Cops Pretend They're on a Walk and Gently Lead Elderly Woman With Dementia Home

Every day, 81-year-old Roberta takes a stroll down her driveway and back to her Charles County, Maryland home. It was business as usual for Roberta last Friday, but instead of stopping at the end of the driveway, she just kept going.

Roberta and her daughter live together, so when the daughter realized her mother had been gone for far too long, she called 911. Her daughter informed officers that her mother had dementia, and was assured they would find her soon. After about 40 minutes, a small team of officers found Roberta walking along a wooded path near her home.

Instead of embarrassing the sweet lady by informing her of her mishap, they pretended to be out for a walk too, hoping to guide her back in the process. And so, Officer Morrison was captured walking hand in hand with his new friend Roberta… gently leading her home.

Source:
Cops Pretend They're on a Walk and Take Elderly Woman With Dementia Home

Family’s guardianship experience shows a system out of control

Regarding Diane Dimond’s series [Who Guards the Guardians?], our sister started this guardianship stuff and, yes, it has spiraled out of control.

A very similar chain of events has started, with court proceedings the same as your articles and similar titles involved to handle all these affairs.

A guardian, who never seems to be available when needed, has spent $33,000 since June 2016.

Mom is now completely broke and was asked to leave the nursing home they put her in as there is no money to pay them. Her home was put up for sale, but has not sold at this point. So she was kicked out on Nov. 30.

The guardian now has lied to be able to admit her to a hospital so that she has a place to be. We had cleaned out her house, as directed by them, to get it ready to be sold and now it is devoid of any furnishings.

We have since found out they have depleted her bank accounts. The accounts are sitting there overdrawn and her utilities have been disconnected for nonpayment. Her homeowners insurance has been canceled for nonpayment.

We are completely powerless to do anything about it.

Mom fell at the assisted living nursing home where they had her. They didn’t even take her to a medical facility to be checked out until we demanded they do so.

After they discharged her, we called the guardian and, of course, he didn’t show up. We took her to my house to spend the night instead of taking her back to the nursing home. The guardian threatened to have me arrested.

I had to call police to make a report – in fear he could actually do so.

We have called Adult Protective Services and the Attorney General’s Office, and it seems all these agencies cannot investigate any of these proceedings. No one will help our mom, who is over 90 years old. And we can’t, either.

She was living at home with her son and surviving just fine until all this. She could maintain her residence as it was paid in full. She gets $753 a month from Social Security. That was enough to pay her bills, including her home insurance and life insurance policy. They have also cashed that in.

How can these people do this and what can we do about it? Please let us know if there are any avenues to do something.

We cannot afford an attorney of our own to fight this. None we have talked to will even take a case like this.

What an atrocity this has become. The state of New Mexico should be ashamed for doing things like this to our seniors.

We have documents of what happened before court and interviews between prospective guardians and the attorney in charge of the process, who for various reasons would not let any of us be guardians due to “bickering,” as she put it.

So they could get this done, before the court hearing, our sister’s attorney even called the police department and tried to get us arrested for abuse. The police were told there were guns in the house and Mom was in danger. There was not and the police left.

The guardians are now waiting with Mom at the hospital to place her in yet another nursing home, paid for by the state because she doesn’t have any money.

My brother offered to get her things out of storage and take her home, but the guardian said it would only be for a couple of weeks until they find her a place in a nursing home, and the guardians don’t have money to pay utilities.

This is just a living nightmare. Who can protect our seniors? Help!

Full Article & Source:
Family’s guardianship experience shows a system out of control

See Also:
Who Guards the Guardians?

New bill would change laws for reporting caregiver abuse

You need help from police, but you can't call 911 for help -- that's the plight of some victims of abuse in nursing or full-time care homes. And with growing numbers of illnesses like Alzheimer's disease in baby boomers, many more of us depend on this care.

Instead of calling 911 to report abuse, people are directed to a state hotline. A proposed law would make it easier for police to know about abuse but some who depend on care don't support the bill.

Calling 911 might get an immediate response, but it may also be intimidating for some people. And if a caretaker is arrested, it could leave his or her client alone with no care, so some do not see these changes as good news.

"It's about freedom and independence," says Rochester resident Jensen Caraballo. (Continue Reading)

Full Article & Source:
New bill would change laws for reporting caregiver abuse

Shifting population in California nursing homes creates ‘dangerous mix’

David Thompson was living at the Midnight Mission on Los Angeles’ Skid Row when he secured a bed several years ago at a South Pasadena nursing home. For a man who had been homeless for 35 years, the arrangement seemed like a stable step forward.

Instead, he discovered that South Pasadena Convalescent Hospital was visited regularly by local police, summoned to the facility to break up fights or investigate alleged drug-dealing and thefts by residents. Thompson, injured decades earlier in a car wreck, recalled how the nursing home had lots of younger patients with no apparent disabilities.

One resident was known to pack a gun in his wheelchair, he said, a story that is corroborated in state documents. Another patient, he heard, smoked meth in the bathroom – a situation also detailed in state inspection records. Thompson said he kept to himself when fights broke out.

“They had so much stuff going on in there,” said Thompson, 79, who since has moved out of the South Pasadena facility and into another nursing home. “I guess the police chief got tired of it.”

The turmoil inside South Pasadena Convalescent Hospital became painfully public in November 2014, when one of Thompson’s smoking companions – 57-year-old Courtney Cargill, a mentally ill resident – left the facility unsupervised, doused her body with gasoline and lit herself on fire. After prodding from the local police chief, and a surge of community outrage, the California attorney general’s office opened an investigation into the facility and whether anyone should be held criminally accountable for her death.

The gruesome case also has shined a light on the divergent population groups that inhabit California’s 1,250 nursing homes – and the risks associated with serving such a wide mix of patients.

Where once skilled nursing facilities were universally thought of as “rest homes” for the frail and elderly, a growing proportion of California nursing home residents are younger, more able-bodied patients, many diagnosed with mental illness. Some residents, like Cargill, enter facilities with long-standing drug and alcohol problems. Others, like Thompson, have histories of homelessness.
Still others are newly released from prison.

Facilities have been able to tap these clients’ Medicare and Medi-Cal benefits and, in many instances, provide long-term housing at government expense.

“The homes that we have known as havens for the frail elderly, as you can see, are no longer safe havens,” said Tippy Irwin, executive director of San Mateo County’s ombudsman services.

