Chicago Lawyer Blamed for Messy Estate Spat

CHICAGO (CN) - Six siblings led by a priest claim in court that their former attorney complicated their efforts to recover $47 million in assets other siblings looted.

 The Rev. Timothy O'Malley filed the complaint Monday with three brothers and two sisters.

 They say three of their siblings began looted their parents' assets in late 2000, after their father's death, depleting the estate of $47 million by the time their mother died in February 2009.

 Premier among their mother's assets was the Palos Country Club in Orland Park, according to the complaint.

 The plaintiffs say their siblings all but drove this club into the ground while their mother was sick.

 Though they hired an attorney in April 2009 to contest their mother's will, the plaintiffs say Frederick Cappetta and his firm, Cappetta & Associates, "proved to be ineffective counsel," according to the complaint.

 Ultimately with new counsel, the plaintiffs secured a 2012 jury verdict finding that the will they had challenged "was a product of undue influence."

 "Soon after, plaintiffs rightfully regained control of the estate," the complaint states. "Since the will contest, plaintiffs have, at great personal cost, undertaken a tremendous effort to sort out nearly a decade of professional abuse of their mother's legal and financial affairs."

 The plaintiffs blame Cappetta's failings for having been later forced "to undertake legal actions at substantial personal cost to recover property, documents and information which should have been recovered years earlier."

 The Rev. O'Malley says his "self-serving" siblings created a "legal and financial boondoggle."

 "But for Cappetta, and his firms' [sic] negligent acts and/or omissions, plaintiff [sic] would have prosecuted her [sic] underlying claim against" certain attorneys who helped their unscrupulous siblings, according to the complaint.

 Such claims would have netted damages for the O'Malley plaintiffs, they say.

 The five O'Malley siblings say Cappetta supposedly had expertise in estate litigation but "undertook no action against the attorney's [sic] and professionals for their improprieties."

 A six-month statute of limitation bars malpractice and fraud claims in Illinois estate cases, but "Cappetta was unaware of and failed to inform plaintiffs" of that hurdle, the complaint states.

 The plaintiffs seek at least $3 million in damages for Cappetta's alleged breach. They are represented by Michael O'Malley of Evanstown. O'Malley declined to give an interview for this article.

 It is unclear from the complaint if he is a relative of the plaintiff O'Malleys.

 Cappetta has not returned a phone call seeking comment.

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Chicago Lawyer Blamed for Messy Estate Spat

How to avoid a nursing home nightmare

TRUSSVILLE, Ala. (WIAT) — It’s a decision millions of families struggle with: whether or not they should move a loved one into a nursing home.

In light of the Trussville nursing home closing after reports of neglect and problems with care, WIAT 42 News decided to investigate what families need to know to avoid a nursing home nightmare.

The National Center on Elder Abuse interviewed 2,000 nursing home residents. 44 percent reported being abused and 95 percent said they’d seen others abused or neglected.

Susan Bowman says her father, Dr. David Griffin, spent his life taking care of people. She says at the end of his life, the people who were supposed to take care of him didn’t.

“No. I was mad. I was really mad. And it should not have happened. It should never have happened,” Susan Bowman said.Nurs

After a severe stroke, Bowman says they moved her dad into a nursing home in his hometown of Louisville.

She says they never had any problems, until September 2008.

“And I got a call that they felt like he had what they called a spontaneous fracture,” Bowman said.

“I guess about five or six weeks after the injury, he died,” Bowman continued.

The nursing home’s explanation never sat right with Susan Bowman and her family.

“Once I decided to do something I was at peace, I really was,” Bowman said.

They sued, and a jury sided with her family that the nursing home was negligent. Her dad was always supposed to be lifted by two people. Instead, she says one nurse tried to lift him alone and dropped him.

“I don’t think she realized what she had done; I don’t think it was an intentional thing. I think she wanted to go hurry and take her break,” Bowman said.

And the worst part? Bowman says her attorneys with Hare, Wynn, Newell & Newton LLP proved the nursing home tried to cover it up for days.

“That man had been in the nursing home for four days with two broken bones. Just lying there,” Bowman said.

She says she hopes what her family and her father went through helps other families make sure the people they pay to take care of their loved ones, actually do it.

Attorney Matt Minner of Hare Wynn handles nursing home abuse cases including this one.

His advice is to make sure the nursing home is well-staffed.

