Saturday, June 8, 2013

Danielle Murphy: "I want to live with my Aunt Nancy...."

Danielle Murphy is a young adult who knows exactly what she wants and needs and is very capable of expressing herself.

Below are her powerful words which continue to fall on the deaf ears of her court-appointed "protectors," despite her Aunt Nancy's tireless efforts to advocate for Danielle's wishes, her best interest and her safety.

Danielle only wants to go home to her Aunt Nancy, where her life was meaningful and happy, until 2008 when she wrongfully fell into the system and her life was turned upside down and ripped apart. 

































Source:
Danielle Rene Murphy, Ohio Victim

KY Judge-Executive Arrested on Theft Charges

Harlan County Judge-Executive Joe Grieshop has been arrested on burglary, theft and official misconduct charges.
 
[Sheriff Marvin J.] Lipfird said the investigation is continuing and a preliminary hearing will be held. The sheriff said other people may also be charged.
 
Grieshop was not indicted but arrested on a warrant that Lipfird obtained in December. He said he didn't arrest Grieshop immediately because other agencies advised him to wait.
 
Grieshop is charged in the warrant with third-degree burglary, theft by unlawful taking over $10,000, 10 counts of retaliating against a participant in a legal process and one count of first-degree official misconduct.

Source:
Harlan Judge-Executive Arrested on Theft Charge

Friday, June 7, 2013

Suspended PA District Judge Kelly Ballentine Must Pay Back Part of Her Salary

Suspended District Judge Kelly Ballentine must surrender her past 3 1/2-months' pay while she awaits a final disciplinary decision from a state board.

[The] state Court of Judicial Discipline suspended Ballentine without pay, retroactive to Feb. 11. She pleaded guilty to fixing her own parking tickets Feb. 1 and a petition was filed for her suspension 10 days later.

The Court of Judicial Discipline will make a final ruling on Ballentine's standing as judge at a later date. For now, she is suspended without pay, according to the order filed. That means she must pay back what amounts to 27 percent of her annual salary: approximately $22,500.

She also must repay retirement and Social Security funds accrued since Feb. 11, the order shows.

The repayment total is to be determined by June 7.

 Ballentine has until that date to work out a payment plan. Her medical benefits, however, aren't affected by the latest ruling; she'll continue receiving those.

Ballentine has the option of appealing to the state Supreme Court.

Full Article and Source:
Suspended District Judge Must Pay Back Part of Her Salary

See Also:
PA District Judge Violated Integrity and Impartiality of Office, Board Says

Social Isolation Could Raise Risk of Early Death

Being socially isolated from the friends and family you love could raise your risk of dying early, a new study suggests.
Researchers from the University College London found that social isolation alone raises a middle-aged or elderly person's death risk, independently of how lonely he or she feels.

The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is based on 6,500 men and women, age 52 and older, who participated in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing between 2004 and 2005. The researchers administered questionnaires analyzing the study participants' loneliness levels at the start of the study, and then followed up with them around seven years later.

Researchers found an association between death and social isolation and feeling lonely. When they accounted for factors like demographics and health, only social isolation seemed to affect death risk.

Feeling lonely, meanwhile, only seemed to affect early death risk among people who already had health concerns. "They're dying of the usual causes, but isolation has a strong influence," study researcher Andrew Steptoe, an epidemiologist at University College London, told the Los Angeles Times. What's interesting about the study is that it separates out loneliness -- which is a subjective feeling -- with social isolation -- which can be more objectively measured.

Full Article and Source:
Social Isolation Could Raise Risk of Early Death

Thursday, June 6, 2013

The Illusion: Gary & Sara Harvey Supporters Will Fade Away

It would seem that some misguided individuals think that Gary & Sara Harvey supporters will simply fade away in time. Perhaps some will. However, it is an illusion and delusion to suppose we all will. Some of us don’t like bullies and we don’t like injustice so much so that we don’t let go of the stench trail once we get hold of it. And, believe me, the stench trail in the Harvey case is over-powering.