Instead, she said, many facilities now have what she described as a “dangerous mix” – old, young, mentally ill, convicted felons, street people in desperate need of care, and younger clients with chronic illnesses, brain injuries and drug abuse problems.

“I don’t think people have a clue,” Irwin said. “I don’t think people give nursing homes a thought unless they’re actually faced with having to use one.”

Between 1994 and 2014, the population of California nursing home residents under age 65 grew by nearly 40 percent, while the number over 65 shrank by 11 percent, according to a Sacramento Bee review of state data. Today, 1 in 5 nursing home residents in California is under 65.

In California, the number of nursing home residents with serious mental illness also is on the rise. In 2014, the Golden State ranked fourth in the nation for the percentage of nursing home residents diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, behind Illinois, Missouri and Louisiana, according to data collected by the Brown University School of Public Health. The rate of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in California nursing homes increased by about 60 percent from 2000 to 2014, to 1 in 7 residents, the data show.

Quality of care appears to be a casualty in the changing patient mix.  (Continue Reading)

Full Article & Source:
Shifting population in California nursing homes creates ‘dangerous mix’

San Jose Police Department Develops Elder Abuse Policy

 
Since 2012, Coalition for Elder & Dependent Adult Rights (CEDAR) encouraged San Jose Police Department to develop an elder abuse policy that is consistent with California's Penal Code 368 and with 21st century thought on civil rights.

In June 2015, the Santa Clara County Civil Grand reported on deficiencies in the Department's elder abuse policy. In September 2015, the Department is revising their elder abuse policy according to recommendations from the Civil Grand Jury and from CEDAR.

To our knowledge, San Jose Police Department is the first department in the nation to take these steps. Kudos to SJPD for leading the way!

Source:
San Jose Police Department Develops Elder Abuse Policy

Steve Miller: "Guardian" April Parks Home and Office Raided by Police and Nevada AG

LAS VEGAS - In the first of what is expected to be a series of search warrants issued against suspected criminal for-profit private guardians, KTNV TV News tonight broke the new that Las Vegas Metro and Boulder City Police, along with officials from the office of the Nevada Attorney General, today enforced search warrants against private guardian April Parks, and are expected to serve similar warrants against other private guardians as the week progresses.

Contact 13 Investigates: Search Warrants Served as Police Investigate Guardianship Exploitation

Steve Miller: The Story of Elizabeth Indig

Clark County Court records indicate that April Parks' attorney, Lee A. Drizen, was representing a party in a lawsuit against the buyer at auction of Mrs. Indig's house, and should have informed Indig's guardian (Parks) and Indig's family that the house was being auctioned.

According to Clark County Family Court records:

"Parks took control of the Ward's residence at 43 Pangloss Street, Henderson, Nevada 89002 on June 20, 2013, the primary residence of the Ward. The house was in the name of the INDIG FAMILY TRUST. Parks first made a threatening telephone call to Elizabeth (Indig), then came to Elizabeth's home taking her keys to the property and mailbox, and threatening her with trespassing and prison should she (try to re-enter) the property. April Parks was dressed resembling a law enforcement official complete with badge, baton, and wide belt with many keys. Parks also ordered guards at the gate to not let Indig's daughter pass. Parks has already submitted evidence for reimbursement of payment to change the residence locks, and provided an Occupancy Verification to Wells Fargo Bank dated September 24, 2013 signed by her confirming Parks was in control of the residence thus substantiating that Parks controlled the Ward's residence.

Elizabeth's daughter informed Parks verbally on June 20, 2013 that the home and its contents were part of the Indig Family Trust, and that Parks had no jurisdiction or rights to the home and its contents. Parks told the daughter that the court decided that she, April Parks, as an Officer of the Court, was in control of her mother, the home and its contents. Parks again reinforced that she was in charge, and if the daughter interfered with Parks, she would go to prison and never see her mother again. Parks sold the contents of the Indig home between August 10 and August 11, 2013 in violation of NRS 159.113 and 159.1515 which requires notification and permission of the court to sell personal property. Parks did not request permission to sell the Ward's belongings from the court, nor did she inform the court there was a home belonging to the estate.

Parks acted in violation of NRS 159.083 in her negligence to perform her duties to protect and preserve the estate of the Ward. Parks should have been collecting the Ward's mail, and was negligent in NOT PAYING (emphasis added) the HOA fees on the residence. Parks has argued that she had no jurisdiction over the Trust and no responsibility for the home, yet her actions reveal her fraud in taking control of the residence. The past due (HOA fees) were not addressed by Parks which then resulted in the home being foreclosed on by the HOA and sold at auction on November 21, 2013 for $22,000. All of this was unknown to Mrs. Indig's family until August of 2014 when Parks filed the First Annual Accounting almost a year late. Had the First Annual Accounting been filed on time, Mrs. Indig's daughter would have had time to pay the back HOA fees thereby saving the home from foreclosure."

This is the second time April Parks has been reported impersonating a police officer when evicting elderly persons from their home. She was reported wearing such a costume and making similar threats at the time she "kidnapped" Rudy and Rennie North from their home. It was later learned that Parks is not an official "Officer of the Court," and had no right to inform vulnerable people she was acting on an order from the Clark County Family Court.

The Boulder City, Nevada Police Department has launched a criminal investigation into the actions of April Parks in relation to the Indig case (Parks is a Boulder City resident). Judge Steel has been informed of the possible fraud, but has not yet taken court action against Parks, possibly pending the outcome of the Boulder City investigation.

Source:
Steve Miller:  The Story of Elizabeth Indig

Protecting Our Most Vulnerable Residents: 2014-2015 Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury Report

The 2014-2015 Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury (Grand Jury) received a complaint regarding the purported failure of law enforcement’s use of California Penal Code Section 368 in reporting incidences of elder and/or dependent adult abuse, especially when the alleged abuse was mental or emotional. The complaint suggested that law enforcement agencies whose policies did not include a specific reference to Penal Code 368 were more likely to treat elder and/or dependent abuse as social service, not criminal, issues.

The Grand Jury investigated agencies in Santa Clara County (County) for the following:

• Do county law enforcement manuals contain the policies, rules, and procedures to be used by officers in the field specifically reference Penal Code Section 368 or sufficiently encompass its intent?

