An Investigation into Conservatorship Abuse

Applause and standing ovation to Walter Roche Jr., the Investigative Editor/Reporter at The Tennesean, for his hard work, efforts, and his excellent ongoing expose of Davidson County Probate Court.

Victims of unlawful and abusive conservatorships who have suffered and been "protected" into indigence and silenced by an uncaring system, are being heard thanks to the sunshine of the media and the dedication of Mr. Roche and The Tennessean.

NASGA hopes Mr. Roche will receive many awards for his excellent and stellar series!


Judge Randy Kennedy - Davidson County's only probate judge.

Source:
An Investigation into Conservatorship Abuse

Millions of Administrative Expenses in Peter Karoly Will Dispute

In the end, lawyers could end up with most of the money in the bitterly contested estates of Allentown medical malpractice attorney Peter Karoly and his wife, Dr. Lauren Angstadt.

During six years of legal limbo, the estates have racked up $3.74 million in administrative and other costs, leaving roughly $3 million remaining in the late couple's legacy, according to Philip Lauer, an attorney for two of the beneficiaries.

And those expenses don't even count the legal bills that the beneficiaries incurred to hire Lauer and others for a bruising civil court fight over Karoly's and Angstadt's wills.

"Does it seem like a lot of money? Yes," Lauer acknowledged. The estates, he said, "have been reduced in value at a pretty phenomenal rate on an annual basis."

An attorney on the losing side of the disputed wills put it more bluntly.

"Oh my God, I'm just blown away," Richard Angino said. "In a case where individuals have the responsibility of liquidating the assets of the estate, the purpose isn't to liquidate those assets into your pocket."

When Karoly and Angstadt were killed in 2007 in a private plane crash in Massachusetts, they left behind a tangled financial web that included a law practice, a dental practice, real estate holdings and several medical businesses in South Carolina. Amid a contentious battle among relatives over their wealth, the court appointed retired Lehigh County Judge Thomas Wallitsch to administer Karoly's estate, and attorney Harry Newman to administer Angstadt's.

Full Article and Source:
In Karoly Will Dispute, Millions in Administrative Expenses

See also:
Wills John Karoly Filed for Brother's Estate are Held up in Court

Peter Karoly  Estate Now in Judge's Hands

Northhampton County Judge Upholds Karoly Will

Karoly Sisters Blast Findings in Multi-Million Dollar Will Dispute

Witness:  John Karoly Asked Me to Sign 'Fake Will'

Witness of Disputed Karoly Will Not Sure What He Signed

Witness:  John Caroly Made 'Ludicrois" Claims About Late Brother's Intentions

Federal Judge Jails Estate Lawyer Joseph Caramadre as Flight Risk

A Rhode Island estate planning lawyer's effort to revoke his guilty plea in a controversial $30 million elder insurance fraud case was a "bizarre" and unjustified "hatchet job" on Joseph Caramadre's former counsel, a federal judge said.

U.S. District Judge William Smith not only nixed Caramadre's bid for a new trial but agreed with prosecutors in the Providence case that he should immediately be jailed as a flight risk, pending his sentencing in July, report the Associated Press and the Providence Journal.

"It was amazing to watch a defendant perjure himself saying he perjured himself the first time," the judge said.

Caramadre and an employee were charged with defrauding dying individuals into allowing insurance investments to be made in their names.

They pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy shortly after their trial began in November.

Source:
Federal Judge Jails Estate Lawyer as Flight Risk, Nixes 'Bizzare' Effort to Revoke Plea

See Also:
Death Takes a Policy:  How a Lawyer Exploited the Fine Print and Found Himself Facing Federal Charges

Alabama Probate Judge Arthur Crawford to Fight Assault Charge

Hale County Probate Judge Arthur Crawford will fight a misdemeanor assault charge filed against him in April.

An employee who worked as a security guard with Crawford at Mercedes Benz U.S. International claims Crawford, 56, injured his shoulder when he hit him on Feb. 19, 2010.

