CT Lawyer Who Stole From Aunt Faces Prison

A former White House adviser, aide to a U.S. congressman and prosecutor, Rik Bachman can now add convicted embezzler to his resume.

The Fairfield lawyer pleaded no contest Thursday in state Superior Court to second-degree larceny for stealing more than $200,000 from the accounts of his 85-year-old aunt. He is accused of using some of the money to buy sports memorabilia.

Senior Assistant State's Attorney Howard Stein said he will recommend the 57-year-old Bachman, of Woodbine Lane, serve a three-year prison term when he is sentenced by Judge Robert Devlin Jr. on June 28.

"The state intends to ask for the maximum amount of time under the plea agreement," Stein said. "As a member of the bar, he should have been more than aware that his conduct was unlawful in nature."

Bachman, who had a law office in White Plains, N.Y., was a former New York prosecutor specializing in financial crimes and previously worked in the White House and for former New York congressman Jack Kemp.

He is accused of taking over the affairs of his aunt, Beatrice Bachman, in 2009 and keeping her secluded from other family members while he made large withdrawals from her bank accounts for his personal use.

Stein said after relatives repeatedly sought to contact the woman, Bachman had her moved from her apartment in New York to an assisted-living facility in Trumbull.

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Lawyer Who Stole $200K From Aunt Faces Jail

NM Judge Naranjo Suspended

According to the disciplinary order issued by the New Mexico Supreme Court, Naranjo is suspended without pay for 90 days, effective Monday, April 22, with 60 days deferred on the condition he successfully completes the supervised probation term imposed by the court; formal mentorship for the remainder of his term as magistrate, which will begin when the Supreme Court appoints a mentor; and a National Judicial College online course, “Ethics and Judging: Reaching Higher Ground,” which he will attend at his own expense.

The disciplinary order states the 60-day deferred suspension will be automatically imposed if Naranjo violates any term of the stipulation agreement and consent to discipline filed in the Supreme Court. It also states Naranjo shall immediately and permanently resign from office if he causes a notice of formal proceedings to be issued in any matter while he is on probation.

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Judge Naranjo Suspended

PA District Judge Violated Integrity and Impartiality of Office, Board Says

A state board of judges has ruled that suspended District Judge Kelly Ballentine violated five standards of office when she dismissed her own parking tickets.

The state Court of Judicial Discipline, in a recent order, ruled that Ballentine violated the "integrity and impartiality" of her position.

That also was the conclusion of the state Judicial Conduct Board. The Court of Judicial Discipline said it will announce a penalty at a later date.

Ballentine could receive a reprimand, a suspension of her term as district judge or permanent disbarment. Ballentine pleaded guilty to three misdemeanors on Feb. 1 and was fined $1,500 for dismissing three of her own tickets in 2010 and 2011.

The state attorney general's office filed 12 charges last year; nine of those were eventually dismissed. The Court of Judicial Discipline outlines the violations in a 12-page opinion.

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District Judge Kelly Ballentine Violated Integrity and Impartiality of Office in Ticket Fixing Case, Board Says

Bill to Protect Elderly and Disabled Adults in California From Excessive Lawyer Fees Sails Through Key State Senate Committee

Legislation to protect incapacitated adults in California from excessive legal fees when their lives and finances are under court supervision sailed through a key committee Tuesday and is headed to the Senate floor.
Members of the Judiciary Committee voted unanimously for Senate Bill 156 -- a bill inspired by 38-year-old Danny Reed's years-long battle with a court-appointed estate manager and bevy of lawyers. Together, their hundreds of thousands of dollars of fees would have gobbled up most of the San Jose man's life savings.

"When you see what really happened, everyone agreed," the bill's author, Democratic state Sen. Jim Beall of San Jose, said after the hearing. "Our bill is pretty simple. It just allows judges to protect people."

SB156 would avoid the burden Reed faced of "fees-on-fees," which leaves dependent adults paying for both sides of legal disputes over excessive fees, whether they win or lose their arguments. The bill would tackle that problem by creating a "loser pays" system. If an elderly or disabled adult objects to the fees of a court-appointed conservator and wins the case, then the conservator could be required by a judge to pay his or her own legal fees. Otherwise, those fees would be drawn from the person's estate.

In Reed's case, he objected when his court-appointed trustee charged $108,771 for four-and-a-half months' work in 2010, but that spiraled into legal bills more than double the original amount. Reed's case -- highlighted in this newspaper's investigation "Loss of Trust" -- was resolved in the appeals court, but only after a lengthy court fight and the help of a dedicated pro bono legal team.

SB156 has so far attracted only one formal objection -- from the trade group representing fiduciaries, who serve as probate court-appointees handling the money and daily care of dependent adults. Jerry Desmond, the lobbyist for the Professional Fiduciary Association of California, was the sole opponent of Beall's bill testifying at Tuesday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. While Desmond said his group shares Beall's intent to best serve vulnerable adults, he believes the bill would scare fiduciaries away from seeking court assignments.

