Boycott Announced

Inspired by one of our favorite NBA players’ activism, FDT [Free Danny Tate!!!] has decided to call for a boycott of Signet, the company David Tate co-owns.

Here’s their contact info: Signet, Inc.

And also: Ed Horrell, Founder, 901-757-3768 or ed@edhorrell.com


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Free Danny Tate!!!

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Facebook: Friends for Danny Tate's Defense

Michael Schiavo Threatens to Sue the Terri Schindler Schiavo Fondation

Michael Schiavo has threatened to sue Terri Schiavo’s family because they named their non profit after her–the “Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation.” (MS claims he owns the name. ) And, true to form, an ever compliant media fronted his cause with an unfair attack on the family.

What Michael Schiavo “believes” is irrelevant and beside the point. Had the reporters wanted to find out the kind of help the foundation offers others, producers could have called me or a myriad of others active in this field, who are quite aware of the selfless giving and effort each surviving member of Terri’s family offers to others. Indeed, I have personal knowledge of case after case in which the Schindlers worked selflessly–and without financial compensation of any kind–to assist family members save their cognitively disabled loved ones from suffering the same dehydration fate as Terri. The Lauren Richardson food and fluids dispute and the Andrea Clarke futile care case are just two that come to mind.

Full Article and Source:
I Stand in Solidarity With the Schindlers Against Sleasy Media Attack

Former Guardian Charged With Sexual Abuse

A 49-year-old Bay City man will stand trial on charges he sexually abused a mentally impaired man for whom he served as a court-appointed guardian, a district judge ruled today.

Clarkston District Judge Joseph Fabrizio ordered Duane Emery Kuerbitz to stand trial in Oakland County Circuit Court after the alleged victim, 32, testified from behind a screen on the witness stand that Kuerbitz abused him over a two-year period.

Kuerbitz was charged with first-degree and third-degree criminal sexual conduct and an additional first-degree criminal sexual conduct requested by Oakland County assistant prosecutor Heather Brown. The charges carry a penalty of up to life in prison. On Brown's request, Fabrizio closed the courtroom for the alleged victim's testimony to all but the attorneys involved, Kuerbitz and a caseworker. Fabrizio said the alleged victim qualified as a mentally impaired person and extra steps could be taken to obtain testimony free of distraction or fear. Fabrizio also permitted a screen to be placed around the man on the witness stand so he did not have to make eye contact with Kuerbitz.

Full Article and Source:
Former Guardian To Stand Trial on Sex Abuse Charges

Abusive Conservatorship Harmful to Ward's Children Too

David Tate informed Danny’s ex-wife today that there would be no more monetary support (that Danny has always faithfully paid) for Danny’s children come June, 2010 because there’s no more money…

Hey Housch, how’s that steak taste???

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Free Danny Tate

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Facebook: Friends for Danny Tate's Defense

Guardian Overcharged for Handyman's Work

In her court-required reports, Dinah Turrentine-Sims listed more than $29,000 in checks and payments to “CWB” for extensive renovations to one of her wards' houses near 75th and Burt Streets.

All those payments to CWB, as it turns out, were phony.

Says who? CWB himself.

Carl W. Brown, a South Omaha resident who ran CWB Handyman for about eight years before a heart attack sidelined him last year, said he never set foot in Marie Meader's house.

“I wouldn't even know what it looks like,” he said.

Instead, Brown said, Turrentine-Sims hired him to do most of his work on the building near 24th and Fort Streets that she renovated to house her nonprofit organization Chris Services.

All told, Brown said, he did $5,000 in work for Turrentine-Sims nowhere near the $29,000 she claimed.

Had a judge asked, Brown said he would have told the judge so. But the Douglas County judges who were supposed to be overseeing Turrentine-Sims' care of her wards didn't check her accountings. And no one asked Brown.

“I'd have been right down to the courthouse,” Brown, 55, said as he worked on his fishing boat outside his South Omaha home. “I'd have told them, ‘Let's get this (expletive) straight.'

Full Article and Source:
Handyman: Guardian Overstated Pay

See Also:
Guardian Ignored Woman's Last Wish

Breech of Fiduciary Duty???

Danny Tate Hasn't Had Health Insurance Since 2008!





















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Free Danny Tate!!!

Steven Rondos Gets 5-15 Years in Prison!

A disbarred New York lawyer is headed to prison for stealing money he was supposed to manage for incapacitated children, mental patients and elderly people.

Steven Rondos was sentenced Tuesday in a Manhattan court to five to 15 years in prison.

Rondos was court-appointed to assure his victims' money was used for their benefit. Some were medical malpractice victims who had won money in lawsuits.