• Is there uniformity among County law enforcement agencies as to how to address elder and dependent adult abuse?

• Is the training that county law enforcement officers receive regarding elder and dependent adult abuse sufficient?

• Are there adequate avenues for reporting elder and/or dependent adult abuse so that the Office of the District Attorney (DA’s Office) is able to prosecute appropriate cases?

Source:
Protecting Our Most Vulnerable Residents:  2014-2016 Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury Report

Portsmouth cop details relationship with elderly woman in inheritance dispute

By JASON SCHREIBER
Union Leader Correspondent

DOVER — Portsmouth police Sgt. Aaron Goodwin was with 93-year-old Geraldine Webber on the day she died.

He was by her side, as he had been at other times in the two years that he knew her.

He still remembers the final words she said to him just hours before her death on Dec. 11, 2012.

“I was just rubbing her head,” Goodwin said.

He wanted her to have a clear head, he said, so he asked her what she was thinking about and if there was anything she wanted to say that was unresolved.

“I’m thinking about that long drive to Foxwoods,” he recalled her telling him, referring to the time Goodwin and his brother drove a dolled-up Webber to Foxwoods Casino to re-live her gambling days.

Goodwin, the primary beneficiary of Webber’s $2.7 million estate, took the stand Tuesday for the first time in Dover probate court.

The hearing will decide the fate of her disputed will, rewritten in 2012.

The officer who befriended the elderly Portsmouth woman and is now at the center of a bitter court fight over her wealth described in detail how their friendship grew in the months after he first met Webber in late 2010 when he went to her home to investigate a crime.

Their relationship drew criticism from some parties who have challenged the will.

They accused Goodwin of taking advantage of Webber, who doctors said suffered from dementia.

Goodwin denies the allegations.

A judge must now decide whether Webber was mentally competent when she signed a new will rewritten by attorney Gary Holmes and whether Goodwin had undue influence over her.

The will was changed to leave her house, its contents, stocks and bonds, and a Cadillac to Goodwin.

Goodwin’s attorney, Charles Doleac, spent much of the day asking the questions, but Goodwin is expected to return to the stand Wednesday for a grilling by lawyers representing those contesting the will.

Goodwin testified about how he would visit Webber regularly and offered her assistance as she lived at home alone.

He and his wife would send meals to her at times; after she broke her wrist, Goodwin said he stopped by before work to prepare her breakfast.

Goodwin said he invited her to his house for Thanksgiving once, but she didn’t end up coming.

“She regarded me like a second son,” he said.

Webber’s son died in the 1990s. Her only living direct relative is her grandson, Brett.

Goodwin testified that he became uncomfortable when Webber informed him on Christmas Eve in 2010 — just a couple of months after they met — that she wanted to leave her waterfront home to him in her will.

She contacted him again a short time later and asked if he wanted the contents of her house.

Meeting with chief

Goodwin said he decided to meet with then-Police Chief Lou Ferland to tell him about his relationship with Webber and that she had offered him her house.

Goodwin claims Ferland told him that it appeared the two had developed a personal relationship and that it was acceptable, but that he should see Webber and help her only when off-duty and on lunch breaks.

That contradicted last week’s testimony from Ferland, who maintained he was unaware of the inheritance until after Webber’s death.

“I think the evidence would show that Chief Ferland is mistaken,” Goodwin said.

Goodwin also testified about how Webber had complained about her longtime attorney, James Ritzo, who she accused of stealing money; the allegations were unfounded.

Ritzo later complained about Goodwin and expressed concerns about the relationship he had quickly developed with Webber.

Goodwin admitted that he later helped Webber find a new attorney to rewrite the will, but insisted that Webber was the driving force behind hiring a new lawyer.

“That’s what she wanted,” he said.

Called ‘my love’

Goodwin also recalled how he tried to help socialize Webber by taking her out. They went to Foxwoods and he said he took her out on three occasions for Bloody Marys.

“I looked upon her as somebody I was honored to know and happy to help,” Goodwin said, adding that Webber made him “smile” and that he was “there to comfort her where her son wasn’t.”

His attorney spent part of Tuesday afternoon reviewing Webber’s calendar and her references to Goodwin as “my love.”

Goodwin said he considered the “my love” references to be similar to something a mother would say to a son.

“It was a motherly thing, a grandmotherly thing,” he said.

Full Article & Source:
Portsmouth cop details relationship with elderly woman in inheritance dispute

See Also:
Officer's $2.7M benefactor had dementia, doctor testifies

Police Officer:  "I was Watching a Crime"

Police Brass Caught in Cop's Disputed Inheritance Case

Witness accused of 'lying' during cop's inheritance hearing

Lyz Boudreaux

DOVER — A witness in a case involving Portsmouth police Sgt. Aaron Goodwin's disputed $2.7 million inheritance was accused of lying on the witness stand Monday, the sixth day of a hearing to dispute the last will and trust for the late Geraldine Webber.

That witness, Lyz Boudreaux, testified she was introduced to Webber by Goodwin and was asked if she went to Webber's home after Webber's remains were removed on the day of the elderly woman's death. 

"Not on the day," Boudreaux said. "I did months later."

"And you're clear on that?" asked attorney Paul McEachern.

"Yes," Boudreaux answered.

After Boudreaux left the courtroom, McEachern called Webber's neighbor, Diane Connors, to the witness stand as a rebuttal witness.

"She's lying," Connors said. "I saw Lyz go in the house. For about an hour."

Also testifying Monday were three local lawyers who were asked to change Webber's will to Goodwin's benefit, but for varying reasons did not. Multiple parties allege Webber was impaired by dementia and unduly influenced by Goodwin when she made him the primary beneficiary of her large estate.

When she was on the stand, Boudreaux said Goodwin told her Webber was "very lonely," so she began visiting the elderly woman twice weekly. After Webber fell and was injured, a month before she died, Boudreaux said she visited Webber daily. She said Webber told her that Goodwin was "like a son to her," that she was "very fond of him" and that she "adored him." 

When he was deposed on Oct. 16, attorney Gary Holmes (who wrote Webber's disputed will and trust) said Goodwin met Boudreaux while responding to a break-in at her home and because she found him to be "a very caring, very thorough person," she later contacted him to ask if there was anything she could do for him. According to Holmes, Goodwin suggested Boudreaux get involved in the police K-9 booster group and "help" him with Webber.  