 

Crawford said during a hearing in Tuscaloosa County District Court Wednesday that he is not guilty and plans to hire an attorney, He declined to comment further after the hearing.

 

Full Article and Source:
Hale County Probate Judge to Fight Assault Charge

Georgia Banker Accused of Financial Exploitation

Police say Wells Fargo personal banker is accused of stealing about $10,600 from an elderly customer's account.

Atlanta police spokeswoman Kim Jones says Daniel Araujo befriended a 90-year-old bank customer and asked her to sign what she thought was a transfer slip from her checking to savings account.

Jones says the form was actually a withdrawal slip.

The bank says it's cooperating with police and the customer won't suffer any loss.

Full Article and Source:
Atlanta Bank Employee Accused Theft, Financial Exploitation of an Elderly Person

Former KY Attorney, Donald A. "Champ" Maze, Disbarred Over Vote Buying

A former county attorney from northeast Kentucky was disbarred Thursday for paying voters to cast ballots for him in a 2006 election and then lying about it to a grand jury.

 

The Kentucky Supreme Court found that one-time Bath County Attorney Donald A. "Champ" Maze's conduct proved so egregious, he should be permanently banned from practicing law, even though he had no prior disciplinary record.

 

Chief Justice John D. Minton, writing for the court's majority, said Maze abused a position of power and trust by using his office to corrupt both the voting process and the judicial system.

 

"Any layperson should know better, and so much more should a lawyer with over 20 years of experience, 12 of which included prosecuting criminals as the County Attorney," Minton wrote.

Full Article and Story:
Former County Attorney Disbarred Over Vote Buying

New Mexico District Judge William Brogan Resigns Following Allegations of Misconduct

A New Mexico judge has agreed to resign and never be a judge again, following allegations of misconduct.

District Judge William Brogan of Alamogordo is accused of repeatedly failing to follow the rules for criminal cases in the last two years.

The judicial standards commission said brogan required guidance from staff and attorneys because of his lack of understanding of courtroom procedures.

The commission had begun disciplinary proceedings against brogan, when he agreed to resign.

The state Supreme Court agreed with the agreement.

Source:
Judge Resigns After Alleged Misconduct

Nursing Home Investigation: TX Families Fighting Back

Black eyes, bruises and a busted lip are not what most of us associate with a nursing home. When one North Texas family suspected abuse, they did not turn to regulators but technology.

Statistics show about one in three homes nationwide have been cited for abuse. FOX4 found
more and more families fed up with the system, are fighting back with their own secret weapon.

At 98 years old, [Minnie] Graham was a cherished woman.

Graham was adored by a large extended family and granddaughters who could not stand by when they started noticing bruises.

"She kept telling us people were hitting her," said Teri Hardin, another granddaughter.

Her granddaughters say the Winters Park Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Garland told them Graham fell out of her wheelchair. They didn't buy it so they installed a hidden camera in her room.
Brenna Tiller is the hospice worker who was assigned to Graham. The video shows Tiller pulling Graham up by the arm. Graham later falls back onto the bed and cries out.

"Somebody help me," you can hear Graham say on the tape.

When Graham begins slapping at Tiller, Tiller slaps her more than once.

"When my grandmother is screaming in pain, it is completely disregarded," said Teri Hardin.

Tiller uses language we cannot print. She calls Graham ugly and retarded. She mocks her. She also sticks out her tongue at Graham, sprays water in her face as she brushes her hair and puts a towel in her mouth she just used on Graham's body.

"I just don't know how people can be so heartless and careless," said Ballard. "Clearly it hurt when they pulled on her arm. Clearly it hurts when you yank someone by the hair on their head."

Full Article, Video, and Source:
Nursing Home Investigation: Families Fight Back

Stealing From Elderly Patient Leads to NJ Woman's Probation Sentence

A Wayne woman who pleaded guilty to 11 counts of theft by deception after authorities said she stole money from an elderly person she was caring for was sentenced to three years of probation and a suspended sentence of 364 days in the Morris County Correctional Facility, Acting Morris County Prosecutor Fredric Knapp said.