Who was it that approached the judge with a request to starve & dehydrate Gary to death? It certainly wasn’t Sara, Gary’s wife.

Who is it that has ordered Gary Harvey into a world of isolation nearly void of any true stimulation? Certainly not Sara Harvey.

Who is it that is in charge of medical decisions and care as Gary suffers from infection after infection? Certainly not Sara, the wife who loves him.

Who is it that has benefited financially throughout the guardianship event? Definitely not Sara Harvey.

Amazing how those who hold the reins and make the decisions, financially benefit (or cause others to receive financial benefit), continue to try to make Sara Harvey the bad person in this reign of terror. Amazing indeed!

The stench is heavy. The truth is powerful. It’s time for Justice to take center stage! And, rather than fade away, many of us intend to be in the audience!

Full Article and Source:
The Illusion:  Gary and Sary Harvey Supporters Will Fade Away

PA District Judge's Pay Reinstated Amidst Ticket Fixing Probe

Magisterial District Judge Mark A. Bruno won a decision in court to have his judicial pay reinstated while he awaits trial in federal court on charges that he illegally helped fix a traffic ticket in Philadelphia.

The state’s Court of Judicial Discipline on May 24 ruled that the state Supreme Court had not properly looked at the full circumstances surrounding the government’s case against Bruno when it ordered his pay suspended following his indictment in January.
 
“The conduct with which Judge Bruno is charged does not approximate the conduct of other cases of judicial misconduct in which the defendants’ pay was properly withheld,” the court ruled, “for in no way is it imbued with the gravity and the overt disdain for the law on display in those cases.”
Vincent DiFabio, one of Bruno’s defense attorneys, said Thursday that the judge’s pay would be restored retroactively from the tie the state Supreme Court suspended him in February. DiFabio said he and his client were in the process of going through tens of thousands of pages of discovery provided by the US. Attorney’s Office in the matter in preparation for trial, possibly in November.
 

Arkansas Judge Admits Behaviour Not So Judicious

Judge Gerald Kent Crow has been reprimanded and censured by the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission for violating the Code of Judicial Conduct for investigating cases independently and retaliating against a lawyer who had filed a compliant on him, according to a statement from the JDDC.

"It is difficult for me to make a specific comment without consulting with the JDDC first to make sure I am not violating any terms of confidentiality or ethics," Crow said.

Full Article and Source:
Judge Admits Behavior Not So Judicious
 
See Also:
Two Arkansas Judges Disciplined for Courtroom Behavior

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

What Say You, Kevin Moshier?

Tragically, Gary Harvey of Horsehead, NY fell down the basement stairs in January of 2006 and received a traumatic head injury. The Gary Harvey case haunts me, Kevin Moshier. Does it ever haunt you?

Do you ever wonder, as his court appointed attorney and simply as a human being, if Gary actually knows what is going on around him, but merely can’t let others know? What if he does, Kevin? What if he knows everything that has been said to him or around him? What if he feels everything? What if he feels desperation when his needs aren’t adequately met and when he has to fight still another infection? What if he feels the isolation and misses the once frequent visits of the wife he so loves? What if… Kevin Moshier?… what if he is actually a human being, who once laughed and planned and thought tomorrow would be one day closer to his future plans and dreams? What if he still isn’t done hoping for a better tomorrow?

What if he needs your help, Kevin?

Will you help him?

Full Article and Source:
Carrie's Take:  What Say You, Kevin Moshier?"

SEC Sanctions MI Broker for Bilking Elderly Investors

The Securities and Exchange Commission has imposed a fine and a cease-and-desist order against Lewis J. Hunter for defrauding elderly clients of over $300,000.

In September 2010 and February 2011, the SEC found that Hunter recommended to two long-time elderly clients that they make a $250,000 investment in a Canadian bank. Hunter repeatedly assured the clients that the investment was guaranteed and provided the clients with Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs) from the bank. The GICs were purportedly issued by HSBC Bank Canada and guaranteed 15% monthly interest payments for two years.