According to the first accounting for Webber's estate, $1,005 was paid from the estate to Boudreaux on April 30, 2013, for her "services, research, preparation and sale of costume jewelry" that belonged to Webber.

Five months earlier, Boudreaux wrote a letter to the editor to the Herald defending Goodwin and criticizing the Herald for its "fact-less 'story'" about the probate court allegations against him.

Also testifying Monday was attorney David Mulhern, who said he was contacted by Goodwin on Feb. 8, 2011 regarding Webber's estate plan. Goodwin previously testified that Webber told him on Christmas Eve 2010 that she wanted to give him her house.

Mulhern testified that he was provided with a copy of Webber's 2008 will when he met with her, while court records indicate her last will at the time had been prepared in 2009.

He said Webber described her house as being worth hundreds of millions of dollars, which he said was "drastically at odds with reality" and a concern for him in terms of her testamentary capacity; the legal standard for competency to execute an estate plan.

Mulhern said Webber told him she had taken care of her grandson Brett through a certificate of deposit at the Piscataqua Savings Bank, but when he later checked, he learned that was not the case. He said Webber told him Brett was "all set," adding he was "somewhat distressed to find out it was not all set."

The estate attorney testified that he was also concerned about the fact that he was initially contacted by Goodwin, who was to be a primary beneficiary. He said he found Webber to be "elderly" and having "physical problems" and arranged for her authorization to get her medical records.

Mulhern said he contacted Webber's primary care physician, Dr. Ira Schwartz, and in May 2011, received a phone message from Schwartz saying, "I cannot attest to her competency. I can give you more details why, plus other information you may find relevant. There is no way in the world I am going to be able say this eccentric woman is competent."

In a May 9, 2011, letter to Webber, Mulhern wrote "it is clear to me that serious professional questions have arisen about your testamentary capacity." Mulhern wrote to Webber that he'd discussed the situation with her doctor, her accountant, a bank representative and with Goodwin. He explained that any will he wrote would be "highly subject to legal challenge and that such a challenge might well be successful."

He advised Webber to proceed through the county probate court, with a guardian appointed to assist her, he testified.

Mulhern said he later sent his entire file to attorney Gary Holmes.

Next to take the witness stand on Monday was attorney William Boesch, who said he would have prepared a will for Webber on the one day he met her; May 23, 2011. He said he was initially contacted by Webber, who said she got his name from Goodwin.

Boesch said Webber allowed him to read the letter she had from Mulhern, in which Mulhern declined to change her estate plans. But, Boesch said, he found Webber to be someone who was "not easily influenced." He said she was lucid, coherent, articulate and intelligent.

"She also said several times, 'It's my property and I'll do whatever I want,'" he said. "On that day, I would have had her sign a will."

Portsmouth attorney Jack McGee also testified Monday, saying he was initially contacted by attorney Justin Nadeau who said he was representing Goodwin, who was helping Webber with her estate plans. McGee said he met with Weber on Aug. 18, 2011 for about an hour and that during the second half of their meeting, she "began to misfire." 

He said he too was presented with a copy of her 2008 will, which was presented as current. Webber, he said, mentioned three step-grandchildren, but forgot to mention her son's son, Brett, her only living heir. He said she also didn't know where Brett Webber lived. 

McGee said Webber referred to her daughter-in-law using the wrong first name, an error he discovered by going though her address book, with her permission. He said those were concerns, as well as the fact that when Webber urged him to reference her stack of legal paperwork, he found correspondence from prior attorneys she had contacted, including Mulhern's letter about getting a court-appointed guardian.

McGee said Webber referred to Mulhern as "a thief and a robber," but he concluded she was referring to his bill for payment.

When he left Webber's home, McGee said, he ran into his friend and her neighbor John Connors. McGee said Connors told him he was the latest in a series of lawyers to visit Webber and that she was "losing it."

McGee said he called Nadeau the following day to say he wouldn't be taking the case, due to a conflict because of his friendship with Connors. He said he also advised Nadeau to "be careful." 

The hearing resumes Tuesday in the 7th Circuit-Probate Division-Dover.

Full Article & Source:
Witness accused of 'lying' during cop's inheritance hearing

See Also:
Officer's $2.7M benefactor had dementia, doctor testifies

Police Officer:  "I was Watching a Crime"

Police Brass Caught in Cop's Disputed Inheritance Case

Officer's $2.7M benefactor had dementia, doctor testifies



Dr. Ira Schwartz

DOVER — Geraldine Webber had dementia, had fallen several times and broken bones, and lost her ability to tell a dirty joke, said her physician, Dr. Ira Schwartz, on the first day of the hearing to contest Webber's last will and trust.

The hearing is being held at the 7^th Circuit Court – Probate Division – in Dover, where multiple parties allege police Sgt. Aaron Goodwin exerted undue influence over Webber, while she was impaired by dementia, to inherit her waterfront home, stocks, bonds and a Cadillac.

 Through his attorney, Chuck Doleac, Goodwin denies the allegations and asserts that he provided Webber comfort and care.

Goodwin did not appear in the court on Monday, but Portsmouth Police Chief Stephen DuBois attended the first day of trial. Dr. Schwartz was questioned most of the day by attorney David Eby, who represents the Shriner's Hospital for Children and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, both of which saw diminished inheritances when Webber's will was re-written to benefit Goodwin. 

Schwartz said he was Webber's physician for about 20 years and reported concerns about her to the state Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services several times during the later part of her life. He said he had only made that kind of report about 10 times, for three to seven patients, during his entire medical career.

Schwartz said Webber was diagnosed with dementia "at least" by 2008.

She signed documents to leave the majority of her estate to Goodwin in May of 2012.

In 2008, Schwartz testified, he gave Webber a "mini mental test," because she expressed concern about her memory and some of his nurses thought she'd been confused. Her score indicated she had "mild cognitive impairment," he said.

Goodwin became Webber's medical contact in February 2011, said Schwartz and notes from his office staff described Goodwin as a friend, neighbor and police officer. Webber lived on Shaw Road in Portsmouth at the time, while court records show Goodwin lived in Dover.

The physician said that on Feb. 24, 2011, Webber was admitted to Portsmouth Regional Hospital for bleeding, due to her blood-thinning medication being "out of control."

