Elder Abuse Cases On the Rise

Iowa,USA The victims' families are often left to pick up the pieces. Many also tell horror stories about the difficulties of navigating the state system as they search for help. Now, at least two state agencies hope the legislature will create more resources to aggressively tackle the problem.

We don't hear about the stories very often in the press, because many families of victims are afraid they'll be sued for slander. Today, the brother-in-law of a 92-year-old victim spoke up- but without naming any names.

The story starts three years ago, when Gerald Harvey says his 92-year-old sister-in-law, who suffers from Alzheimer's, turned into prey...

"Where do you turn to? We've talked to someone in the state offices. They just say, 'That's too bad, but what do you do about it?'"

Abridged =>>

Tampa web-hosting firm removes jihadist website

Tampa,Florida ,USA By Howard Altman of The Tampa Tribune

A Tampa Web-hosting company has taken down a Web site used by al-Qaida for communicating in secret and hiding files from investigators.

"Mujahideen Secrets 2 is designed to allow mujahedeen encrypted communication online using elaborate algorithms and symmetrical and asymmetrical encryption keys," said Eli Alshech, director of the Jihad and Terrorism Studies Project for the Middle East Media Research Institute, a think tank based in Washington.

The Web site often used by al-Qaida is of great concern, according to A. Aaron Weisburd, who runs the Internet Haganah, a Web site dedicated to hunting and disrupting jihadi Internet communications.

The site was registered on January 22, 2006, by a man named Peterson Hoffman in Amman, Jordan.

Another version, with a different Web address, is being hosted by a company in Phoenix, he said.

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Maybe we should give them comfort and protection the same way we do some elder and elder financial abusers .

Sentosa Corporation: Politics, Corruption & Death

I saw thousands who could have overcome the darkness, for the love of a lousy buck, I watched them die. Bob Dylan.

Sentosa Corporation, operated by two morally corrupt individuals, Ben Landa and Bent Philipson through their political ties to some very powerful politicians, has been allowed to build a network of 25 Nursing Homes in the State of New York. See Newsday Article

Related Article:Sentosa Corporation Persecutes Nurses

KOHL TO HOLD OLDER VOTER HEARING

WASHINGTON – On Thursday, January 31, U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) will hold a hearing on older voters, with a specific focus on states participating in the upcoming Super Tuesday primaries. The committee will explore issues of voter accessibility and spotlight on-going concerns that the Voter ID law currently pending before the Supreme Court could disproportionately disenfranchise seniors.

Barbara D. Bovbjerg from the U.S. Government Accountability Office will discuss issues surrounding senior transportation and mobility, ballot design, and poll site accessibility for the disabled. Deborah Markowitz, Vermont’s Secretary of State, will discuss the role Vermont has played as a leader in expanding voting opportunities for individuals with physical and cognitive impairment. Vermont—which will hold its primary on March 4—has a ‘vote-by-phone’ system and is implementing a mobile voting demonstration project to better facilitate voting within long-term care settings. Dr. Jason Karlawish from the University of Pennsylvania will provide an overview of which Super Tuesday states have guidelines to facilitate voting in long-term care settings, which do not, and the resulting implications.

He will also describe a model system for voting in long-term care settings. Dr. Wendy Weiser from the Democracy Project at New York University’s law school will convey how the Voter ID law under consideration by the Supreme Court unduly burdens seniors and why it should be overturned. She will also provide examples of seniors that would be disenfranchised due to the law.

A webcast of the hearing will be available on the Committee webpage: http://www.aging.senate.gov/

Ashley GlacelPress SecretarySpecial Committee on AgingSenator Herb Kohl, ChairPh: (202) 224-5364 Cell: (202) 340-3299

Letters to Editor -Senator Evelyn Lynn

Update Tuesday January29 2007 10:30 pm

I heard from Mrs Summers and the situation is now back on track , thank you very much to everyone concerned including Senator Evelyn Lynn, all your efforts,prayers and letters were a monument to your concern and a great hope that we can all work together in the future to make the world a safer place for our elders.

Mrs Summer writes:

"Dear Ray: The situation with my brother has improved immensely.........I got some satisfactory answers.
I wish to thank you for your concern.Thanks you also for caring for the elderly – in this crazy place we call “modern world”. Best wishes to you all."

Patria M. Summers


Dear Mrs. Summers:

Thank you for contacting our office regarding the nursing home situation with your brother and his wife.

It is our custom and a courtesy to allow each legislator who represents a particular district the opportunity to be of service to his or her constituents. Since you are a constituent of Senator Arthenia Joyner, I have taken the liberty of forwarding your letter to her office for her direct response.