However, Hunter fabricated the GICs and used the clients' money to pay various personal and business expenses, the SEC says. In addition, Hunter used the clients' own funds to make the 15% interest payments the clients expected to receive from the investment. Hunter also used the clients' own funds to repay a personal loan the clients had made to Hunter.

In a separate instance, Hunter persuaded a third long-time elderly client to make a $54,000 investment in U.S. Bank, the SEC found. Hunter guaranteed the client that he would not lose any money. However, Hunter never invested the money and instead used the funds to repay the personal loan he had taken with the first clients and for other personal and business expenses.

Full Article and Source:
SEC Sanctions MI Broker for Bilking Elerly Investors

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Probate Sharks: Synopsis of Hearing Board Report and Recommendation: Illinois Attorney Ken Ditkowsky


 Professor Tarkington from Ind. School of Law got it right when she said the Bar Association's frequently use the standard propounded in New York Times v. Sullivan as a dark aberration of what it is intended to be and that results in decisions very far afield of what New York Times meant the first amendment to be, rendering all or most of the decisions invalid because they infringe too greatly upon the constitutional rights of lawyers.

Source:
Probate Sharks:  Ken's Decision - With Comments

Read: Decision from Discipline Reports and Decision Research; Filed May 3, 2013; In re: Kenneth Karl Ditkowsky, Attorney Respondent

See Also:
Probate Sharks:  Some Thoughts on Attorney Ken Ditkowsky

Note:   For those new readers to our Blog who may not be familiar with Illinois Attorney Ken Ditkowsky, please be advised NASGA fully supports Attorney Ditkowsky; we appreciate his efforts  calling for a complete and honest investigation of guardianship cases, and we stand beside him.

Ethically Challenged Judge Gets Support From His Base

When suspended Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas Nocella had to face the music two weeks ago -- a hearing on misconduct charges before the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline -- he wasn't alone.

When I looked over the gallery at the courtroom, I recognized more than a dozen ward leaders and Democratic political activists and operatives who were there as character witnesses. They knew Nocella well, because for him and many Philadelphia Philadelphia judges, the route to the bench is through the Democratic City Committee.

Lynn Marks of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts was also in the audience. She spends her life promoting integrity among the judiciary and pushing the idea of merit selection in the Legislature -- a hard way to make a living, you might say.

She was well aware of the disciplinary charges against Nocella, and appalled.

"There was a whole slew of not only unethical but illegal conduct," Marks said, adding later in our conversation that it seemed enough to merit his removal from the bench.

What did Nocella do?

He collected a $60,000 fee on a real estate transaction in which he represented himself as the secretary of a VFW post where he wasn't a member.

When he was the lawyer for a political committee under investigation by the city Board of Ethics, he admitted lying to the board's lawyers and, with the committee's treasurer, draining its assets, in the process giving himself a $2,500 fee. He was held in contempt of court and eventually paid a fine.

Nocella disclosed none of this to the Philadelphia Bar Association when it gave him a "recommended" rating in his 2011 campaign for the Common Pleas bench. That earned the ire of the Bar Association and the state Board of Judicial Conduct, which is pressing the case against him.

Nocella has already been suspended with pay by the state Supreme Court. The Court of Judicial Discipline could impose further sanctions, even remove him from the bench.

Nocella didn't testify in his hearing, and declined comment afterward. His attorney, Samuel Stretton, doesn't dispute the factual allegations against his client, including his pocketing the $60,000 from the VFW transaction.

"That obviously shouldn't have happened, and it would be better if it hadn't," Stretton told me after the hearing. "I'm just looking overall at the experience and what he brings to this. Many of these areas were well known to the voters, and they chose him."

A few voters, anyway.

Full Article and Source:
Ethically Challenged Judge Gets Support From His Philly Base

Monday, June 3, 2013

Oregon's HB2205 to Expland the List of Mandatory Elder Abuse Reporters

The Oregon House is scheduled to give final approval this morning to legislation expanding the list of people who must report incidents of elder abuse to authorities.