He said she received a psychiatric evaluation that day because of her inability to understand the impact of her health problems. "I already had concerns about her cognitive status," Schwartz said, adding that he was concerned about her returning home with potentially "life-threatening" medical problems.

Dr. Simon Eison, the psychiatrist who examined Webber, reported that she did not know the day or date, Schwartz said, while calling that consistent with his knowledge of Webber at the time.

"In my opinion, it was more than mild dementia," he said, adding that he had concerns about the fact that Webber lived alone. "She was incompetent to make medical decisions." 

Schwartz said that over the years, Webber would tell him an off-color joke at the start of their appointments, but when those jokes stopped, he considered it one indication of her mental decline. He said he was most concerned about her inability to understand her medical problems.

In April 2011, Schwartz testified, he was contacted by attorney David Mulhern who sought an opinion about whether Webber was competent to sign a legal document. The physician said he left a voice mail for Mulhern saying he could "not attest to her competence."

A 30-year practicing attorney, Mulhern was deposed Feb. 17 when he said Goodwin called him in early 2011 and asked him to revise Webber's will.

He said five things concerned him: that he was initially contacted about changing a will by a potential beneficiary, that the potential beneficiary was a police officer, that Webber was of advanced age, that she may not have known the true value of her property, and that she was dissatisfied with her longtime lawyer.

Schwartz testified Monday that he called the state Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services (BEAS) in August 2011 to dispute a report one of its staff members had filed that said there was nothing of concern involving Webber's care.

"I called and said, 'I disagree,'" he said. "My concern was that their evaluation was inaccurate."

In the fall of 2011, he said, he met with attorney Gary Holmes who also inquired about Webber's ability to endorse a new will. Schwartz said he told Holmes that not only did he think she was incapable of doing so, a psychiatrist had already made that determination.

Holmes prepared the disputed will and trust in May of 2012.

In March 2012, Schwartz said, he reported to BEAS that Webber had significant dementia and needed protection.

In April of that year, she told him that someone had stolen a painting from her, but when he questioned her about it, "the answers never made it clear what the circumstances were," he said. (continue reading)

Full Article & Source:
Officer's $2.7M benefactor had dementia, doctor testifies

See Also:
Police Officer:  "I was Watching a Crime"

Police Brass Caught in Cop's Disputed Inheritance Case

No Police Accountability in Police Shooting of Illinois 95-Year-Old WWII Vet

By John Kass
IF you've ever heard the sound of a broom on a shop floor, sweeping up right before closing time, you would have heard it in the raspy voice of Cook County Associate Judge Luciano Panici reading his decision in the Wrana case. 

It wasn't crumbs or dust bits or sawdust from under the chopping block. Instead, he was sweeping accountability for one human life, and perhaps saving another life in the process. 

That was the effect of his decision in the case of Park Forest police Officer Craig Taylor, charged with felony reckless conduct in the July 2013 shooting of John Wrana, the 95-year-old World War II veteran who died after being shot four times at close range with beanbag rounds from a 12-gauge shotgun.

"It is a tragedy whenever there is loss of life that follows a confrontation," Panici began, reading from his papers in a South Side voice, a voice like my own, our vowels aligned by neighborhood. 

Panici had frowned from the moment he began presiding over the case. But on Wednesday he'd stopped frowning. He offered no admonition to the police officers involved.

And Taylor walked. 

"The force used by Craig Taylor was not excessive," Panici said. "There was nothing reckless. There was nothing criminal about his actions." 

There were five cops in Wrana's room at the Victory Centre assisted living facility. Wrana had a knife and a shoehorn and a cane. They had guns and a riot shield and Tasers and muscle and youth and that 12-gauge Mossberg pump-action police shotgun loaded with beanbag rounds.       

They're called "less-lethal" rounds, since the rounds aren't designed to penetrate the skin and explode, but merely to thump the body and put it down. Police in Ferguson, Mo., are experimenting with similar technology, where anger and fire and protests and looting erupted after the police killing of Michael Brown. 

But there were no protests for John Wrana, were there? World War II veterans didn't form up and scream. That's not their way. They're old and dying every day. And then there was that bit from Taylor's defense counsel, Terry Ekl, who said he was sick and tired of hearing about Wrana's war service. 

Ekl is an excellent lawyer, one of the best around, with amazing skills of argument. He's so good he could argue a 5-pound chunk of bologna right through the smallest buttonhole on your lapel, and you wouldn't even taste it.

"I've heard enough about World War II," Ekl said during the trial. "It's nothing but an attempt to create more sympathy for Mr. Wrana." 

But John Wrana didn't get any sympathy, did he? Not really.

He was old and delirious, suffering from a suspected urinary tract infection, which can lead to delusions. He didn't want to be taken to the hospital. He waved a knife and a shoehorn at cops. He swore at them. And they said they were afraid for their very lives. 

They didn't give him sympathy. They didn't give him respect. And at trial, his service to his country was deemed irrelevant. 

But they did give John Wrana something: 

They gave him four beanbag rounds to the abdomen, chest and arms at a range of 6 to 8 feet, with Taylor racking rounds and pulling the trigger, pumping and firing and pumping and firing. 

Part of the old man's intestinal wall ruptured, and he bled out. 

In his decision, it was clear Judge Panici bought into the defense's argument that Wrana prompted his own death by refusing surgery that could have repaired the rupture.

True, Wrana refused it, personally and through his stepdaughter. But focusing on that alone is dealing with only half the truth of the situation. 

Wrana had asked the doctor if he could be guaranteed he wouldn't end up on a ventilator in a vegetative state, and the stepdaughter has told me that the doctor would not make that guarantee. 

So John Wrana said to let him go. And that's what they did. They let him go. He didn't want it that way. But he didn't want to end his days with tubes down his throat. 

But in court and out of it, I got the sense from the legal experts that Wrana had killed himself. 

If only he'd obeyed officers. If only he hadn't become angry when they shot the Taser at him and failed. If only he hadn't waved that knife or the shoehorn that the terrified cops thought was the machete of a jungle ninja warrior. 

If only. If only. 

Then maybe they wouldn't have shot him down in his own room and then handcuff him to a chair and taken photos of him bleeding on the carpet. 

The problem with this case from the beginning was that Taylor was alone in court. But he wasn't alone in Wrana's room. 