Linda Stimmel-Keay, 47, was working as a home health care aid for an elderly person when she stole more than $285,000 from three separate bank accounts under the patient's name, Knapp said. A total of $90,835.93 was stolen from the patient's Ameriprise Financial account; $131,400.82 stolen from E-Trade and $62,994.58 stolen from Lakeland Bank Checking, as discovered by an audit conducted by the Morris County Prosecutor's Office Fraud Unit.

Stimmel-Keay pleaded guilty to the charges on April 16 and paid $201,226.66 in restitution to the victim just prior.

In addition to the probation sentence, the Hon. Stuart Minkowitz sentenced Stimmel-Keay to ten days of the Sheriff's Labor Assistance Program; 120 hours of community service; additional restitution to Ameriprise Financial in the amount of $63,595.54 and for her to surrender her nurse aide's certification.

Full Article and Source:
Stealing From Elderly Patient Leads to Wayne Woman's Probation Sentence

Indiana Judicial Candidate Disciplined by Indiana Supreme Court

The Indiana Supreme Court, Indianapolis, has barred Tammy Davis, the Democratic candidate for judge of the Franklin Circuit Court last November, from seeking judicial office for five years and publicly reprimanded her, according to an order signed by Chief Justice Brent Dickson and filed May 7.

The court took the middle road in its discipline of the attorney.

Davis also is required to pay the proceeding’s costs, the order noted.

The document explained that the commission, a seven-member group that investigates possible ethical misconduct by judges and candidates for judicial office, filed a seven-count Notice of the Institution of Formal Proceedings and Statement of Charges alleging that Davis “made several false, misleading and/or inappropriate statements during her campaign about the character and conduct of the incumbent, Judge J. Steven Cox, in violation of the Indiana Code of Judicial Conduct.” Davis filed her legal answer Nov. 15, 2012.

Kathryn Dolan, Indiana Supreme Court public information officer, explained after the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications filed disciplinary charges against the Brookville woman Oct. 26, 2012, just 12 days before the election, “The court can dismiss the charges against Davis or it can impose sanctions ranging from a reprimand to a permanent ban on holding a judicial office in Indiana.”

Full Article and Source:
Local Judicial Candidate Disciplined by Indiana Supreme Court

Alabama AG Applauds the Protecting Alabama's Elder's Act

Attorney General Luther Strange applauded final legislative passage of the Protecting Alabama’s Elders Act. The bill extends and strengthens legal protections from financial exploitation and physical or emotional abuse for all people aged 60 and older.

“I am pleased that the Legislature has strengthened our state laws to provide special protections for all who are 60 years or older,” said Attorney General Strange. “Previously, such protection applied only if the victim was defined as physically or mentally impaired. Sadly, experience tells us that criminals repeatedly target older people as victims, and the law passed today is a strong weapon to combat this.”

The Attorney General’s Office was actively involved in leadership of the Interagency Council for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, which crafted the Protecting Alabama’s Elders Act. The Council was created by the Alabama Legislature to examine this problem and suggest solutions. Members include representatives of about 30 various law enforcement, judicial, legal, health and senior advocate agencies and other organizations.

Full Article and Source:
AG Luther Strange Applauds The Protecting Alabama's Elder's Act

Nashville Attorney John E. Clemmons Charged With Theft in Conservatorship Case

A Nashville attorney, whose license to practice law was recently suspended, has been charged with theft of more than $60,000 from a client.

John E. Clemmons, 65, was charged last week with theft from a retired teacher.

While serving as the conservator of the Rutherford County resident, Clemmons paid himself more than $50,000 in fees without court approval.

Paul Housch, Clemmons’ attorney, said his client already had entered a not guilty plea to the criminal charge. He declined to respond to the charge, stating that it would be addressed in court. An initial hearing is scheduled for June 7.

