'Twas the Fright Before Christmas

'Twas the fright before Christmas and in Just-Us house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a louse.

The stockings were hung by the railing with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

The grabbers were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of dollar signs danced in their heads.

When out on the street there arose such a clatter,
I sprang to attention to see what was the matter.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Into the court came St. Nick with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
But his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

He had just come from the Chambers of Hell
where there and the bench there was such a smell!

A bundle of bucks he had flung on his back,
And he looked mad as a bear about to attack.

His eyes didn't twinkle! He started to shake!
His cheeks were drawn in, like he'd just seen a snake!

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
Tore down all the stockings; then turned with a jerk.

Shaking his finger at the crew at the bench,
So angry you could see his fist started to clench -

To the judge and the clerk, and the Incest Crew,
He said, "Get out! You're all through!
You're going to a place that's better for you!"

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the shot of a pistol.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to Mary, and to all a good-night -
Except the schemers and scammers from Hell -
They shall all rot in a cell!"

And the bag of bucks was left behind, for Mary!
My Christmas wish for her.

~Anonymous NASGA Member

'A Crack in the Mantra of the Professional Court-Appointed Guardian Crowd' and Merry Christmas

Effect of the Barry case

The Sykes case has become for the two guardian ad litem and the attorney for the plenary guardian a professional nightmare, assuming that the professional standards in Illinois apply to them to the same extent that they apply to other lawyers. In August 2009 the now plenary guardian, who at that time was an accused abuser of the alleged disabled person admitted that Sykes’ treating doctor refused to sign a certificate of incompetency. Judge Connors is reported in the transcript of proceedings to have suggested that a more co-operative doctor be found. Thus, it is of record that like the situation in Barry the ‘red flags’ indicating that a person who had civil rights was on the verge of being deprived of at least some of her civil rights in less than an appropriate manner.

Three attorneys lead the way. The record reveals that the Sodini notices (jurisdictional) were ignored, and many steps were taken to prevent inquiry and transparency. JoAnn Denison was disqualified without a proper legal basis, and under color of statute, but lacking in jurisdiction an overt attempt was made to intimidate me and stop my inquiry into just how Mary Sykes was declared incompetent and what happened to her very valuable estate.

All of the foregoing is water under the dam and will be addressed in subsequent litigation. The Barry case however brings up the issue of professionalism. Mr. Barry, an attorney, in a glib maneuver to advance the interests of a client over other family members orchestrated an individual’s declaration of incompetency. The facts of Barry are amazingly similar to that of Sykes. The ARDC found that Mr. Barry’s tactic was unprofessional and requested a year suspension of his license.

As was discussed previously the guardian ad litem, and the attorney for the plenary guardian have been overt in their efforts to first have Sykes ‘railroaded’ into a guardianship, and pornographic in their efforts to prevent inquiry. No reiteration is necessary – the ball is in the Court of the legal profession. If there is a double standard it will be quite evident. The lack of remediation by the plenary guardians and the attorney for the plenary guardian suggest that they believe that the Barry standard does not apply to them. The protestors are still under attack and the attempts to create transparency, terminate the elder abuse and financial exploitation of Mary Sykes is all still being thwarted. The younger daughter of Mary Sykes who has led the fight to free her mother is being wrongfully evicted from her home, her bank accounts have been wrongfully frozen, and law enforcement and society have been sitting on the sidelines watching what amounts to a ‘rape’ of our culture.

The ARDC in the Barry case pointed out that the miscreant attorney not only had a duty to make certain before he acted to deprive the victim of his civil rights that he had sound basis for action (Rule 137), but if he found he was wrong to attempt to correct his error. As he did not a harsh penalty was requested of be imposed by the Illinois Supreme Court. In making the offer of settlement that was rejected by the two guardian ad litem, it was my intention to call attention to the Barry case and to make a mechanism available to the two guardian ad litem and the attorney for the plenary guardian to save face and at the same time renew Mary Sykes and Gloria Sykes civil rights. While it would not be a no harm no foul situation, I was hoping that this Christmas a few lawyers could demonstrate good will. I was wrong and Gloria Sykes is facing a wrongful eviction, Mary Sykes continued isolation, segregation, abuse, and financial exploitation, and sans a double standard the attorneys professional ruin.

