Month

See also:
Swindled and No Real Oversight

Tug of War Over Wang Estate

Lawyers are preparing for battle in Essex County, N.J., over whether the $10 billion estate of Taiwanese industrialist Wang Yung-Ching, who died intestate last year in his Short Hills home, should be administered in New Jersey, in whole or in part, and which law should apply.

The case involves not only extensive financial and commercial holdings but also an extended-family relationship that includes a widow, two putative secondary wives — who under Taiwanese law would share in the estate — and nine children, all of whom have lawyered up.

Full Article and Source:
Lawyers Wrangle Over NJ Venue for Taiwan Magnates Estate

See also:
NJ Judge Seeks More Info on Billionaire's Fortune

N.J. Judge Retains Case Over Estate of Formosa’s Wang

More information:
Tycoon's Children Battle to Control Late Father's Cash

Estate Hearing

Marked for Destruction

A crime perpetrated by her Professional LegalGuardian, arranged by an Attorney.

Locked away in an Assisted Living Facility against her will.

Her Diary of Elder Financial Abuse and Fraud.

Learn how Adele's neighbors rescued her.

What Adele Fraulen might have thought to be nothing more than a meaningless bad dream one night in 1935 would actually come true. At age 79 she would find herself living a nightmare -- a struggle for her life, simply because she innocently trusted the wrong professionals to help with her portion of a Million Dollar inheritance; they would steal her very existence. Her neighbors, Chris and Patricia Zurillo, would realize that Adele's life was going terribly wrong and dedicate themselves to freeing her from captivity. “Marked For Destruction” is a rare book that exposes an ever-expanding crime against our elderly.

A gift from Adele's neighbors: Download a FREE Copy of Marked for Destruction

About The Author:
John Caravella patrolled the streets of the City Of Wauwatosa (Milwaukee County, Wisconsin) from 1976 to 1989. Citizen trust resulted in his clearing arsons, armed robberies, missing fugitives, dozens of burglaries and two homicides. After retiring, he volunteered his investigative skills to help others. “That is how Adele came into my life,” Caravella said. "I learned that she was 'imprisoned' and had to be freed. Through this book, Adele’s voice exposes the deceptive schemes used to keep her quiet."

Source:
Marked for Destruction

Convicted Felons as Caregivers

Disturbing flaws in Florida's background screening system have put children, seniors and the disabled in the care of convicted felons with records that include rape, child molestation and murder, an investigation by the Sun Sentinel newspaper has found.

Employees of day care centers, assisted living facilities and group homes are required to undergo a background check under state law but can begin work before their screening is complete, the paper is reporting this week.

At least 2,400 day care workers were already on the job before their records turned up, including a Tampa man with this note in his screening record: "EVIL DUDE-RAPE+KIDNAP+SEX ASLT," a statewide database of screenings since 1985 shows.

Even when criminal offenses are discovered, people can still work with little more than a promise not to break the law again.

Through an exemption system created by lawmakers two decades ago, Florida has cleared more than 8,700 people with criminal records to be caregivers. They include 45 murderers, 12 registered sex offenders and 200 people with histories of harming children.

Exemptions are only supposed to be granted with proof of rehabilitation. But about 1,800 of the people approved -- or one in five -- went on to be arrested again, some within days of the state's determination that they could be trusted to care for vulnerable residents.

"It's totally unacceptable. Obviously, this has become a huge loophole that needs to be closed," said Nan Rich, D-Weston, vice chairwoman of the Florida Senate's Children, Families and Elder Affairs committee.

A sex abuse scandal at a Miami day care in the mid 1980s prompted the first of several state laws requiring background checks for caregivers and allowing for exemptions.

Florida now has a patchwork system with glaring inconsistencies.

Full Article and Source:
Report: Faulty System Lets Felons Be Caregivers

Home and Community Based Care Added to Healthcare Reform Bill

The Senate Finance last week adopted several amendments in its healthcare reform bill that apply to long-term care.

An amendment introduced by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) would insert language that expresses Congress' interest to address long-term care services and supports in a comprehensive way. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) offered one that links increases in the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) with states' use of Medicaid funds for home- and community-based services.

Yet another would place the Elder Justice Act inside the massive legislation. The act would help prevent and detect elder abuse, and prosecute those who commit it.

Full Article and Source:
Legislative Amendments Emphasize Home and Community Based Care - Elder Justice Act

Maine Elder Watchdogs

Prosecutors patted themselves on the back for getting lengthy sentences for four men who ransacked an elderly woman's home two years ago and left her disabled son tethered to the refrigerator.

Later, the attorneys realized they had unintentionally short-changed the victims. Months after the crimes were committed, the family's belongings remained in disarray, and the woman continued to worry that she was being stalked.

District Attorney Evert Fowle said that wake-up call led to the creation of a multidisciplinary group to serve as watchdogs in crimes against older people and against people incapable of handling financial and other matters.

"We want people in her position to be able to get help right way," Fowle said. "Criminals who target elderly people are going to get special focus and scrutiny from this office. We are going to pursue them vigorously, and in this effort we have a lot of partners."

The group includes representatives from nursing homes, legal services for the elderly, sexual-assault groups, adult protective services, domestic-violence agencies, the Attorney General's Office, local police departments and Spectrum Generations.

"Every crime involving people over 60 is inventoried by prosecutors," Fowle said. "The needs of victims need to be taken into account. Resources are brought to bear to see what assistance can be given to the victims."

Full Article and Source:
Group Taking on Role of Elder Watchdogs

Former Caretaker Convicted

The former caretaker for a 93-year-old retired Springfield physician has been convicted of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from the woman.

Sandra Gayle, 65, of Springfield was convicted of financial exploitation of the elderly and financial exploitation of a person with a disability. A Sangamon County jury deliberated a little more than an hour Friday before returning the verdict.

Prosecutors introduced testimony over the course of the four-day trial to show that Gayle used her own family to gain the trust of the doctor. Gayle, who had the victim’s power of attorney, then “gifted” easily more than $300,000 from the doctor’s bank account to herself, relatives and friends, testimony indicated.

Gayle could receive from 4 to 15 years in prison when she is sentenced Nov. 19 by Associate Judge John Mehlick. Her crimes also are probationable.

Full Article and Source:
Former Caretaker Convicted of Ripping Off Elderly Woman

See also:
Caretaker Accused of Fraud, Trial Begins

Conahan Linked Again

Although Conahan’s name does not appear on any documents for Learco Inc., the owner of the Beer Express on Queen Street, Harrisburg, and people associated with the businesses have connections to him.

A Dauphin County beer distributor and the company that owns it raise questions about the diverse business interests of former judge Michael T. Conahan.

His sister, Paula C. DeJoseph is listed as a stockholder of Learco, according to records on file with the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.

A message left Friday with DeJoseph was not returned.

The president of Learco, attorney Edward P. McNelis of Hazleton, shared an office with Conahan at one time and represented him in a complaint regarding campaign finances in his first run for a seat on the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas in 1993.

McNelis also represents Conahan’s wife, Barbara, and Cindy Ciavarella, wife of former judge Mark A. Ciavarella, in a pending civil suit related to the placement of juveniles in two detention centers at the heart of the criminal charges against the two former jurists.

Full Article and Source:
Conahan Linked to PA Beer Company

See also:
Group of 20 Argues Against Immunity for Ciavarella, Conahan

NASGA Member Attends Hearings

CT House of Reps Backs Reducing Probate Courts

The Connecticut House of Representatives on Wednesday approved legislation that dramatically reduces the number of probate courts in the state by more than half and draws new probate districts in what will be the biggest overhaul of the probate system since it was formed over 300 years ago.

The legislation reduces the number of courts from 117 down to 54, creating new multi-town regional probate districts. Calls for regionalizing the courts were prompted because the system was near-bankrupt and facing large deficits.