The charges were initially spelled out in an April order from the state Supreme Court which indefinitely suspended Clemmons’ license to practice law, concluding that allowing him to continue posed “a threat of substantial harm to the public.”

Chancellor Robert E. Corlew III on March 5 removed Clemmons as Russell Church’s conservator. Rutherford County Clerk and Master John A.W. Bratcher then referred the matter to District Attorney General Robert Whitesell, whose office brought the charges to a grand jury.

The indictment was unsealed last week.

Clemmons also is facing charges in a civil case brought by the daughter of a woman for whom Clemmons served as a conservator for more than four years. The suit charges that Clemmons misappropriated about $450,000 from the estate of Nannie P. Malone, who died last year.

The suit on behalf of Malone’s daughter, Teresa A. Lyle, charges that Clemmons breached his fiduciary duty and failed to properly account for thousands of dollars in proceeds when Malone’s property was auctioned. The insurance company that provided a bond for Clemmons under his services in the conservatorship has filed a cross claim against Clemmons for the value of the $300,000 bond.

Full Article and Source:
Nashville Attorney Faces Theft Charges in Conservatorship Case

See Also:
Tennessee Attorney John E. Clemmons, Court Appointed as Conservator, Sued for Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Conversion, and More

Alabama Social Worker Employee Charged With Abusing Her Physically and Mentally Handicapped Brother

A social service worker with the Alabama Department of Human Resources has been arrested after the elderly brother shecares for was found with laying in his own feces with multiple bed sores, according to the Mobile County Sheriff's Office.

Yolanda Thurman is accused of abusing her mentally handicapped, adult brother, said Lori Myles, public information officer for MCSO. She is facing one count of elderly abuse and neglect, a felony with a maximum sentence of 20 years.

Her brother was identified as Byrd Bunkley Jr., a mentally and physically handicapped adult who needs 24-hour care.

“The home was in such poor condition," said MCSO's Lt. Paul Burch. "Mr. Bunkley was laying in his own feces with bed sores all over his body. I do believe we saved his life.”

According to Myles, authorities were alerted to possible abuse after the victim's niece called Mobile County Emergency Medical Services following a visit to her uncle.

Full Article and Source:
Mobile County DHR Employee Charged With Abusing Her Physically and Mentally Handicapped Brother

Englewood Housing Authority Not Amused...

A drug and prostitution sting inside a senior citizen building: For outsiders, funny stuff.

But now that the notoriety has quieted, the no-joke subject of how to protect elderly residents from more such criminal elements was the focus of an un-smiling Housing Authority board Monday night.

And other than increased vigilance and talking more with tenants, there was no ready answer by the cash-strapped authority.

It was the board’s first meeting since being overwhelmed with media attention about the arrests of James Parham, 75 and Cheryl Chaney, 66 on drug and nuisance charges. Both lived in the Vincente K. Tibbs Senior Citizen Building, a 152-unit public complex managed by the authority.

The salacious story was picked up by media worldwide and became joke fodder for TV talk-show host David Letterman and Saturday Night Live.

Full Article and Source:
Englewood Housing Authority Not Amused; Says Protecting Seniors Top Priority

See Also:
Three Arrested in Drug, Prostitute Sting at New Jersey Senior Citizen Complex

VT Governor Peter Shumlin Expected to Sign Watered-Down Elder Abuse Bill

Gov. Peter Shumlin vetoed one bill last year. It was an innocuous-sounding piece of legislation that would have required the Agency of Human Services (AHS) to send monthly updates to the Legislature on how it screens and responds to reports of elder abuse.

Lawmakers gave it another go this session — both the House and Senate passed a similar bill — and this time around, Shumlin is unlikely to strike it down. That’s because lawmakers stripped a number of the more onerous reporting requirements in order to secure the administration’s support.

The bill deals with the Adult Protective Services (APS) division of the Department of Aging and Independent Living (DAIL). APS, which investigates reports of elder abuse, has been plagued with problems in recent years. Although DAIL dutifully chipped away at a backlog of hundreds of unaddressed cases,  advocates aren't confident that the department has gotten its act together.