It is very sad that we never learn and the legal professional has to be perceived as predator rather than the ‘learned profession’ that it desires to portray itself. The Barry case is a crack in the mantra of the professional court appointed guardian crowd who are the subject of the ire of the victims of Court protected guardianship abuse and financial exploitation. The Sykes case demonstrates the extent of the infection and the arrogance of the disease. I’ve copied Mr. Stern, Ms. Farenga, and Mr. Schmiedel in this note making one more Christmas Appeal to use their offices to provide Mary Sykes, Gloria Sykes, and their friends, family and neighbors a Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all -

~Ken Ditkowsky
www.ditkowskylawoffice.com

Source:
Effect of the Barry Case

See Also:
NASGA Victims - Mary Sykes

Note:
Gloria Sykes is a NASGA Member

Jerry Elverman Trial: Guardian Sues Lawyer

Though she suffered from dementia and couldn't name the president or identify a stapler, Dorothy Phinney could still understand her own finances enough to know she wanted lawyer Jeffrey Elverman to help her handle them, Elverman's own attorney told a jury Monday.

Elverman, 52, a former partner at Quarles & Brady, faces charges he stole more than $370,000 from the elderly woman in 2003 and 2004 by getting her to sign checks to him. A 2009 lawsuit brought by Phinney's new guardian alleged Elverman's take was more than $600,000.

"This case is about Dorothy Phinney's ability to consent," defense counsel Daniel Drigot told jurors in an opening statement. "It's not about whether she was too generous or Mr. Elverman was too greedy."

Drigot said Phinney, 94, "had a particularly strong interest in managing her own finances," and that Elverman brought bills to her weekly to explain them and answer questions.

Drigot noted that a woman hired to help take care of Phinney on what became a daily basis earned about $200,000 for her services. Phinney has no immediate family.

That woman is expected to be a key witness for the state.

In 2008, Elverman's law license was suspended for nine months after he failed to report $230,000 on his state and federal income taxes, money he collected between 1999 and 2004 as a trustee for an account. The money should have been turned over to Quarles & Brady. He claimed he was unaware that his trustee fees should have gone to the firm, and said he forgot to pay taxes on the money until 2002.

Elverman, who now lists a Genoa City address, did pay the taxes before lawyer regulators contacted him, and he was not charged with state or federal tax violations.

He wasn't charged in the theft case until December 2010, after an extensive investigation by the state Department of Justice.

If convicted of theft, Elverman faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000. The trial continues before Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Conen.

The civil suit is still pending, and Elverman remains suspended from practicing law, according the State Bar of Wisconsin website.

Full Article and Source:
Theft Trial Begins Over Payments to Lawyer

See Also:
Guardian Sues Lawyer

Probate Sharks: Attorney's Laptop Confiscated in Open Court

Editor's note: Swirls from the Shark Tank...An attorney monitoring the Sykes case in Judge Stuart's courtroom, in the Probate Court of Cook County, had her laptop confiscated in open court by a bailiff. No reason was given for the confiscated laptop and the laptop was returned.
~Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com

Source:
ProbateSharks

See Also:
NASGA Victims - Mary Sykes


Note: Gloria Sykes is a NASGA member.

Houston Ripoffs of Disabled Vets Went Undetected for More Than a Decade

Sometimes when she watched her son standing outside his personal care home, Wylma Barnett thought the disabled ex-Marine looked homeless clad in his worn and raggedy clothes, though he had plenty of money in the bank.

The picture seemed wrong, she thought, for a man who had served his country and whose ample assets for the last 20 years were entrusted to a Houston attorney by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Instead, next month, Joe B. Phillips, 72, and his wife Dorothy, 71, are expected to stand trial for conspiracy to commit fraud and theft in a Houston federal court. They are accused of embezzling more than $2 million from at least 28 disabled veterans, including Barnett's son, and allegedly carrying out the biggest rip-off ever uncovered in a VA program responsible for about $3.1 billion in disabled veterans' assets nationwide.

But according to court records reviewed by the Houston Chronicle and interviews with those who investigated the thefts, local veterans lost even more money and the fraud persisted longer than authorities initially reported. Evidence of possible exploitation in Phillips' own public accountings and actions were overlooked for years.

"All they would have had to do was ask," Barnett said, referring to the government's lack of scrutiny. "Ask anybody who had been assigned to Phillips."

More than two dozen veterans and insurance companies have since filed civil lawsuits against Joe Phillips, who continues to practice law four years after a VA auditor first found evidence of embezzlement.

A VA audit first found problems with Phillips' accounts in late 2007.

