Open Letter to Jerome Larkin, Administrator of the Illinois ARDC From Ken Ditkowsky

Dozens of  friends and family of victims of Elder Cleansing have written to your commission and all have received a letter that said that your agency stating that it was not interested in the obviously criminal conduct of a small group of lawyers being reported.    

Each complaint was essentially the same.    A senior citizen was railroaded into a guardianship in which his/her liberty and property were confiscated.     The looting of the estate was accomplished by the direct violation of the directive of 755 ILCS 11a – 3 (b) in that the elderly and/or disabled victim was separated from his/her prior life and family members who would not attorn to the artificial arrangement and the unjust enrichment of judicial and other officials.  (other officials include guardians and attorneys).    After the looting was complete the elderly person was subjected to a sometimes drawn out involuntary assisted suicide.

Some of the citizen complaints that were not investigated and not acted upon related attorney conduct that is so despicable and wrong that you dishonor the entire legal profession with your refusal to investigate.    The mining of the teeth of senior citizen Alice Gore orchestrated by an Illinois lawyer and ignored by your commission is illustrate of the neglect of duty that you have exhibited.    

The attempt to silence attorneys who speak out as to corruption in the Courts is another low point in your tenure and is at the very least the aiding and abetting of the felonies associated with elder cleansing.

I written to you and your commission before and asked for you to join in calling for an HONEST intelligent complete and comprehensive investigation of the cottage industry of elder cleansing and in particular that which occurred in the case of Mary Sykes 09 P 4585.    You of course have not joined in or conducted any investigation.    

The net was you marshalled your kangaroo panels and I am suspended for four years for the exercise of my First Amendment Rights.     You then started proceedings against JoAnne Denison who published on her blog some of my First Amendment utterances.     Currently, Ms. Denison in response to what appears to be the misreporting of the perjured words and phrases of a Judge you have continued with your ‘cover up’ by refusing Ms. Denison the audio transmission of the testimony.

You have accused me of making false statements but have never articulated a single statement that you claim was or is false.  I challenge you and herewith demand for you to instanter provide me and the community with a list of each statement that you claim was false.  Then for every statement you claim was false set forth the basis upon which you claim the statement was false. The foregoing notwithstanding the Friends and family of each of the victims of elder cleansing who have written attorney complaints to your commission want to know why you have refused to investigate the violations of the civil, human, property, and liberty rights of their loved ones who have been railroaded into guardianship by Illinois attorneys.   

We would like to know why you are protecting certain attorneys and not others.     Attorney Miriam Solo has been accused by the family of Alice Gore of what amounts to a human rights violation.    Adam Stern, Cynthia Farenga, Peter Schmiedel and other have been accused by Gloria Sykes and the family of Mary Sykes of very very serious violations of Mary Sykes’ fundamental liberty rights.    This list is endless and each complaining person wants to know why you are not leading the investigation into the human rights It has not gone un-noticed that there is no ethics statement that can be found for you.   The ethics statements being your disclosure of assets and liabilities required by the State.  

 A person placed in the position of judging the conduct of others should be able and willing to demonstrate at the drop of hat that he is more virtuous than Caesar’s wife.

~Ken Ditkowsky

Thousands of Disabled Workers in Pennsylvania Paid Far Below Minimum Wage

About 13,000 disabled Pennsylvanians are earning an average of $2.40 an hour in a legal use of subminimum wages.

The majority work almost solely with other disabled people, in a world tucked away from the mainstream labor market.

They’re given menial tasks, like folding boxes, shredding paper or packing mail inserts.

Since 1986, there has been no limit to how little they can be paid. And even the federal government, which issues the certificates that allow employers to pay subminimum wages, doesn’t track the hourly earnings of the workers.

An average worker at the Venango Training and Development Center in Northwest Pennsylvania, for example, earns $1.72 an hour for shrink-wrapping mugs or assembling toys. In Montgomery County, workers are baking dog treats for an average of $3.16 an hour at the Center for Creative Works.

Boxing screws and preparing mail to be sent to prospective college students yields an average of $1.62 an hour at the Milestone Centers in Monroeville.

The federal program as a whole is under attack at state and national levels.

Does it provide opportunities for people who wouldn’t otherwise have a job? Or does it exploit those who could work for minimum wage if given the chance?

Michael Kissel slapped a packing label between the shoulders of a co-worker.

Prank successful, Kissel got right back to work at the Westmoreland County Blind Association, loading boxes of paper onto a dolly to prepare for shredding.

Kissel, 36, has Down syndrome. He lives in a group home with two roommates. He sees this work as a ticket to independence — his own apartment.

“I want to spend time alone,” he said. “Too many people are around.”

That goal may be nearly impossible considering his pay.