“It was time to take this system that was created during colonial times and bring it into the modern era so that it can see a significant reduction in costs and remain self-sustaining,” said State Rep. Livvy Floren (R-149), “The new probate court map was based on population, location and workload.”

Full Article and Source:
Greenwich Representatives Back Law to Reduce Probate Courts

Massachusetts Looking At Silver Alert

Last November, after attending a play in Boston, Julia Wallace went to the ladies room while her husband, Jim, waited in the lobby. Julia, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, could not pick out her husband of 50 years in the crowd and wandered outside into the nearby MBTA station.

Luckily, a woman saw Julia and returned her to Jim. Upon her arrival Jim wept with joy.

"But it might not have turned out so well," Jim Wallace told the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs yesterday with his wife at his side.

Wallace was among those who urged the committee to "enthusiastically" support a bill to create a "Silver Alert" system to help protect cognitively impaired missing persons.

"It would have been great to know that there was already a system in place to alert other people and businesses in the area of the theater that this person was missing," Wallace said.

The proposed system would be modeled after the Amber Alert system, which notifies local businesses and the police when a child is missing.

"The system differs from Amber Alert in that the system focuses locally," said Jerry Flaherty, spokesman for the Alzheimer's Association of Massachusetts — New Hampshire Chapter.

Sixty percent of people with Alzheimer's will become lost, with 30 to 40 percent dying if not found within 24 hours, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

State Sen. Robert O'Leary, D-Barnstable, a sponsor of the bill, hopes that the pilot program for this project will be initiated on the Cape because of its large elderly population.

"These are avoidable deaths," said O'Leary. "This seems like an obvious thing to do."

Full Article and Source:
'Silver Alert' Gets Statehouse Hearing

Swine Time at Luzerne County Rededication

Activist Gene Stilp joined several supporters in front of his trademark, 15-foot-high pink inflatable pig Friday morning, the group holding a banner that read “100 years of corruption.”

State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, stood smiling on top of the Luzerne County Courthouse steps – about snout high with Ms. Piggie.

“Come on down and help hold the sign!” Stilp yelled up to Pashinski. The legislator demurred, flashing his toothy grin, and gestured with his hands toward the huge hog. “America at its best!” he shouted before heading into the rotunda for the courthouse rededication, which marked the start of the building’s centennial celebration.

Pashinski was, of course, referring to Stilp’s demonstration of a core Constitutional right: Freedom of speech.

Stilp conceded that his “100 years of corruption” banner had been recycled from a protest three years ago during the centennial of the Harrisburg Capitol building. That much was kind of obvious. The banner boasted a pink pig on each end that, at one time, had the dates 1906 and 2006 across their sides. Those dates had been painted over, making the sign suitable for any government centennial.

The veteran activist objected to having State Supreme Court Justice Max Baer as keynote speaker for the rededication, contending that Baer disgraced himself by accepting the “illegal pay raise” the legislation approved in the wee morning hours in 2005. Who would he rather see at the podium?

“Average citizens,” he said. Children who were jailed by the two disgraced judges. Courthouse workers who toil under the onus of corrupt officials. Better yet, “this should be the start of a weeklong ethics conference.”

Full Article and Source:
Swine Time to Use Freedom of Speech at Gala

Preying on the Frail

Florida seniors and disabled adults too frail to live on their own have been beaten, neglected and robbed by caregivers with criminal records.

A cancer patient at a Pompano Beach assisted living facility watched helplessly from her bed as a nurse's aide with a record for theft rifled through her handbag and stole $165.

"What are you doing with my bag?" a police report quoted her as saying. "You have no right. Put it down." A video camera caught an aide at a North Miami Beach group home for the disabled shoving a cerebral palsy patient face-first to the floor, busting her lip. The aide had previously pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and never should have been working there.

More than 3,500 people with criminal records -- including rape, robbery and murder -- have been allowed to work with the elderly, disabled and infirm through exemptions granted by the state over the past two decades, a Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel investigation found. Hundreds more slipped through because employers failed to check their backgrounds or kept them on the job despite their criminal pasts.

Full Article and Source:
Preying on the Frail: When Criminals Care for the Elderly and Disabled

Letter to the United Nations

My name is Dr. Janet Louise Parker D.V.M. I am the founder and Executive Director of Medical Whistleblower. As Executive Director, I provide information and direct services to Medical Whistleblowers and actively work to democratically transform legal and social systems to protect their civil and human rights.

I would define a Medical Whistleblower as a person who has come forward to report Medical Fraud, Abuse or Neglect to State, Federal or International governmental authorities.

There is an appalling lack of Due Process for Medical Whistleblowers who report what they know about the human rights violations. One Medical Whistleblower, Allen Jones, was the Investigator for the State of Pennsylvania's Office of the Inspector General. IAG Investigator Allen Jones reported a widespread corruption of the governmental process to allow wholesale violation of the human rights of vulnerable children and adults by the pharmaceutical companies for profit. Human rights derive from the dignity of the human person. These rights were violated for commercial profit and personal power. When Allen Jones and other Medical Whistleblowers, many of them doctors (Psychiatrists and Psychologists) came forward to report the abuses they saw, they were retaliated against by constructive discharge, employment discrimination, threats against person, and even removal of their medical licenses. Gross mistreatment in connection with in-patient treatment of vulnerable children and adults should not be tolerated under international law. The criminals used Guardian abuse to generate profit by prolonged arbitrary detention of involuntary patients for medical fraud. A courageous attorney from the state of Alaska, Jim Gottstein, formed The Psychiatric Law Project to look into the legal means to try to protect the human rights of the victims of Medical Fraud, Psychiatric abuse and Guardian Abuse. What he found was a system that although initially meant to assist those with mental illness, is now so broken that there continue to be egregious violations of human rights and assaults on human dignity.

Full Article and Source:
Medical Whistleblower Letter to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights

See also:
Medical Whistleblower's Blog

Representative Payee

When I took over the finances for my mother, I shouldn’t have been surprised that she didn’t have her Social Security payment directly deposited into her checking account. My parents grew up during the unsettling times of the Depression with high unemployment and bank failures.

Representative payee
Many elderly beneficiaries who cannot manage or direct the management of his or her money have a representative payee. A representative payee is a person who has legal authority to receive a cash benefit check from the Social Security Administration (SSA) on behalf of the recipient.

A representative payee’s authority is limited to receiving and managing benefits from the SSA. The payee has no legal authority to manage non-Social Security income or medical matters. A power of attorney or legal guardianship is not recognized by the Treasury Department for the purposes of negotiating federal payments, including Social Security checks. Therefore, they too must apply to be appointed the representative payee.

You should contact the SSA office nearest you to apply to be a payee. You must then submit an application — form SSA-11-BK in SSA-speak — and request to be selected as payee. You must also have documents to prove your identity. SSA requires that the payee application be completed in a face-to-face interview, with certain exceptions.

Here are some of the duties that are required from a representative payee:

Determine the beneficiary’s needs and use his or her payments to meet those needs.

Save any money left after meeting the beneficiary’s current needs in an interest bearing account or savings bonds for the beneficiary's future needs.

Report any changes or events which could affect the beneficiary’s eligibility for benefits or payment amount.

Keep records of all payments received and how they are spent and/or saved.

Provide benefit information to social service agencies or medical facilities that serve the beneficiary.

Help the beneficiary get medical treatment when necessary.

Notify SSA of any changes in your (the payee’s) circumstances that would affect your performance or continuing as payee.

Complete written reports accounting for the use of funds once a year; and

Return any payments to which the beneficiary is not entitled to SSA.

You may not collect a fee for acting as a representative payee unless you are a qualified organizational payee who has applied and been approved in writing by the SSA to collect a fee.