Prosecutors say Rondos stole more than $4 million from about two dozen people and used the money for luxuries including a $31,000 television, a $99 umbrella and a $1.4 million home in Ridgewood, N.J.

The 45-year-old Rondos pleaded guilty earlier to charges including grand larceny. He has said depression was a factor in his crimes.

Defense lawyer Frank Rothman says Rondos planned to appeal his sentence as too harsh.


Source:
NY Atty Gets Prison for Theft of Money He Managed

Minister Convicted of Stealing From Trust Fund

Ernest Beal knew what was in his clients’ best interests.

At least that’s what he told an Allen Superior Court jury Thursday as the final day of his criminal trial wrapped up.

Charged with theft, Beal, 56, was accused of raiding the trust fund accounts of the developmentally impaired residents of his group homes – in order, he said, to pay operating expenses.

But after about 2 1/2 hours of deliberation, the jury didn’t believe him, convicting him of the charge.

Beal is chief operating officer of Your Friends and Neighbors, a company that runs group homes in Indiana and Georgia for adults with developmental impairments. A lawyer and licensed minister, Beal is also the pastor of Faith United Church of Christ in Fort Wayne.

Sentencing is scheduled for next month before Allen Superior Court Judge Fran Gull.

Full Article and Source:
Minister Stole From Trust Fund,Jury Rules

See Also:
Lawyer/Pastor Accused of Felony Theft

'Team Probate!'

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FreeDannyTate!!!

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Facebook: Friends for Danny Tate's Defense

Arizona Supreme Court Appoints Task Force

The Arizona Supreme Court has appointed 17 members to a task force to examine the conduct of the state Probate Court in its mission to protect the lives and savings of incapacitated adults, and recommend improvements.

The probe comes after Arizona Republic columnist Laurie Roberts told the stories of several people who lost much of their estates to attorneys and fiduciaries appointed to protect them by the Maricopa County Superior Court Probate and Mental Health Department.

In an administrative order, Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch said about one in four Arizona residents are age 55 or older. The expected increase in Probate Court cases means the process to protect incapacitated adults and their estates must be simplified, and people placed in charge of helping these people "held accountable for the services they provide to their vulnerable clients."

Berch is asking the task force to review key operations of the Probate Court and make initial recommendations, particularly changes to state law, by October, and to submit a final report by June 2011.

Members of the Committee on Improving Judicial Oversight and Processing of Probate Matters appointed by the chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court include:

• Chair: Judge Ann A. Scott Timmer, chief judge, Court of Appeals, Division One.
• Judge Rosa Mroz, presiding probate judge, Maricopa County Superior Court.
• Judge Gary Donahoe, Maricopa County Superior Court.
• Jay Polk, State Bar representative, Phoenix.
• Julia Connors, commissioner, Pima County Superior Court.
• Diana Clark, Probate Court counsel, Maricopa County Superior Court.
• Catherine Robbins, Mohave County Public Fiduciary.
• Sherry Reed, Navajo County Public Fiduciary.
• Pam Johnston, licensed fiduciary, Phoenix.
• John Evans, Arizona Attorney General's Office.
• Robert Myers, attorney/public member.
• Beverly Frame, Yuma County Clerk of the Court's representative.
• Sylvia Stevens, AARP, Phoenix.
• Jacob Schmitt, Child Welfare Program administrator, Department of Economic Security.
• Judge Charles Harrington, Pima County Superior Court.
• Judge William J. O'Neil, Pinal County Superior Court.
• Judge David L. Mackey, Yavapai County Superior Court.

Full Article and Source:
Task Force to Probe Arizona Probate Court

Guardian Balked at Aiding Marie Long While Draining Her Trust

In May 2009, Marie Long lost one of her hearing aids. She was 87 years old but still, I imagine the world sounded better in stereo.

Over the next month, her guardian, Sun Valley Group, would collect more than $5,500 from Marie to oversee her care but not a dime of that was spent on getting the elderly woman a new hearing aid. When asked about it, court records show a lawyer for Sun Valley noted that hearing aids are pricey and questioned whether Marie needed two, "given her cognitive deficiencies."

Really, the lawyer said that.

Marie Long fell under the protective eye of Maricopa County's probate court in 2005, after a stroke. Over the next four years, Sun Valley and a platoon of probate attorneys collected more than $550,000 in guardian and legal fees until last year, when the elderly widow's $1.3 million trust was tapped out.

Yet, attorneys for Marie and her sisters claim that she hadn't had an eye exam in two years and that the insurance on her missing hearing aid had been allowed to lapse. They are objecting to requests that a probate judge approve the final $100,000 that Sun Valley and its attorney collected for their final year of oversight in 2009, before Marie's funds ran dry.

