Nursing Homes Medicare Rating System Based on Unverified Data

The federal system of rating U.S. nursing homes is based on "incomplete information that can seriously mislead consumers, investors and others," The New York Times reports. The five-star system that Medicare uses to judge elder-care facilities is based largely on unverified, self-reported data, according to the report.

Additionally, the system -- described as the "gold standard" for consumers, the insurance industry and investors -- does not account for state enforcement actions or consumer complaints, according to the report. Nor, it seems, does the rating system incorporate the federal quality watch list.
"Of more than 50 nursing homes on a federal watch list for quality, nearly two-thirds hold four- or five-star ratings for their staff levels and quality statistics," the report states.

Full Article and Source:
Nursing Home Medicare Rating System Based on Unverified Data, The New York Times Reports

See Also:
Medicare Star Ratings Allow Nursing  Homes to Game the System

Las Vegas "Guardian" Jared E. Shafer Sued for "Embezzling" $420,000.00 from 95 Year-Old Former "Ward"

"Shafer and the other Defendants herein are responsible for embezzling, taking under wrongful pretenses and otherwise fraudulently or wrongfully diminishing the value of Olvera's and the Trust's assets in an amount to be proved at trial, but in excess of $420,000.00."

"Shafer embezzled funds from the bank accounts of the Guardianship Estate of Guadalupe Olvera, by submitting false or inflated invoices for payment and by taking possession of social security and pension funds without rendering an accounting of how those funds were kept and utilized."

"By Defendants' multiple fraudulent acts of embezzlement of funds and receiving possession of money in excess of $250.00, Defendants committed predicated racketeering acts."

"Upon information and belief, many of the reimbursements paid by the Guardianship, Estate and/or Trust benefiting Guadalupe Olvera to PFSN were for charges made to the personal credit card(s) of Jared E. Shafer."

"Upon information and belief, the Guardianship was charged for expenses completely unrelated to Plaintiffs well being and care."

Full Article and Source:
Las Vegas "Guardian" Jared E. Shafer Sued for "Embezzling" $420.000.00 from 95 Year Old Former "Ward"

READ the lawsuit

Man Sentenced for Stealing Great Aunt's Life Savings

A Knoxville man who admitted to stealing his great aunt's life savings will spend three years behind bars.

Mark Kevin Tudor, 42, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison on Wednesday. He pleaded guilty in April on federal wire fraud charges. He must also repay the $266,227.80 he stole from the family member he was supposed to be taking care of.

Investigators said Tudor had been granted power-of-attorney by his 93-year-old great aunt, who had a visual disability and needed help with her finances.

Instead of helping her, authorities said he depleted her bank and credit union accounts and her life insurance policy for his own gain. It nearly depleted the woman's life savings.

According to a written statement by the victim read in court, when she discovered the fraud only $347 remained in her credit union account, which had held over $200,000 before the theft.

Full Article and Source:
Man Sentenced for Stealing Great Aunt's Life Savings

Medication Errors Increasing in Nursing Homes

KVUE Defenders investigation uncovers an increase in Texas nursing home residents harmed by medication errors.

KVUE's findings come after Sandy Martinez says her father, Paul Travio, is one of those residents impacted.

"We had noticed some behavior issues with him, and we couldn't pinpoint what was going on because he started sundowning a lot. He wasn't talkative anymore," said Martinez.

A few months later, Travio's daughter got a call from CVS Pharmacy indicating it was time to refill their father's prescription for Sinemet, a medication to help treat Travio's Parkinson's disease.

She then checked with her father's nursing home. "And it wasn't until then that we had found out that he was not getting his medication properly."

While the state cited Travio's nursing home for medication errors in the past, his family couldn't prove it this time. A KVUE Defenders investigation uncovered their concerns shed light into an increasing problem across the state.

Digging through state records, the KVUE Defenders uncovered state investigators cited Texas nursing homes 1,060 times for medication errors in 2011. In 2013, violations jumped by nearly 200 more.

Of those, staff giving residents 'unnecessary drugs' increased the most by more than 78 percent.