They were other cops with him, formed up in "stack" formation behind the guy with the riot shield, so they could rush the old man two weeks shy of his 96th birthday, that deadly ninja who terrified them so. 

By charging only Taylor, and not his superior, the whole thing seemed unfair. 

I didn't want Taylor to go to prison. 

But I don't think he should be a police officer — any more than the commander who set up the stupid attack plan. 

A guilty verdict could have ruined Taylor's life, and those of his wife and children, and I didn't want that either. 

But there's got to be some accountability for what happened to John Wrana. 

And there is none. 

All accountability, all official shame, all official sorrow, it was all just swept away, by those broom stalks in Judge Panici's voice. And that's the tragedy.

 

Source:
No Police Accountability in Police Shooting of WWII Vet, 95

WWII Vet's Death a Textbook Case of Excessive Force, but no Hashtag for Him

By John Kass

And trial is scheduled to begin this week in south suburban Markham in the courtroom of Associate Judge Luciano Panici. A Park Forest police officer, Craig Taylor, stands accused of felony reckless conduct in connection with Wrana's death.

Veteran Wrana

Wrana served his country in India and Burma in the U.S. Army Air Forces and built a business and liked to play cards and shoot dice, and even have a drink on occasion. He died just weeks shy of his 96th birthday.

And he was in his room alone at an assisted living center in suburban Chicago on a night in July 2013. That's when five suburban cops rushed him.

One officer had a Taser and police riot shield, others had handguns, and one was armed with a 12-gauge Mossberg pump shotgun. The police said later they were afraid for their lives, though Wrana used a walker to get around.

What bothers me is that Taylor is the only cop charged by Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez.

There were others there with him. Police supervisors, others with higher rank.

Yes, Taylor pulled the trigger. He pumped the shotgun and pulled the trigger again and again, firing beanbag rounds at close range into the old man's guts, according to state investigators. So Taylor should wear the jacket, yes. But he wasn't in command. And he wasn't alone.

Unlike other, more celebrated police killings I mentioned above, the Wrana case hasn't generated all that much national attention, even though it is perhaps the perfect illustration of excessive force by law enforcement.

And someday perhaps, someone will explain to me why this one hasn't generated more discussion.

Full Article and Source:
WWII Vet's Death a Textbook Case of Excessive Force, but no Hashtag for Him

Assisted Living Workers Charged with Exploiting Elderly Man

Two assisted living employees were charged with exploiting an 88-year-old Mebane man.

Carol Elaine Cofery, 38,  was charged with exploitation of a disabled or elder adult through a position of trust or business relationship, and exploitation of a disabled or elder adult lacking capacity; and Brooke Michelle Mason  was charged with exploitation of a disabled or elder person lacking capacity, according to a Mebane Police Department press release. Both individuals were employees of Pittsboro-based Carolina Home Stay.

Adult Protective Services notified the Mebane Police Department of a possible elder adult exploitation case May 1 after the man and his daughter hired Carolina Home Stay to stay with him and assist him with daily activates.

“Through the course of the investigation, it was determined that employees working for Carolina Home Stay LLC and possibly other non-employees had exploited (the victim) for monetary gain,” according to the press release.

It is estimated that approximately $400,000 was exploited from the victim during a two-year time period, according to Alamance County warrants.

Full Article and Source:
Assisted Living Workers Charged With Exploiting Elderly Mebane Man

Palo Alto Police Alleged to Have Kidnapped Autistic Daughter 12 Years Ago

The city of Palo Alto will go to trial next month over a lawsuit filed by a couple who says a police detective abused her power and wrongfully took their autistic daughter away from them 12 years ago. But the Palo Alto city attorney’s office contends that the police officer was just doing her job.

The daughter, now 42, now lives in the San Andreas regional center in Campbell, a state run home for the developmentally disabled. The police officer accused, Detective Lori Kratzer, no longer works for Palo Alto police, but the city is still on the hook in the lawsuit.

The trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 3 in San Mateo County Superior Court, according to the couple’s Lawyer, David Beauvais.  The city council is scheduled to discuss the lawsuit, which stems from a November 2001 incident, in closed session on Monday.

In November 2001, Jeffrey and Elsie Golan lived in a trailer at 809 San Antonio Road in Palo Alto with their epileptic, developmentally disabled, autistic daughter Nancy, who was 31. They were starting businesses at the rented office space.

 

‘Happy, simple, gregarious’

Nancy spoke a few words, but could dress, feed herself and go to the bathroom on her own. “She was generally a very happy, simple, gregarious, lovable, charming, outgoing person… capable of feeling and experiencing all normal emotions.” according to the lawsuit.

Nancy was well cared for, according to the suit.  Her parents watched her around the clock, took her on long walks and try to get her out to interact with other people whenever possible.
“Nancy always came first,” the Golins’ lawsuit stated.

On Nov. 15, 2001, Nancy Golin woke up from taking a nap in the family’s van and wandered away while her mother was in the bathroom.  It wasn’t the first time she had walked away without warning, in fact it happened dozens of times before, by all accounts. The Golins called police, who searched all night with dogs but didn’t find her.

 

Police declare home a crime scene

In the morning, police, taking direction from Kratzer, swarmed the couples abode. There were as many as 20 police officers and 10 patrol cars there, according to the Golins lawsuit. Police photographed the van, looked for the Golins daughter in a nearby dumpster and took photos of the van, which they referred to as a “crime scene,” according to the Golins lawsuit.

Police also investigated the couple, but didn’t read them their Miranda rights or formally arrest them, the Golins’ Lawsuit said.

Kratzer told the couple that police needed to take Nancy to Stanford hospital for a checkup, according to the lawsuit. The couple claims that the detective never indicated that she was taking Nancy away because she suspected they weren’t caring for her.

After being brought to Stanford for a mental evaluation, she was put in the psychiatric ward. A year later, she would be placed in a residential care facility. She would never live with their parents again.

Full Article and Source:
Palo Alto Police Alleged to Have Kidnapped Autistic Daughter 12 Years Ago

See Also:
FreeNancy.com

NASGA:  Nancy Golin, California Victim

Linda Kincaid Reports: Elder Abuse at Lakeside Park in Oakland: Resident Denied Visits and Phone Calls

Lakeside Park assisted living facility advertises:

“Lakeside Park in Oakland is a nationally recognized community providing the highest level of assisted living for families and elders living with dementia.”

