Guardianship registration revoked for Betsy Savitt, wife of retired judge

The state on Thursday revoked the registration of professional guardian Elizabeth “Betsy” Savitt, the wife of former guardianship Judge Martin Colin and the subject of criminal and administrative investigations based on complaints first reported in The Palm Beach Post.

The ruling by the Department of Elder Affairs came despite a December recommendation by an administrative law judge to drop disciplinary proceedings against Savitt. The judge had found that the new guardianship office lacked jurisdiction and failed to make its case.

But Elder Affairs’ reversed parts of the recommendation and the end result. The ruling should give Florida seniors and their families confidence that the state will do everything under the law to protect them, Elder Affairs Secretary Richard Prudom said.

“I hope our action today serves as a deterrent for anyone seeking to exploit individuals under guardianship.” Prudom said. “Revoking Ms. Savitt’s registration is simply the right thing to do based on her repeated bad behavior and shows our seriousness and commitment to removing those self-serving bad actors who act unlawfully.”

It marked the first time a professional guardian has been disciplined in Florida since the Legislature allowed such action in a 2016 reform package. The state’s new Office of Public and Professional Guardians called the ruling against Savitt “historic.”

“We will not tolerate the exploitation of Floridians in the guardianship system that was established to help them,” said Carol Berkowitz, executive director of the guardianship office.

Savitt eroded the public trust with “repeated violations of law” and deserved the harshest discipline available to prevent any further harm to the public, Berkowitz said.

Savitt can’t be appointed to any cases in Palm Beach County without her registration and faces removal from her current cases, the chief judge’s office has stated.

Savitt was the subject of a 2016 Palm Beach Post investigation that showed how lawyers who represented her also relied on her husband to approve fees in other cases, sometimes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The inspector general of the Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller’s Office determined in March 2017 “that Savitt was involved with corruption and collusion of judges and lawyers in Delray Beach for financial gain.”

The clerk’s office received at least four calls about Savitt to its guardianship hotline and referred matters to the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office, which found no probable cause to charge her.

The guardianship office, relying on the newly passed state law, used the clerk’s report in its administrative complaint filed last year. It pointed out that Savitt, as first reported in The Post, took more than $20,000 in fees from the savings of her wards prior to judicial approval.

Savitt’s attorney responded to questions late Thursday night, claiming the process was rigged against her client and that the guardian would seek an appeal of the final order in the courts.

“It is important for the public to know that the plaintiff, the Department of Elder Affairs, who brought the administrative complaint against Ms. Savitt, and who lost in the trial before an independent judge who recommended that the complaint be dismissed, is the same party who is now deciding to overturn the independent judge and rule against Ms. Savitt,” Morris said in an email.

The guardianship office said Savitt violated three sections of the state guardianship statute by taking the retainers and thus failing to act in good faith, failing to act in the best interests of the ward and abusing her power as a guardian.

“Thank God, really. It is like a load off my back,” said James Vassallo, whose father was one of Savitt’s wards. “Finally, she is not going to be out there hurting anybody, taking money from the kids and grandkids and from hard-working people from the Depression days.”

Dr. Sam Sugar, the founder of American Against Abusive Probate Guardianship, was a key force in getting the Legislature to pass the reforms.

Sugar on Thursday praised the Department of Elder Affairs, heralding that it “has finally seen fit to take the bold and long overdue action of decertifying one of the many notorious professional guardians in Florida who for years have preyed upon seniors in our state.”

He added that he hoped the Savitt decision is “our long-awaited tipping point with the department and law enforcement to finally realize the danger posed by out-of-control abusive guardians.”

Colin and Savitt have long denied any wrongdoing. Savitt says she has never been removed as a guardian — though she has resigned from cases following complaints from the loved ones of seniors put in her guardianships.

After The Post’s publication, Colin was transferred out of the guardianship division and announced his retirement. All of Savitt’s cases were moved out of Delray Beach. The 15th Judicial Circuit then put in place guardianship reforms aimed at Savitt, such as banning the use of retainers.

The decision Friday rejected the recommendation by Administrative Law Judge Mary Li Creasy, who oversaw a two-day hearing in September. Creasy recommended the effort to revoke Savitt’s registration be dropped, noting the law puts the onus on the courts to suss out conflicts of interest, not the guardian.