Earlier this year, AARP conducted a study on nursing home care across the country. It found Texas nursing homes inappropriately administer antipsychotic drugs to residents with no mental illness, nearly more than any other state in the country. Texas tied with Louisiana.

Full Article and Source:
Medication Errors Increasing in Nursing Homes

Study Finds Daughters Provide Twice as Much Care for Aging Parents Than Sons

Women step up to provide care for their aging parents more than twice as often as men, a new study has found.

The new research found that in families with children of both sexes, the gender of the child is the single biggest factor in determining who will provide care for the aging parent: Daughters will increase the time they spend with an elderly parent to compensate for sons who reduce theirs, effectively ceding the responsibility to their sisters.

By foisting most of their care-giving duties onto women, men also shift the physical and mental stress of providing care, as well as the financial burden, the study’s author said.

The findings – which are to be presented Tuesday at a meeting of the American Sociological Association in San Francisco – suggest that traditional gender roles are the most telling factor in providing care for the elderly. How much care women provide for an aging parent is often shaped by competing concerns such as their jobs or children. Men, in contrast, base their care for an aging parent on whether a sister or the parent’s spouse can handle those responsibilities.

Full Article and Source:
Daughters provide twice as much care for aging parents than sons do, study finds

"A Whistleblower's Lament: The Perverted Pursuit of Justice in the State of New York"

Originally elected against great odds, post Watergate, Judge Stuart Namm spent over 16 years on the bench in Suffolk County, New York, a Long Island suburb of New York City.

 Dubbed in the Hollywood Reporter as the Serpico Judges, and by his detractors as the Hanging Judge and Maximum Stu for his willingness to frequently hand out the maximum 25 years to life sentence in intentional murder convictions.

At that time, New York state had no death penalty.

In 1985, he wrote Gov. Mario Cuomo to request the appointment of a Special Prosecutor to investigate the county's criminal justice system, believing there was rampant corruption in the elite Police Homicide Squad and District Attorney's office, and that cases were being manufactured to obtain convictions in major homicide trials. After a three year investigation by the State Investigations Commission, his whistleblowing resulted in numerous forced resignations and transfers in the police department, at the highest level of county government, and in the police laboratory. As a result of a deal, he was denied renomination by his own political party led by his former law partner, and ultimately this was the demise of his illustrious judicial career.

A Whistleblower's Lament is Judge Stuart Namm's compelling, personal account of his life in the law and politics, and the events that brought it to an end. Three weeks after leaving New York, he was the first recipient of the Justice Thurgood Marshall award and two other prestigious awards, including a lifetime membership in the NAACP.

A Whistleblower's Lament:  The Perverted Pursuit of Justice in the State of New York

In Retaliation for a Downtown Protest, Cook County Public Guardian's Office Evicts Senior Citizen, Sets Family's Belongings on the Curb

As employees with the Cook County Public Guardian's office remove Mildred Willis' belongings from her Calumet Park home, her neighbors and supporters from across the city are currently rallying to keep the Willis family in their home. These efforts to stop the Willis family's eviction come one week after they rallied downtown outside the offices of the Public Guardians office, calling for Mildred Willis to be released from the Renaissance nursing home and allowed to return home.

"I can't believe they are doing this," exclaimed Stacy Willis, Mildred Willis' daughter. "My mother is still in the nursing home. Where am I supposed to put her things? Where are my son and I supposed to go?"

On August 25th, Stacy Willis and other family members rallied outside of the Cook County Public Guardians office to deliver more than three thousand petitions calling on the Public Guardians to halt their efforts to evict the Willis family and to return Mildred Willis to her home. In response to this demonstration, the head of the Public Guardians office, Robert F. Harris offered to meet with Mildred Harris' family and after meeting, to look into their complaints.

However, instead of working with the Willis family, the Public Guardians directed the Cook County Sheriff's office to evict them at gunpoint. While changing the locks on their Calumet Park home, the Public Guardians office promised that Mildred Willis' belongings would not be set out on the street and that they would have an opportunity to arrange to have their belongings picked up by a moving truck. 