"We could end up in a situation where we don't have enough professional conservators to take the cases," Desmond told senators.

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Bill to Protect Elderly and Disabled Adults in California From Excessive Lawyer Fees Sails Through Key State Senate Committee

See Also:
Loss of Trust Series - Santa Clara County's Court-Appointed Estate Managers are Handing Out Costly and Questionable Bills

Disbarred Attorney Indicted for Allegedly Stealing More Than $400K From Elderly Woman

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters announced today the indictment of a former attorney who allegedly stole more than $400,000 from an 83-year-old woman from Morrow.

William G. Goetz of Cincinnati, was indicted Tuesday by a Hamilton County grand jury on two counts of Theft from the Elderly, two counts of Money Laundering, and one count of Tampering with Records.

If convicted, Goetz faces a maximum of 31 years in prison.

According to investigators, Goetz prepared legal documents and participated in a complex real estate transaction for the homeowner. He allegedly took more than $400,000 from the homeowner that was intended for future tax payments stemming from the land deal. Goetz is accused of depositing the funds into his business accounts for his own personal use.

As part of the deception, Goetz also allegedly created a fake letter from the Ohio Attorney General's office to further his crimes.

Goetz was disbarred by the North Dakota Supreme Court in 1991 for fraudulent dealings with his clients. He is not and has never been an attorney admitted to the practice of law in Ohio.

The Ohio Supreme Court sanctioned Goetz for unauthorized practice of law and fined him $30,000 in 2005.

A warrant has been issued for Goetz's arrest. 

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Man Allegedly Stole $400,000 From Elderly Morrow Woman

Elderly Pets Homeless When Senior Goes Into Nursing Home

The photo of two boxers, huddled together on a bed, desperately trying to find comfort in one another, is heartbreaking in and of itself - knowing the reason that the senior dogs are at this animal control facility makes the situation all the more sad.

The dogs, Chilee and Molee, were surrendered to the Albuquerque, N.M., Animal Welfare Department facility by their elderly owner who was moving to a nursing home.

Undoubtedly, this was a devastating and difficult for the dogs' guardian. Equally devastating is the sadness and confusion that these beautiful dogs are left with.

Chilee and Molee do not realize why they were left at an unfamiliar kennel - they have no idea if their person is coming back.

All these dogs have right now are each other.

Please take a moment to network Chilee and Molee's information with the hope that it reaches a person who wants to adopt them, or a rescue agency who is able to take them in.

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Elderly Guardian Goes to Nursing Home; Two Senior Dogs Go to Animal Control

Glen Campbell to Appear at Senate Hearing on Alzheimer's

Glen Campbell will visit the U.S. Special Committee on Aging on Wednesday (April 24) for a hearing about Alzheimer's. His daughter Ashley Campbell will accompany him to Washington to testify at the hearing on behalf of the family. Campbell went public with his Alzheimer's diagnosis in 2011.

 

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Glen Campbell to Appear at Senate Hearing on Alzheimer's

Editorial: NY Confiscates 'Private' Records of Psychiatrists

The march to tyranny has picked up fierce momentum in the state of New York, where the criminal Cuomo administration is now issuing subpoenas that demand psychiatrists turn over ALL their records to the state, reports AmmoLand.com.

This is just the first step for the New York government's "HIPAA" committee, whose sole purpose is to "illegally obtain and access the private medical records of potentially millions of NY State Residents."

Regardless of your views on firearms ownership, such actions are absolutely chilling. It puts the government in the position of violating doctor-patient confidentiality for the purpose of the state determining who suffers from "mental health" problems that the state uses to justify almost any action it wishes to take.

This is not a gun rights issue, this is a patient rights issue. If a state government can simply seize all records from all psychiatrists, then it can also use that information to decide whose children to have taken away by CPS... or who to deny the right to vote by having them labeled "mentally incompetent."

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And So It Begins:  New York Government Confiscates Private Records of Psychiatrists in Chilling Orwellian Mental Health Sweep

PA Task Force Established to Study Legal Issues Faced by Older People, Recommend Changes

A new Elder Law Task Force will take up special legal issues faced by older Pennsylvanians, from their vulnerability to abuse and neglect to the ways in which the judicial system should change to accommodate their needs, state court officials said Thursday.

The 38-member task force held its first meeting this week in Harrisburg, and has about a year to study the topic and make recommendations for changes to court rules, new legislation and other solutions.
"Every Pennsylvanian is going to face this in one way or another, whether it's their parents, their loved ones or themselves," said state Supreme Court Justice Debra Todd, who chairs the panel. "And we really want to do everything we can to keep our older adults safe."

Among the issues being studied are guardianship matters, improving access to the judicial system and abuse — whether physical, psychological or financial.
"We've focused so much in recent years, and we continue to focus, on child abuse, because our children are a vulnerable population," Todd said. "But our elderly are a vulnerable population as well."

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Pa. Task Force Established to Study Legal Issues Faced by Older People, Recommend Changes