The 34-page Elder Affairs final order says her finding flies in the face of the Legislature’s intent to grant authority to the guardianship office to discipline guardians.

Complaints from families of Savitt’s wards varied.

They said in court records that the guardian ginned up fees with needless litigation and funneled money to certain relatives of wards. In one, Savitt tried to annul a marriage, in another she tried to tap into a lucrative trust of a stroke victim, court records showed.

Former attorneys of one senior tried to get Savitt removed, telling the court they suspected that $400,000 was missing from the ward’s bank account, but a judge sided with the guardian.

West Palm Beach attorney Thomas Dougherty fought Savitt in court on behalf of Vassallo and the family of another ward. He said the ruling Friday is “hopefully the wake-up call for all involved:” guardians, lawyers and the judges.

“There is no room for self-dealing when it comes to vulnerable people who need the protections guardianships were intended to afford,” Dougherty said.


Full Article & Source:
Guardianship registration revoked for Betsy Savitt, wife of retired judge

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Judge deals Florida’s new guardianship office big setback in Elizabeth Savitt case

The recommendation is a rebuke of Florida’s fledgling efforts to regulate professional guardians for incapacitated senior citizens

In a rebuke of Florida’s fledgling efforts to regulate professional guardians for incapacitated senior citizens, an administrative judge recommended the state drop its first ever effort to revoke the registration of a professional guardian — Palm Beach County’s Elizabeth “Betsy” Savitt.”

Savitt is the wife of former Circuit Judge Martin Colin. Families and guardianship reform advocates have long pointed to the couple as an example of a guardianship system that aims to extract fees from the life savings of incapacitated seniors and disabled adults.

Colin’s fellow judges — specifically family friend Circuit Judge David French who once oversaw the majority of her cases — were named in a report compiled by the Inspector General of the Palm Beach County’s Clerk & Comptroller’s Office finding “corruption and collusion of judges and lawyers in Delray Beach for financial gain.”

But it appears — for now — that the state’s new guardianship office’s aim to end Savitt’s career as a guardian in Palm Beach County has resulted in a swing and a miss.

Savitt “had no conflict between herself and Judge Colin because he did not appoint her or preside over her (professional guardian) cases,” wrote Administrative Law Judge Mary Li Creasy in a Dec. 21 recommendation to the Department of Elder Affairs.

And while the appearance of the potential conflict should have been better disclosed, Creasy said Savitt did not benefit and no seniors in her care were harmed.

Creasy, though, did find that Savitt violated guardianship statutes and abused her power by taking fees from the savings of her wards prior to court approval.

But the judge said the newly created Office of Public and Professional Guardians had no jurisdiction under the state law it cited to punish Savitt for acting “clearly against the wards’ best interest.”

“That is the exclusive purview of the circuit court which appointed (the professional guardian),” Creasy wrote in the decision filed. She said these judges ultimately approved these fees after Savitt had taken them improperly.

Repeatedly in her 35-page recommendation, Creasy said the state guardianship office failed to prove its case by clear and convincing evidence. As a result, Creasy recommended the office drop its case against Savitt ‒ a blow for the state’s novice effort to discipline guardians.

Savitt was quick to declare victory.

“As the court found, there was no impropriety in the handling of guardianship cases involving now retired Judges Martin Colin and David French or any other judges,” Savitt said in an email.

“There was insufficient evidence that I violated the guardianship statutes as charged and there was no evidence that any of my wards were harmed by me.”

However, Creasy’s recommendation remains for now just that ‒ a recommendation. The guardianship office falls under the Department of Elder Affairs, which will ultimately decide Savitt’s fate.

Ashley Chambers, spokeswoman for Elder Affairs, said the guardianship office does not agree with Creasy’s conclusions and will be submitting “exceptions” to the department, which has until March 21 to file its final order. Savitt will have a chance to challenge any final decision in an appellate court.

“Our Office of Public and Professional Guardianship (OPPG) will always pursue appropriate disciplinary action when a complaint investigation finds that a guardian has violated their statutory responsibilities or has not acted in the best interest of the ward,” Chambers said.

Robert Jarvis, a Nova Southeastern University law professor and expert on ethics, said that it’s clear Creasy thought the state guardianship office “did a terrible job presenting its case and was unwilling to cut it any slack.”