“There’s a lot of problems you see in nursing homes. They can be abuse problems, neglect problems, malnourishment we see a lot. Almost all of those problems are because of under staffing so I would highly recommend that anyone considering getting involved with a nursing home should check the number of skilled care staff and other staff that would be taking care of their loved ones,” Matt Minner with Hare Wynn said.

Also, he says be alert while you are visiting nursing homes. Look for signs the staff knows patients well and cares for them.

“Is the staff calling residents by their names? Do they know them? You would be amazed at how many it’s just another person to them,” Minner said.

He also says within the first 30 days a residents is admitted, there will be a meeting with several people to come up with their care plan. He says family members are invited and should attend. You will know what your loved one’s care plan is. That way, you will know if they are not receiving the care they are supposed to.

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How to avoid a nursing home nightmare

Stronger mechanisms being created to protect elderly: Zuma

President  Jacob Zuma

The government is working hard to create stronger mechanisms to prevent abuse‚ neglect and exploitation of the elderly‚ President Jacob Zuma says.

Speaking during a visit to the Lodewyk P Spies Home for the aged in Eersterust near Pretoria on Tuesday‚ he said the Older Persons Act called for an elder abuse reporting system and increased public awareness and the prosecution of individuals who violated the rights of older persons.

“We therefore encourage the public to report the abuse‚ neglect and exploitation of older persons to Gender Based Violence Command Centre‚” he said.

President Zuma added that the Government was also improving the lives of the elderly by facilitating access to social protection in order to benefit their quality of life in their golden years.

To date‚ almost three million older persons had access to an old age grant.

“We have already taken necessary steps to ensure that we protect our senior citizens against the predatory loan sharks and illegal deductions from social grants.

“The Department of Social Development is currently in the process of strengthening the Social Assistance Act Regulations to stop illegal deductions and to bring the perpetrators who exploit our senior citizens to face the full might of the law‚” the President stated.

The government was also working with community-based organisations to provide care and support to the majority of older persons who wished to remain in their homes and with their families.

“Equally‚ we conduct regular oversight visits to old age homes to ensure that our older persons are treated with respect and dignity.”

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Stronger mechanisms being created to protect elderly: Zuma

Hollywood broker cleared in elderly exploitation case

A Hollywood stockbroker convicted of conning a 95-year-old woman into signing over her $10 million estate was exonerated Wednesday by an appeals court.

Cynthia Franke, 54, began serving a seven-year prison term in 2013 following her conviction, but the Fourth District Court of Appeal determined that the jury got it wrong.

"Because the state's evidence was not inconsistent with her theory of innocence, we reverse," the appeals court ruled.

Franke was overcome with emotion during a telephone interview Wednesday, saying only that she feels "better now." She served less than two months in prison before being released on bond pending the outcome of her appeal.

Franke and Mary Teris had been friends for 30 years. Franke had prepared a special needs trust for Teris' two sons in 1996.

In 2008, Teris asked Franke to change her trust, ultimately having a lawyer switch the trustee and beneficiary to Franke. Teris then named a co-trustee so that Franke could avoid a conflict of interest.

But Teris, now 101, allegedly suffered from dementia, and Franke was accused of taking advantage of her condition to enrich herself.

Franke and her husband, Tyrone Javellana, were charged, tried, convicted and sentenced together. But Javellana's conviction was overturned in June. He faced a related accusation involving Teris' sister, but that charge was dropped last month.

"It is a huge relief," Javellana said Wednesday. "It was six years of an unbelievable nightmare that's been lifted off our shoulders."

Franke's friend and colleague, Alicia Brown Beloyan, said Franke was in tears much of the day. "It's not sinking into her mind that this is over after six years," she said.

After the charges were filed, Franke lost her job with the Laidlaw and Company brokerage firm and was stripped of her license as a broker. She has not decided what to do with her career, Javellana said.

"We're not certain what her next step will be, but at least this exoneration clears her name," he said.

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Hollywood broker cleared in elderly exploitation case

Tooele banker took $43K from elderly woman's account, police say

TOOELE — A Zions Bank employee has been arrested for allegedly stealing more than than $43,000 from a 90-year-old woman's account over the past year.

Stephanie Huber Bennett, 44, of Tooele, was arrested for investigation of 22 counts of exploitation of an elderly adult and 22 counts of forgery. Investigators believe Bennett, a teller at Zions Bank in Tooele from 2006 up until the time the alleged fraud was discovered, withdrew $43,700 since January from the account of a 90-year-old customer.

