Saturday, February 14, 2009

Conservator Could Be Out of Business

Melodie Scott, a prominent Inland conservator, could be going out of business after a state board refused to grant her a license last year.

That means Scott, unless she wins an appeal hearing expected in March, will continue to surrender her clients to other conservators or family members who assume responsibility.

Scott is the owner of Conservatorship & Resources for the Elderly Inc. in downtown Redlands.

She once oversaw the care of nearly 100 people in San Bernardino, Riverside and Los Angeles counties.

On Aug. 7, the Professional Fiduciaries Bureau, a Department of Consumer Affairs panel that licenses professional conservators, denied Scott the license she needs to be a professional financial caretaker.

According to the panel's statement of issues, Scott's application was denied after she knowingly made a false statement on March 31.

The document said Scott falsely stated that "she has never settled or resigned from a case in which she was a fiduciary and a complaint had been filed against her in court."

That case referred to a 2006 lawsuit involving Helen Jones, a Yucaipa woman who sought to remove Scott as her conservator. On March 30, 2006, Superior Court Judge Frank Gafkowski accepted Scott's resignation as Jones' conservator five days before a trial was set to begin.

Full Article and Source:
Prominent Inland conservator to halt work

More information on Scott:

"I could be a shoe salesman at a five-and-dime store yesterday and a professional conservator or guardian today" says Melodie Scott, a Redlands, California, conservator who has been certified by the National Guardianship Foundation, the certification arm of the National Guardianship Association.
Stolen Lives

After a 2-year struggle, a Yucaipa woman is granted removal of a conservator who took control of her finances without her knowledge.
This Widow Wins a Needed Break

Beth claims that conservator Melodie Scott did not properly fulfill her fiduciary duties as her mother’s conservator. She is accusing Scott of nearly dissolving her mother’s savings, worth $239,000, within the first four years of managing Elizabeth Fairbanks’s estate, was faulty in her bookkeeping, and withheld medical care from Elizabeth when she fell out of bed in 2005 and when she died from pneumonia last year.
California Woman Claims Her Late Mother’s Conservator Withheld Medical Care And Kept Faulty Books

The conservator by the name of Melodie Scott is in control of MY grandparents estate currently...people like her need some harsh punishment, I tell you!
Neglect, Isolation and Plundering

Melodie Scott is registered with the National Guardianship Association

Kickback Scheme Judges Sued

A lawsuit has been filed against two Pennsylvania judges accused of taking more than $2 million in kickbacks to send youth offenders to privately run detention centers.

The suit names Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan and 14 other defendants. It was filed in federal court late Thursday on behalf of hundreds of children and their families who were alleged victims of the corruption.

Attorney Michael Cefalo: "At the hands of two grossly corrupt judges and several conspirators, hundreds of Pennsylvania children, their families and loved ones, were victimized and their civil rights violated."

Full Article and Source:
Families sue Pa. judges in kickback scheme

See also:
Web Page For Victims

Tracking Devices

Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell teamed up with the Elder Abuse and Prevention Program in Flint to keep vulnerable senior citizens from wondering away from home.

50 GPS devices, weighing less than two and a half ounces were purchased with $9,000 in federal grants. The goal is prevention; caring for seniors who cannot manage on their own.

The GPS tracking devices clip to an elderly person’s clothing. Charge them for six hours, and they last at least five days on that power. Family members or care givers can go to a website that maps a person’s precise location. Police and paramedics can tap into the system if help is needed.

Pickell : “We’re going to monitor this 24/7. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week for our Alzheimer’s and Dementia people.”

Full Article and Source:
GPS used to track senior citizens

More information:
Genesee County sheriff has new tracking system

Wanted For Assault

CA - Police are asking for the public's help in finding a man who they say smacked an elderly hospital volunteer in the face earlier this week.

The crime, which police have listed as elder abuse and said was unprovoked, took place at 10:15 a.m. Saturday in the lobby at Tri-City Medical Center, said Oceanside police Sgt. Kelan Poorman.

The 67-year-old victim ---- one of the hospital's many "pink ladies," as the female volunteers are called ---- was pushing two wheelchairs when the man approached.

She told the man to go around because she was moving slowly, Poorman said. The suspect then struck her in the face, knocking the woman's head back, the sergeant said. She suffered minor injuries.

The suspect is described by police as black, between 20 and 30 years old, about 6 feet tall and weighing approximately 185 to 205 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

Poorman said a surveillance video at the hospital captured the incident. He added that the man was in the hospital for less than a minute and fled through the east doors after the assault.

Poorman said the suspect faces a misdemeanor elder abuse charge, punishable by up to a year in jail.