Bernard Hebinck, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and attorney who also serves as a VA fiduciary in Houston, said it was the first formal audit by the VA of fiduciary records in this area in about a decade. He and his partner, Kevin Alter, subsequently sued Phillips on behalf of 20 veterans and obtained 18 settlements so far.

Full Article and Source:
Houston Ripoffs of Disabled Vets Went Undetected for More Than a Decade

Ex-Milwaukee Lawyer Convicted of Stealing From Woman With Dementia

A former Milwaukee lawyer has been found guilty of stealing over $370,000 from a 94-year-old woman with dementia.

A Milwaukee County jury convicted Jeffrey Elverman Thursday of felony theft. He’s expected to be sentenced next month.

The 52-year-old Elverman had power-of-attorney privileges for the woman. He did not testify at his trial, but his attorney said the client intended to pay Elverman the money in 2003 and ’04.

The large payments were not discovered until 2008, after a judge appointed a new guardian for the woman.

That guardian then filed a civil suit against Elverman for $600,000. The civil case is still pending.

Full Article and Source:
Ex-Milwaukee Lawyer Convicted of Stealing From Woman With Dementia

Retired NYC School Teacher Fights for Her Freedom

Ella Card had it made in America. After emigrating to the United States from her native Belize, she earned a masters degree and taught third grade in the New York City Public School system for three decades.

She and her late husband Raymond, who died as a result of taking the recalled painkiller Vioxx, had saved and invested their money wisely, so Card was looking forward to a comfortable retirement.

But her well-laid plans took a terrible detour when she suffered temporary dementia after being struck by a car in 2010. Her two sons, whom she says lost their jobs as corrections officers due to drug abuse, petitioned the Brooklyn Supreme Court for guardianship over her affairs.

And after recovering from her injuries, the 73-year-old widow -- a naturalized U.S. citizen who retains dual citizenship in Belize -- finds herself in an ongoing guardianship nightmare that has now gone international.

On March 16, Brooklyn Judge Betsy Barros held one of five ex parte hearings on Card, appointing a temporary guardian. On April 26, Barros ignored Card's durable power of attorney, irrevocable trust, and two quit claim deeds and read the still-very-much-alive woman's will in open court before declaring her "incapacitated."

"It felt like a hanging. I was the only one sticking up for my mother," Card's 43-year-old daughter Cindy told us. "Every one of them standing there and allowing it knew my mother was not incapacitated."

Card was then placed under the near total control of a court-appointed guardian, The Vera Institute of Justice, located in the same Brooklyn courthouse. The Vera Institute of Justice's website describes it as "an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit center for justice policy and practice." According to IRS records, $16.7 million of its $24 million annual funding comes from government grants.

Card told The Washington Examiner that The Vera Institute of Justice promptly froze all of her assets (valued at approximately $1 million), including her teachers' pension, began collecting rent on the property she owned, and forced her to live in her own home without heat, hot water or access to her own money.

Card petitioned the court to remove the guardianship. Her petition was denied.

Full Article and Source:
Retired NYC School Teacher Fights for her Freedom

New Charges Filed Against Attorney Russell Takasugi

The 57-year-old son of Nao Takasugi — a late assemblyman and Oxnard mayor — will remain in jail pending sentencing early next year for embezzling from an estate and will probably get five years in prison, according to prosecutors.

But new charges involving the theft of money from another estate that were made public Wednesday mean Simi Valley attorney Russell Takasugi could get an additional five years or more, prosecutor Marc Leventhal said in an interview Thursday.

After learning there was an warrant for his arrest Wednesday, Takasugi turned himself in to authorities. He later discovered the district attorney had filed seven new felony charges, including grand theft, money laundering and multiple counts of forgery.

In October, Takasugi pleaded no contest to embezzling more than $500,000 from the estate of Oscar Muro. Muro died in August 2007 from pancreatic cancer at age 71. Takasugi has argued that he loaned himself money from Muro's estate.

Bank records filed in probate court show Takasugi spent lavishly on family members and at restaurants and stores, took vacations and bought a BMW.

Prosecutors have been looking at the latest charges since the Muro case was filed and have been compiling evidence since that time, Leventhal said, "and now is the time to proceed on those charges."

Takasugi faces up to 14 years in jail if convicted of the new charges.