The elderly woman, "with the help of a family member, reported that after reviewing the victim’s account, suspicious withdrawals were found," according to a statement from Tooele police, who began investigating on Dec. 9.

"Zions Bank was contacted and assisted with video and other documents showing the transactions were all made by the arrestee. Zions Bank investigators found video showing the arrestee was alone in the lobby when the transactions were made," according to a probable cause statement from Tooele police. "The arrestee stated she has assisted the victim with many financial transactions."

Zions Bank released a statement saying Bennett is no longer an employee as of Dec. 10.

"We are unable to discuss specifics regarding this situation. However, we are working closely with the Tooele City Police Department in (its) investigation," according to the bank's statement.

A relative at Bennett's home Tuesday said they had no comment about the case.

"There's more financial exploitation going on in the community than people really realize," said Debbie Booth of Adult Protective Services. "With a bank employee, it makes it all the more egregious, I think as far as we're concerned, because a bank employee is usually the people that you trust."

Booth said having a conversation with elderly parents about money can be important since exploitation, particularly of older women, is common. Many times the perpetrator is a relative or friend.

"It's a really sensitive topic, but it just takes asking Mom if she's OK or asking her, 'Mom, how are your finances? Are you able to share that information with me?'" she said, adding that banks often offer services that can help family members monitor bank accounts.

"They're not necessarily on the bank account, but they can monitor things," she said.

Tooele police detectives said their investigation is ongoing to determine if there are other victims in the case. Anyone who believes there has been suspicious activity with their financial accounts can contact Toole police at 435-882-8900.

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Tooele banker took $43K from elderly woman's account, police say

Elderly financial exploitation arrests made in Joplin

JOPLIN, Mo.
Josh Harrison, 41, of Carthage and William Lovell, 29, of Liberty were arrested by Joplin police. They were taken into custody for not having a business license and property destruction. Harrison is charged with financial exploitation of the elderly. Lovell also has two Newton County warrants.

Officers say they had the woman pay $270 upfront to work on her driveway. They came back a week later and asked for another $150 to finish the project. Both men are being held in the Joplin City Jail.

Police advise people to not pay in advance, and not to pay in full until the project is completed. Also check with the city to see if your contractors are licensed and bonded.

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Elderly financial exploitation arrests made in Joplin

Lyon County, administrator to pay $2.1 million for stolen items

By Carri Geer Thevenot
Las Vegas Review-Journal

 

Lyon County and former Public Administrator Richard Glover must pay $2.1 million to the heirs of a man whose Wellington home was looted after his death in May 2006, a federal jury ruled Tuesday.

"It's been a really long haul," Las Vegas resident Richard Mathis said after hearing the verdict.

The verdict stemmed from a civil rights lawsuit filed by Mathis and his two brothers, Anthony and James, who accused Glover of illegally seizing and stealing nearly $1 million of heirlooms and other property from the home of their 85-year-old father, Joe, shortly after his death.

Anthony Mathis, who lives in Vermont, and Richard Mathis came to court Tuesday afternoon to hear the jury's verdict. Glover also came to court, but he and his attorneys declined to comment.

Later, as Richard Mathis left the federal courthouse in Las Vegas, juror Kristine Anderson approached him and said, "I hope you guys are able to move on now."

Anderson told the Review-Journal that jurors wanted to hold Lyon County accountable for failing to have written policies to guide its public administrator, and for failing to protect its citizens.

"The family clearly wasn't notified that the property was going to be removed from the home," she said.

The jury's verdict included about $1.6 million in damages against Lyon County and $180,000 in damages against Glover for emotional distress, as well as about $217,00 in damages against both defendants for stolen property. In addition, the jury ordered Glover to pay $100,000 in punitive damages.

"I hope that this'll teach Lyon County not to do this to somebody again, but I don't think it will," Richard Mathis said.

The Mathis brothers had sought a $4.5 million verdict. Their attorneys argued that the stolen property included $800,000 worth of opals.

"It's hard to value property that's missing," Anthony Mathis said.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon presided over the trial, which began Nov. 2.

"At its core, this case is about a Nevada county that was deliberately indifferent to the constitutional rights of its citizens," attorneys for the Mathis brothers wrote in their trial brief. "The evidence in this case shows that Lyon County has elected numerous public administrators that have overtly violated the constitutional rights of Lyon County citizens for more than a decade."