If anyone has information or knows the identity of the suspect, they are asked to call the Oceanside Police Department at (760) 435-4522. Ask to speak with Investigative Assistant Kate Cronin.

Source:
OCEANSIDE: Police ask for help in assault on elderly hospital volunteer

Friday, February 13, 2009

Web Page For Victims

As a service to the public, and in compliance with legal obligations, the United States Attorney’s Office is providing a web page as a means for members of the public who believe they have been victimized by alleged public corruption in Luzerne County to remain fully informed of the status of pending prosecutions.

The web page will be updated as court events are scheduled in this matter.

1. United States of America v. Mark Ciavarella, Jr. and Michael Conahan;
Middle District of Pennsylvania Docket Number 3:CR-09-00028
- Link to Criminal Information
- Link to U.S. v. Mark Ciavarella, Jr. Plea Agreement
- Link to U.S. v. Michael Conahan Plea Agreement

2. United States v. William T. Sharkey, Sr.
Middle District of Pennsylvania Docket Number 3:CR-09-00035
- Link to Criminal Information
- Link to Plea Agreement

If you believe that you were a victim of an offense being prosecuted as part of the Luzerne County corruption prosecutions, and if you want to learn more about your rights as a victim, please contact us in writing at the following address:
United States Attorney’s Office,
Middle District of Pennsylvania,
Attention: Laurie Reiley,
P.O. Box 11754, Harrisburg, PA 17108.

Please include details that explain why you feel you are a victim in this case.

Web Page and Source:
The United States Attorney's Office - LUZERNE COUNTY CORRUPTION PROSECUTIONS

See also:
Request to Review Cases

Alleged Public Corruption

Hospice Care Under Medicaid

The New Hampshire State Senate has voted to support a bill to study the potential cost benefits of offering hospice care to Medicaid patients.

Sen. Peggy Gilmour who's sponsoring the bill, says only New Hampshire and Oklahoma do not offer hospice care under Medicaid.

The bill has the support of the American Cancer Society and many health care providers around the state. It now heads to the House.

Full Article and Source:
NH Senate supports study of hospice care

More information:
Hollis senator wants end-of-life care to be included under Medicaid

Man Rightly Kept Alive

A Pennsylvania appeals court ruled against the parents of a severely retarded man who sought to take him off a ventilator after he developed complications from choking on a hairpin.

The state Superior Court said a guardian needs to prove that death is in the legally incompetent person's best interests before the guardian can decline life-preserving medical treatment.

Judge Cheryl Lynn Allen: "In the context of this case, where an incompetent person suffers a medical condition, and recovery appears imminent and the pain is minimal, the ethical integrity of the medical community certainly mandates treatment and the state's interest in preserving life is considerable."

Full Article and Source:
Court: Man rightly kept alive after accident

Call For Election Reform

The chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court, in a passionate plea for reform, asked the Legislature to abolish the state's 133-year tradition of partisan judicial elections, saying the influence of politics and money has destroyed public confidence in justice.

In his biennial State of the Judiciary speech to a joint session of the Legislature, Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson also asked lawmakers to create a commission to examine wrongful convictions.

Jefferson reserved the bulk of his speech for what he called "the corrosive influence of money" in judicial elections. Polls show that more than 80 percent of Texans believe campaign contributions influence courtroom events.

Jefferson: "That's an alarming figure — four out of five. If the public believes that judges are biased toward contributors, then confidence in the courts will suffer."

The chief justice advocated a merit selection system, with appointed judges running for re-election without opposition and without party identification. These "retention elections" let voters choose between keeping the judge in office or not.

Full Article and Source:
Chief justice seeks to abolish judicial elections

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Required Reports Not Provided

Obtaining regular reports from Steven T. Rondos, the Brooklyn attorney accused of fleecing guardianship accounts of $4 million, was like "pulling teeth," said one of the court-appointed examiners charged with monitoring Rondos' performance.

Albert E. Spencer, a Manhattan attorney, inherited two cases from prior court examiners in early 2006. He said that Rondos had not provided the required reports for 2004, 2005 and 2006.

After Rondos' indictment last month, the Office of Court Administration acknowledged that court examiners who monitored Rondos' accounts should have detected sooner at least some of the alleged thefts that occurred between 2001 and 2008.

At least 16 examiners had signed off on the accounts that gave rise to the investigation of Rondos.

Full Article and Source:
Indicted Guardian Always Had Excuses for Filing Late, Examiners Say

See also:
Rondos Pleads Not Guilty

Big-Shot Guardianship Attorney

"Inherent Flaws" in the System