Full Article and Source:
Simi Attorney Could Face Five More Years in New Estate Theft Case

90-Year-Old Woman Dies Before Facing Eviction From Her Home After Being Bilked Out of $260K

When she got the letter in the mail the summer of 2008, 90-year-old Queen E. Hersh of Emmaus did not understand what it meant, so she went to her neighbors.

Hersh handed the bank letter to her neighbors, who asked their son-in-law for help. Louis Ciocco, the son-in-law, told Hersh she might lose her home of more than 50 years.

"I think we have a problem here," Ciocco testified he told Hersh after reading the foreclosure notice.

The first day of testimony at a preliminary hearing for the three people accused of stealing almost everything from Hersh, including her longtime home in Emmaus and a vacation home in the Poconos, focused on Penelope Veronikis, who authorities say masterminded the alleged thefts.

Hersh would die months after learning she had been taken for more than $260,000, authorities say, adding that the "despair and devastation" she felt may have contributed to her deteriorating health and, possibly, her death.

Full Article and Source:
Three Face Charges in Bilking Emmaus Woman Out of $260,000

Lawyer's License Suspended After 3 Clients File Complaints

A local attorney recently had his license suspended after three complaints were filed by his clients alleging that he didn’t adequately complete his legal responsibilities and that he paid himself excessive or inappropriate legal fees.

Clifford Fritzell III practiced family law in Madison until September when his license was suspended, barring him from practicing law, receiving money from clients and acquiring any new clients.

According to Statewide Grievance Committee documents obtained by the Register, the grievance panel determined that in each of the three complaints against Fritzell, probable cause exists to believe that Fritzell is guilty of misconduct.

The panel issued its first finding on July 12, regarding a complaint filed by New Haven resident Joan Richitelli.

According to the documents, Fritzell was appointed by the Probate Court as a conservator for Richitelli’s aunt, who died in 2010. The complaint alleges that Fritzell, who was hired to help probate Richitelli’s aunt’s estate, did nothing but pay normal bills and due to his inactivity, Richitelli terminated his representation.

The complaint also alleges that Fritzell then submitted a $77,393 bill for legal services, despite being a conservator for only a month. According to the document, Fritzell then told Richitelli’s new attorney that he didn’t have all of the estate’s money and he wanted to make monthly payments. He paid additional money, but he stopped payment on a final check for $10,000. Richitelli’s aunt’s estate was owed $10,953 as of July 12, the complaint said.

The panel found that Fritzell’s legal fee was excessive and he did not properly hold and safeguard Richitelli’s aunt’s money, among other things.

Full Article and Source:
Madison Lawyer Has His License Suspended After 3 Clients File Complaints

Testimony in Disabled Adults Locked in Cellar Case

A mentally disabled man said he had nowhere else to go in 2001 when he and his high school sweetheart moved in with a paroled killer - who had starved a man to death in her closet.

A decade later, Edwin Sanabria, 31, and Tamara Breeden, 29, were found emaciated and sporting dozens of scars between them, according to photographs shown in court on Monday. Breeden bears most of them, with scars, welts and bruises marking most of her body, especially her scalp, along with her cauliflower ears.

Spectators gasped Monday when grim hospital photographs of the couple and two other victims were shown in court at the preliminary hearing of Linda Ann Weston, the convicted killer who's accused of kidnapping disabled adults in a widespread fraud and abuse scheme.

Full Article and Source:
Disabled Adults Locked in Cellar: Edwin Sanabria Testifies About Philly Captors

Court Deal Reached in Managing Etta James' Estate

The husband and sons of terminally ill "At Last" and "Tell Mama" blues singer Etta James have reached a deal on managing her $1 million estate and medical care.

Her adult sons Donto and Sametto had challenged the decisions of their stepfather Artis Mills, who married the singer in 1969 and is the estate's conservator.

Donto James asked a Riverside County judge to appoint him temporary conservator. But The Riverside Press-Enterprise says Monday's agreement keeps Mills in place as conservator.

At issue was the amount of money available to Mills for the expenses and care of the singer. He wanted $500,000, while the sons wanted it capped at $100,000.
The judge set it at $350,000.

Full Article and Source:
Court Deal Reached on Managing Etta James' Estate

See Also:
Etta James Conservatorship

Two Year Battle in Florida Collier Circuit Court in Fred Alander Case

Known as "Uncle Fred" to diners at Spanky's Speakeasy, Fred Alander was near death in 2009 when his children asked for an emergency order to get him away from his wife of more than 35 years.