Full Article and Source:
Guardian Balked at Aiding Widow While Draining Trust

See Also:
Sun Valley Group Has Nerve to Ask Judge to Sanction Marie Long's Attorneys

Danny Tate's Day in Court

I haven’t been in the 7th Circuit Court for well over two years. I got a good night’s sleep and walked in feeling alright. It was great to be met with friends wearing Free Danny Tate !!! t-shirts. Thanks to all who showed up. It had an impact. We were still out numbered by lawyers petitioning for fees and conservatorships. But even those not connected to my case seemed to be saying with their faces, “Hell, yeah, free him! I wanna get out of here alive.”

Everyone was respectful, but convicted. More importantly, I think it was an education for all.

I must give Judge Kennedy credit. He handled it diplomatically and we both treated each other with respect. The courtroom should be an arena where personal opinions are held in check out of respect for the judiciary.

Though met with some resistance at first, once procedure was clarified by attorney Hoskins, I was allowed to make a statement in court. Here’s what I pled:

“Your honor, I would like to respectfully request that you award my attorney his current outstanding attorney’s fees. He has worked diligently and honorably in his representation of me. And I am of the firm opinion that he is not only entitled, but is in need of these fees to continue his zealous representation.

I would also like to respectfully request that the court unconditionally terminate this conservatorship and save me the undue burden of expense from ongoing proceedings.

The expenses leading up to the final hearing scheduled for May 24-25 will further deplete my assets. As it stands today, when the outstanding legal expenses are paid, my monetary and stock assets, including my retirement account and children’s college funds, will most likely be exhausted and possibly leave me in debt. As it stands today, I will most likely have to sell my home, or at the least, take out a second mortgage in order to meet the outstanding legal costs and financial commitments necessary to begin my life over.

In closing, I again, respectfully ask the court to terminate this conservatorship unconditionally and immediately. I believe it is in the best interest of all parties involved.

And I truly believe it would be in the best interest of me, the ward, and my children.”

After the hearing, the supporters all stayed around for a little education on conservator law and how easily an individual can be stripped of their Constitutional rights and individual liberties. My attorney, Michael Hoskins, deliberated this thirty minute lesson while standing on the court house steps. And we gathered for a group photo for the Westview.Though Judge Kennedy ruled against the termination of the conservatorship, he did grant my attorney his fees. I believe this was important. Mr. Hoskins has been working on my case for 7 months without pay.

Then I settled in for a long weekend flood…

Source:
Free Danny Tate!!!

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Facebook: Friends for Danny Tate's Defense

'An Act to Protect Nursing Home Residents'

The author of a bill aimed at protecting nursing home patients is praising state Rep. Harriett Stanley for her role in moving the legislation forward in a new form.

Dr. Rachel Geller penned An Act to Protect Nursing Home Residents over three years ago to protect people in nursing homes from abuse after Geller had a bad experience with her aunt, Sally Miller.

Sally Geller Miller, living with advanced Alzheimer's disease, was shuttled between five nursing homes in a seven-year period before being stranded for weeks in a hospital's locked psychiatric ward after being kicked out of one home.

It is an experience that has led state Rep. Ruth B. Balser, a Newton Democrat, to propose a law to better inform patients and family members about nursing home regulations.

"The existing problem is there are already very good laws on the books, yet nursing homes routinely lie, break the laws, follow illegal procedures and omit information," Geller said. "Because we as 'consumers' of nursing homes are unfamiliar with the nursing home regulations, we are automatically inclined to believe everything told to us by a nursing home."

Full Article and Source:
Stanley Puts Her Stamp on Nursing Home Bill

Miami Artist Purvis Young Dies at 67

He was one of South Florida's most storied artists, a man who transformed a troubled life with brush strokes, painting the joys and sorrows of his people on objects discarded in his Overtown neighborhood -- a copious body of work that brought Purvis Young international recognition.

Yet Young, who died at Jackson Memorial Hospital after a long battle with diabetes, was penniless and friends were raising money to bury him.

He was 67.

Full Article and Source:
Miami Artist Purvis Young Dies at 67

'The Danny Tate Story'

Source:
YouTube: Changing Lives Feat.'The Danny Tate Story'

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Facebook: Friends For Danny Tate's Defense

Activist Calls for Probe of PA Judicial Conduct Board

A self-styled citizen activist is pushing prosecutors to probe the state Judicial Conduct Board for obstruction of justice in its handling of misconduct allegations against former Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Conahan.