Glover was investigated but never faced criminal charges related to the missing Mathis property.

However, records show he was charged with a crime in connection with the estate of Carl Liberty and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in 2010.

Joe Mathis' six children, including three daughters, were raised in Smith Valley, where the western Nevada town of Wellington is located.

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Lyon County, administrator to pay $2.1 million for stolen items

Legal representation urged for adult guardianships in Nevada

By Colton Lochhead
Las Vegas Review-Journal

 

A committee tasked with fixing the state's guardianship program wrangled Tuesday with the concept of legal representation and how it might apply to state's guardianship courts.

Several members at a meeting of the Nevada Supreme Court Commission to Study the Administration of Guardianships threw heavy support behind the idea of mandating attorney representation for those facing adult guardianships.

While attorney representation is a right given to anyone facing criminal charges, the infirm and elderly in the state who are facing the loss of many of their constitutional rights that comes with a guardianship are not guaranteed the same right.

"One of the most important things we need to do is make sure the people who are losing their rights have legal counsel," said Sally Ramm, of the state's Aging and Disability services.

Chief Justice James Hardesty, who chairs the commission, said he thinks many of the problems that he has heard from family members who feel that their loved one was taken advantage of could have been solved if the ward was given an attorney from the beginning of the process.

Hardesty had a simple recommendation for the panel.

"(Wards) are entitled to an attorney and I think they should have one appointed," he said.

The biggest hurdle for the panel is finding out the best way to fund such representation, and a subcommittee will discuss the most feasible way to do so.

The concept isn't so foreign to some parts of the state, though.

Judge Frances Doherty, who oversees Washoe County's guardianship cases, said that Northern Nevada county has been providing attorney representation to those under guardianship, often referred to as wards, through the county's senior legal aid program for the past two years.

If the panel fails to provide that representation to the thousands of other wards throughout the state, Doherty said, the commission might have been formed for naught.

"We would fall short so significantly as a commission if we failed to affirm the right of the individual facing guardianship in the adult arena to have their own attorney," Doherty said.

The panel was formed after longstanding problems with the system — which handles thousands of guardianship cases in Clark County each year — were exposed in a series of Las Vegas Review-Journal articles in April. Highlighted cases showed a lack of oversight by the courts that left infirm and incapacitated people vulnerable to financial abuse.

The panel was originally supposed to provide recommendations to the state Legislature by the new year, but the Supreme Court recently extended the commission's length by an additional six months.

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Legal representation urged for adult guardianships in Nevada

Family: Video shows veteran's calls for help ignored by nurses

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. (WSB-TV.com) — Family of a World War II veteran is suing the Atlanta-based nursing home where he died.

They say a hidden camera, installed at Northeast Atlanta Health and Rehabilitation Center, shows the elderly man’s repeated calls for help were ignored.

Tim Demsey says his father, James Dempsey, was nervous about spending the night at the facility, so the family installed a nanny camera facing the man’s bed. Only his family and his father knew the camera existed, according to Dempsey.

The family of the 89-year-old says he was supposed to be at the assisted living facility for a short time. He died at the facility in February 2014.

“We would have just thought it was natural causes and everything was done that should have been done and he passed away in his sleep,” Dempsey told Channel 2’s Rachel Stockman.

Dempsey says he got the real story when he took the hidden camera home and reviewed the video.

“Shock, dismay, we’ve seen these people everyday,” he said.

On six occasions in the video from the morning he died, Dempsey can be seen pressing the “call/help light button from his bed.”

He can also be seen yelling, “help, help, help,” and appears to be pointing to his heart.

At one point a nurse on the video says, “you gotta stop putting the light on. What do you want now?”

A nurse also tells him, “you’re having anxiety that’s all, you just need to calm down.”

“You would never thought that people would just let a person die,” Dempsey said.

About two hours after the initial call light, the nurses are seen administering CPR for several minutes and then the video shows the paramedics arriving – by then it is too late.

The son filed a lawsuit against the facility, which is owned by one of the largest nursing home operators in the country, Atlanta-based Sava Senior care.

“The biggest problem to me is the attempt to cover it up,” said Michael Prieto, who represents the Dempsey family.

“If they made a mistake then a person of integrity stands up and says I made mistake and you deal with the consequences that certainly hasn’t happened in this case,” Prieto said.

Since Monday, Channel 2 Action News has called the company and their attorneys for comment but have not heard back.

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Family: Video shows veteran's calls for help ignored by nurses