Full Article and Source:
Shumlin Explected to Sign Watered-Down Elder Abuse Bill

Caught Off Guard

With his partner of 34 years in a nursing home, a court order preventing him from entering the facility and two weeks to get out of his house, Lon Watts sold his wedding ring to pay for gas to get to his mother’s place in Oklahoma.

Watts never expected to be in this position, because he always thought of himself as part of his partner Jim Heath’s family.

But after Heath was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, his sister stepped in and took guardianship from Watts, who is now unable to see or talk to Heath.

After the story of Heath and Watts recently made national news, Watts has renewed his fight to bring Heath home and launched a legal fund, but the fight could take years.

In 2006, Heath began to show signs of Alzheimer’s Disease. The next year, Watts retired to take care of his partner full-time.

Watts thought he had all the paperwork in place — wills naming each other beneficiaries, mutual powers-of-attorney.

As the Alzheimer’s progressed, Watts said Heath was comfortable in his surroundings and never wandered. But he kept bells on the doors just in case Heath decided to leave the house at night alone.

In 2011, Watts noticed large blisters on Heath’s foot. He noticed swelling elsewhere.

“He had love handles where he never had them before,” he said.

He called 911, but paramedics refused to take him to the hospital.

“I couldn’t get him to a doctor,” he said.

But when the blisters opened, he got him to the emergency room, tricking him to leave the house by telling him they were visiting a friend.

From there, Heath was transferred to Pittsburg Nursing Center.

That’s when things turned ugly.

Full Article and Source:
Caught Off Guard

See Also:
Lon Watts, Texas Gay Man, Says Partner Jim Heath's Sister Forced Them Apart, Evicted Him

California: CJP Adopts Rules Amendments Opposed by CJA

The Commission on Judicial Performance released amendments to its rules of procedure, including two proposals that were opposed by the California Judges Association.

The commission amended its rules 110 and 111 to incorporate existing practice that provides judges with limited disclosure of complaints. Judges are told in general terms what they are accused of, but do not get to see the actual complaints or learn the identities of the complainants at the investigative stage of the process.

The association’s proposal, made late last year, would have required the commission to provide judges with the names of witnesses and copies of investigative materials before the judge responds. But the commission, in an explanation attached to yesterday’s report, reiterated what it said when it rejected the proposal in January.

The commission said the proposed early discovery—current rules require that such disclosure be made only after formal proceeds are commenced—would have a chilling effect on complainants. It noted that the only state that allows such early discovery is Alabama, and that the number of complaints filed in that state dropped significantly after the rule was introduced a decade ago.

The commission acknowledged that a few states besides Alabama do provide accused judges with either the complaint or the identity of the complainant before the judge is required to respond to the charges. But none of those states provide the full discovery that CJA proposes, the commission said.

The commission also noted that it had received comments in support of the proposed rule from court employee unions and law professors who said the proposal would correctly balance judges’ rights against the need to protect whistleblowers. The CJP also cited Supreme Court rulings upholding its procedures as consistent with due process.

The commission also approved a new rule 111.4 adopting the standard for discipline based on legal error set forth in Oberholzer v. CJP(1999) 20 Cal.4th 371, which held that a judge could not be disciplined merely because the commission believes he erroneously interpreted the law. The standard permits discipline when legal error is accompanied by bad faith, abuse of authority, disregard for fundamental rights, intentional disregard of the law, or a purpose other than the faithful discharge of judicial duty—the so-called “Oberholzer plus factors.”

CJA argued in its comments that the amendment fails to make clear that a judge cannot be disciplined for pure legal error.

“Along with the increase in the number of advisory letters issued by the commission, there has been a corresponding increase in complaints from our membership that the commission is initiating staff inquiries and preliminary investigations, and issuing advisory letters for legal error alone,” CJA President Alan Hardcastle wrote to the commission.”