Resident Elinor Frerichs might not agree. Elinor’s family and friends report that Lakeside Park prevented Elinor having visitors and phone calls for the past year. Elder advocates recently confirmed that Elinor is confined and isolated. That isolation is in violation of California’s licensing regulations. It also constitutes criminal elder abuse as specified in Penal Code 368.

On September 16, 2014, Coalition for Elder & Dependent Adult Rights filed the following complaint with Community Care Licensing.

"Pam Gill, Regional Manager
Eastbay Delta Adult and Senior Care Regional Office
Community Care Licensing Division
Department of Social Services
1515 Clay Street, Suite 310, MS 29-21
Oakland, CA 94612

Telephone: (510) 286-4201;
FAX: (510) 286-4204
“pam.gill@dss.ca.gov"

Dear Ms. Gill,

Please accept this letter as a second complaint of elder abuse and violations of licensing regulations at Lakeside Park at 468 Perkins Street in Oakland, CA (RCFE License #015601384).

Chronology
On September 5, 2014, Dr. Robert Fettgather (408-371-6239) and I went to Lakeside Park and asked to visit resident Elinor Frerichs. Executive Director Cheryl Martin stated that Elinor was taking a nap and did not wish to see us. I asked if we could wait in the lobby for Elinor to wake from her nap. Ms. Martin ordered us to leave the facility. I stated that I would call Oakland Police Department for a welfare check, which I proceeded to do.

About twenty minutes later, Ms. Martin enthusiastically invited us back into the facility. She stated that that Elinor was awake from her nap and wished to visit with us. Ms. Martin required that we conduct our visit in her office where she could observe the visit and listen to the conversation.

On September 7, 2014, I went to Lakeside Park to visit with resident Elinor Frerichs. Richard Calhoun (408-926-0365) and two elder advocates from the Congress of California Seniors accompanied me. The front door to the facility was locked. We rang for entry, but staff ignored us for about five minutes. Another person arrived and also rang for entry. Lakeside Park Administrative Assistant Roxie Stevenson came to the door allowed the other person to enter. Then Ms. Stevenson rudely told us that Elinor was way from the facility. We asked if we could wait in the lobby for Elinor to return. Ms. Stevenson refused to allow us into the building...."

Full Article and Source:
Elder Abuse at Lakeside Park in Oakland: Resident Denied Visits and Phone Calls

Police Commission Authorizes Probe of Shady Inheritance

The chairman of the city's Police Commission announced that the commission will authorize an independent review into circumstances surrounding Sgt. Aaron Goodwin's disputed $2.7 million inheritance after the estate is settled.

“The case will reach a conclusion, either through trial or mediation,” said Commissioner John Golumb. “At that point, the Police Commission will authorize an independent review of the events and decisions that were made, which have given rise to concerns both internally and externally.”

A mediation hearing about Goodwin's contested inheritance was held all day Monday, when lawyers for most of the parties discussed dollars and percentages that could settle the case without a trial, said attorney Jim Ritzo.

 

A 2009 will for the late Geraldine Webber was written by Ritzo and did not name Goodwin as a beneficiary. Hampton attorney Gary Holmes wrote a new will and trust for Webber in 2012, which leaves Goodwin the majority of her estate, including a riverfront home, stocks, bonds and a Cadillac.

 

Multiple parties are contesting the 2012 will and trust, alleging that Goodwin exerted undue influence over Webber while she was impaired by dementia. The case has prompted multiple news stories, has been widely discussed and motivated one retiree to protest in Market Square.

 

“We are sympathetic to the frustrations of the community over the commission's inability to address their concerns, due to the nature of the pending litigation and our effort to preserve the integrity of the process,” Golumb said. “We are, however, committed to addressing all concerns at the appropriate time.”

 

Ritzo said he attended much of Monday's mediation hearing and that attorney Alan Cronheim also represented his interests. Ritzo said he was never paid by Webber for the 25 years he worked as her attorney and submitted a $65,000 bill to her estate for those services.

 

Ritzo said the mediation hearing was presided over by retired judge and Portsmouth resident John Maher, who “worked hard” to facilitate an agreement. According to Ritzo, many proposals were discussed and the overall theme was to create a new estate document that's a combination of the 2009 will and the 2012 will and trust.

 

Specifics discussed during Monday's hearing are confidential, but a report summarizing the final outcome will be public, Ritzo said.

 

“I think the case will settle,” he said. “They discussed putting something together that will make everyone happy.”

 

Under the terms of Webber's 2009 will, the city police and fire departments were each designated to receive one-quarter of Webber's estate, after the sale of her home and assets. In the will and trust Webber endorsed in 2012, the departments are each named as $25,000 beneficiaries.

 

Webber's disabled grandson, Brett, is represented by attorney Lisa Bellanti. Webber's only living heir, he was excluded from the 2012 will and trust.

 

Any agreement reached Monday would have to be approved by a probate court judge. A trial to hear evidence in the case is scheduled for January 2015.

 

Webber died in December 2012 at age 94.

 

Full Article and Source:
Police Commission Authorizes Probe of Goodwin's Inheritance

Conflict of Interest? Explanations Needed!

In 2012, longtime Portsmouth resident, 92-year-old Geraldine Webber, changed her will to make then 33-year-old officer Aaron Goodwin the primary beneficiary of her estate and it is the year she died.

Also, in 2012, the state of New Hampshire earned a "D" on the New Hampshire Corruption Risk Report Card (www.stateintegrity.org/new_hampshire) by the State Integrity Investigation (a joint project of the Center for Public Integrity, Global Integrity and Public Radio International.

Police Sgt. Goodwin claims he received ethical clearance from his "superiors" to pursue a personal relationship with a woman in her 90s afflicted with dementia, enabling him to become the primary beneficiary of her $2.7 million estate, which resulted in the disinheritance of her only surviving relative (a disabled grandson) and of her long-term local friends who took her for meals and provided rides, structure and socialization for her for more than a decade, and also reduced inheritances for esteemed health care and educational institutions, and our own Portsmouth Police and Fire Departments (that is, the taxpaying citizens who employ Goodwin).