What's ensued in the two years since is a battle in Collier Circuit Court pitting four children, a daughter-in-law and a stepmother, leading to a recent ruling in one case.

At the center of it all is Alander, an 80-year-old Naples restaurateur who suffers from dementia and was rushed to a hospital in September 2009, suffering from malnutrition, high blood pressure and diabetes. Wounds and sores covered his body, even penetrating to the bone.

His four children contend in court papers that his wife, Jane, locked him out of his Oyster Bay home in 2006, moved him to a house behind their Airport-Pulling Road restaurant, Spanky's Speakeasy, and made "unqualified cleaning ladies, bar maids and alcoholic waiters" his caregivers so she could save money.

Attorneys for Jane Alander, his wife of 30 years, say those are false allegations and that his children were absent for years and "seldom assisted" her. They maintain in court papers that it's the children who have neglected their father, stating:

"Jane has always been and continues to be a loving and devoted wife to Fred.

"It is Fred's children who are wrongfully attempting to take advantage of his decreased capacity for financial gain."

The lawyers also note that the couple accumulated "significant wealth" over 35 years together and he legally designated her as his guardian in old age a decade ago.

The allegations are detailed in thousands of pages of Collier Circuit Court, domestic violence and guardianship files.

Alander's legal battle illustrates the often-contentious nature of family guardianship cases, which can pit children against parents and spouses as they trade accusations over finances and the care of someone who is elderly, disabled or mentally incapacitated.

Full Article and Source:
Courtcase Becomes Anythng but Easy for Spanky's Speakeasy Owners, Family, Workers

Etta James Conservatorship

“At Last” and “Tell Mama” blues singer Etta James, whose health has been fading in recent years, is now terminally ill, and her live-in doctor is asking for prayers.

Elaine James says she’s spreading word of the singer’s ailments so people will pray for her. She says fans know Etta James has been sick “but not how sick.”

Court records in the singer’s probate case show she also suffers from dementia and kidney failure.

Elaine James made her comments outside a Riverside conservatorship hearing over the singer’s $1 million estate. The singer’s son, Donto James, wants a conservator rather than the singer’s husband, Artis Mills.

Full Article and Source:
Doctor: Blues Singer Etta James Terminally Ill

Vermont Legal Aid and Disability Rights Vermont File Suit Against APS

The state is not doing enough to protect vulnerable adults from abuse-- that's the allegation in a lawsuit filed Wednesday by Vermont Legal Aid and Disability Rights Vermont.

The advocates first raised this issue a year ago. They say Adult Protective Services has failed to respond in a timely manner to abuse allegations and is carrying a backlog of more than 300 cases.

Among the specific shortcomings-- a lack of emergency coverage on nights and weekends, and a case load for investigators that is twice the national standard. "Vulnerable adults are people incapable of protecting themselves from the nephew who steals the Social Security check or the caregiver who leaves the woman with physical and cognitive limitations sitting in her feces," said Barbara Prine of the Disability Law Project.

State officials did not respond to our requests for an interview. Back in June, they said they had put in place new procedures to help improve response time and eliminate the backlog. But they say a lack of funding limits what the agency can do.

The advocates for the elderly and disabled say Vermont should have a system in place for Adult Protective Services that functions at the same speed as Child Protective Services.

Source:
Advocates Sue Over Backlog of VT Elder Abuse Probes

Disabled Man Suffers Severe Burns at Group Home

A disabled man was critically burned while left in the shower at a care facility. Now police are investigating, and his guardian wants answers.

Twenty-two-year-old Donzell Harden suffered third-degree burns on the lower half of his body at a Bellevue group home. He's now in the Nebraska Medical Center's burn unit.

Harden's guardian, Sherry Becker, has some tough decisions to make. But, Becker said, Harden shouldn't be suffering. She said it could have been prevented.

Born prematurely, Harden has been disabled his entire life. He's blind, doesn't walk or talk and is unable to use his arms.

On Friday, paramedics rushed Harden to a hospital with severe burns. Police said a staff member left him alone in the shower while she helped a coworker on a computer.

"He was being scalded. He couldn't do anything. He can't move. He can't even cover himself," Becker said.

The owner of Hands of Heartland, Courtney Kline-Hays, said, "This is an isolated incident. There is one person involved. We are conducting our own internal investigation."

"Human error happens. We have put in safety measures to make sure this doesn't happen again," Kline-Hays said.