He notes Creasy stated that Savitt’s actions of failing to disclose her marriage and taking retainers before court approval erode the public confidence in the guardianship system. But the administrative judge added that “they are not actionable as charged” by the guardianship office.

“Savitt got very, very lucky,” Jarvis said. “Had the OPPG done a proper job of pleading, I have no doubt that Judge Creasy would have found that Savitt should be punished.”

Dr. Sam Sugar, founder of Americans Against Abusive Probate Guardianship, said he sees the judiciary once again protecting its own.

“If there were reason to question the integrity of the Florida judicial system this is Exhibit A,” Sugar said.

“This is a moment of deep shame that only reinforces the notion that the black robe mafia has nothing to worry about and can continue to lord over us in any way their whimsy dictates.”

The state guardianship office’s formed the basis of its administrative complaint from a detailed report compiled for it by Anthony Palmieri, the deputy inspector general of Palm Beach County’s Clerk & Comptroller’s Office.

“If the experience and expertise of Anthony Palmieri and the OPPG is insufficient to create a legally sufficient and powerful complaint to rid Florida from just one egregious guardian, then the rest of us in this state have no hope whatsoever of ever getting a fair shake from the probate courts,” Sugar said.

The clerk referred all questions to the state guardianship office.

North Palm Beach probate and guardianship attorney Mitchell Kitroser said the majority of guardians and the judges that they appear before work incredibly hard with far too little support. And despite Creasy’s recommendation, he thinks the state guardianship office’s investigation of Savitt will prove a reminder that the public’s perception of, and confidence in the legal process, is of paramount importance.

“One of the results of this investigation will be a greater sensitivity to the appearance that the public gets when a sitting judge and a close relative work in the same division of our legal system in the same county,” he said.

“Avoiding even the appearance of impropriety would, I think, help provide the public with greater confidence in the impartiality of our judiciary which is essential to the proper functioning of our legal system.”

Savitt’s work as a professional came to light in January 2016 in The Palm Beach Post’s investigative series, “Guardianship: A Broken Trust.”

Some of the attorneys who represented Savitt and funneled her guardianships appeared in front of Colin, relying on him to approve large fee requests in probate cases.

Following The Post’s report, Colin was transferred out of the probate division in February 2016 and retired at the end of that year. A criminal investigation into Colin was commenced by the State Attorney’s Office but resulted in no charges.

Complaints from families about Savitt can be found in several of her guardianships. A majority of Savitt’s cases were in front of French, a friend of the couple, who routinely dismissed complaints from family members of wards about Savitt.

In one guardianship case, Savitt tried to annul a ward’s marriage, which the spouse feared would cut her out from any inheritance. In two other cases, families accused Savitt of funneling money to relatives of the ward.

Savitt also took more than $20,000 in what she called retainers from her ward’s savings prior to judicial approval ‒ the behavior Creasy cited as a violation of guardianship law.

Then there was the time the former attorneys for 86-year-old Frances Berkowitz, a Savitt ward, claimed $400,000 was missing from the senior’s account. Their efforts to open up an inquiry were shut down by a circuit judge, who found the attorneys did not have standing.

Savitt often points out she has never been removed from a guardianship by a judge and that no judge ever found any wrongdoing on her part.

When families fought Savitt, they found themselves embroiled in extricated legal affairs ‒ all of which resulted in large legal fees that went to Savitt and her lawyers. All such fees in a guardianship are paid by the incapacitated ward, whose money was almost always under Savitt’s control.

After The Post’s 2016 stories, then Palm Beach County Chief Circuit Judge Jeffrey Colbath adopted guardianship reform in October 2016. He addressed many of the complaints about Savitt, prohibiting retainers and establishing a wheel to address any perceived favoritism toward certain guardians.

Savitt, in her email, noted she hoped with Creasy’s recommendation, The Post and the Clerk’s Office will end “their unhealthy obsession with me and my family.”