Rather than following through on this agreement, the Public Guardians office began removing all of the Willis family belongings this morning, the day after their eviction. When Mildred's daughter inquired as to why this would be the case, the Public Guardian's office informed them that even though they had no way of moving their belongings that "this is the way it was going to be."

For the Willis family, this doubles the pain of having to deal with being forcibly evicted from their home. Not only is the family in a situation where they had to sleep in a police station because they had no place to go, now they face the prospect of having all of their possessions stolen or ruined by the rain simply because the Cook County Public Guardians office would not allow them to make arrangements to collect their belongings.

Source:
In Retaliation for a Downtown Protest, Cook County Public Guardians Office Evicts Senior Citizen, Sets Family's Belongings on the Curb

Q & A: Can the State Try to Get Guardianship of a Nursing Home Resident's Child?

Q:
Can the state sue my elderly mother in the nursing home for guardianship of her Down syndrome child?

A:
Yes and no. A guardianship action is not a suit against someone. Rather, it’s an action for the protection of someone who cannot take care of herself. In bringing the action, the state or an individual would have to give notice to your mother as next of kin so that she, at least in theory, would have the right to appear in court and contest the action.

Source:
Can the State Try to Get Guardianship of a Nursing Home Resident's Child?

Man Arrested for Exploiting Elderly in Craigslist Scam

A Waco man had bonded out Wednesday from the McLennan County Jail after he was arrested for exploiting an elderly person through a Craigslist scam.

Arthur Ray Goolsby, 27, posted a $5,000 bond and was released on a charge of exploitation of an elderly person, jail records showed.

Goolsby was arrested in connection with an earlier event during which he took deposit money from a 70-year-old victim for the purchase of a pick up truck that was advertised on Craigslist, Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton said.

Swanton said the victim paid a deposit but when he went to pick up the truck the seller had disappeared.

Full Article and Source:
Man Arrested for Exploiting Elderly in Crigslist Scam

Editorial: Protect Seniors From Abuse WIth Federal System

The Aug. 4 Metro article “In VA, a cautionary tale for seniors" talked about elderly abuse and fraud, a scenario that is all too common. And it will continue to be, as long as there is no coordinated, federally funded system in place to prevent it.

Congress has established and funded national networks to protect children — and even animals — from abuse, but no similar system exists to protect vulnerable adults. It’s time for Congress to prioritize the health and safety of all Americans, regardless of age.

Nearly 5 million seniors are victims of abuse, neglect or exploitation each year. Direct medical costs associated with elder abuse exceed $5 billion annually, and older victims of financial abuse, such as Pearl Buckley, the woman in the story, lose an estimated $2.9 billion each year.

Vulnerable adults deserve the same protections our society affords their pets and grandchildren. We must call upon Congress to make this a reality by fully funding the bipartisan Elder Justice Act, which it passed in 2010 but has yet to fund.

The system failed Ms. Buckley. Don’t let it fail anyone else.

Martha Roherty, Washington

Source: 
Protect Seniors From Abuse With Federal System

See Also:
Elderly Woman in Virginia Cheated Out of Savings by Lawyer She Trusted, Family Alleges

Attorney James Kinceloe Jr Gets Six Years for Embezzling From Elderly Woman

Special Needs Adult Children Need A Plan for Their Future

After a lifetime of caring for their child at home, parents of children who are intellectually and/or developmentally challenged don't want to give up their authority to strangers, but what happens if they haven't established plans for when they are too sick to provide care or have passed away?

For decades in their homes, many families have provided full-time care for family members who are severely disabled, without accessing in-home social services. They may have resisted tapping into government programs or didn't trust others to help. Some have cared for children with multiple disabilities who don't fit into supported housing scenarios. Whatever the case may be, parents should not hesitate to find out what they can do to provide for their adult child with special needs when they are gone.

With a 10-year wait for home and community-based programs in Texas, it often takes a crisis such as the death of a parent, a medical emergency or another tragic event to get priority on the waiting list.

Establishing a decision-making process during the parents' lifetime reduces distress for the adult child who is disabled when transitioning from home to community services.

If an adult child who is disabled has capacity, then it's important to put advance directives in place, including a Durable Financial Power of Attorney, Medical Power of Attorney, HIPAA Authorization, Physician's Directive or "Living Will," and a Declaration of Guardian to allow trusted decision makers to step in when parents are no longer able to.