If this all seems a little overwhelming, you may contact the Social Security Administration toll free at (800) 772-1213 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Contact your local SSA office between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on business days, or visit their Web site http://www.socialsecurity.gov. You may also request SSA Publication No. 05-10076, “A Guide for Representative Payees.”

Full Article and Source:
Helping a Parent Through the Social Security Maze

Note: Debbie Haws is a caregiver and guardian of a parent with dementia. Her experiences and heartfelt journeys have created a passion for increasing awareness of issues faced by Seniors and their families.

Judge Rejects Request for Change of Counsel

Circuit Court Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. Thursday rejected an Ottawa woman's request for change of counsel.

Currently represented by defense attorney Timothy F. Kohn of Ottawa, Susan K. Anderson told Ryan she wanted a new attorney to represent her in the trial, scheduled to begin Monday, Sept. 28. She is charged with exploiting the elderly in two separate cases.

Ryan questioned Anderson as to who she would hire and she said she didn't know. He then refused her request pending her finding another attorney, postponed the trial and set a status hearing for Friday, Oct. 2, to confirm she hired new counsel.

Anderson, 3103 E. 1951st Road, remains in custody under $100,000 bond for the financial exploitation of an elderly person, a class 3 felony, for theft of more than $300 and less than $5,000.

Full Article and Source:
Judge Refuses Change of Attorney in Elderly Exploitation Case

Floria Bar Disciplines 27 Attorneys

The Florida Bar, the state's guardian for the integrity of the legal profession, announces that the Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined 27 attorneys, disbarring 12, suspending eight and placing five on probation.

Some attorneys received more than one form of discipline. Seven attorneys were publicly reprimanded. One was ordered to pay restitution.

As an official agency of the Florida Supreme Court, The Florida Bar and its Department of Lawyer Regulation are charged with administering a statewide disciplinary system to enforce Supreme Court rules of professional conduct for the 86,000-plus lawyers admitted to practice law in Florida. Since Aug. 1, 2007, case files have been posted to attorneys' individual Florida Bar profiles and may be reviewed at and/or downloaded from The Florida Bar's Web site, www.floridabar.org.

Full Article and Source:
Florida Bar Disciplines 27 Attorneys

Lawyer Accused of Stealing Settlement

A 64-year-old former attorney who practiced in Vista before he was disbarred in July pled not guilty Monday to charges of embezzlement, grand theft and financial elder abuse for allegedly stealing settlements and retainer fees from clients.

David Gilbert Ronquillo faces five years and eight months in state prison if convicted, said Paul Levikow, spokesman for the district attorney's office. Ronquillo was being held Monday at the South Bay Detention Center in Chula Vista on $50,000 bail, said Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey Dort.

According to State Bar court documents, Ronquillo misappropriated about $125,000 from two clients.

In 2005, Ronquillo procured a $235,606 insurance settlement for a Canadian man who lost his wife and was himself injured in a 1999 Needles car accident, State Bar Judge Richard Platel said in his decision to inactivate the lawyer's bar membership. Ronquillo never paid the client his $115,066 portion of the settlement and instead used the money to run his practice, Platel found.

In 2007, a San Diego client gave Ronquillo a $10,000 retainer fee to defend him in a civil action, Platel said.

The suit was quickly dismissed, and Ronquillo, who only earned $1,000 in the case, never returned the $9,000 balance to his client, Platel said.

The State Bar had previously disciplined Ronquillo in 2004, suspending his membership for 30 days and placing him on probation for repeatedly issuing personal and business checks from his client's trust accounts, according to State Bar records.

Full Article and Source:
Disbarred Vista Lawyer Accused of Stealing Client's Settlement

Caretaker Accused of Fraud, Trial Begins

Caretaker Sandra Gayle convinced a retired Springfield pathologist that Gayle and her family were the only ones she could trust — then took “hundreds of thousands of dollars” from the woman, a prosecutor said. Tuesday.

Assistant state’s attorney Karen Tharp said in opening statements in Gayle’s trial on financial exploitation charges that Gayle, 65, “gifted” more than $300,000 from the 93-year-old doctor’s bank account to herself and her family members. Gayle also paid personal bills with the doctor’s money, Tharp said.

Defense attorney Jason Vincent said the evidence will show that Gayle, who began caring for the physician in January 2004, did everything on the up-and-up.

Vincent said the doctor had a financial adviser, an attorney and an accountant, and “Gayle would take her (the doctor) to their offices and lay everything out for them.”

“It was (the doctor’s) decision to do these giftings, not Sandra Gayle’s,” he said.

Gayle is accused of financial exploitation of the elderly and financial exploitation of a disabled person. She allegedly took money from the victim, who has no known heirs and assets of at least $2 million, between Nov. 24, 2004, and April 12, 2007. Gayle received free room and board at the woman’s house while drawing a salary of $1,344 a week.

Vincent said that amounted to little more than $8.50 an hour, considering that Gayle was on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

He said there was no gifting after the doctor was diagnosed with dementia in June 2007.

Full Article and Source:
Trial Begins for Caretaker Accused of Fraud

Long Term Care Symposium

"It's more dangerous to be a home health aide than it is to be a coal miner(1)." Howard Gleckman, senior research associate at the Urban Institute, said that as he described the state of home health care in the U.S. at Genworth Financial's Fourth Annual Long Term Care Symposium on Monday, September 14, in Washington, D.C.

Genworth Financial's Long Term Care Symposium is held annually to discuss and evaluate public policy issues surrounding the state of long term care across the nation. As Congress addresses healthcare reform and its many components, this year's event emphasized the neeed for anational long term care strategy including funding, education and support for the caregiver. Additionally, the event served to highlight the viability of numerous legislative proposals in the support of caregivers aimed at helping to solve the nation's long term care challenges.

Part of the emotional strain facing many home care givers results from low wages paid for providing such services. According to Genworth's "A Workforce to Care for our Aging" 2008 white paper, 19% of home care aides and 16% of nursing home aides are compensated at a level insufficient for them to rise above the poverty line.

Full Press Release and Source:
Caregiving, Long Term Care Policy Proposal Bring Advocates Together

Nurse Who Stole From Medicaid Sentenced

A registered nurse has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison and ordered to pay almost $135,000 in restitution to a home health agency for stealing from the Medicaid program, officials said.

Carol Lynn Glover pleaded guilty in May to one count of theft in connection with health care. Authorities said Glover worked for Nurses By Prescription Inc., a nursing service in Amarillo, and submitted false time sheets indicating she had provided care for a patient when she hadn't provided that level of care.

In addition to falsifying time sheets, officials said Glover also forged the signature of the patient's guardian.

Full Article and Source:
Nurse Who Stole From Medicaid Sentenced

Arrested and Charged

The Port Orange Police Department arrested a man Wednesday who they say swindled thousands of dollars from an 86-year-old.

Investigators say Harold McBride solicited the 86-year-old victim for his lawn service approximately three months ago and bank records show he was able to obtain approximately $24,163.00 from the victim.

Full Article and Source:
Cops: Elderly Woman Bilked out of $24K

Group of 20 Fights Against Judicial Immunity for Conahan and Ciavarella

In a legal brief filed Tuesday, 20 legal scholars and former judges argued that granting former Luzerne County judges Michael T. Conahan and Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. judicial immunity from civil suits in the kids-for-cash scandal would make a "mockery" of a legal doctrine designed to protect judicial independence and integrity.

Ciavarella and Conahan, accused of accepting $2.8 million in kickbacks for sending juveniles to two for-profit detention centers, have claimed judicial immunity in civil-rights suits filed by hundreds of those juveniles in U.S. District Court.

The former judges claim they cannot be held liable because the legal doctrine of judicial immunity protects them from civil suits stemming from their official actions.

