State Bar asks judge to suspend Beaumont attorney's law license

The disciplinary division of the State Bar of Texas is asking a judge to immediately suspend Beaumont attorney Glen Engle's law license.

Engle, 56, pleaded guilty in May to tampering with government records and impersonating a public servant. He admitted to fraudulently applying for and obtaining a notary stamp, notarizing a false affidavit with that stamp and filing that document in court.

Criminal District Court Judge John Stevens sentenced Engle in May to two years in prison and six months in the county jail, to be served concurrently.

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State Bar asks judge to suspend Beaumont attorney's law license

Woman accused of fleecing elderly Federal Way millionaire

The wife of an elderly Federal Way millionaire is accused of bilking his life savings while neglecting his deteriorating health.

King County prosecutors have charged Juliana Cratsenberg, 56, with felony theft for allegedly stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the real estate mogul during their four-year relationship. She is to be arraigned Thursday, when she will enter a plea.

Cratsenberg and her 86-year-old husband, Andrew Cratsenberg Sr., are still married, but his sons have obtained a restraining order against Juliana Cratsenberg, also known as Young Min Song, barring her from contacting her husband until the case is resolved.

Attempts by The News Tribune to reach Juliana Cratsenberg and Andrew Cratsenberg's sons were unsuccessful.

According to court documents filed by prosecutors, the sons have tried since 2008 to wrestle control of their father and his fortune from his wife, who met the elder Cratsenberg about the time he was widowed and diagnosed with dementia. The papers do not say how the couple met.

"Juliana Cratsenberg gained Andy's trust and love, isolated him from his family, controlled his movements, controlled his finances, eventually caused him to rely completely upon her for all of his daily needs, and, ultimately, physically and verbally abused him," according to the charging documents.

The court records show:

The couple kept their relationship secret from Cratsenberg’s two sons for the first month, until their father announced she was moving in with him and they were discussing marriage, which would be her fourth.

Juliana Cratsenberg took to wearing the jewelry of her husband’s deceased wife, had him pay off her debts and persuaded him to financially care for her two adult children, who she later tried to have him adopt so they'd be included in his will.

She bought herself a $50,000 wedding ring and a $24,000 Lexus SUV, used her husband’s credit card to buy $86,000 worth of purchases and spent hundreds of thousands to buy her children a house in Tacoma and pay for their college tuition.

She got involved with Cratsenberg's two businesses and made poor decisions that lost him a lot of money, prompting his sons to fight for guardianship in 2009.

As part of the process, a doctor performed a court-ordered assessment of Cratsenberg in March 2009 and concluded he had "little insight into (his) diminished capacity."

Andrew Cratsenberg denied in the assessment that Juliana Cratsenberg lived with him or that their relationship was serious.

Days later, she applied for a marriage license. Ten minutes after the required three-day waiting period ran out, the couple said "I do" before a retired judge with no family present.

Andrew Cratsenberg’s sons discovered the nuptials after a friend of their father’s called them a week later. The sons immediately filed for a protection order that would declare their father a vulnerable adult and set up a trust to block his wife from his personal and business bank accounts.

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Woman accused of fleecing elderly Federal Way millionaire

TJ Jackson Granted Permanent Co-Guardianship of Michael Jackson Kids

A California judge today made Tito "TJ" Jackson permanent co-guardian of the singer's children along with their grandmother Katherine, but not without some unexpected drama.

A woman claiming to be the cousin of Michael Jackson showed up in court today to ask the judge to delay the appointment of TJ Jackson as permanent co-guardian of the singer's children.

Despite a plea from the woman, Debra Jackson, Judge Mitchell Beckloff granted TJ Jackson the motion to share guardianship with Michael's mother, Katherine Jackson, of the three children.

The judge made the ruling after also considering a letter submitted by singer Diana Ross, in which the singer said she has met TJ and thinks he has good intentions in caring for Michael's kids.

Beckloff said Ross mentioned in the letter that she is very interested in what happens with the children and that she takes her role in the will as the next guardian in line very seriously.




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TJ Jackson Granted Permanent Co-Guardianship of Michael Jackson Kids

Retiring probate judge arrested

Retiring Franklin County Probate Judge Eddie Fowler has been arrested and charged with sexual battery.

Franklin County Sheriff Stevie Thomas said case has been turned over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Fowler was reportedly taken into custody late Tuesday after an investigation by the GBI, according to GBI Agent in Charge Jim Fullington.

“On Monday, August 20th, we were requested by the Franklin County Sheriff’s department to look into allegations of sexual battery,” Fullington said. “On Tuesday evening, Mr. Fowler was taken into custody and charged with one count of sexual battery. He was later released on bond from the Franklin County Detention Center.”

Fullington said the charge is a misdemeanor offense, but the investigation is continuing.

Fowler’s arrest came the day voters elected his successor. Tuesday, Franklin County Deputy Assistant Sheriff Ken Eavenson won the post over challenger Jay Baskins. Eavenson, however, does not take office until Jan. 1.

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Retiring probate judge arrested

Very wrong number: Former elderly services line now offers callers phone sex

Oops.

A phone number that once belonged to New Jersey’s Office of the Ombudsman for the Institutionalized Elderly now directs callers to a number offering phone sex.