I am sure you will be hearing from her in the very near future. Is you would like to contact her office directly she can be reached at the following address:

508 W. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard
Suite C
Tampa, FL 33603-3415

Sincerely,

Senator Evelyn Lynn

Judges's Are Human Too

by Irene Author of Paradise Costs

I, on occasion, work in a courthouse. Across from the office I am in there is a judge's office and his clerk's office. I have seen the judge a few times from across the hall and he's always says "good morning" and asks if I would like coffee or to let him or his office know if there is anything they can do to help me.

Recently, the judge walked into my office without his robe. He is a man with an aura of goodness and this was the first time I was close to him. He said, "Good morning, I am Judge XXXXXX."

I stood up and introduced my self and said, "Good morning, Judge." I extended my hand to shake hands with him and he shook my hand and I told him my name. Then, he asked me for a favor.

He explained that there was a prisoner in the back of the court that had been brought over to be swabbed for DNA. They hoped to define whether he was the father of a new born baby girl. It seems, according to the judge, that the alleged father and the mother had gotten into some trouble and the woman went into labor.

Both the mother and the newborn were found to have illegal drugs in their blood stream said the judge. The mother skipped town immediately after the birth and left her newborn child in the nursery in the hospital. The judge wanted to know how soon the company I work for could establish paternity because the male prisoner's brother asked to be given the newborn.

The judge explained that he would like to place the infant with family if he could determine whether there was any. He asked me to help him by working with an out-of-state company to move a mountain of paperwork to accomplish this so that the infant would not remain in the hospital or worst yet be placed in foster care.

We arranged for me to go to the hospital to swab the baby at the end of my day so the specimen would be included in a DHL pkg that left the next day. We worked out a special protocol with the out-of-state company as well and I was willing to stay at the courthouse for as long as it took for them to make the arrangements. The judge worked on it all day and so did I. So did social services. The judge gave me a Court order to use when I got to the hospital. Then, he said he would send a social worker with me, too.

However, the hospital did not cooperate and did not return the calls to the court clerk, the judge or social services and the whole day went by. We were still waiting at almost 6 PM...the judge was still there trying to get this done. Sadly, it didn't happen.

But, I was very moved by a judge that came out of the lofty judicial chambers to mix with the common folk and ask for a favor, stayed with it all day and was still there when I left after 6 PM.

I was inspired that in an abyss of misery, corruption and bull a judge cared that much about a newborn baby girl...she doesn't even have a name and she is the recipient of love
and caring she will never know...make me kind of wonder what other wonderful things there are out there that never get noticed.

Also, I have heard from a man I deeply respect and revere, in fact, he's the very attorney mentioned above who went to jail for a client's right to be treated fairly. He told me, "many guardians take money out of their own pocket to help their wards. However, no one ever talks about what goes right in an overburdened human system struggling every moment of the day.

All I can say is: God bless the idealists where ever they appear.

Irene A. Masiello / author: PARADISE COSTS--A Victim's Daughter Fights Back Against Elder Abuse...the first pro-active, grassroots REALITY WRITING book urging Americans to help STOP ELDER ABUSE NOW / Elder Advocate & Member of the Elder Justice Coalition / Founder: Starlight Network News / Certified: Holistic Counselor, Stress Management Consultant & Adult Educator / NYC-based magazine columnist authoring a holistically based, spiritual self-help & personal empowerment column since 1998

Ask The Attorney

January 28, 2008

My 90 yr.old brother and his wife 87 are being held in a Hernando County Nursing Home facility. My brother cannot see his wife of 67 years, whom he has cared for for the last 30 some years. She is invalid, he is considered unstable and not able to manage his own affair, after loosing his home and his credit, due to illness and poor financial planning. He was taken by Adult Protection services, put in lock up for 72 hrs.

The psychiatrist at lock-up gave my brother a sanity test which he passed with flying colors.

I went to see them yesterday at the Nursing Home and they told my brother that he could not permitted in the building because a loud argument had erupted sometime last week where they claim that my brother was forced feeding his ailing wife.

They would not give me any information about my sister in law’s condition, because something about the “privacy act”.

I have tried to find a lawyer in Hernando County, but there are only two lawyers listed and they both work for the County Court.

My brother is more than a hero to everyone who has known him. A Puerto Rican born an American Citizen, and is being treated by the Court as scum. He gets a pension from the State of New Jersey and ITT.