But in a friend-of-the-court brief filed Tuesday, 20 legal scholars and former judges argue judicial immunity was never intended to protect judges from claims stemming from allegedly criminal activity.

Friend of the Court Motion
Friend of the Court Brief
Conahan's Motion for Immunity
Ciavarella's Motion for Immunity

Full Aricle and Source:
Group of 20 Argues Against Immunity for Ciavarella, Conahan

See also:
Conahan Linked to 1990's Cocaine Probe

NASGA Member Attends Hearings

Jack Straw Gets 15 Years

A federal judge has handed a 15-year prison sentence to a Waterloo insurance agent convicted of fraud in the bilking of elderly clients.

U.S. District Judge Linda Reade opted to go beyond the maximum recommended sentence when she sentenced Jack Straw on Tuesday.

Reade said sentencing guidelines didn't address the hardship Straw caused for his victims. The guidelines recommended a punishment in the neighborhood of eight to 10 years.

Straw was accused of bilking clients out of at least $1 million. He pleaded guilty in February to seven fraud and money laundering charges.

Full Article and Source:
Man Gets 15 Years For Bilking Elderly

See also:
Attorney Asking for Leniency

Clancys Facing 30 Years

Joseph Clancy called Eloise Mudway "the old bitch."

Cynthia Clancy told a co-worker not to bother calling 911 if Mudway should fall ill.

"Just let her die," she said, according to trial testimony.

The words stung the Clancys when a jury heard them in a courtroom last week, and the same words, no doubt, aided the jury in finding the couple guilty Monday of grand theft from a person over the age of 65.

The Clancys now face up to 30 years in prison when they return to court for sentencing Oct. 22.

Full Article and Source:
Pasco Couple Faces Up to 30 Years for Bilking Elderly Woman

See also:
Pasco County Couple Convicted of Stealing From Elderly Woman

Jury to Decide Tomorrow

AZ: Calling All Lawyers

Economists are saying the recession is either ending or has already ended, but that is not yet evident in the waiting rooms of agencies that provide free legal services to people with low incomes.

Legal assistance agencies are working hard to help people in multiple ways, but they cannot adequately keep up with the demand. Their waiting rooms are now always full and often overflowing.

This is because the same economy that has wrought unprecedented foreclosures and double-digit unemployment has also rendered many attorneys, who in the recent past consistently donated many hours of free service, less able to do so.

Brian Wargo, a reporter for In Business Las Vegas, a sister publication of the Las Vegas Sun, wrote last week about the scope of this problem. Among those he interviewed was Lynn Etkins, a director of the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada.

“It is overwhelming,” Etkins told Wargo, “Our lobby is filled with clients ranging from victims of domestic violence to people losing their homes and jobs.” Of the center’s staff, Etkins said, “We are swamped and everybody has a maximum caseload. We do not see any letup with the economic crisis so far as clients are concerned.”

Full Article and Source:
Calling All Lawyers

Editorial: Stanford Fraud and the Florida Bar

One thing has become increasingly clear as a result of the Miami Herald’s ongoing investigation into the Stanford Fraud: Allen Stanford would not have succeeded in bilking investors out of billions of dollars without the collaboration of certain members of the Florida bar working under the auspices of the State of Florida and Florida’s “powerful” “politically connected” law firms. What the Texans could not be done in Texas was more than gladly performed in Florida.

The agreement between Mr. Stanford and the State of Florida that established a unique, heretofore unheard of foreign trust to launder money in Miami was so outrageous from the legal standpoint that several knowledgeable attorneys were left aghast by the alleged brazen evasion of the law and breach of ethics by their colleagues. The trust was called a Miami “bank” in order to obtain deposits from trusting Latin American investors. Bags of funds were shipped from Miami to Antigua as related documents were shredded. Regulators stood by, not noticing any “red flags” because they had been hogtied.

Full Article and Source:
Stanford Fraud and the Florida Bar

Attorney Asking for Leniency

The attorney for a rogue insurance agent accused of bilking $1 million from his elderly clients is planning to ask the court for leniency.

Jack Leonard Straw, 51, a former Dunkerton resident, has pleaded guilty to fraud charges, and his sentencing is scheduled for Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids.

Prosecutors said Straw misused money he was given by elderly residents.

His attorney said Straw didn't lead a lavish lifestyle but lost control of his business and used some of the cash to pay earlier investors.

Defense Attorney Leslie Stokke told the court in motions filed last month that Straw should get a lighter than normal sentence because he accepted responsibility and assisted in the investigation.

He also said Straw's medical condition warrants special consideration and asked that Straw receive credit for time he served while undergoing a psychiatric evaluation.

Stokke asked in court records that Straw be able to serve his time in a medical facility.

The prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Berry, is fighting the request for leniency.

Full Aricle and Source:
Shaw's Fraud Sentencing Set

Cage Death Ruled an "Accident"

Less than a month after the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Arizona Department of Corrections inmate Marcia Powell's May 20 human cage death an "accident," ADC honcho Charles Ryan has fired three employees, forced the resignations of two others, and disciplined 11 more. This according to an ADC news release issued today.

Specifically, the release states that Ryan "dismissed five employees, two of whom resigned in lieu of dismissal, demoted a captain to an officer and suspended another 10 employees" because of Powell's death from being left in a shadeless, waterless outdoor cage at Goodyear's Perryville Prison. Powell collapsed May 19 after at least four hours in the blazing Arizona sun. Ryan later made the decision to suspend her life support, even though Powell, 48, had been assigned a guardian by the court -- Maricopa County's Public Fiduciary.

Ryan's quoted in the release as saying of those disciplined, "These supervisors and officers to varying degrees failed to properly perform their duties." Left unsaid is any mention of the fact that Ryan ordered Powell's plug pulled before consultation with her guardian. Ryan has stated that he did not know Powell had a guardian at the time.

Should Ryan fall on his sword in this matter? After all, couldn't it be argued that Ryan failed to do his duty by not ensuring that Marcia Powell was treated safely and humanely during her 27-month stint in prison for prostitution?

Full Article and Source:
Marcia Powell Cage Death: Charles Ryan Fires Three,Disciplines Others, But When Will He Resign?

Cop Admits Theft From Elderly Neighbor

Gary police Sgt. Joshua Wiley admitted he stole money and a home from his former neighbor who suffered from Alzheimer's disease and dementia and has agreed to repay $116,765 to the woman's estate.

On the day his jury trial was scheduled to begin, Wiley pleaded guilty Monday to two felony charges -- theft and exploitation of an endangered adult.

Under terms of the plea agreement, which Lake Superior Court Judge Diane Ross Boswell took under advisement, Wiley will be sentenced to eight years -- three years in the Lake County Community Correction Kimbrough Work Program and five years suspended and served on probation. The plea agreement calls for Wiley to serve his probation and Kimbrough Center sentence simultaneously.

Wiley, 51, also must pay $53,255 within 30 days and the remaining $62,765 in monthly installments of $1,000, also starting within 30 days.

Full Aricle and Source:
Gary Police Officer Says He Stole Home, Money of Helen Chentnik Who Suffered From Alzheimer's
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Not a Typical Day in Court

It was a day in court like any other day, or was it?

The Corning Leader’s John Zick and Star Gazette’s Ray Finger reported on the September 17, 2009 Gary Harvey hearing. A hearing that sees a county fighting desperately to hold onto Gary Harvey, though the reasons behind their desperation seems a bit unclear. This is a county, after all, that sought at one point to have Gary starved and dehydrated to death. Though the latter was eventually dismissed, a DNR was placed on him and so it remains.

Sara Harvey, Gary’s wife, has been likewise fighting desperately. She on the other hand has been fighting desperately to save Gary’s life and to get him released from the system prison and back home. Yet, the county attorney keeps trying to paint Sara as the threat and someone to protect Gary from. Interesting that the logic isn’t held up by the facts of the case.

