The Story Behind the Story

In November 2005, the Los Angeles Times published a four-part investigative series titled "Guardians for Profit." The series shed light on unjust aspects of the business of professional conservatorship. The story was co-written by three Times reporters: Robin Fields, Evelyn Larrubia and Jack Leonard. Their reporting found that the elderly in California could be put under the complete legal control of a conservator with little to no notification, input or reason. Once under the thumb of a conservator, not only was it nearly impossible to remove the designation, but the conservator would often sap the financial resources of the victim, bleeding them dry. The story detailed shocking, saddening and ultimately scary accounts of seniors having their independence pulled from them before being isolated from loved ones and taken advantage of, with little to no judicial oversight.

But reporter Jack Leonard said digging up the truth was far from an easy task when it came to "Guardians for Profit." His story behind the story gives some insight into what it really takes to cut it as a journalist.

The story of how "Guardians for Profit" came to be starts in the summer of 2002, more than three years before it was published.

Full Article and Source:
Guardians Of The Truth

Guardians For Profit:
PART ONE GUARDIANS FOR PROFIT
When a Family Matter Turns Into a Business
By Robin Fields, Evelyn Larrubia and Jack Leonard
Photos: Part 1: A Sudden Loss of Independence
Conservators are supposed to protect the elderly and infirm. But some neglect their clients, isolate them -- even plunder their assets.
November 13, 2005

PART TWO GUARDIANS FOR PROFIT
Justice Sleeps While Seniors Suffer
By Jack Leonard, Robin Fields and Evelyn Larrubia
Photos: Part 2: Neglect — and Outright Theft
Probate courts are supposed to watch conservators' conduct and discipline those who abuse their authority. They've failed dismally in this vital role.
November 14, 2005

PART THREE GUARDIANS FOR PROFIT
Missing Money, Unpaid Bills and Forgotten Clients
By Evelyn Larrubia, Jack Leonard and Robin Fields
Photos: Missing Money and Unpaid Bills
Anne L. Chavis, a churchgoing nurse, had sweeping power over wards' lives. It took years for the VA and others to rein her in.
November 15, 2005

LAST OF FOUR PARTS
For Most Vulnerable,a Promise Abandoned
By Robin Fields, Evelyn Larrubia and Jack Leonard
PHOTOS: A Public Agency’s Painful Decline
GRAPHIC: Little room for the needy
L.A.'s public guardian, stripped of county funding for over a decade, turns away many in need.
November 16, 2005

Guardians' Adoptions

The state Supreme Court upheld a law making it easier for legal guardians to adopt children, saying youngsters need a stable home and a guardian doesn't have to prove that the child's biological parents are unfit.

The case involved children placed with guardians at a family member's request, usually because the parents can't care for them. If parents object, a judge must decide whether parental custody would be harmful to the child.

A 2004 state law allows a guardian to adopt a child after two years if a judge agrees. Before the law was passed, guardians could adopt only if the parents had abandoned the child, committed a crime showing unfitness or were mentally ill.

In upholding the new law, the court unanimously rejected a Yolo County woman's challenge to her 5-year-old daughter's adoption by guardians who had taken care of her for 3 1/2 years.

"After years of guardianship, the child has a fully developed interest in a stable, continuing and permanent placement with a fully committed caregiver," the court said.

Kimball Sargeant, lawyer for the Yolo County woman, argued that the law is unconstitutional because it removes rights from a parent without proof that the parent is unfit.

Full Article and Source:
California court upholds guardians' adoptions

More information:
California Supreme Court bolsters guardians' right to adopt

High court makes it easier for guardians to adopt children

Exploitation of Residents

A man who once worked with the developmentally disabled in Los Lunas pleaded guilty last week to charges that he took money from two clients who were under his care.

Randy Menear pleaded guilty to one count of exploitation of a resident, a fourth-degree felony. Menear admitted taking money from a developmentally disabled Medicaid recipient in 2003 and 2004. As part of his plea agreement, a second count of financial exploitation of a second resident was dismissed, although District Judge John Pope ordered that the defendant must make restitution to both individuals.

Judge Pope ordered Menear to be placed on probation for 18 months and make restitution to both victims in the amount of $1,650. As an additional consequence, the conviction will exclude Menear from future employment in any facility receiving Medicaid or any other federally funded health care program.

Full Article and Source:
Caretaker pleads guilty of exploitation of residents

Out-of-Control Discovery

A joint report by two legal organizations says that out-of-control discovery in civil cases can be so expensive that it prevents parties from litigating legitimate disputes.

Prepared by the American College of Trial Lawyers task force and the Denver-based Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, it calls for discovery rules to be revised to comport with the age of e-mail and computerized documents, reports the Associated Press.

In addition to limiting discovery, the state and federal court systems should also assign a single judge to handle each case from start to finish and give judges the power to order mediation, when appropriate, the report recommends.

Source:
Curb Out-of-Control Discovery, Report by Trial Lawyers Group Recommends

The report:
THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF TRIAL LAWYERS TASK FORCE ON DISCOVERY

Elder Exploitation - Again

When Tina Palagi was sentenced in court on charges of elder exploitation in December, she got a suspended sentence and a strong warning to stay out of trouble.

Now the Great Falls woman is accused of stealing from her own mother while her mother was ill, causing the elderly woman to lose her home to foreclosure just months before it should have been paid off.

