The time has come for 79-year-old Louise Olenik to say goodbye to the home where she hoped to live until she died.Her dearest possessions must go too.
Nearly broke after a niece stole $107,000 from her, Olenik is trying to raise money to sustain the round-the-clock nursing care she requires. She recently found a buyer for her 22 Sondra Drive home in Larksville and now everything in it has a price tag attached for an estate sale this weekend.
"I had to leave everything in Larksville," Olenik said Friday at the Harveys Lake home. "Losing everything is just too much. I lost my home. I lost my husband. I lost everything."
Olenik says her husband Edward's health deteriorated after the family betrayal was discovered in April 2010 and he mentioned it with his last words when he died on Dec. 7, 2010. He wanted to know if police "got Marisa" yet, referring to Olenik's niece Marisa Harlen, 30, of Kingston.
Investigators say Harlen swindled $107,429.02 from Olenik after being granted power of attorney in February 2008. Rather than use the cash to care for her aunt, Harlen lavishly spent on herself with shopping sprees, expensive dinners and repeated trips to casinos, police said.
Harlen, who has blamed the theft on a gambling addiction, is scheduled to plead guilty on Monday in front of Luzerne County Judge Tina Polachek Gartley.
Olenik said Harlen has consistently delayed the process, has not repaid a penny, and hasn't shown any remorse.
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A Life for Sale
Very sad. Yes, her life is for sale. And unfortunately, she'll end up in a guardianship too.
ReplyDeleteVery sad, I will pray for her.
ReplyDeleteThe State must pass Immediate Laws that will protect our Elders from horendous thefts that cause the elder to lose their Home, Life savings, Home Medical Care, and all their worldly possessions that hold sentimental and financial value.
ReplyDeleteNo elder should be forced to sell their home and all their worldly possessions because they are the VICTIMS of a horiffic crime.
WHY SHOULD THE ELDERS PAY FOR A CRIME THAT DEVASTATED THEIR LIVES CAUSING THEM TO LOSE EVERTHING ?
THEY'RE TOO OLD TO GO BACK TO WORK AND START ALL OVER AGAIN...LESS WE NOT FORGET, OUR ELDERS HAVE ALREADY PAID MANY YEARS INTO THE SYSTEM, THEY HAVE FULFILLED THEIR OBLIGATION AND REPONSIBILITY TO THE GOVERNMENT.
WE NEED TO GIVE BACK WHAT WAS STOLEN FROM THEM BECAUSE IT'S THE LEGAL AND RIGHT THING TO DO !
It is the Courts job to make these predators work and pay back every dime they stole from the elderly victims.
Instead of the courts putting the predators in jail full time , the courts should Force the predators to work at a job 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, when it's time to go home, the convicted predators go back to their cell until EVERY DIME is paid back to the Elder.
After the predator have served their time in prison, they need to do public service for the elderly and disabled, whether it be in a court room setting, advocating the rights of our most vulnerable citizens or assisting with the needs of helpless children, disabled and elderly.
May very possibly give the predators a New Sense of Worth and Value to their fellow human being.
The State needs to step in and help Louise Olenik save her home and her possessions And, help her with the daily medical care she needs, instead of forcing her in an institution.
Through no fault of Louise Olenik because she was Another Elderly Victim of Exploitation by a predator, she will become indigent putting another burden on Medicaid, while the predators get away with their crimes as they line their pockets with blood money from the helpless.
The State needs to rescue Louise Olenik, she has lost and suffered
too much...