I plan to talk to the court appointed lawyer tomorrow and also my brother’s court appointed guardian. I want to know why my sister in law was in such a distressed condition yesterday. She sat on an old wheel chair without foot rest with her feet, cold on the floor. She was responsive, and answered all my questions, but would not eat unless her husband feeds her, and these people don’t let him do that. He shaved her faced and put her shoes on, in the usual loving ways.

My plate is full, what can I do?

Thank you for your attention,

Patria M. Summers

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By Maria C. Gallo, Esquire

I do not go as far north as Hernando County. But there are a few things that make me ask:

If your brother passed "the sanity test" with flying colors and the Petition for Protective Services was denied, then he should not have a court-appointed guardian.

His lawyer needs to file a motion to dismiss. BUT since he does have a free lawyer and before the lawyer is discharged, your brother should get him to have the wife re-evaluated or if this is not likely to change the outcome with regards to her mental well-being, then to locate staff/doctors/witnesses that will testify that your brother (the husband) is no threat to his wife and that he needs to be allowed access to her or, even better, that should be allowed to remain together in the same facility (if that is what your brother wants) or return both of them to their home with appropriate services/medical assistance in the home.

Should Nursing Homes Be for Profit?

By Emily Udell, In These Times. Posted January 28, 2008.

Is it right that people are trying to make money off taking care of our most vulnerable population?

In late 2007, the investment firm The Carlyle Group purchased one of the country's largest nursing home chains despite the concerns of regulators, lawmakers and workers' groups that the acquisition would lead to staffing cuts and cause a decline in quality of care for residents. The $6.3 billion purchase of Toledo, Ohio-based Manor Care Inc. closed after a Michigan judge lifted a restraining order that temporarily halted the sale.

"The problem is, in the nursing home industry, making money means cutting care," says Julie Eisenhardt, a spokeswoman for Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents employees at about 15 Manor Care homes and which spearheaded a campaign to raise awareness about the buyout.

Rump says that Carlyle would not separate its assets from its operations as some private equity firms have done and that the Manor Care management team would remain the same.

But a preliminary study of a large nursing home chain owned by a private investment firm found that staffing of registered nursing homes dropped by 8 percent and deficiencies that harmed residents doubled.

"They're not there to invest in the care for the residents, they're there to make money," says Charlene Harrington, a professor of nursing at the University of California, San Francisco, and author of the 18-month study. "The way these chains have made money is by cutting the staff to the bare bones and pocketing the profits."


"These chains have had so many quality problems that they have wanted to go private in order to keep from having the litigation they have," she said.

A recent New York Times analysis of government data from 2000 to 2006 found that the quality of care declined at nursing homes that were taken over by investment firms such as Warburg Pincus and Carlyle because of cost-cutting and staff reduction.

David Adams, 40, entered one of Manor Care's homes in Pittsburgh, Pa., after he ruptured his Achilles tendon playing basketball. He says the care at the Shadyside Nursing and Rehabilitation Center was substandard before the takeover, and he's concerned it will only get worse.

"As boomers get older, taking care of them is going to be big business," says Eisenhardt of SEIU. "The question is: Do we as a society think it's right that people are trying to make money off taking care of our most vulnerable population?"

Abridged and Edited for EA =>>

Letters to Editor -From Attorneys-

I am disappointed, Ray. We all know that there are abuses out there. This website has been documenting them for some time now.

Like everything, there are good honest people and there are people willing to cut corners or look the other way (or just be plain mean rotten.)

As a good guardian and a decent lawyer, I sleep fine at night.
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Dear Counselor;

Thank You for writing in to E.A. Please do not take any of the stories that I publish personal.

Not all Muslims are terrorists yet all it takes one (1) Muslim to blow up 100 people to give Muslims a black eye.

Since my mother was abused these are some of the attorneys that have been retained either directly or in-directly to help her return home and find out what happened to her assets:

Some did the best they were allowed to do under the circumstances and treated us fairly others worked or were retained by the others who used the abused victim's own money to go against her, and yet others I don't know.

Yet some like Mr. Thomas , Mr. Lewis, Mr. Nunn , Mr. Davila , or Highsmith are real heroes in my eyes because they are not in it for the money.

Never the less twenty-one (21) attorneys $200,000 and four Judges later, there has to be a time to say enough! Especially when the victim , who was once a proud ,independent and wealthy elder is now close to being indigent.
The reason I keep publishing these abuse stories is in the hope that sooner of later a politician with gumption will agree that no elder abuse victim should have to go through this and will put a stop to this madness and laws will be enacted to protect other families from having to go through the nightmare and total destruction that my family and that of the many friends and acquaintances that I have made through the website has had to go through!