He said he earned $57 on a recent paycheck, which covered two weeks. He usually works 25 hours a week.

Full Article and Source:
Thousands of Disabled Workers in Pennsylvania Paid Far Below Minimum Wage

Brokers Dealing With Older Investors Get More Scrutiny

The Massachusetts securities regulator wants to know how often older investors complain to their securities firms, and what the firms do about it.

The Massachusetts Securities Division sent a questionnaire to 162 brokerage firms asking about complaints received from clients 65 or older over the past two years, including what products those complaints were related to. The regulators also want to know whether firms have policies and procedures that would amount to heightened oversight about transactions by senior investors.

“We have seen an increase in the actions brought by the Securities Division that involved senior investors in one way or another,” said a spokesman for Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin.

Elderly investors have caused increasing concerns for regulators and brokers nationwide. More than one-third of enforcement action taken by state securities regulators since 2008 involved senior investors, says the North American Securities Administrators Association.

The issues regulators and brokerages wrestle with range from problems brokers face communicating with clients who suffer from dementia to outright elder abuse—by brokers, by relatives, by friends.

With more brokerage clients reaching retirement, regulators want to know exactly how big a problem they are up against with bad brokers taking advantage of elderly clients’ trust and forgetfulness. Brokerage firms, meanwhile, struggle to determine what exactly they can do to properly advise clients who start to forget facts, dates, and conversations, and who might ask advisers to help them with unwise investment transactions.

Even lawyers seem to be a bit lost. The American Bar Association said earlier this month that attorneys “often fail to get involved” in elder-abuse issues, in part because they do not recognize the abuse or are unsure of their ethical obligations. The ABA added a webinar to raise awareness.

On Tuesday, a survey the ABA conducted with the Investor Protection Trust and the Investor Protection Institute revealed that more than one out of three attorneys says they are or may be dealing with the victims of elder investment fraud and financial exploitation.

Full Article and Source:
Brokers Dealings With Older Investors Get More Scrutiny

Former DA Armando R. Villalobos' Law License Suspended

Former Cameron County District Attorney Armando R. Villalobos’ license to practice law has been suspended pending his appeal.

The Board of Disciplinary Appeals, which is appointed by the Texas Supreme Court, took this action following a July 25 hearing. The order of suspension states that Villalobos failed to answer a request filed by the State Bar of Texas’ Commission for Lawyer Discipline, seeking disciplinary action against Villalobos.

The Board of Disciplinary Appeals stated that during the suspension, Villalobos is prohibited from practicing law in the state, performing any legal service for others, accepting any fee directly or indirectly for legal services not completed, appearing as counsel in any proceeding in any Texas court, or holding himself to others or using his name in any manner in conjunction with the words attorney, counselor or lawyer.

 

BODA also directed Villalobos to notify every justice of the peace, judge, magistrate, and chief justice of each and every court in which he has any legal matter pending of his suspension and to notify his current clients and opposing counsel. Villalobos also was directed to surrender his law license.

 

“The board retains jurisdiction to enter a final judgment in this matter when the criminal appeal is final,” BODA’s chairwoman JoAl Cannon Sheridan wrote in the July 30 order.
 

A federal jury in Brownsville convicted Villalobos on May 24, 2013 of public corruption charges in connection with the favors-for-cash bribery schemes of former 404th state District Judge Abel C. Limas.

 

Full Article and Source:
Villalobo's Law License Lifted

Woman Charged With Stealing Thousands From Elderly Lady in Her Care

A former city clerk guilty of stealing nearly $100,000 from the city of Lawson is now charged with theft again, only this time prosecutors say her victim is an elderly woman.

Rhonda Minnick is charged in Ray County with eight counts of forgery, one count of financial exploitation of the elderly, and one count of theft/stealing and one count of fraudulent use of a credit/debit device.

Prosecutors say Minnick stole more than $6,000 dollars from a 67-year-old woman she was trusted to care for in the woman’s home. Despite Minnick’s public criminal record, prosecutors say Minnick was hired by Integrity Home Care.

For the past year, Minnick had been in the victim’s home about twice a week taking care of household duties and errands.

 For fear of retribution, the victim doesn’t want Fox 4 to identify her, but has a warning for others. The woman, living on a fixed income, with no family and in poor health, said she was alone, except for Minnick.

“I really trusted her like I would have my own kids,” the victim said.

Full Article and Source:
Woman Charged With Stealing Thousands From Elderly Lady in Her Care

Massachusetts Passes UAGPPJA - Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act

Massachusetts crossed a major hurdle yesterday when the House of Representatives passed the Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act (UAGPPJA).  If the bill is signed into law, Massachusetts would join 38 other states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in adopting a model set of rules to make it easier for family caregivers to provide care across state lines.