If the adult child does not have the requisite capacity to execute advance directives, then a guardianship will need to be established for decision making. Putting a guardianship in place ahead of time, during the parents' lifetime, eases the transfer of decision-making.

Full Article and Source:
Elder Law:  Special Needs Adult Children Need a Plan for Their Future

Judge Accused of Lying About Her Residency Lists Three Different Addresses During Qualifying.

Orleans Parish Juvenile Court Judge Yolanda King, who is facing criminal charges that she lied about where she lived when she ran for office in 2013, twice filled out the wrong address on new election documents Wednesday (Aug. 20) as she qualified for the Nov. 4 election.

King, who arrived at the Criminal District Court Clerk's office at 7:15 a.m., was the first to show up to fill out campaign forms.

On the line labeled "domicile," though, she filled in her campaign's post office box. A few hours later, she returned and filled out a second candidate form.

This time, she filled in 420 Loyola Ave.

A short time later, she returned for a third time, accompanied by her lawyer, James Williams. She then filled in the address of a row home on Basinview Drive in eastern New Orleans. The same address is listed on her driver's license.

Each of the affidavits King filled out was made under oath.

King declined to comment, but referred questions to her attorneys.

Full Article and Source:
Indicted Judge Yolanda King, accused of lying about her residency, lists three different addresses during qualifying

Michigan Family: Caregiver Wed, Left Elderly Man Broke

Frank Calcaterra was in his 80s in 2008 when his family hired a home care company to help the former Detroit-area funeral home owner look after his ailing wife Jonnie, who had dementia.

Tangi Coleman, Aged 35

The company — Kentucky-based ResCare — sent Tangie Coleman, who, at the time, had a warrant out for her arrest, records show.

Jonnie's jewelry soon began to disappear, as did Frank Calcaterra's sizable fortune — estimates from court filings put the loss at anywhere from more than $500,000 to more than $1.5 million. When Jonnie Calcaterra died in a nursing home in January 2012, Coleman and her mother were living in Frank Calcaterra's lakefront home in Waterford, Mich., and he was sleeping in the basement.

A few months later, Coleman married Calcaterra in Ohio, without his family's knowledge.

In April, when Frank Calcaterra's daughters removed him from his home, he was 10 pounds lighter and so broke he no longer had a positive bank balance or a valid credit card. Coleman was driving him to a check cashing place with his monthly Social Security check, his daughters say.

The case highlights what experts say is a significant and growing problem in the U.S. — financial exploitation of elderly people by caregivers. Many cases go unreported and accurate estimates are hard to pin down, but studies suggest there are at least tens of thousands of such cases each year.

In Michigan, more than 10% of the 33,710 adult abuse complaints the state received in 2013 — up from about 21,000 in 2011 — related to alleged financial exploitation. The state substantiated financial exploitation in more than 1,000 cases.

"We're seeing more and more of these cases where people pose as legitimate caregivers, befriend the elderly, become a part of their lives, and then start taking advantage of them," said Jim McGuire, director of research for the Area Agency on Aging 1-B in Southfield, Mich., which serves about 30% of the state's senior population in six counties.

Who's accountable?
Residential home care companies don't require state licensing, and criminal background checks for their workers are only mandatory if public funds are used to pay them.

Though Michigan has recently toughened laws and penalties related to financial exploitation of seniors, making background checks mandatory for all home care workers could have helped Calcaterra, said McGuire, as could a bill stalled in the state Legislature making it mandatory for financial institutions to report suspicious banking activity affecting seniors' accounts.

On Oct. 25, 2012, when Coleman, who was 35, and Frank Calcaterra, who was 86, were married in Ohio, at least two complaints alleging financial exploitation had been filed with the Michigan Department of Human Services' division of Adult Protective Services.

In May of this year, an Oakland County, Mich., judge appointed a conservator for Calcaterra, citing fraud and financial exploitation, which Coleman denies

Full Article and Source:
Family:  Caregiver Wed, Left Elderly Man Broke

Woman Charged After Body Found Behind Georgia Assisted Living Home

A Douglas Attorney says that charges have been filled against a woman who remained in custody in the Coffee County Sheriff Office over the weekend.