CJA proposed that the rule permit issuance of an advisory or “stinger” letter based on legal error only if there was “clear and convincing extrinsic evidence that the judge committed that act as a result of” one of the “plus factors.”

The CJP denied it had issued stinger letters under circumstances outside the Oberholzer standard and cited several cases in which judges were disciplined—appropriately, it said—for conduct that would fall outside the CJA’s parameters.

The CJP said in its decision:
At some point, a judge’s obliviousness to the consequences of the means to a given end may override, as a matter of law, a judge’s statement of subjective good intent.”

Full Article and Source:
CJP Adopts Rules Amendments Opposed by CJA

Senator Frankin Pushes Legislation to Protect Minnesota Seniors From Elder Abuse

U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) reintroduced a bill to guarantee Minnesota seniors basic rights and protections from abuse and neglect as they receive long-term services and support in their homes and communities.

Sen. Franken will push to get this bill included in the Older Americans Act when it comes up for reauthorization in this Congress, which is expected as early as this Thursday.

"Seniors from Moorhead to Winona have told me that remaining independent and at home is a top priority for them and their families," said Sen. Franken. "We work to keep our seniors in their homes, we also have to make sure they're safe.

This legislation would ensure that seniors who choose to receive long-term services and supports in their homes and communities have the same rights and protections from elder abuse that seniors living in nursing rooms already have." Residents of nursing homes are guaranteed certain rights and protections from elder abuse, but Sen. Franken has heard from Minnesota seniors and their advocates that seniors who receive services in their homes and communities are often left without a place to turn if they feel unsafe or have problems with their services.

Sen. Franken has reintroduced the Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights Act to address these concerns.

Full Article and Source:
Senator Franken Pushes Legislation to Protect Seniors From Elder Abuse

WWII Vet Reaches Fundraising Goal To Prevent His Daughter From Evicting Him

A World War II veteran who claimed breach of fiduciary duty by his daughter in a lawsuit is now trying to prevent her from evicting him with a fundraising appeal that reached its goal on Thursday.

John Potter, 91, lived in his Zaleski, Ohio, home for 56 years.

According to a lawsuit he filed in 2011, he had given power of attorney to his daughter, who transferred the property to herself and her husband in 2004. An appeals court tossed the suit on statute of limitations grounds in a decision last year, citing evidence that Potter was aware of the transfer in 2004. Now the daughter is seeking to evict Potter.

Potter transferred power of attorney to his granddaughter, Jaclyn Fraley, who launched the fundraising appeal on GoFundMe in hopes she could buy the property for Potter. She told AOL Real Estate that Potter’s daughter had filed the eviction papers after a dispute between them over visitation rights to Potter’s autistic son. Potter’s son-in-law had told NBC4i.com that Potter could remain in the home if he would “stop the lawsuits.”

In a post at GoFundMe on Thursday, Fraley said her goal of raising $125,000 to buy back Potter’s home had been reached. "Thank you all!" Fraley wrote. "Those words seem so shallow compared to what I feel. All of your hearts reaching out to him is such an amazing gift."

Full Article and Source:
WWII Vet Reaches Fundraising Goal to Prevent His Daughter From Evicting Him

See Also:
91-Year-Old Man Raised Money to Prevent Eviction by Daughter

Indicted Texas Judge, Christopher Dupuy, Faces More Troubles

Documents obtained by KHOU 11 News reveal more trouble for an embattled Galveston County Judge.

The 32-page document is a request for a protective order.

Adrienne Viterna’s emergency petition states that her former husband Christopher Dupuy planned to murder her and then flee from the country with their two small kids.

The petition was filed on the same day a grand jury indicted the Galveston County judge on felony and misdemeanor charges that he abused his authority from the bench.

In addition to his ex-wife, a district judge has gone on record in an email to county officials, urging them to take action because Dupuy, “could become violent and hurt or kill someone.”