Gene Stilp urged the U.S. Attorney's Office and the state Attorney General's Office to launch separate investigations into the deliberations and decision making that led the conduct board to ignore allegations Conahan engaged in nepotism, cronyism and case-fixing.

"If the federal investigators found corrupt judges in Luzerne County, why would it be any surprise to find corrupt judges on the Judicial Conduct Board?" Stilp said. "The Judicial Conduct Board cannot investigate itself, and the actions of the Judicial Conduct Board have obstruction of justice written all over it."

Stilp, a Wilkes-Barre native living in Harrisburg, filed the state Supreme Court case overturning the 2005 legislative pay raise that sparked public outrage. He was the original complainant in the so-called "Bonusgate" scandal that has led to charges against nearly two dozen people in state government. Many might recognize him from the times he brings a giant inflatable pig with him to protest government abuse and waste.

Full Article and Source:
Story from Citizens Voice: Activist Calls for Probe of Judicial Conduct Board

Lindsay Lohan Headed for Britney Spears Style Conservatorship?

The father of Lindsay Lohan wants a Britney Spears-style conservatorship hold over his daughter, he told a US radio show.

Michael Lohan appeared on the Kidd Kraddick show where he confirmed to the host he was meeting with his lawyer to ask a sentencing judge to force Lindsay into a rehabilitation centre or give him control over his daughter's finances and many of her decisions.

Full Article and Source:
Michael Lohan Seeks Conservatorship Hold Over Lindsay

Nebraska: Panel Named to Probe State Guardian System

Judges, attorneys, investigators and accountants will probe what changes need to be made to the state's guardian and conservator system in the wake of a World-Herald series and an Omaha police investigation that revealed shoddy oversight of the health and wealth of wards.

Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Heavican appointed 14 people to a committee to examine -- and suggest changes to shore up -- the state's guardian and conservator system, after the investigation revealed hundreds of thousands of dollars missing from wards' estates.

Under state law, guardians are charged with overseeing health care for incapacitated people; conservators are charged with overseeing their finances.

Among the issues, The World-Herald found that judges and court staff failed to: check conservators' accountings and question inflated numbers and cryptic entries; require conservators to post bonds that could have insured the estates against thefts; scrutinize care decisions of guardians; and spot-check bank records of conservators.

In turn, at least eight wards, most of them in Douglas County, have lost more than $400,000.

Full Article and Source:
Panel Named to Probe State Guardian System

See Also:
Guardian Ignored Woman's Last Wish

Legalized Elder Abuse - Guardianships and Conservatorships

The American legal system has established “guardianships” for the specific purpose of protecting vulnerable individuals–called “wards”–when a judge or judicial officer determines that the ward’s decisionmaking capability is so impaired that another person–the “guardian”—needs to be given the right to make these decisions. A guardianship is particularly appropriate for wards who are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia, as well as advanced alcoholism and similar afflictions that render the person unable to care for his or her health and other needs. A “conservatorship,” twin to the guardianship, is set up to conserve the ward’s assets; the conservator acts as a custodian.

The legal obligations of the guardian and conservator. As defined above, these legal vehicles seem completely sensible and necessary. After all, people who are so incapacitated that their decisionmaking is unreliable obviously need professional assistance; left unprotected, their health and wealth are at risk. The law considers the connection between the guardian (or conservator) and the ward to be “fiduciary” in nature, a legal relationship of confidence or trust between two or more parties. Indeed, for legal purposes, a “fiduciary” duty requires the highest possible standard of care. It recognizes that the ward needs to have utmost confidence, reliance and trust in the guardian or conservator, whose aid or protection is essential. The fiduciary, therefore, is required to act at all times for the sole benefit and interests of the ward, with absolute loyalty to those interests.

The reality of guardianships and conservatorships. Unfortunately, vulnerable individuals are easy targets for the unscrupulous. Equally unfortunate is the fact that the legal system, having established these processes, frequently fails to supervise how they actually work.

Full Article and Source:
Legalized Elder Abuse - Guardianships and Conservatorships

Kim Rothstein Vacates 'Palace'

Kim Rothstein has left the building.

Well, almost.

​Rothstein attorney Scott Saidel told me that the bride of the Ponzi schemer has moved everything out of their palatial estate off Las Olas Boulevard. He said she is living with family and friends now, though she might spend one night a week in what she described a few months ago as a "tomb."

"It's empty, it's a shell, and it's depressing," Saidel said of the former Casa de Rothstein. "She's almost completely out of the house."

Kim's life has been further complicated, Saidel said, by the bankruptcy court's dogging of her for all of the marvelous things she bought on Broward's big swindler's dime since 2006.

Full Article and Source:
Kim Rothstein Packed Out of Palace, Hounded For Shoes