John Zick (Print Edition of the Corning Leader – 9/18/09) reports:

“Shaw also accused the county, represented by Donald Thomson, of withholding documents, an allegation the county denies.

“Shaw is specifically seeking Gary Harvey’s medical records, but Thomson said under normal circumstances, a wife is not privileged to her husband’s records.

“‘Litigation changes everything.’ Shaw countered.”

Sara is trying to save her husband’s life. There is question about the care that Gary Harvey has been receiving. There are questions as to why a so-called ethics committee decided it was right and good to starve and dehydrate Gary to death. Thomson freely throws allegations out there claiming there is cause to protect Gary from Sara. And where is all the so-called proof that Thomson is relying upon? In the very records he refuses to share, conveniently under the HIPPA excuse.

HIPPA? The excuse of all excuses. And the biggest excuses are those who abuse the concept of HIPPA to promote their own agenda.

Sara Harvey is fighting desperately for her husband. Chemung County representatives are fighting desperately to keep Gary under their control for some reason. One sought to have Gary Harvey starved and dehydrated to death. The other fought to save his life.

Full Article and Source:
The Gary Harvey Case Where Obama's Non-Existent Death Panels Do Exist
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See also:
Wife Seeks Rights to Comatose Husband

The Brainwashing of an Unsuspecting People: Continuing to Deny Death Panels

Behind Closed Doors: The Gary Harvey Story

Follow Up: The Gary Harvey Story

Victory for Mudway

To Cynthia and Joseph Clancy, it wasn't enough to spend Eloise Mudway's savings, take her home and isolate the elderly widow from her friends.

Mudway didn't die fast enough for the couple, Assistant State Attorney Mike Halkitis told jurors on Monday. He said Cynthia Clancy told Mudway's new caretakers: "If she gets ill, don't call EMS. Let her die."

After hearing a week's worth of testimony and deliberating an hour and a half, a jury convicted the Clancys on Monday afternoon of grand theft of a person aged 65 or older.

The verdict brought gasps from some of the Clancys' supporters in the courtroom. The couple — Joseph Clancy is 56, and Cynthia Clancy is 46 — could face up to 30 years in prison when they are sentenced Oct. 22.

Full Article and Source:
Pasco County Couple Convicted of Stealing From Elderly Woman

See also:
Jury to Decide Tomorrow

Taxpayers Foot the Bill

While a district judge is on paid leave and awaiting the outcome of state misconduct charges, she will make a taxpayer-funded trip to Harrisburg for annual judge training, officials said.

This week, Lower Southampton District Judge Susan McEwen will attend classes at the Minor Judiciary Education Board. There, she and other district judges will be updated on matters including new case law, the motor vehicle code and landlord-tenant issues, said Charles A. Carey, deputy court administrator for Bucks County.

The accommodations at a hotel and meals are covered by the state, said Susan Davis, director of the Minor Education Judiciary Board.

The continuing education for district judges is mandatory each year, although McEwen has until May to take the courses, Davis said.

There's a chance McEwen could lose her job before then.

In late June, the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board charged her with allegedly doctoring her grandson's court documents and, in a separate incident, cursing at a police officer while serving as judge.

Six months are likely to pass before the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline decides McEwen's fate, Samuel Stretton, an attorney who has defended several judges over the years, said in July.

If found guilty, McEwen faces anything from no action from the court to a public scolding to permanent removal from the bench.

Full Article and Source:
Taxpayers to Foot the Bill for Embattled Judge's Training Trip

Fraud Vs. Exploitation

While the number of violent crimes in the U.S. is decreasing, financial crimes against the elderly are increasing as a result of the aging of the population and greater concentration of wealth among older people.

Since 1990 I have investigated more than 1,000 cases of exploitation of the elderly during my former career as a detective with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. During this time I've realized that reports that address financial crimes against the elderly usually conflate two types of crimes, fraud and exploitation.

Fraud is based on deception, but exploitation of the elderly is a much subtler and much more often ignored crime. Justice Potter Stewart's famous definition of pornography applies equally to exploitation crimes: I may not be able to define it precisely but I know it when I see it.

Full Article and Source:
Financial Abuse: Fraud Vs Exploitation of the Elderly

Note: Joe Roubicek has investigated over a thousand exploitation crimes and provided training for universities and law enforcement agencies since 1992. He is the author of "Financial Abuse of the Elderly."

See also:
Why Exploitation Crimes Are Misunderstood by Government and the Public

Guardian Abuse: Keeping It In The Family

The OPPAGA Report

The Immoralities of Jennifer Smith

Elderly Man Tackles Bank Robber

An elderly US bank customer tackled a would-be robber and then sat on him because he feared for his own wife's safety.

The incident at the Guardian Credit Union building in Milwaukee was captured from multiple angles on CCTV cameras, FOX News reports.

The customer held Smith on the ground until police arrived.

The man said he jumped on the suspect because he feared for the safety of his wife, who was standing in the queue.

Full Article, Source, and Video:
Elderly Man Tackles, Sits on Bank Robber

Conahan Linked to 1990's Cocaine Probe

During a drug trafficking trial 18 years ago, the mention of Michael Conahan’s name brought the proceedings to a halt.

The terse instructions from U.S. District Judge Edwin Kosik drew a sharp response from the federal prosecutor whose witness dropped the then-Hazleton district justice’s name shortly after taking the stand.

Huddling in the front of the courtroom so the jury could not hear them, Kosik, then-assistant U.S. Attorney Malachy Mannion and defense attorney Leonard Sands engaged in a testy discussion on how to proceed in the drug trafficking trial of Ronald Belletiere in Scranton.

According to a transcript of the testimony from April 9, 1991, Hazleton businessman Neal DeAngelo, called as a government witness, had just said he had been tipped by Conahan, “telling me that he had heard my brother’s name mentioned down in city hall there in reference to some drug activity that was going on and he just wanted to advise me of the name being mentioned.”

Full Article and Source:
Conahan Linked to 1990's Cocaine Probe

See also:
NASGA Member Attends Hearings

Silver Alert for Maine?

Backers of an alert system to help police and families find lost elders will push for legislation this winter.

Legislators, local police and advocates for Alzheimer's patients met Thursday at the Auburn police station to discuss creating a Silver Alert system for Maine. Modeled after the Amber Alert system that helps locate abducted children, a Silver Alert would help find disoriented elders who have wandered away from home.

"This problem occurs way more than people think," said Kathryn Pears, programs and public policy director for the Alzheimer's Association. Pears is helping to draft a bill to establish a statewide alert system. She hopes it will go before legislators in January.

Full Article and Source:
Police, Legislators Push for Elder Alert System

Trying to Help Homeless Man

Friends of homeless man in Boone trying to find his real name so they can get help for him,

Students remember him as the kind soul who sold his hand-illustrated poems on King Street and strummed a guitar.

He seemed to disappear last month, and people thought he had died. But he's a patient at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, where he was transferred from Watauga Medical Center after collapsing behind a building in Boone.

Some people remember Joshua Watauga as mentally ill with substance-abuse problems. They say he was becoming increasingly unstable.

Officials at the medical center said that patient privacy laws mean that they can't discuss Joshua Watauga, other than to confirm he's a patient there. He was listed in good condition yesterday.

But officials could discuss the hospital's policy guidelines.

"If a patient is deemed unable to make health-care choices we make every effort to identify a family member or friend who can apply for guardianship," hospital spokeswoman Bonnie Davis said. "We would certainly help make that effort possible."

It's a complex process requiring court approval. If no suitable guardian is approved, the hospital would pursue guardianship.

Ben Alexander-Eitzman, an ASU social-work professor who is an expert on issues affecting the homeless, said that one of the most difficult situations a hospital faces at discharge is what to do with a homeless person who has chronic medical needs.