Defense Attorney Jill Starling says Diana Marie Malphus Jacobs has been charged with concealing a dead body. Starling says that Jacobs is a nurse at The Rosewood Manor assisted living facility.

Jacobs is scheduled to have a first appearance Monday morning at the Coffee County law enforcement center 

A body was found buried behind an assisted living center in Nicholls, and a woman connected to that facility is in custody.

Sheriff Doyle Wooten says his investigators got a tip, went to Rosewood Manor to question the woman Friday afternoon, and she admitted there was a body buried in a shed.

GBI crime scene experts spent hours excavating the body.

Investigators must wait for an autopsy, but they think the body is that of a man who was a resident at Rosewood Manor. They're not sure the circumstances of his death or who may have been involved in burying him. So far, no charges have been filed.

Full Article and Source:
Update:  Woman Charged After Body Found Behind Assisted Living Home

Family Accused of Financial Exploitation

A woman and her boyfriend made their first appearances Thursday in Winona County District Court, where they've been accused of financially exploiting her father.

Deborah Pearl Clegg, 60, was charged with four counts of theft by swindle, three counts of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult and one count of wrongfully obtaining assistance, all felonies.

Wayne Robert Bohnhoff, 64, faces four counts of felony theft by swindle. Clegg and Bohnhoff, both of Dayton, have been released on their own recognizance and are due back in court Sept. 10.

Clegg's sister, Teresa Sue Forsyth, 57, of Greenfield, Ind., is due in court Thursday. She has been charged with four counts of theft by swindle and three counts of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult, all felonies.

The investigation into the case — which reveals a total loss of more than $159,000 — began in February 2013, when the women's brother filed a complaint with the Winona Police Department on behalf of their father, who died in November 2012.

Each of the charges carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $100,000 fine or both.

Full Article and Source:
Family Accused of Financial Exploitation

Grand Jury Indicts Man for Attacking a Disabled Man in Wheelchair

A grand jury has indicted one of the men accused of attacking a disabled Riverhead man in a motorized scooter back in June.

Monwell Wright, 20, was arraigned in court Tuesday and held on $100,000 bail.

Victim Gene Lyons says he was heading home on Maple Avenue after attending church when four men attacked him from behind. He told News 12 that they hit him with objects and stole his bag.

Lyons says he didn’t hear his attackers due to his earbuds.

The suspects got away with $85 cash and $160 worth of money orders.

Court records show that at the time of the attack on Lyons, Wright had just finished serving six months for another robbery. Lyons hopes the $5,000 reward offered for the remaining suspects will incite people to turn them in.

“Please step up, because I'd like to have this resolved,” said Lyons. “I don't need to be scared every time I go around the corner and wonder what's going to happen.”

Full Article, Video and Source:
Monwell Wright Indicted by Grand Jury for Attack on Disabled Riverdale Man

Alabama Federal Judge Mark E. Fuller Stripped of His Caseload, But Not His Salary!

An Alabama federal judge stripped of his caseload following his arrest on domestic violence charges in Atlanta will continue receiving his annual salary of nearly $200,000.

Federal rules on judicial conduct and discipline don't include a provision for withholding the pay of U.S. District Judge Mark E. Fuller of Montgomery, and the court system can't quit paying a judge just because he was arrested, said judicial ethics expert Russell E. Carparelli. A circuit judicial council is looking into whether Fuller should be disciplined.

Full Article and Source:
Judge in Siegelman, Scrushy trials keeps getting $200,000 salary after domestic violence arrest

Indiana: Casket Salesman Sentenced for Bilking the Elderly

Leigh Ann Banta's father, Paul Hogan, lay in his grave without a headstone for a year, though he had paid for one years before.

Her mother, Helen Hogan, joined her husband Paul in January and was buried in a mahogany casket that had been stolen, unbeknownst to Banta at the time.

"My mother will lay in eternity in stolen property," Banta said through tears. "That would kill her all over again."