The problem is the old number still exists on brochures and some websites, promising to direct people to the ombudsman. The state’s official website lists the office’s correct phone number — (877) 582-6995.

Maureen Persi, of Ortley Beach, dialed the wrong number, which was at the bottom of a "Patients’ Bill of Rights" she received after taking her husband to the Ocean Medical Center in Brick.

She couldn’t believe what she heard.

"It’s a disgrace," she said.

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Very wrong number: Former elderly services line now offers callers phone sex

Texas Judges: Out Of Order

The State Integrity Investigation on government corruption gives Texas an average grade of C for holding our judges accountable. But some citizens and lawmakers who’ve tested the system say that grade is far too high.

Today KERA’s Shelley Kofler begins a series of reports: Texas Judges: “Out of Order.” She takes a look what happened when one woman complained about a judge. The woman asked us not to use her name so we’ll call her Angela.

Angela is 30, a petite, attractive, professional with a college education. A little over two years ago she broke up with her long-time boyfriend and he filed for custody of their small son. Angela says she found herself in front of a Tarrant County associate judge who criticized her for having a child without being married to the wealthy father.

“She said, ‘Well didn’t she get herself knocked up by the right guy?’ So from the very start I had concerns about the judge,” Angela explained.

Angela said the judge yelled at her on more than one occasion and nearly each court appearance brought additional comments.

“I look Hispanic, though I’m not,” Angela said as she recalled an exchange. “We were discussing a particular document in the courtroom and the judge said to me, ‘Do you speak English?’ So, I responded, ‘Yes, I do speak English.’ And she said, ‘Clearly you don’t speak English. You have to be one of the most uneducated people I have ever seen in here.’”

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Texas Judges: Out Of Order

LRS files merit brief in guardianship case; Organizations file friend of the court brief in support

August 15, 2012

The Ohio Legal Rights Service (LRS) has taken the important step of bringing the issue of whether an individual with a disability who is indigent (unable to pay) has the same right to appointed counsel at court expense as he or she would have during an initial hearing. This week LRS filed a merit brief in the Ohio Supreme Court, appealing a decision by the Eighth District Court of Appeals in State of Ohio, ex rel. James L. McQueen v. The Court of Common Pleas of Cuyahoga County Probate Division. This is a case of first impression in which the Ohio Supreme Court's decision will decide whether Ohioans who are under a guardianship will have the ability to fully challenge that guardianship, a right which is guaranteed by Ohio law.

LRS represents an individual with a disability who has been under a guardianship for two years. His guardian is neither a family member, nor a friend. Rather his guardian works for an agency funded with money that LRS contends should first be paid to provide appointed counsel in these types of cases. By the power of his guardian, he lives in a secured (locked) nursing facility. He wants to leave and to manage his own affairs.

Last fall he requested a review hearing stating that he believed he no longer needed a guardian. In his request, he asked the Court of Common Pleas for Cuyahoga County, Probate Division to provide him with legal counsel. When the court failed to do this, LRS sought immediate relief by filing a mandamus action in the Court of Appeals. Mandamus is a court action to order a government official, including a judge or magistrate, to perform her or his duty. While the Court of Appeals initially granted an alternative writ to the Probate Court to show cause why relief should not be granted, the Court of Appeals ultimately concluded that the law was not clear enough in its mind to meet the high standards to issue the extraordinary remedy of mandamus.

At the direction of the individual, LRS appealed this decision to the Ohio Supreme Court. Case law makes clear that it is actually the duty of a court of appeals to decide what the law is. LRS argues that in crafting the statutory scheme of due process rights for indigent, adult wards, during initial and subsequent review hearings, the General Assembly intended to provide for the right to counsel in both. LRS explained in its merit brief that this is the only sound reading of applicable Ohio law. Furthermore, this reading protects the right of an otherwise vulnerable citizen, who has had his right to make decisions removed by judicial power, to fully challenge that decision in a future judicial hearing.

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LRS files merit brief in guardianship case; Organizations file friend of the court brief in support

Task Force on Aging plans countywide blitz

The Ottawa County Task Force on Aging is planning a countywide blitz to distribute their newly developed Senior Abuse Protocol cards. The blitz is planned for Wednesday, Aug. 29, and involves members of the Task Force visiting local businesses, agencies and institutions that interact with the senior population.

The distribution of these business-card protocols is an effort to increase awareness of and provide direction if someone suspects abuse, neglect, or exploitation of someone in our community over the age of 60.

The Ottawa County Task Force on Aging recommends the following Senior Abuse Protocol:

For those in immediate danger, call 911.
•For those with important questions or concerns call Adult Protective Services, 419-898-3688 and dial 0.
•For those inquiring non-emergency aid or services, call United Way, 211.


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Task Force on Aging plans countywide blitz

Va. nursing home worker charged in abuse probe

STAUNTON, Va. (AP) — Staunton police have charged a nursing home administrator with failing to report the abuse of a resident.

Forty-one-year-old Diane R. Kline is the second person charged in the investigation.

Police earlier charged Anthony M. Johnson with felony aggravated sexual battery and misdemeanor sexual battery. The 47-year-old nurse aide is accused of sexually assaulting an incapacitated resident at Envoy of Staunton.

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Va. nursing home worker charged in abuse probe