Full Article & Source:
Judge deals Florida’s new guardianship office big setback in Elizabeth Savitt case

See Also:

EXCLUSIVE: Betsy Savitt guardianship report alleges ‘wrongdoing by sitting judges’ 

Judge Martin Colin had a hand in his wife’s guardianship cases, state says

Post investigation: Another blow to Judge Colin

Judge in Post series moved from guardianship cases

Chief judge keeps public waiting on details of guardianship shakeup

Guardianships: A Broken Trust: Attorney: "Courts Have Allowed This Culture"

Guardianships: A Broken Trust, 115 Recusals in Six Months

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Ex-judge’s wife Betsy Savitt kicked off county’s guardianship registry

James Vassallo holds a photo of his parents, Albert Vassallo Sr. and Geraldine Mickey Vassallo, in November 2015. His father was a senior “ward” of Elizabeth “Betsy” Savitt, wife of Circuit Judge Martin Colin. (John Pacenti/The Palm Beach Post)

It’s on a loop that runs in James Vassallo’s mind. He repeats it every time he is asked about court-appointed professional guardian Elizabeth Savitt.

When he confronted Savitt over her billing practices, over the care of his incapacitated father, over the depleting of his father’s estate as her cadre of lawyers fought him through litigation, the former tennis instructor told him:

“There’s nothing you can do to me. My husband is a judge.”

For the first time since The Palm Beach Post exposed the vast conflict of interest between Savitt and her husband, Martin Colin — who at the time sat as a guardianship judge — the former tennis instructor no longer can be appointed new cases.

How long will Savitt be on the sidelines? At least a year, and maybe forever, depending on how an administrative judge rules on whether to impose sanctions against the guardian.

In the meantime, her husband is being investigated by the Florida Bar.

Chief Circuit Judge Krista Marx confirmed Savitt has been removed from the registry for guardians in Palm Beach County’s judicial circuit. The action was taken because Savitt failed to notify the circuit that she was the subject of an administrative complaint filed by the state’s Office of Public and Professional Guardians. She also was removed from the guardianship wheel for random assignment to cases. She can reapply next year.

“It is true that because I inadvertently did not notify court administration of the administrative complaint, I am off the wheel for one year only and this applies only to new guardianship cases in Palm Beach County,” Savitt told The Post. “None of my current guardianship cases are affected and I am continuing to provide guardianship and other related services to my clients.”

Savitt’s true fate rests in the hands of a state administrative judge, who is mulling the complaint, which seeks sanctions that could knock her off the registry for good.

If the administrative judge recommends that Savitt lose her state certification as a professional guardian, she would automatically be removed from the six cases she still has, Marx said.

Savitt is the first guardian to face an administrative complaint filed by the guardianship office, which was given regulatory authority over professional guardians by the state Legislature in March 2016 in an effort to reform the industry. Only the office can take away a guardian’s registration.

Marx added that applications of all guardians in the judicial circuit are reviewed by a committee annually and Savitt still would have to be approved in Palm Beach County to be eligible to again be appointed to cases.

IG report

Marx also addressed a damning Inspector General’s report on Savitt and Colin that serves as the basis for the administrative complaint, saying the issues predate reforms adopted in the wake of The Post’s 2016 investigation, “Guardianships: A Broken Trust.”

The reforms announced in October 2016 addressed many of the complaints from families about Savitt. For example, it banned her practice of taking thousands of dollars from the savings of her wards — which she called “retainers” — prior to a judge’s approval. To address favoritism, the judicial circuit created the wheel where guardians would be appointed randomly if the family of the incapacitated ward could not agree on one.

“Since the implementation of these procedures, court administration has not been made aware of new allegations related to Ms. Savitt,” Marx said.

Savitt vigorously fought any complaint about her actions — such as when she insisted on funneling an extra $54,000 to Vassallo’s sister for reasons still unknown. Or when the former attorneys of Frances Berkowitz alerted the court to $400,000 missing from the incapacitated senior’s banking account.

The State Attorney’s Office subpoenaed financial records and found no criminal activity, according to a close-out memo on that office’s investigation.

The IG report, emanating out of the Clerk and Comptroller’s Office, noted that while there was insufficient information to reach the high bar to file criminal charges, there was “circumstantial and anecdotal information of criminal corruption and collusion of the guardian and the judges, court staff and lawyers.”

The IG report named at least 14 Palm Beach County judges who appointed Savitt and approved her fees, approved improperly filed petitions and were involved in cases in which Colin funneled work to his wife. The report concluded the blatant conflict of interest she had with her husband resulted in “corruption and collusion of judges and lawyers in Delray Beach for financial gain.”

