The Forgotten Ones: Compassion for the Elderly

"Sometimes I just have to cry in my bed at night. You know, so nobody knows. I try to keep up a brave face, but sometimes I just have to cry." ~ A nursing home resident



Please call your local nursing home and volunteer to visit a lonely and forgotten resident. Your love may be the only love they receive. ♥

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The Forgotten Ones: Compassion for the Elderly

Woman sentenced for financial exploitation of elder

RENO, Nev. (KRNV & MyNews4.com) -- Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto announced that Carol Nanas, 62, of Reno, was sentenced today in a case of financial exploitation of an elder.

Masto says the investigation showed that Nanas withdrew money from the resident’s account, gambled some of the money and sent some of the money to a sick relative in the Philippines.

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Woman sentenced for financial exploitation of elder

The Elderly are Neglected and Forgotten

The elderly are neglected and “forgotten” by society because people don’t want to be reminded of their own mortality, the comedian Ricky Gervais has said.

Gervais, whose most recent comedy series is set in an old people’s home, says public figures and Hollywood stars should speak out for the elderly.
“No one cares. They're forgotten, bewildered, and I don't think it's because people are cruel or don't care. It's because you don't want to think about your own mortality.

“I think people don't talk about it enough. There's a strange arrogance. Sometimes being old is used as an insult, which is bizarre because, if you're lucky, that's literally going to happen to you,” he told the Observer.

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Rickey Gervais: The Elderly Are Neglected and Forgotten

Lawless America: Sharyn Eklund

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Lawless America: Sharon Eklund

Escondido Attorney Agrees to be Disbarred

An atttorney in Escondido recently admitted to stealing $275,000 from an elderly client's inheritance and has agreed to be disbarred.

Sydney Claire Kirkland drained all but $10,000 from a trust account that an 80-year-old client set up. That client put the money in a client trust account with Kirkland, who had previously done legal work for him. In June 2011, the county's adult protective services got a complaint from a bank manager and intervened. When APS questioned Kirkland, she lied to the agency. In addition to being disbarred, Sydney Claire Kirkland faces criminal charges of grand theft and stealing from an elderly adult. Kirkland became ineligible to practice law on January 19.

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Escondido Attorney Agrees to be Disbarred

LETTER: State physician-assisted-suicide law dangerous

Our state government is considering a bill (S.B. No. 48) to make physician-assisted suicide legal.

This bill, introduced by Sen. Edward Meyer, is a dangerous precedent of the codification of state sanctioned euthanasia. Albeit it is self-inflicted, it is euthanasia nonetheless.

To give this power to the government is to surrender an inalienable right that should only be held by the individual.

I do not claim that those suffering from a painful and incurable disease should not be allowed the dignity of a peaceful and painless passing. However, I do deny the need of our state government, or any government, to make such a law. Such issues of life and of death are the sole purview of the individual.

Many people are weary of the “slippery slope” argument because of its misuse in the debates on gay marriage. But, if this bill is passed then we would be taking that first step toward state sanctioned euthanasia.

Sure, one could argue that cooler heads would prevail and that the brakes would firmly be applied before we hit such a grotesque landmark.

However, consider Belgium, which is now considering an expansion of a physician-assisted suicide law to include the mentally impaired and children. Belgium, a post-industrial, modern society, secular and liberal, entertains the idea that it would be acceptable to make the most vulnerable members of their society candidates for euthanasia.

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LETTER: State physician-assisted-suicide law dangerous

Lawless America: Diane Wilson

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YouTube: Lawless America: Diane Wilson
See Also:
NASGA: Dorothy Wilson, New York Victim

Fake Attorney Indicted for Repeatedly Practiciing Law Without a License

Mannhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of TERENCE KINDLON, JR., 42, for practicing law without a license and filing false documents while unlawfully representing a criminal defendant. KINDLON was charged in New York State Supreme Court with three counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree and two counts of Unauthorized Practice of Law.

“Simply put, it is a crime to practice law without a license,” said District Attorney Vance. “The rules governing lawyers exist to protect those in need of competent representation before our courts. This defendant was an imposter who abused the trust of his purported clients for his own financial gain.”

Full Article and Source:
Press Release:  Fake Attorney Indicted for Repeatedly Practicing Law Without a License

Editorial: Exposing Guardian Devils - NJ Supreme Tightens Watch of Guardians

Too many times the courts have entrusted the well-being of dependent individuals to guardians who promise protection, then steadily swindle them for the rest of their lives.

These guardians come with the highest credentials — attorneys, professionals and, in one Ocean County case, a minister who was also a licensed social worker. With nothing in their reputations or resumes to suggest they are other than upstanding citizens, these scoundrels gain control of the bank accounts and legal affairs of their wards.

Soon, however, the guardians will have guards watching for signs of this most despicable crime.

Last week, New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner Announced that teams of volunteer watchdogs  will monitor the legal guardians for tens of thousands disabled and elderly people. They’ll be on the lookout for theft or abuse of power.

The Volunteer Guardianship Monitoring Program will train people to scan the annual expense reports all legal guardians are required to file with the county and look for any “red flags” that suggest possible mismanagement, as The Star-Ledger’s Susan Livio reported last week.

While the vast majority of court-appointed guardians are caring and responsible, the audacity of those who prey on the powerless is breathtaking. An Ocean County lawyer, for instance, stole millions from his physically and mentally handicapped clients who had no heirs or next of kin.

For each high-profile case, there could be hundreds of other smaller swindles.

The innovative statewide program, set to launch soon in Mercer, includes a database that will facilitate tracking and investigation. The most important resource, however, will be the volunteers.

It is, as the chief justice says, a noble aim to shield those depending on guardians from larceny.

A federal measure in the works would complement New Jersey’s vigilance on legal guardians. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania is calling for better screening of the 5.6 million representative payees who annually handle $61 billion in Social Security payments for 7.6 million beneficiaries.

The push stems from a Philadelphia case in which a woman allegedly kept disabled captives drugged and wounded in a filthy basement after tricking them into signing over their benefits to her. She was able to collect those checks even though she’d served time for starving a man to death.

During a five-state test of Casey’s measure, dozens of people convicted of fraud and violence were prevented from becoming the managers of another individual’s Social Security payments.

Implemented on a national level, this safeguard would work in tandem with the guardian-monitoring program to protect some of New Jersey’s most vulnerable residents.

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Editorial:  Exposing Guardian Devils - NJ Supreme Court Tightens Watch of Guardians

See Also:
Good News for New Jersey: Guardianships Get a Safety Net