“Thanks to the leadership of Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo, bill sponsor Representative Anne Gobi, and Representatives James O’Day, Christopher Markey, and Paul Brodeur, the House has passed UAGPPJA, which will provide uniformity and reduce jurisdictional conflicts with other states,” said Mike Festa, AARP Massachusetts state director.

The UAGPPJA designates that the individual’s “home state” has primary jurisdiction, followed by a state in which the individual has a “significant connection,”  thereby creating a clear process for determining which state has jurisdiction to appoint a guardian or conservator if there is a conflict.

When individuals are incapable of managing their personal decisions or property, a court may appoint a guardian to make decisions on their behalf.  These decisions can be related to personal property, medical care, living arrangements and financial issues.  As a judicial proceeding, guardianship orders can be expensive, time-consuming and complex, but also can help prevent elder abuse and financial exploitation.

If more than one state is involved in a guardianship case, families can be caught in jurisdictional tangles.  The solution is a simple set of jurisdictional rules to which all states can agree.
The Uniform Act outlines a procedure for transferring a guardianship or conservatorship to another state and for accepting a transfer, helping to eliminate the expense and wait.  UAGPPJA helps to facilitate enforcement of guardianship and protective orders from other states by authorizing registration in Massachusetts

Full Article and Source:
Massachusetts Lawmakers Pass Adult Guardianship Act

Recommended Website: Fight Oklahoma Guardianship Abuse

We Fight Guardianship Fraud and Abuse in Oklahoma 

Guardianship fraud and abuse renders the person unable to defend themselves because the court system has stripped them of their civil, human and due process rights.  

Guardianship Law Intent

It is the purpose of the Oklahoma Guardianship Act to promote the general welfare of all citizens by establishing a system of guardianships for minors and for incapacitated persons which provides for the protection of their rights and the management of their financial resources.

It is the purpose of the guardianship system to provide for the participation of such persons, as fully as possible, in the decisions which affect them.

Courts shall: encourage the "development of maximum self-reliance and independence" of the person.

Guardians shall: protect the person's rights; "encourage" the person to participate in "all decisions" which affect them and to act on their own behalf on all matters in which they are able to do so; and as appropriate, assist the person to regain their capacity to meet the essential requirements for their health or safety, or to manage their financial resources or both.

“The ‘massive curtailment of liberty’ associated with a guardianship proceeding continues as long as that guardianship persists. The proceedings must continue to be conducted with the utmost care to ensure that the ward subject to that curtailment receives due process.”

— Oklahoma Supreme Court - In re Guardianship of Holly

 

Fight Oklahoma Guardianship Fraud and Abuse

Recommended Website: Probate Sharks (Illinois)

Our mission is to expose and remedy corruption in the Probate Court of Cook County, Illinois. We assist, educate and enlighten families of the dead, the dying, the disabled and the aged to better understand their rights in order to protect themselves from the excesses of the Probate Court of Cook County.

ProbateSharks.com is dedicated to networking the human element of people to people.

We join together in reforming the corrupt Cook County Probate Court system.

ProbateSharks.com

Cases Will Continue in the Courtroom of Ohio Judge Arrested Last Weekend

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Lance Mason's open cases will continue as scheduled, despite the judge's weekend arrest on a felony domestic violence charge.

It's unclear exactly how Mason's docket will proceed. Another judge could assume Mason's caseload, but Mason himself could technically could resume hearing cases, if he's able to post a $65,000 bond set by a Shaker Heights judge following a Monday morning court hearing.

A judge must be indicted on felony charges -- not just arrested -- in order to be removed from the bench, said Ohio Supreme Court spokesman Bret Crow.

If indicted, the Ohio Supreme Court would remove Mason from the bench while his case is pending. He would continue to receive his pay of $121,350.

A spokeswoman for County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty declined to say when the case may be presented a grand jury for a possible indictment.

Court Administrator Greg Popovich declined to elaborate beyond a statement issued Monday afternoon saying people with pending court dates in Mason's court should prepare for their cases to move forward.

If convicted, Mason faces between two years and eight years in prison. The Ohio Supreme Court could impose additional discipline, including: public reprimand, a suspension ranging from six months to two years, probation, indefinite suspension or permanent disbarment.

Mason, 46, was arrested on Saturday afternoon after police say he bit, choked and punched his wife, Aisha Mason, 41. Cleveland police seized smoke grenades, semi-automatic rifles, a sword, a bulletproof vest and more than 2,500 rounds of ammunition from Mason's house, according to a police report.

Shaker Heights Prosecutor C. Randolph Keller said during a Monday court hearing that Mason's two children were present for part of the attack that resulted in broken bones to her face.

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Cases Will Continue in the Courtroom of Cuyahoga County Judge Arrested Saturday< /a>