Full Article, Video, and Source:
Disabled Man Suffers Burns at Group Home

Photographer Charged Over L'Oreal Heiress

A French court has charged a celebrity photographer with abusing his relationship with aged L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt after he was named a beneficiary in her will.

Photographer Francois-Marie Banier and his partner Martin d'Orgeval were charged in the city of Bordeaux on Wednesday and released on bail, their lawyers said.

The two denied the charge and said any financial benefits they obtained from their relationship with Bettencourt were given of her own free will, the lawyers, Pierre Cornut-Gentille and Jean-Alain Michel, said.

Advertisement: Story continues below Bettencourt, France's richest woman, was placed under the guardianship of family members in October amid reports her mental health at 89 is declining.

The guardianship ended a long legal battle over her vast fortune, estimated to be worth more than 16 billion euros ($A20 billion).

The family, including estranged daughter Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers, had long accused Banier of taking advantage of the heiress.

Banier was named a beneficiary in Bettencourt's will drawn up in December 2007. But Bettencourt broke with Banier earlier this year, cutting him out of her will and depriving him of an estimated 1.25 billion euros.

Full Article and Source:
Photographer Charged Over L'Oreal Heiress

See Also:
L'Oreal Heiress Guardianized!

Former Jasper County MO Administrator Rita Hunter Indicted for Fraud Scheme!

A former Jasper County Administrator is being indicted on a 200,000 fraud scheme.

A federal grand jury in Springfield accuses 59-year-old Rita Hunter of illegally obtaining federal medicaid and social security benefits and using them to subsidize the administration of her office.

The indictment includes two counts of health care fraud, two counts theft of public money, two counts social security and medicaid fraud, and four counts of document fraud.

The indictment alleges that hunter directed her employees to submit false medicaid applications for mentally disabled wards of the state.

According to the indictment, the applications said the individuals had assets below the $1,000 threshold, which is false.

Medicaid and social security benefits were allegedly then funnelled through the public administrators office.

Approximately $121,000 of the $200,000 200 was said to be used for administration fees, attorney fees, tax fees and court fees not related to the ward's medical care.

Hunter was the Jasper County Public Administrator from 2005 to 2008.

Full Article and Source:
Former Jasper County MO Administrator Indicted

Millionaire's Children Battle for Estate, Vs. Ex-Neighbor, Lawyer

A successful multimillionaire in life, Frank Blumeyer of Naples knew where every penny of his fortune would go after his death.

He set up partnerships and trusts, using profits from his 30 years as an insurance company owner and his later business, Storage Inns of America, to provide for nine children, 22 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Now, nearly a year after the 92-year-old patriarch was buried, his children are battling his former neighbors over his estate in courtrooms from Collier County to St. Louis.

The tangled web of litigation and love is like a made-for-TV movie.

There’s a suspended lawyer who has been in trouble with courts and state bar associations; a now-defunct escort service the lawyer operated with his current wife before his prior wife died of cancer; naked photos of his current wife found on Blumeyer’s computer; and allegations of elder financial fraud.

Eight of Blumeyer’s children allege his former Gordon Drive neighbors — suspended Naples attorney Allen Brufsky, 72, and his wife — used their father as a bank, siphoning more than a million dollars, while turning him against them.

In complaints to the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), Collier Circuit Court and The Florida Bar, they allege the Brufskys seduced their father, allowing him to take naked photos of Marcia Brufsky, 64, and have an affair so they could use his money. Emails show Brufsky even offered to sell his wife for $675,000.

Full Article and Source:
Love and War in Port Royal: Millionaire’s Children Battle for Estate vs. Ex-neighbor, Lawyer

Forbes Questions Britney's Conservatorship

As the word spreads of Britney Spears’ conservatorship and the lawsuit involving it from Brand Sense, more & more media outlets are questioning it’s status. The question here being: If Britney can endure a months-long tour, release albums, meet fans, promote her brand, & give interviews.. why is she not “competent” to testify in a case involving HER brand? She is the beneficiary of Britney Spears Inc after all.

But here’s the catch, Jamie Spears (conservator) is in control of her finances. Brand Sense claims that in early 2010, the company was cut off from their 35% commission. This would place the blame solely on Jamie Spears, as Britney has had no control over her finances since early 2008.

Why then are they asking Britney to be deposed? Perhaps they want more answers questioned than we think.

Forbes asks: Is Britney Spears Hiding Behind Her Conservatorship?

Source:
Forbes Questions Britney's Conservatorship