The man behind her parents' pre-need funeral arrangements, Robert Kraft, was sentenced in Jefferson Circuit Court on Tuesday to five years in prison for stealing more than $30,000 from elderly victims and their families through a funeral goods business.

Kraft, 53, of Sellersburg, Ind., pleaded guilty in June to 20 felony counts, specifically 11 counts of theft, one count of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult and eight counts of failure to put money he received for pre-payment of funeral goods into a trust, as mandated by state law.

Kraft sold pre-need caskets and vaults to six Louisville residents between November 2011 and November 2012, according to his indictment. Kraft did not deposit the money into a trust account, and both sides said in court Tuesday that Kraft used it to pay off personal debts.

Having long ago cashed the Hogans' check, Kraft lied to the family about the reason he was not able to provide a headstone for Paul Hogan and to a Louisville funeral home director to secure the mahogany casket for Helen Hogan.

Judge James Shake cited the ongoing, repetitive criminal nature of Kraft's activities upon sentencing, noting the conscious choice to commit the acts.

Kraft also faces six charges of theft and intentional misuse of funds in Clark County Circuit Court in Indiana, according to court records.

Source:
Casket Salesman Sentenced for Bilking Elderly

Montana Senator John Walsh Holds Hearing on Alzheimer's: "Sooner or later, we will all be affected."

Kathleen Burke’s voice broke as she told U.S. Sen. John Walsh, D-Mont., the story of how Alzheimer’s disease has changed her life as a caregiver and the lives of both her parents.

Walsh, who was at the South Park Senior Center to conduct a field hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, heard Burke tell about her parents’ 68th wedding anniversary, celebrated by the Alzheimer’s patients together at a nursing home where her mother was staying.

“Mom pushed Dad away when he bent over to kiss her goodbye, saying that her husband would not like that,” Burke said. “It was difficult for me to see, but probably worse for him since he would not talk about it.”

Other panelists described how Alzheimer’s and other brain disorders will affect more and more families in the coming years. George Carlson, director and professor at McLaughlin Research Institute, a biomedical research organization in Great Falls, said that five million Americans and about 25,000 Montanans have Alzheimer’s or related dementias, with an annual cost of about $100 billion.

If nothing changes, by 2050 as many as 16 million Americans will be affected, costing the economy $1.2 trillion annually. Currently the U.S. economy is about $17.3 trillion.

Walsh noted that about 48,000 Montanans care for someone with Alzheimer’s or other dementia. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates the value of Montanans’ unpaid care reached $677 million in 2013. Nearly two-thirds of those providing care are women, and about two-thirds of Alzheimer’s patients are women.

Carlson said increased Alzheimer’s research funding is sorely needed, since there are no therapies capable of even slowing Alzheimer’s effects. For every $28,000 the federal government spends on caring for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, $100 goes to support research. “Research is at a pivotal point,” he said. “It is largely a matter of our elected representatives deciding that a cure is worth funding.”

Full Article and Source:
Walsh Holds Hearing on Alzheimer's:  "Sooner or later, we will all be affected."

FBI - Violation of Public Trust: Corrupt Officials Jailed for Abusing Justice System

In the run-up to the 2012 primary elections in Mingo County, West Virginia, a group of officials adopted a campaign slogan to promote their political slate: Team Mingo. But the judge, sheriff, and county prosecuting attorney who were part of the alliance—among the most powerful men in the local judicial system—used their authority to serve their own interests rather than those of the citizens who elected them.

These men essentially ran the county’s legal system,” said Special Agent Jim Lafferty, who investigated the case out of our Pittsburgh Field Office. The ringleader was Circuit Court Judge Michael Thornsbury. “The judge and his team were the power in Mingo County,” Lafferty explained.

"They didn’t like anyone who tried to oppose them. If you were an attorney or an individual who wanted to get a fair shake in the court system, you had to play whatever game they wanted you to play. It was a toxic environment."

Full Article and Source:
FBI - Violation of Public Trust

NJ: County GOP Chairman Allegedly Defrauds Elderly Patient in Rehabilitation Center.