Full Article and Source:
Indicted Galveston County Judge Faces More Troubles

See Also:
Retraction and Apology to District Judge Kerry Neves

Township Council Hopeful is Accused of Raiding Estate of Client With Dementia for at Least $850K

As Clarksboro resident Joy Lippincott aged and slipped into dementia in recent years, she increasingly depended on a small group of people to manage her affairs, including her two daughters, a lawyer and her accountant, Hamilton resident and future council candidate Robynn Dumont.

Lippincott, who is now 85, had considerable assets in her name, court documents indicate. The handling of her care and finances led to a dispute between the two daughters, and eventually the wholesale raiding of her bank accounts and investments by Dumont, according to allegations in a civil complaint filed in Gloucester County.

Lippincott’s daughter Sandra Carty had initially sued her sister in April 2010, alleging the sister had taken advantage of their mother by coercing her to make financial decisions.

In February 2012 she amended the suit to add Dumont, accusing the accountant of making suspicious financial transactions and transferring at least $850,000 and possibly much more from Lippincott, who “had diminished mental capacity and was vulnerable to coercion and undue influence.”

According to Carty’s civil suit, her sister and Dumont worked in tandem “wrongfully transferring, dissipating, converting and encumbering the assets of Ms. Lippincott.” And when a judge ordered Dumont to pay back a sum of money to Lippincott, Dumont allegedly bounced checks, leading to the filing of a criminal complaint against her.

At about the time Dumont was added to the civil lawsuit in February, the Hamilton Democrats announced she was one of their candidates for a seat on Township Council.

“I want to make what difference I can,” she said at the time.

“She has single-handedly dissipated the life savings of an 85-year-old woman who is incapacitated in her home,” Celano [Lippincott's court-appointed guardian] said. “She’s an absolute scoundrel. There’s probably no sanctions stiff enough, but I’d be satisfied if she was sent to prison for a few years.”

Full Article and Source:
Hamilton Council Hopeful Robyn Dumont Accused of Raiding Estate of Clarksville Client With Dementia for at Least $850,000

Alabama Legislature Targets Abuse, Financial Exploitation of Seniors

The Alabama Legislature is making it easier to prosecute people who abuse, neglect or financially exploit senior citizens.

The House and Senate passed different versions of the bill earlier in the Senate and then agreed on the same version on Monday night shortly before the 2013 legislative session ended.

The Protecting Alabama's Elders Act was pushed by Republican Sen. Cam Ward of Alabaster and Republican Rep. Paul DeMarco of Homewood. Proponents said it better defines what constitutes elder abuse and increases the penalties for the most serious offenses.

Full Article and Source:
Alabama Legislature Targets Abuse, Financial Exploitation of Senior Citizens

Tonight on T.S. Radio: Predatory Guardians: a $3 Billion Per Year Money Maker

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

Craig Keesler joins us from California to expose the case of 87 yr. old June Guinn.

With all the adult protection agencies, law enforcement, district attorneys, judicial systems, department of justice, etc...Is it possible for an 87 year old elderly person with an estate worth over $1Million, to be kidnaped for ransom by estate predators calling themselves “fiduciary’s”, then falsely imprisoned as a ward of the state in the year 2013? The answer is unequivocably: YES!

Not one of the above mentioned agencies or courts will intervene with all the power they wield to protect the thousands of victims of elder kidnaping for profit that occur across the country each year. In fact, these agencies and agents actively work to provide protection for the predators.

In the case of June Guinn of California, an unlicensed individual continues to act as fiduciary. The California Professional Fiduciary Bureau (PFD) provides the unlicensed actor with all the protection she could possibly want or need. Even as she was exposed as acting without licensure, the PFD dismissed or marginalized the illegal activity in violation of state statutes and codes.

LISTEN TO THE SHOW LIVE or listen to the archive later

Indicted Former Judge Craig Steven Key Resigns From Law Pactice

A former Lincoln County district judge indicted on charges of cattle theft, forgery and embezzling money from a client has relinquished his law license. A multi-county grand jury in April indicted Craig Steven Key on three counts of delivering a forged instrument, two counts of embezzlement, conspiracy to commit larceny of domestic animals, and larceny of domestic animals.