House Bill 2205 adds lawmakers, attorneys, dentists, optometrists and chiropractors to the list of mandatory reporters. The duty would apply around the clock, and not just when the person is working in his or her professional capacity. Lawyers and clergy would not have to report abuse if the information was learned through privileged communications.

Source:
Reporting Elder Abuse, Smoking With Kids in Cars, Family Leave: Oregon Legislature Today

See Also:
Read About HB2205

"I Made a Small Change"


































Source: Woman's Day Magazine, May 2013

Note: Attorney Tara Wilson is the daughter of NASGA Member Diane Wilson

MN Man Accused of Exploiting Demential Patient in Facility, Faces Felony Charges

A 46-year-old Jordan man is accused of financially exploiting a vulnerable adult.

Russell Tiegs faces four felonies.

According to the criminal complaint filed in Le Sueur County, Tiegs is accused of depositing over $1,600 of the victim's money in his own banking account and taking roughly $4,500 of social security benefits over nine months.

The victim lives in a nursing facility and suffers from dementia.

Reportedly that nursing home has not been paid and there's a $23,000 bill for the victim's care.

Tiegs is due back in court June 18.

Source:
Jordan Man Faces Felony Financial Exploitation Charges

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Tonight on T.S. Radio: Where is June E. Guinn?


Please join us this evening as we continue our search for June Guinn whose whereabouts and condition are unknown.

Joining us again will be Craig Keesler as he continues to document his fight for June’s life. The predatory guardian who took ownership of June, continues to operate without a license and without any interference from the California Fiduciary Oversight Board.

Later in the show, June’s daughter Lynda will join us from the East Coast to discuss her mother’s case.

June’s residence, listed as her current address, appears for all intents and purposes to be abandoned.

WHERE IS JUNE E GUINN?

5:00 pm PST … 6:oo pm MST … 7:00 pm CST … 8:00 pm EST
 

Billionnaire Defends Against Conservatorship Attempt

Kirk Kerkorian -- the billionaire who once owned United Artists and the MGM Hotel in Vegas -- has fired back against his ex-wife who is gunning to put him under a conservatorship, calling her a serial liar motivated by unbridled greed.

Lisa Bonder had filed legal docs claiming the 95-year-old Kirk was being held hostage by people in his company and she wanted someone to step in and, at the very least, allow Kirk to re-establish a relationship with their 15-year-old daughter.

Now Kirk has fired back in legal docs, saying, "The only person Lisa Bonder has ever cared about is Lisa Bonder." Kirk says Lisa is a proven liar many times over -- [information regarding the teenage daughter has been removed by request].

Full Article and Source:
Billionnaire Kirk Kerkorian My Ex Wife is an Habitual Liar!

Defalcation, Bankruptcy and Fiduciary Litigation

Last week, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in Bullock v. BankChampaign, N.A., which addressed the circumstances in which a breach of fiduciary duty judgment can be discharged in bankruptcy proceedings. Specifically, the Court resolved a deeply fractured Circuit split on the scope of the term “defalcation” within Section 523(a)(4) of the Federal Bankruptcy Code. That Section of the Bankruptcy Code provides that an individual cannot obtain bankruptcy discharge “for fraud or defalcation while acting in a fiduciary capacity, embezzlement, or larceny.” For years, the lower courts had struggled with what, exactly, “defalcation” means. Wonder no longer because the Supreme Court has defined it.

Full Article and Source:
Defalcation, Bankruptcy and Fiduciary Litigation

Montana's Elder Abuse Hotline Open Only during Regular Business Hours

Over the weekend KXLH received a call from a viewer who was reporting that she was being abused by someone in her home.

She told us that she tried calling the state's elder abuse hotline and no one answered.

So we called the hotline (1-800-551-3191) to see if the phone lines were being manned and they weren't.

The Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services reports that this hotline is only operational during regular business hours.

Full Article and Source:
Montana Elder Abuse Hotline Open During Regular Business Hours