The chairman of the Cumberland County Regular Republican Organization has been arrested on charges he took $149,000 from an elderly patient at his Cape May County rehabilitation center to pay for business and personal expenses, according to a report in The Daily Journal.

Robert V. Greco Jr., 51, of Vineland was charged with theft by failure to make required disposition, according to the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office.

Greco convinced an elderly patient at his East Creek Manor Rehabilitation Center, in Eldora, to sign a power of attorney document giving Greco control of the victim’s finances, authorities alleged.

Prosecutor Robert L. Taylor said Greco then took out more than $149,000 from the patient’s financial accounts.

The arrest followed a four-month investigation, the prosecutor’s office said.

Greco was set at $35,000 bail. He is not listed as an inmate at the Cape May County Jail.

The charges against Greco carry a possible sentence for five to 10 years.

Greco has served as the Cumberland County GOP chairman since February 2009.

Greco has a prior arrest record, which Democrats tried to make a campaign issue during the 2010 election season. He was arrested in 2003 in Cape May County on charges related to an alleged domestic violence incident. Greco was indicted on eight charges, including unlawful possession of a rifle, aggravated assault and abuse of a child. In 2004, he entered a plea of guilty to a charge of threat to kill and was sentenced to three years’ probation, a psychological evaluation and an anger management course; the other charges were dismissed.

"I was shocked to learn about the alleged actions of Bob Greco as reported in the press today," said U.S. Rep. Frank Lobiondo in a statement. "Due to the seriousness of the charges, it is only appropriate that Bob resign his chairmanship of the Cumberland County Regular Republican Organization."

Full Article and Source:
UPDATE: Cumberland County GOP Chairman Allegedly Defrauds Elderly Patient in Rehabilitation Center

Iowa: GOP Rep, Henry Rayhons, Arrested for Having Sex With Mentally Incapacitated Wife

Iowa state representative Henry Rayhons, a Republican, was  arrested for having sex with his mentally incapacitated wife after a judge instructed him not to.  Police told the Des Moines Register  that Rayhons "abused his wife in May at the nursing home where she lived." Donna Rayhons suffered from Alzheimer's disease, and she died earlier this month.

 

Rayhons' son, Dale, has called his father's arrest a "witch hunt." But according to Donna's nursing home roommate, Rayhons did go "into his wife's room and pulled the curtain closed" on May 23, a week after he acknowledged to a judge that his wife could no longer consent to sex. The roommate told cops she heard "noises indicating Henry Rayhons was having sex with Donna Rayhons" after that. Surveillance video caught Rayhons disposing of undergarments into a laundry bag when he left the room.

 

Spousal rape has been illegal in Iowa for 25 years, but Elizabeth Barnhill, executive director of the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault, told the Register that convictions are rare. Rayhons already abandoned his run for re-election earlier this month. As of now, he's not giving up his seat.

Source:
GOP Rep Arrested for Having Sex With Mentally Incapacitated Wife

Discipline of Minneapolis Attorney Marc G. Kurzman Sought

The Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility is seeking the suspension of Marc G. Kurzman, a Minneapolis attorney. Kurzman has 20 days to respond to the allegations made in the disciplinary petition.

The petition details two client matters in which Kurzman is accused of violating rules of professional conduct. In the first, a man retained Kurzman to represent him in his effort to increase parenting time with his daughter. According to the petition, the man wanted to remove the court-appointed psychologist, and Kurzman remarked that he thought the psychologist had been accused of sexually abusing children thirty years ago. During a deposition, Kurzman is alleged to have questioned the psychologist on the matter, despite having done no investigating to determine if his recollection of an accusation was true. After the father terminated Kurzman, Kurzman is accused of failing to provide the father’s complete case files until the father complained.

In a second client matter, Kurzman was retained in a custody and visitation dispute. Kurzman was accused of submitting records a month late to the court and failing to request an extension. After the client terminated Kurzman in that case, she requested her files and received incomplete records.

When she requested the rest of her case file, she alleged, she was shipped court pleadings and other materials belonging to other clients of Kurzman.

Kurzman, who was admitted to practice law in Minnesota in 1972, has eight previous instances of discipline.

Full Article and Source:
Discipline of Minneapolis Attorney Sought