Colin himself signed orders in his wife’s cases and funneled guardianships to her by appointing certain attorneys, the report said. They were attorneys who relied on him to approve their fees in other matters.

Marx said she couldn’t comment on whether the IG’s report has been forwarded to the Judicial Qualifications Commission, which recommends discipline for judges to the Florida Supreme Court. It doesn’t make its investigations public unless probable cause is found.

Accusations ‘nonsense’
 
Colin was moved out of the Probate Division in 2016 after The Post’s investigation and announced he would retire at the end of that year.

He called accusations he guided cases to his wife “nonsense” at a hearing on the administrative complaint this month. He said he accidentally signed the orders.

Families often had to dip into their own pockets to fight Savitt. Vassallo said he paid about $20,000 to lawyers only to watch Circuit Judge David French — a close friend of Colin’s and Savitt’s — approve one law firm’s bill over his objections. Savitt said in a deposition that she and Colin had vacationed with French and his wife at the time before Savitt was a guardian.

Clifford Hark, an attorney named in the IG report, was hired by Vassallo after his sister took $130,000 from his father, Albert Vassallo Sr. He urged him to get Savitt as a guardian. The IG report said Hark funneled guardianships to Savitt.

“It all came back to hiring the lawyer. He talked me into it, knowing what kind of lady she was,” Vassallo said.

The Deerfield Beach plumber said that Savitt did next to nothing to recoup the money that was taken from his father and that he estimates that six family heirs lost at a minimum about $38,000 from their inheritance because of her inaction.

The administrative judge will make her recommendations on Savitt in about a month. It will then be up to the Department of Elder Affairs to decide whether to accept that recommendation.

Savitt’s lawyer, Ellen Morris, has said she plans to seek legal fees from the department for the action against her client, saying it was brought in bad faith.

Bar complaint

In the meantime, the Florida Bar confirmed it is investigating Colin, who is working as a mediator in his retirement.

In Broward County, Circuit Judge John Patrick Contini resigned from the bench as he was being investigated by the Judicial Qualifications Commission for ethical violations for allowing a judicial assistant to work on his personal business. He agreed this month to not practice law for five years.

Robert Jarvis said it remains to be seen whether the Florida Bar can discipline attorneys for actions they took while they were on the bench. It’s not unusual for judges who fall under scrutiny for ethical violations simply to step down, thus avoiding disciplinary action by the JQC.

Jarvis pointed to a case out of Manatee County in which a former judge and now practicing attorney, John Lakin, has been recommended for discipline by the Bar for taking baseball tickets from lawyers who appeared in front of him. That case is in front of the Florida Supreme Court.

“The Florida Bar is going after former judges. I’m not sure that they have the ability to do that. It is an unsettled issue,” Jarvis said.

“I would think they could go after lots of people if in fact they are found to have the jurisdiction.”

On the reform front, Dr. Sam Sugar, co-founder of Americans Against Abusive Probate Guardianship, said he is researching how families can go after the $50,00o bond required of guardians. However, he said families who choose to go this route often have to pay an attorney up front at least that amount to make a claim.

Despite the reforms passed by the Legislature and action by the state, little can be done to recoup the emotional and financial damage to families wrought by rogue guardianships.

“This is one of those Don Quixote things,” Sugar said. “There is no recourse.”

Full Article & Source:
Ex-judge’s wife Betsy Savitt kicked off county’s guardianship registry

See Also:
EXCLUSIVE: Betsy Savitt guardianship report alleges ‘wrongdoing by sitting judges’

Judge Martin Colin had a hand in his wife’s guardianship cases, state says

Post investigation: Another blow to Judge Colin

 

Judge in Post series moved from guardianship cases

Chief judge keeps public waiting on details of guardianship shakeup

Guardianships: A Broken Trust: Attorney: "Courts Have Allowed This Culture"

Guardianships: A Broken Trust, 115 Recusals in Six Months

Guardianships: A Broken Trust: Judges Socialized, Planned Trips Together

EXCLUSIVE: Betsy Savitt guardianship report alleges ‘wrongdoing by sitting judges’

Professional guardian Elizabeth “Betsy” Savitt, left, answers questions from senior attorney for the Department of Elder Affairs, Michael McKeon, right center, during a hearing in front of administrative Law Judge Mary Li Creasy, center, Wednesday, September 5, 2018. In the first hearing of it’s kind, the state of Florida argues that controversial guardian Elizabeth Savitt should be sanctioned. (Lannis Waters / The Palm Beach Post)

A confidential investigation into controversial professional guardian Elizabeth “Betsy” Savitt contains “allegations or suggestions of wrongdoing by sitting judges,” an administrative judge revealed on Wednesday.