Guardianship is a complicated process involving mental, legal and ethical decisions, he said.

Full Article and Source:
Who is Joshua Watauga?

Woman Charged With Forgery

A Plainview woman faces criminal charges for allegedly forging her grandfather's name on her student loan application and charging thousands of dollars on his credit card.

Jessica Jo Rinn, 34, is charged with one count of aggravated forgery, a felony. A summons has been issued for her to appear in Olmsted District Court Oct. 12.

According to the complaint, Rochester police were notified from Olmsted County adult protection staff concerning the possible financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult. Rinn's grandfather was diagnosed as suffering from dementia. He died last month.

The complaint alleges that Rinn made thousands of dollars of purchases using her grandfather's credit card from February through August 2006. In addition, she is accused of forging his name as a co-signer on an education loan application. The loan amount was for $21,992. The total outstanding debt is $28,379.

Full Article and Source:
Plainville Woman Charged With Forgery

Jury to Decide Tomorrow

Only a six-member jury separates Joseph and Cynthia Clancy from vindication or condemnation.

The local couple will find out Monday whether the panel that watched four days of trial testimony this week believes them to be thieves or simply two people who tried to help an elderly lady avoid financial ruin.

Assistant State Attorney Mike Halkitis wrapped up the state's case this morning, completing his portrayal of the Clancys as opportunists who took advantage of Eloise Mudway's age to steal her house and improve their financial status.

The Clancys still live in the house at 9510 Hilltop Drive, which Mudway purchased with her late husband in 1980.

Defense attorneys Dean Livermore and Mark Goettel completed their case later today, one that depicted the couple as benevolent caretakers who had Mudway's home transferred to Cynthia Clancy only to save it from foreclosure. Livermore and Goettel contend that Mudway, now 92, simply spent herself into financial ruin and had to be rescued.

The Clancys are each charged with one count of grand theft from a person over the age of 65, a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Attorneys will give their closing arguments Monday morning before jurors begin deliberating.

They'll have plenty to consider.

Full Article and Source:
Jury to Decide Fate of Pasco Couple Accused of Bilking Woman

See also:
Elderly Woman Testifies in Pasco Grand Theft Case

Who's Right?

Supreme Court Suspends Judge

The Minnesota Supreme Court has chosen to discipline — but not fire — a judge who received a deep discount on his legal bills after steering cases to his own divorce attorney.

District Judge Timothy Blakely, who hears cases in Dakota and Goodhue counties, will be suspended from the bench for six months without pay, the state's highest court ruled in an opinion filed Thursday. Blakely earns more than $123,000 annually.

The suspension begins immediately. He also is publicly reprimanded as an attorney and cannot return to legal work until the suspension is over.

"In essence, he cannot practice law for six months, be it as a judge or as a lawyer," said Martin Cole, director of the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility.

The U.S. attorney's office opened a separate inquiry into whether Blakely's actions constituted mail fraud, but it is unclear if a federal grand jury was ever convened, said Doug Kelley, an attorney for the Minnesota Board on Judicial Standards.

Full Article and Source:
Supreme Court Suspends Dakota County Judge for Six Months Without Pay

From a Nursing Home to Home

Walter Brown never wanted to live in a nursing home, but when he had a stroke two years ago, he saw little choice. Mr. Brown, 72, could not walk, use his left arm or transfer himself into his wheelchair.

“It was like being in jail,” Mr. Brown said on a recent afternoon. “In the nursing home you’ve got to do what they say when they say it, go to bed when they tell you, eat what they want you to eat. The food was terrible.”

But recently state workers helped Mr. Brown find a two-bedroom apartment in public housing here, which he shares with his daughter. “It just makes me more relaxed, more confident in myself,” he said, speaking with some difficulty, but with a broad smile. “More confident in the future.” A growing number of states are reaching out to people like Mr. Brown, who have been in nursing homes for more than six months, aiming to disprove the notion that once people have settled into a nursing home, they will be there forever. Since 2007, Medicaid has teamed up with 29 states to finance such programs, enabling the low-income elderly and people with disabilities to receive many services in their own homes.

“Medicaid has had an institutional bias in favor of nursing homes,” even for people who do not need them, said Gene Coffey, a staff lawyer at the nonprofit National Senior Citizens Law Center. “Federal law requires states to provide nursing home services. They don’t have to provide home or community-based services.”

Full Article and Source:
Elderly Leave Nursing Homes for a Home

Prosecutors: Son Kept Astor in Squalor

The son of the late U.S. philanthropist Brooke Astor used his mother's dementia to enrich himself at the expense of her favorite charities, prosecutors said on Friday in the high-society trial.

Anthony Marshall, Astor's 85-year-old son, was charged in 2007 with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and falsifying business reports tied to his handling of his mother's fortune, estimated to be worth hundreds of millions.

She died from pneumonia in August 2007 at the age of 105.

"It's just a never-ending history of lie after lie after lie by Mr. Marshall to get more of his mother's money," Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann told the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan in closing arguments.

Full Article and Source:
Son Kept NY Socialite Astor in Squalor: Prosecutors

See also:
Winding Down of the Astor Trial

Creating Caring Communities for Seniors: Aging Well

Are you a caregiver or clinician who works with a vulnerable population?

Maybe you are a friend or caregiver who suspects someone that you care about is being abused or exploited.

NACOG's 18th Annual conference, being held Wednesday Sept. 30, in Flagstaff, is the perfect place for you to get answers to some questions you may have about abuse or exploitation in these complicated times. it will take place at the new High Country Conference Center on the campus of Northern Arizona University.

Full Article and Source:
Annual Conference for Senior Citizens Set for September 30

Still Fighting for Her Husband

A Horseheads woman continued her battle Thursday for guardianship of her husband, who has been in a persistent vegetative state since an accident nearly four years ago.

Sara Harvey said she is fighting for legal guardianship of Gary Harvey -- who suffered a severe brain injury in a January 2006 accident -- so he can get better medical care.

She said her husband is suffering under significantly inadequate care provided by the Chemung County Nursing Facility.

"I see stuff go on with him, and I get no answers," she told state Supreme Court Judge Judith O'Shea during oral arguments made Thursday by Assistant County Attorney Donald Thomson and Ithaca lawyer William Shaw, who represents Sara Harvey.

Shaw said there had been stonewalling by the county in releasing the medical records that are crucial to his case. Those documents either sustain or refute accusations against Sara Harvey, and he cannot proceed without them, he said.

Thomson said the county opposed the release of Gary Harvey's medical records because Sara Harvey has no legal right to them.

O'Shea asked about Sara Harvey's plans for her husband.

Shaw said they include seeking alternative medical services, including Veterans Affairs programs.


Full Article and Source:
Wife Seeks Rights to Comatose Husband
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See also:
The Brainwashing of an Unsuspecting People: Continuing to Deny Death Panels

Behind Closed Doors: The Gary Harvey Story

Follow Up: The Gary Harvey Story

Elderly Woman Testifies in Grand Theft Case

Time has taken away some of Eloise Mudway's physical and mental abilities.

She has difficulty recalling names, dates and times; struggles to hear and gets around only with the help of a wheelchair. Fortunately, she has retained a healthy sense of humor.

Eloise Mudway, 92, needed it today as she spent more than three hours on the witness stand answering a barrage of questions from Assistant State Attorney Mike Halkitis and defense attorneys Dean Livermore and Mark Goettel.

"God help me," she said during one break in her testimony.

Livermore and Goettel represent Cynthia and Joseph Clancy, a local couple prosecutors contend swindled Mudway out of her $370,000 house and other assets between 2001 and 2005.

The Clancys are each charged with one count of grand theft from a person over 65 and both face a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. Prosecutors are expected to rest their case Friday but jury deliberations and a verdict will likely not come until Monday.