Palagi made her initial appearance in Cascade County District Court on the newest charge of elder exploitation. That charge comes on the heels of a host of other new charges, accusing Palagi of other counts of elder exploitation and felony theft.

According to the charging documents, a Great Falls Police detective was questioning Palagi's mother during an ongoing investigation into Palagi's suspected role in numerous financial schemes.

According to charging documents, the detective learned Palagi had been trusted to manage her mother's finances while her mother was seriously ill.

According to court documents, the older woman bought her house in 1973 and should have made the last payment in 2003. Instead, she learned her home was in foreclosure when sheriff's deputies told her she was being evicted and had 30 minutes to vacate the house. The charges say Palagi took out a loan against the house in 2000 and failed to pay back the loan, causing the house to go into foreclosure. Palagi had been authorized to govern her mother's affairs, but her mother did not know about the loan.

Palagi also is accused of stealing her mother's retirement benefits while her mother was sick.

Full Article and Source:
Woman convicted of elder exploitation now charged with bilking mom

More information:
Woman charged with bilking mom, who lost house

Crime Stopper Tip Results in Arrest

TX - On January 7, an Aggravated Robbery took place at the Quick Cash Beer and Liquor Store. The Robbery was caught on video and released to all media outlets on January 23rd. The most disturbing scene on the video was one of the suspects beating an elderly man on crutches in front of the store. On January 28th, an anonymous citizen called into the Crime Stoppers Tip Line with information that led to the identification and charging of Darius Bariell Bogan as the suspect seen on the video beating the man. Charges of Aggravated Robbery were filed on Bogan on January 29th and the 351st District Court issued warrant 1201172 for his arrest.

On the morning of Monday March 2, 2009 another anonymous citizen called the Crime Stoppers Tip Line to provide information on the location of Darius Bogan. Later that afternoon he was arrested by the Gulf Coast Violent Offender's Task Force in the 3200 block of Royal Avenue in Baytown.

Crime Stoppers is proud to partner with the citizens, law enforcement, and media in helping to bring violent fugitives to justice.

Crime Stoppers offers up to $5,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and charging of any felony suspect. Callers are urged to call 713-222-TIPS or log on to www.crime-stoppers.org with any information. All callers remain anonymous.

Source:
Crime Stopper tip results in arrest of violent robber

Lawyer Ordered to Repay

A lawyer, who has claimed he is fighting to protect his longtime client's desire to leave the bulk of his estimated $50 million fortune to the poor children of Panama, has been smacked by a Palm Beach County judge.

Attorney Richard Lehman has been ordered to repay $1 million to the estate of Wilson Charles Lucom, an eccentric Palm Beach millionaire who moved to Panama in the last years of his life.

Calling Lehman a "covetous opportunist," Circuit Judge John Phillips said Lehman misused $655,000 that was part of Lucom's Florida estate to get his hands on tens of millions in Panama. In an 11-page ruling, Phillips ordered Lehman to repay the money along with the $390,000 that was spent tracking how the money was spent.

He also ordered Lehman to pay the fees of lawyers who represented Lucom's Panamanian widow and her children.

Lehman disputed Phillips' findings. "I never put a dollar in my pocket and I spent $1million of my own money defending the estate," said Lehman, vowing to appeal.

Full Article and Source:
Boca Raton lawyer ordered to repay $1 million to client's estate

Virtual Caretaker

If British researchers are successful, it may soon be easier for people with dementia to remain in their own homes.

The investigators are working on “smart” home sensing systems capable of doing everything from reminding people to turn off the faucet to automatically switching lights and appliances on and off. The idea is to create a sort of virtual caregiver, even to the point of using the voices of friends and relatives to record the reminders and other messages.

The technology is currently being trialed in two care homes in Great Britain, where it has been helping people for more than a year now. “The driver really has been to arrive at a creative engineering solution that addresses real problems faced by real people with real needs,” system developer Professor Roger Orpwood was quoted as saying. “The key is to focus on enabling people, not on taking decisions away from them.”

The systems are aimed at taking some of the burden off of caregivers, and in some cases, may even allow people with dementia to live on their own. The next step will be to ensure they can be managed by local health care providers. If that pans out, Professor Orpwood believes we could see these types of systems go on the market in the next five years.

Presented at the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council's "Pioneers '09," March 4, 2009, London

Source:
Smart Homes Liberate People with Dementia

Elder Abuse Fatality Review Team

Prompted in part by the freezing death of an Alzheimer's patient who wandered outside her nursing home in the middle of the night last month, DuPage County is setting up a team to investigate allegations of physical abuse of senior citizens in nursing homes, as well as in-home health-care situations.

State's Atty. Joseph Birkett has asked the Illinois Department on Aging to allow the establishment of an Elder Abuse Fatality Review Team that would investigate claims of violence against county residents 60 and older. A state law allows approved programs to access restricted information such as nursing home records.

The team would consist of representatives from the state's attorney's office, the sheriff, the county coroner, police, nursing home associations, and county and state senior citizens agencies.

Heidi Leon, a 23-year-old nursing assistant, was charged with criminal neglect of a long-term care facility resident, criminal neglect of an elderly person and obstruction of justice in connection with the death of Sarah Wentworth, 89, whose body was found in an Itasca nursing home's courtyard after she was outside for perhaps as long as five hours.

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Abuse of DuPage elderly to get closer scrutiny