The revelation surfaced during a first-of-its-kind hearing, held in West Palm Beach, into whether Savitt should face sanctions for conflict of interest with judges involved in her guardianships, including her husband, former Circuit Judge Martin Colin.

The action against Savitt by the state Office of Public and Professional Guardians is based on the report by the Inspector General of the Clerk & Controller in Palm Beach County. The new guardianship office is asking for sanctions against Savitt. Those sanctions have the potential to effectively bar her from practicing in this county and may include repayment of up to $190,000 in guardianship fees.

Savitt, as a professional guardian, was a so-called “member of the judicial community,” dining with judges and even going on vacation with one. The former chief judge felt it necessary to move all her cases out of the South County Courthouse, concerned with the appearance of coziness between Savitt and judges there.

Savitt’s attorney, Ellen Morris, tried in vain to exclude the investigative report, with its judicial allegations of wrongdoing, from Wednesday’s proceeding. Morris in a pleading said the report contains “statements and conclusions that are highly objectionable throughout.”

But Administrative Law Judge Mary Li Creasy said she found nothing in the report that makes it confidential under state law — no Social Security numbers or medical information of incapacitated seniors or disabled adults. Palm Beach County Clerk Sharon Bock has refused to turn over the report despite a public records request filed by The Palm Beach Post on June 20.

Creasy said Morris’ concerns about the allegations against judges was also not a basis to bar the report as evidence against Savitt.

2012 investigation of Savitt

Anthony Palmieri, the clerk’s deputy inspector general, testified at the hearing that in May 2012 the clerk’s office alerted then-Chief Judge Peter Blanc about a conflict of interest involving Savitt and Colin. He didn’t know what Blanc did with the report, but Blanc told The Post last week that he cautioned Colin to be careful not to preside over his wife’s cases.

Savitt testified she didn’t know until recently that her husband signed orders in her cases. She said if she had known, she would have alerted her attorney to “a mistake.”

However, she also repeatedly said she had no conflict of interest despite the fact that her husband sat as a guardianship judge who at times ruled on her cases and granted fees in other cases to attorneys who worked for her. Morris argued state guardianship statutes don’t specifically say that a guardian married to a guardianship judge has a conflict of interest.

“I don’t have a conflict of interest arising from my marriage,” Savitt said. “I didn’t appear in front of Judge Colin. He wasn’t presiding over any of my cases. He wasn’t the judge on any of my cases.”

The Post reported Sunday that Colin’s was an invisible hand in Savitt’s guardianship cases. He asked Delray Beach elder law attorney Sheri Hazeltine in the fall of 2009 to represent his wife as the tennis instructor aimed to enter the lucrative field. A professional guardian is appointed to oversee the affairs of seniors who are found incapacitated by the court. They can handle all financial, health care and residency decisions for the ward.

At least twice, Colin appointed Hazeltine, who took action that led to Savitt becoming a guardian.

Savitt, in testimony, denied Hazeltine’s account that Judge Colin pegged her to represent Savitt. Hazeltine at the time had numerous cases in front of Colin and told The Post that being a sole practitioner with a disabled child that “there was a natural measure of fear involved” in being asked to do something for her home-court judge.
 
Hazeltine said she quit as Savitt’s attorney when she learned that the guardian was taking fees prior to judicial approval.

Savitt also testified that there had never been any complaints from family members of her ward about a conflict of interest.

‘Never said a word’

However, James Vassallo said Savitt never disclosed that she was married to a guardianship judge and if he had known, he would have never allowed her to be guardian to his father, Albert Vassallo Sr.
 
“Never ever did she say a word to me about that,” Vassallo said. “I would never have hired her. I found out later. She told me that it didn’t matter what I said, she was married to a judge and that she could do whatever she wanted.”

Vassallo said Wednesday that he spent $20,000 fighting Savitt over his father’s trust and to keep her from funneling money to his sister, who had previously taken money from his dad and was the reason he sought the guardianship in the first place.