Full Article and Source:
Elderly Woman Testifies in Pasco Grand Theft Case

See also:
Who's Right?

CA Increases Fines for Elder Abuse

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill by state Sen. Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach, that increases elder abuse penalties.

When it takes effect Jan. 1, 2010, Senate Bill 18 will increase California fines from $6,000 to $10,000 for those found guilty of placing an elder or dependent adult in situations where great bodily harm or death is likely.

In addition, the new law will increase fines from $2,000 to $5,000 for those found guilty of placing an elder or dependent adult in dangerous situations not likely to cause death or serious bodily injury.

SB 18 is aimed at protecting those ages 65 and older. It does not change sentencing guidelines for elder abusers who are imprisoned for their actions.

"California's senior citizens and their families will rest easier knowing that my new law will help protect them from abuse," Oropeza said in a statement.

"Elder abuse for far too long has been a hidden, pervasive and deadly crime where out of 5 million recent cases, a shocking 84 percent went unreported."

Full Article and Source:
New Law Raises Elder Abuse Penalties

Charged With Swindling From Autistic Man

A woman has been charged with swindling more than $300,000 from a man with autism over whom she was given power of attorney.

According to charges filed in Dakota County, the victim's mother had saved up a large amount of money while working as a librarian in the Federal Reserve Bank in Minneapolis.

The man, who is not named in the charges but was born in 1959, lived with his parents in Eagan from 1976 through 2004, when the alleged swindling began.

The victim's mother had saved the funds through the bank's "thrift plan," according to the charges. The funds were meant to support the victim and his father after she died in 1997.

The victim's father fell ill in 2003. The charges allege Katherine Louise Rosenthal and her husband, who lived in the same apartment building in Eagan, befriended the victim and his father, who eventually allowed Rosenthal power of attorney over the man due to his autism.

When the victim's father died the following year, Rosenthal began withdrawing funds from an account owned jointly between the victim and his father, the charges allege.

Bank records indicated Rosenthal had been added as an account holder. According to the charges, she withdrew $9,000 the first month after the victim's father's death, $8,000 the second month, $30,000 the third month.

As an attorney informed authorities, those funds had allegedly been used to pay off Rosenthal's student loans.
In fall 2004, the charges state Rosenthal cashed out 17 savings bonds each carrying a face value of $10,000.

The attorney had Rosenthal's power of attorney revoked and confronted her about the alleged swindling. She told the attorney, "That's my money," according to charges.

Full Article and Source:
Charges: Woman Swindles $300K From Man With Autism

Senior Investment Protection Enchancement Act

Senior citizens are being scammed, according to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who announced a plan Tuesday to protect against financial abuses.

"Research shows that our seniors face serious risks from fraudulent salesmen,'' Gillibrand said during a conference call with reporters from throughout the state. "Seniors account for more than half of all investor complaints being investigated by securities regulators.

"So to protect these seniors from fraud," Gillibrand continued, "I've introduced the Senior Investment Protection Enhancement Act - legislation that would target those who commit securities violations against seniors."

Full Article and Source:
Gillibrand Introduces Act to Protect Area Seniors
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Betrayed by Crooked Attorneys

They called him Jack.

They didn't think of him as a lawyer. They thought of him as a trusted family friend.

So when thousands of dollars went missing and the paper trail led to attorney John "Jack" Roberts of Dennis, they were at first shocked, then hurt and finally angry.

Roberts, now disbarred, pleaded guilty to stealing $137,000 from the estate of Alice May of Sandwich and was sentenced to house arrest. On Friday, he was arraigned on a charge of larceny by a single scheme in the theft of $650,000 from Norm Sasville, a Middleboro builder. Prosecutors said they plan to seek jail time if Roberts is convicted again.

"He pulled the carpet out from me," Sasville said in an interview before Roberts was indicted. "He was a good friend. He was a goombah."

Roberts was released on $1,000 bail after his arraignment in Barnstable Superior Court on Friday.

But Roberts is not alone.

In recent years, the Cape has had its share of high-profile cases involving lawyers bilking clients out of thousands.

In 2006, Anthony Bott, an Orleans attorney, pleaded guilty to stealing more than $350,000 in insurance settlements from 12 clients.

He was sentenced to 2½ years in Barnstable County Correctional Facility and 10 years of probation.

And plenty of ink has been spilled on the ongoing tangle of former Orleans attorney Richard Birchall. Birchall has been jailed on contempt charges, a judge finding that he is capable of repaying the $2.7 million he owes to his former client Suzanne D'Amour of Brewster.

But while that case has the added intrigue of D'Amour once spending time in jail on perjury charges for lying to a grand jury investigating the murder of her husband, the other Cape cases involve regular Joes or elderly people looking for legal help from someone they trusted.

"It really is disgusting," said Adele Lundquist, an 83-year-old Brewster woman who was a victim of Bott. "It's like your house getting broke into. It's a violation."

Lundquist was seriously injured in a car accident. Her car was sideswiped by a woman who blew through a stop sign. Her family attorney recommended Bott, who at the time was considered one of the Lower Cape's top personal injury attorneys.

Months passed and Bott kept putting Lundquist off telling her settlements could take years. It turned out he got her an $85,000 settlement within months, but like 11 other clients, he had fraudulently signed her name and pocketed the cash.

"You go through stages where you feel betrayed, you feel hurt, you feel angry," Lundquist said.

Nancy Allen, whose inheritance was partially stolen by Roberts, expressed similar feelings. Her mother, Alice May, had considered Roberts a friend. She said it felt like she had been "physically assaulted" when she figured out Roberts had grabbed the money to feed his gambling habit.

So are these high-profile cases a trend or just a strange coincidence?

Michael Frederickson, a spokesman for the state's Board of Bar Overseers, said it's the latter.

The percentage of bad lawyers is actually very small, he said, with only about one-quarter of 1 percent of the state's 80,000 lawyers convicted of stealing from a client. But like other professions involving the public, it's the bad attorneys who get the attention, he said.

Full Article and Source:
Cape Cod Betrayed by Crooked Attorneys

Former Dallas Judge Gets Jail

A former Dallas municipal judge will serve 60 days in the Tarrant County Jail as a condition of her probation for spending money awarded to a client in a 2003 probate case that she handled while practicing law in Arlington.

A jury had already been seated in Criminal District Court No. 3 when Tiffany Lewis pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to misapplication of fiduciary property. Lewis used a $58,000 probate settlement awarded to a Dallas woman and her daughter to buy a motorcycle for her baby’s father, cover office expenses, and cover bad checks in other clients’ accounts, Tarrant County prosecutor Lori Varnell said.

Lewis, 41, was sentenced to 10 years’ probation by visiting Judge David Cleveland, who ordered her to serve 60 days in jail and repay the money.

Lewis, who was disbarred in 2005, was also forbidden to hold herself out as an attorney or to act as a fiduciary, someone who handles money for other people.

The Texas Bar Association had stripped Lewis of her license to practice law in April 2005 because of the probate case. But Tarrant County prosecutors learned that she was continuing to represent clients in Tarrant County, Varnell said.

Her disbarment was based on a Dallas woman’s 2004 complaint to the bar that the attorney had taken $58,000 of her Dallas County probate settlement.

Lewis took most of the money in cash, which could not be traced, Varnell said. It took nearly five years for a forensic accountant to track the money from the probate account to Lewis’ Bedford bank to her expenditures, which depleted the account in 134 days, Varnell said.

Varnell said she and co-counsel Sabrina Sabin were prepared to try the case but accepted the plea to get restitution for the victims. "They’re very poor people who don’t have a lot of means," Varnell said. "She stole from the weakest members of our society."

Randall said Lewis, who is a single mother, took the last-minute plea to ensure that she would remain free to raise her daughter. She will serve her 60-day jail term on weekends and, as required by probation rules, seek a job, he said.