According to an indictment, Key, 47, of Chandler, conspired with Joshua E. Anderson, 36, of Agra and Leslie Bottger, 47, of Agra to steal a livestock trailer and 13 head of cattle in September, 2012.

Key allegedly gave the Anderson $200 for expenses involved in stealing the cattle. The cattle were stored at Key’s Lilliebridge Farm, the document states. Key allegedly exchanged a text message with one of the men instructing him to store the stolen trailer at Key’s farm where, according to the document, one of the men started painting it in preparation for efforts to sell the stolen cattle.

The indictment says another man, Brandon R. Dawson, 42, also of Chandler then hauled the cattle to Waurika Livestock Commission Company in Jefferson County, where he failed to find a buyer.

When he was approached by enforcement officers from the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, he is alleged to have used a cell phone to text Key.

“Cops Just Came In,” Dawson allegedly texted.

“Leave,” the former judge is reported to have replied.

Full Article and Source:
Former Judge Resigns Law Practice After Embezzlement, Cattle Theft Indictments

See Also:
Former Oklahoma Judge Craig S. Key Indicted

In Memoriam and Inspiration: 'She Worked Past Age 100, Inspired Many More'

In 40 years of interviews as a journalist, I've never met anyone quite like Hedda Bolgar.

The pioneering psychoanalyst, who attended lectures by  Sigmund Freud as a young woman and fled Vienna for the United States when the Third Reich entered Austria, was teaching and seeing patients at the age of 99 when she told me:"I'm so far behind, I can never die."

Three years later, the Brentwood resident was still a working therapist at age 102, when she received an Outstanding Oldest Worker Award in the nation's capital. When I called to congratulate her, she talked about a lecture she was preparing, among other projects she was juggling.

Several of the therapist's friends contacted me Monday[May 13] with the news that Bolgar, who once told me she didn't fear death but didn't want it to be too "undignified or painful," died peacefully [that] morning in the home where she dazzled me with her intellect, spunk and grace.

"It's probably not a coincidence that she held on to life until Mother's Day, as she was indeed the mother of a generation of psychologists, psychoanalysts, and an entire community of mental health workers and patients," said Janet Woznica, a longtime friend and director of the Los Angeles Institute and Society for Psychoanalytic Studies.

Full Article and Source:
Steve Lopez:  She Worked Past Age 100, Inspired Many More

Abuse May be Common but Often Hard to Quantify

State and Cornell University researchers estimated 260,000 New York residents older than the age of 65 were somehow abused or neglected — physically, financially or emotionally — in 2011.

But, without a national clearinghouse to collect the data and without uniform reporting methods, officials and elderly care advocates struggle to get a handle on how widespread abuse of America’s aging population is.

“It’s wildly underreported,” said Jean Callahan, executive director of Hunter College’s Brookings Center for Healthy Aging. “People in nursing homes are generally less capable than those out in the communities of speaking up for themselves.”

Federal officials and researchers are faced with collecting data from the nation’s disparate local and state law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and social service agencies.

That leaves them grabbing for numbers based on phone surveys and highly variable sources of data.

Full Article and Source:
Abuse May Be Common But Often Hard to Quantify

NY State Senator John Sampson Charged With Embezzlement

A prominent New York state senator pleaded not guilty on Monday to embezzlement and other charges alleging he brazenly tried to sabotage a federal fraud investigation of his law practice by seeking inside information from an employee of the Brooklyn U.S. attorney's office.

Sen. John Sampson told the employee – who has since been fired – that he wanted to identify cooperators in his case so he could arrange to "take them out," prosecutors said in announcing an indictment against the former Democratic leader in the Senate.

The indictment alleges that Sampson embezzled $440,000 from escrow accounts under his supervision as a court-appointed referee for foreclosures.

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John Sampson Arrested:  NY State Senator Charged With Embezzlement