“And I’m still getting bills that my father owes, like from the hospital and stuff, that she never paid.”

Thomas Mayes, son of Savitt ward Helen O’Grady, said in The Post’s 2016 investigation, Guardianships: A Broken Trust that Savitt never disclosed her conflict with her husband.

The Mayes family learned that Savitt was married to a judge when Circuit Judge Rosemarie Scher, then presiding over their case, said she’d been out to dinner with the couple and described the judge’s wife as “part of the judicial community.”

“Savitt never told us beforehand, which I thought she should have,” said Mayes. “The lawyers never told us.”

Savitt testified she disclosed her marriage by identifying her husband as “Martin Colin” on her guardianship applications. However, Savitt didn’t identify him as a sitting judge, saying that the court or the clerk of court would automatically just know.

Palmieri testified that just putting Colin’s name under spouse in the guardianship applications did not go far enough.

One easily refutable statement by Savitt, under oath, at Wednesday’s hearing was that no other judge but Colin recused himself from her cases. In fact, Circuit Judge John Phillips recused himself routinely. Also, after The Post’s investigation, then-Chief Judge Jeffrey Colbath required south county judges to recuse themselves from Savitt’s cases. He also removed all of Savitt’s cases from the South County Courthouse out of concern of conflict of interest.

A large swath of time at Wednesday’s hearing was spent delving into when Savitt took money from the life savings of her wards prior to a judge’s approval.

Savitt admitted she wrote checks out of the wards’ accounts prior to judicial approval and deposited them into a personal checking account but insisted she was serving the wards’ best interest.

Palmieri testified that of the 2,000 guardianship cases he has investigated, only Savitt has taken retainers. The Post found Savitt took $20,000 in retainers in at least seven guardianship cases.
Savitt testified she took retainers at the advice of her counsel at the time.

Palm Beach County’s judicial circuit prohibited the practice after The Post reported on Savitt and Colin.

Morris argued at the hearing that Savitt eventually disclosed the retainers to the judges presiding over her cases and that they were all approved.

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Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Michael McKeon, senior attorney for the Department of Elder Affairs, asks questions of professional guardian Elizabeth “Betsy” Savitt during a hearing ... read more

 

Vacationed with judge

Savitt also addressed her relationship with Circuit Judge David French, who oversaw the majority of her cases. Michael McKeon, senior attorney for the Department of Elder Affairs, asked Savitt whether she was “friendly” with French.

“I’m friendly to all the judges,” Savitt said.

Savitt said French is a friend and that she vacationed with him and his wife at the time in the Bahamas in 2006 or 2008 before he was a guardianship judge. She said she was friends with his wife. She couldn’t remember the last time she visited his home.

When asked whether she believes she has a conflict when it comes to French, Savitt said no. “Judge French takes an oath. He would recuse himself,” she said. French has announced he will retire at the end of this year.

Despite an order from the chief judge to recuse himself from Savitt cases, French appointed the guardian to a pro bono case in January 2017 — her last guardianship appointment. The appointment allows Savitt to remain on the wheel for random appointments under new rules.

The latest case, involving senior Mavis Samms, includes accusations from the family that Savitt allowed the senior’s home to go into foreclosure.

“Savitt has made a mess of my mom’s finances,” according to an emergency motion filed by Samms’ daughter, Paula, in May 2017.

McKeon asking Savitt to be declared “unfit to serve as a guardian” due to the conflict of interest and acting in bad faith toward her wards.

Morris, representing Savitt, said the guardianship office brought the complaint in bad faith and that she would be seeking attorney fees.

The hearing will continue today. Judge Colin and Hazeltine are listed as witnesses.

Full Article & Source:
EXCLUSIVE: Betsy Savitt guardianship report alleges ‘wrongdoing by sitting judges’

See Also:
Judge Martin Colin had a hand in his wife’s guardianship cases, state says 

Post investigation: Another blow to Judge Colin

Judge in Post series moved from guardianship cases

Chief judge keeps public waiting on details of guardianship shakeup

Guardianships: A Broken Trust: Attorney: "Courts Have Allowed This Culture"

Guardianships: A Broken Trust, 115 Recusals in Six Months

Guardianships: A Broken Trust: Judges Socialized, Planned Trips Together