"She does have restitution to pay back, and she will be doing that," Randall said.

Full Article and Source:
Former Dallas Judge Gets Jail Time for Spending Woman's Probate Money

Women Accused of Neglecting a Patient to Death

Two women accused of neglecting an elderly woman so badly she died were charged in court Wednesday morning.

Prosecutors say that Effie Tutor and Patti Goodwill ignored a patient's bedsores to the point it lead to the woman's death.

Tutor was charged with criminal mistreatment in the death of her patient, Jean Rudolph. Rudolph had dementia and was staying in the Houghton Lakeview Adult Family Home in Kirkland. Rudolph's family visited her there often, but they say they couldn't see that underneath her clothes she had developed deep bedsores.

Prosecutors say Tutor was in charge of monitoring the wheelchair-bound Rudolph for pressure sores. They believe Tutor knew about the wounds for close to a month, but didn't get additional medical care for Rudolph.

By the time Rudolph went to the hospital she had seven sores, some so deep they went to the bone. She died shortly after from a combination of pneumonia and bone infection.

Rudolph's son says what happened to his mother still haunts him.

"A lot of sleepless nights - the conditions that were discovered were so terrifying. You can't sleep a full night," said the victim's son.

Tutor is behind bars on $75,000 bail.

Full Article and Source:
Women Accused of Neglecting a Patient to Death

Public Guardianship Program Saves FL Taxpayers $1.9 Billion

A new study shows that Florida’s public guardian programs saved the State of Florida almost $1.9 million last year, mostly by helping incapacitated persons move from costly hospitals to more affordable living options, such as assisted living facilities. Public guardians serve as legal representatives for indigent elders and others who cannot make their own decisions and have no one else to assist them.

The cost-savings determination is part of a University of Kentucky study conducted at the request of Florida’s Statewide Public Guardianship Office, which is a unit of the Department of Elder Affairs.

The research team examined the 15 public guardianship programs that serve 20 Florida counties, reviewing the period from June to December 2008 and then calculating full-year savings. The researchers found that the program served 1,916 incapacitated persons at a savings of $3,940,456. Once the statewide program’s operating expenses were subtracted, the annual savings was $1,883,043, according to the independent researchers.

The researchers also concluded that Florida’s public guardian programs produce “significant quality of life savings” for incapacitated persons, ranging from emotional support and improved socialization to reconnecting with family, friends and religious institutions.

“It’s gratifying to know that independent experts recognize the value public guardianship provides, both financially and socially,” said Michelle Hollister, executive director of the Statewide Public Guardianship Office. “We are proud of the way public guardians help those who have nowhere else to turn.”

Full Article and Source:
Study: Public Guardianship Program Save Florida Taxpayers $1.9 million

University of KY study

Woman Arrested in Inheritance Swindling Case

Police arrested Katharine Rosenthal, the former Eagan woman accused of stealing nearly $400,000 from the inheritance of an autistic neighbor, early Tuesday at a motel in Baxter, Minn.

She will be arraigned in Dakota County this morning on four counts of theft by swindle, four counts of theft and four counts of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult, all felonies.

Rosenthal allegedly stole at least $387,000 from the inheritance of Kevin Farley, a 49-year-old Eagan man with high-functioning autism. Rosenthal and her husband, Aaron, were granted general power of attorney by Farley's father, Bill, before his death in May 2004.

According to the criminal complaint, Rosenthal withdrew thousands from Farley's account, cashed in savings bonds in Bill Farley's name and moved Farley's money to an account she shared with her husband when Farley revoked the power of attorney.

Full Article and Source:
Baxter Police Arrest Woman in Inheritance Swindling Case

Tasered

The 49-year-old mother of a severely handicapped 31-year-old man was shocked with a Taser after a pair of standoffs with Levy County Sheriff's Office deputies this week.

The woman was resisting a judge's order to turn over custody of her son to another family member.

The handicapped man's father was also arrested for reportedly assisting his wife in resisting deputies.

The change in guardianship appears to be the result of unanswered financial questions.

William Bennett, 50, and his wife, Lori Bennett were each charged with interference of custody for their son Daniel Bennett and resisting arrest following incidents at their home on Monday and Tuesday.

According to Sheriff's Office spokesman Lt. Evan Sullivan, Circuit Court Judge Stanley H. Griffis III ordered that Daniel be turned over to the custody of his adult brother, Christopher Bennett. Court records show that the judge also named Ronald Stevens, a Bronson attorney, as guardian of Daniel's property.

Court records also show that the formal change in custody and guardianship was made after William Bennett did not respond to four orders to appear in court since July and has not filed the 2008 annual guardianship report for Daniel as required by state laws.

Full Article and Source:
Levy Woman Tasered, Arrested With Husband in Standoff With Police

NASGA Member Attends Hearings

Formerly of Luzerne County, NASGA Member Mary Connors attended Tuesday’s arraignment for ex-judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella.

Judge Michael Conahan was the presiding judge in the guardianship of Mary's mother, Grace Connors.

Grace died from starvation and dehydration in 2006, after five years incarcerated in a nursing facility against her will. She was virtually isolated from her family and friends. Mary was rarely permitted to visit her. Those sparse visits were always under guard - until the end when the guardian lifted the supervision to allow Mary to see her mother die.


See:
Grace Connors - California/Pennyslvania Victim

In Memoriam: Grace Connors - July 17, 1921 – October 13, 2006

Ex-Jurists Plea, Still Free

Former judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella will remain free pending trial on corruption charges despite concerns raised by federal prosecutors that the men are a flight risk and are depleting assets that could be seized if they’re convicted, a federal magistrate judge ruled Tuesday.

The former judges appeared before U.S. District Magistrate Judge Thomas Blewitt and entered pleas of not guilty to a 48-count indictment issued against them last week.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Houser requested that Conahan and Ciavarella’s bail be increased to $500,000, arguing the chance the men would flee had increased given they face significantly more time in prison than was negotiated in plea agreements that were rejected by the court.

The plea agreements, which have been withdrawn, called for the judges to serve 87 months in prison. The charges in the indictment – racketeering, bribery, extortion, money laundering, mail fraud and tax evasion – carry a combined total maximum sentence of 689 years in prison.

Full Article and Source:
Ex-Jurists Plea, Still Free


See also:
Ciavarella Plea
Ciavarella Bond
Ciavarella Release
Conahan Plea
Conahan Bond
Conahan Release

Director of San Bernardino-Area Group Home Arrested

Investigators looking into charges of abuse at a collection of San Bernardino-area group homes arrested the director of one of the homes on Friday after discovering he was on probation for elder abuse and had been ordered to stay away from such facilities, officials said today.

Tony Dalton, 40, was taken into custody for violating conditions of his probation after initially refusing entry to investigators checking on conditions of the house, said San Bernardino City Atty. James Penman.

Dalton is the son of Pensri Sophar Dalton, 61, who was arrested Sept. 5 on 16 charges of elder abuse after police raided an unlicensed board and care facility where 22 elderly and mentally ill tenants lived in squalor. They had no plumbing, lived in converted backyard chicken coops and some used buckets for toilets. One man reported being physically abused by the staff.

Authorities are now looking into conditions at seven other group homes owned by Pensri Sophar Dalton in and around San Bernardino.

Dalton was convicted last year of causing great bodily harm to an elderly or dependent person and served three months in jail, Penman said. The probation department would not comment on the nature of the crime, but Dalton was forbidden to work as a caretaker for the elderly or dependent adults.

Pensri Dalton is also the target of a lawsuit filed by the family of a man who drowned in a pool while living in one of her group homes.

Full Article and Source:
Director of San Bernardino-Area Group Home Arrested

See also:
Seniors Found Living In Dire Conditions