Ironically, as can be seen in Webber's 2012 estate planning DVD prepared by attorney Gary Holmes, Webber laments that she does not know how to reach Whitey Bulger, a career criminal linked to corrupt law enforcement in the 1970s. She would like to hire him to knock off anyone who tries to interfere in her plans to change her will. In addition to noting her questionable mental status on the DVD, one can only speculate about why Webber dwelled on the memory of a criminal noteworthy for his links to corrupt law enforcement during the process to revise her will.

 

The public needs to know if Goodwin is accurate in his claim that the leadership of the Portsmouth Police Department "cleared" him of "any ethical conflicts" when he pursued a relationship with Webber, as reported in the Portsmouth Herald's July 9 publication. The public also needs to know on what basis Goodwin's "superiors" make their ethical decisions.

 

The impact of questionable ethical guidance must not be swept under the rug through a mediated out-of-court settlement as is being advocated by the legal representation for Goodwin, attorney Chuck Doleac, and for attorney Gary Holmes who revised Webber's will in 2012; defense of this 2012 will is being provided by attorney Ralph Holmes.

 

Full Article and Source:
Explanations Needed in Webber/Goodwin Case

NJ Attorney General Announces Arrests In Major Elder Fraud Case

Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that a prominent Atlantic County attorney who specializes in elder law and the owner of an in-home senior care company were arrested on charges they conspired to prey on elderly clients and steal their life savings.  The two women allegedly stole over $2 million from at least 10 victims. The company owner’s sister and a former employee also are charged in the investigation by the State Police and the Division of Criminal Justice.

The following two women were arrested yesterday in the ongoing investigation. They are charged by complaint with first-degree money laundering, second-degree conspiracy and second-degree theft by deception for allegedly stealing from the victims, who lived in Atlantic and Cape May counties.

 Barbara Lieberman, 62, of Northfield, the attorney, was arrested at her home on Northwood Court.  Search warrants were executed there and at her law office on New Road in Northfield.  She was lodged in jail with bail set at $300,000.  The state froze approximately $5 million in assets Lieberman holds in various accounts, which it will seek to use for restitution.

·Jan Van Holt, 57, of Linwood, the owner of “A Better Choice,” a company that purportedly offered seniors “custom designed life care and legal financial planning,” was arrested at her home on West Vernon Avenue. She also was lodged in jail with bail set at $300,000.

Investigators previously filed charges of second-degree theft by deception against Van Holt’s sister, Sondra Steen, 58, of Linwood, who lives with her and helped her operate “A Better Choice,” and Susan Hamlett, 55, of Egg Harbor Township, who worked for them as an aid for elderly clients.

The defendants allegedly targeted elderly clients with substantial assets who typically did not have any immediate family, offering them non-medical care and assistance, including financial and legal services.  The defendants allegedly took control of the finances of their victims by forging a power of attorney or obtaining one on false pretenses.  The defendants then added their names to the victims’ bank accounts or transferred the victims’ funds into new accounts they controlled.  Thereafter, the defendants allegedly siphoned away the money to pay their own expenses, including, for Van Holt, two Mercedes cars, a Florida condo, pool supplies and veterinary bills for her pets.  Lieberman allegedly used stolen funds to pay off six-figure credit card bills.  In one case, the defendants allegedly put a reverse mortgage for $195,000 on a 94-year-old woman’s home.  That victim died in a nursing home because she could not afford to live in her home after her assets allegedly were stolen.  Lieberman and Van Holt also executed the wills of some of the victims and allegedly continued to steal from their estates after they died.

“These women allegedly preyed ruthlessly on elderly clients, most of whom were facing the end of life without family and with only their savings to ensure they would be cared for properly,” said Acting Attorney General Hoffman. “We’re supposed to honor our elders, but these women heartlessly exploited them, allegedly stripping them of their life savings and their ability to live out their final days in comfort, peace and dignity. This is an ongoing investigation, and we urge any individuals who suspect that they or their loved ones may have had their assets stolen by these defendants to notify us.”

Full Article & Source:
NJ Attorney General Announces Arrests In Major Elder Fraud Case

CA: Monterey Public Guardian Seeks to Chemically Restrain Elder Abuse Victim

On January 29, 2014, the Monterey County, California Public Guardian sought permissionn from the Court to forcibly administer psychotropic medications to conservatee and elder abuse victim Margarita Zelada.  The court continued the hearing to Wednesday, March 19, 2014, when they will again consider whether the Public Guardian will forcibly administer chemical restraint to a frail elderly woman who pleads for her liberty.

 

In March 2013, the Public Guardian engaged Pacific Grove Police Department to forcibly remove Margarita from her daughter’s home where she was visiting. Witnesses tell of ten officers with guns drawn and leveled Margarita’s daughter.

 

A private duty nurse recalls a female officer “barrel chested” Margarita’s daughter after the daughter asked to see a warrant authorizing entry into her home. No warrant was presented.

 

The same nurse said Margarita’s screams were the most horrible thing she ever heard. A year later, Margarita’s nightmare continues.

 

Margarita is imprisoned and isolated at Senior Paradise in Del Rey Oaks, over two hours from her home in San Francisco. The front door of the facility has three locks preventing entry or escape. Director Margaret Camera told elder rights advocates the Public Guardian instructed her to call police if anyone asked to visit Margarita.

 

Bowing to pressure from elder rights advocates, the Public Guardian allowed Margarita three short visits with her daughter in fall of 2013. Margarita spoke of being in prison and begged for her liberty.

The Public Guardian terminated the visits. Margarita last visited with her daughter on November 15, 2013.

 

The Public Guardian also obtained a court order denying Margarita her right to contact with advocates. Monterey County was the first to seek an order specifically crafted to circumvent the personal rights stated in AB937, signed into law in August 2013.
 

Seeking validation to further violate Margarita’s civil rights, the Public Guardian will return to court on March 19 with a motion to forcibly administer psychotropic medications.

The Public Guardian reports to the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. Readers may contact the Board at the following email addresses.

District 1: Fernando Armenta, district1@co.monterey.ca.us
District 2: Louis R. Calcagno, district2@co.monterey.ca.us
District 3: Simón Salinas, district3@co.monterey.ca.us
District 4: Jane Parker, district4@co.monterey.ca.us
District 5: Dave Potter, district5@co.monterey.ca.us

 

Full Article and Source:
Monterey County Public Guardian Seeks to Chemically Restrain Elder Abuse Victim

See Also:
NASGA:  Margarita Zelada, California Victim