A mentally disabled man lost his life savings when a friend of his late mother's took control of his finances and bilked him of tens of thousands of dollars, Cook County authorities alleged Wednesday.
When that friend died, his son continued the scheme, stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars more for gambling and other expenses, according to the sheriff's office and a lawsuit.
Ernest R. Rokosik, 40, of Chicago, was charged with one count each of senior exploitation and theft of more than $100,000, authorities said. Bond was set at $250,000.
Sheriff's officials said that after his mother died in 1998, the 63-year-old victim — said to have the mental capacity of a child — inherited about $600,000, including money he had earned working 26 years in the mailroom of a finance company and held by his mother for safekeeping.
According to the sheriff, Rokosik's father — identified in court records as Ernest W. Rokosik, a Chicago police officer who was said to be a trusted friend of the victim's mother — later obtained power of attorney over the victim and regularly withdrew money from his bank account without his authorization.
After the elder Rokosik's death, his son then persuaded the victim to let him assume the same control over his finances, the sheriff alleged.
The two drained the victim's bank account of more than half a million dollars in less than a decade, according to the sheriff's office.
The lawsuit, filed by the Cook County public guardian on behalf of the victim, showed the victim lived in a "very austere fashion" on just $850 a month.
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Chicago Father and Son Accused of Depleting Disabled Man's Savings
5 comments:
Mother was wrong; she should have made provision for custody of her incapacitated son. But then who knows what the BIG BIRDS will do when they take over: Big Birds = Vultures = professional taker-carers - of themselves!
And I wonder where the award will go -- since the victim is a ward of the state, the money will go into his guardianship account, to be billed out by the public guardian and lawyers.
But if the public guardian had depleted the estate, it would have been approved by the judge because the public guardian did it under the guise of protection.
I would be curious as to who the court players were on this case.
I'm glad to see someone in Cook County being held accountable.
Visit www.probatesharks.com
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