We are one of the lucky ones! but oftentimes a victim may not be able to pay for a lawyer's services because the victim has never had much money or because the victim's life savings were lost as a result of the exploitation that would be the subject of the lawsuit.

The slow pace and customary delays of the legal process are particularly onerous to older persons in general and to those who have been abused in particular.

Folks there just has to be a better way to deal with Elder and Elder Financial Abuse, We need to find it and we need to find it now!

See: The Role of Courts in Elder Abuse Cases

The Double Tragedy of Ripping Elders Off

A significant portion of this article has been written and is crossposted from Jack Halpern's excellent work in My Elder Advocate

The Double Tragedy of Ripping Elders off is that they now don't qualified for goverment aid and the once proud , independent and wealthy elder is now dependent upon the generosity of strangers.

New Medicaid Laws Scrutinizes Seniors' Finances and make it more difficult for some seniors to gain access to subsidized long-term nursing-home care.

The reason for this is siblings who hide or steal their parents assets in order to make them look poor and quailified for Medicaid.

It means the government will look closer at seniors' financial dealings and deny benefits to anyone with more than $500,000 of equity in a home.

When he signed the Deficit Reduction Act in February, President Bush said it "tightens loopholes that allowed people to game the system by transferring assets to their children so they can qualify for Medicaid benefits."

Medicaid is a federal program that partners with states to provide health coverage and long-term-care assistance to 39 million people in low-income families and 12 million elderly and disabled people. The program pays nursing-home bills for patients with resources below certain income and asset levels.

"Essentially, what Congress is trying to do is to (discourage) people from trying to -- at least on paper -- make themselves look so poor that they qualify for Medicaid," said William Ruth, a Hilton Head Island lawyer specializing in estate planning.

It has been fairly common for seniors to pass off assets to heirs or in trusts to protect those assets and still qualify for Medicaid if they were close to going into a nursing home, Ruth said.

The average annual cost of nursing-home care in South Carolina was more than $46,000 in 2001, according to an AARP-sponsored study by GE Financial. State health-care administrators estimate that number to be closer to $60,000 today.

"It protects the program from people just dumping $1 million on relatives and the next day signing up for Medicaid," said Jeff Stensland, spokesman for the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the agency that administers the state Medicaid program. "There are people that are exploiting the system and costing taxpayers millions of dollars each year. This closes those loopholes."

Previously, the law stated that the government would look back three years to see whether there were any asset transfers that would affect eligibility. It then would impose penalties based on a complex formula.

In the new law, the look-back period has been extended to five years, meaning all asset transfers made during that time are subject to penalty.

"Now, what's going to happen is, if anyone gives a gift in the last five years, and they're out of money, they're not going to be eligible for Medicaid because of that gift," said Nicole Harris, a lawyer specializing in estate planning and elder care.

"What could happen is, if a couple gives their son $40,000 in 2003, and four years later the wife is not in good shape, they've spent their money and now she's in a nursing home and the penalty period kicks in. All of the sudden, they're staring at a $40,000 bill that they're unable to pay," she said. "That five-year look-back is going to create huge problems."

Harris said the law change could cause the elderly to pass on assets to their children much earlier in life to avoid penalties.

Another significant change in the regulations is the inclusion of home equity of more than $500,000 in evaluating assets.

The new regulation provides that unless a spouse or a dependent child is living in the home, Medicaid will deny long-term custodial care in a nursing home to any applicant with more than $500,000 equity in their home.

Many say this change especially will be felt in coastal areas, where property values are higher. Opponents of the plan say the new law will cause some people to prolong enrolling in a nursing home to protect their property for as long as possible.

The new law allows states to increase the exempt home amount to $750,000. Many states will probably leave it at $500.000.

Reference My Elder Advocate Medicaid Law Scrutinizes Seniors' Finances

Guardian Attorney Saves Home From Foreclosure

submitted by Maria M. Gallo, Esquire titled by E.A.

I was contacted by a local attorney who asked me to take over guardianship of a little old lady (and I use that term affectionately) as she was ornery and had run off all her other family. I contacted her family to advise them of my appointment as successor guardian. Many hung up on me and at least two relatives cursed me out.

I located Mrs. J. in a nursing home. The hallways were long, there were nurses and other staff running about, patients wandering in and out of her room, wheelchairs zipping down the hallways, and medical equipment clanking on the tiled hallways as they hit the floor. The place was LOUD.....Not only that, but during one of my visits, the smoke detector went off and we were both literally locked in her room when the magnetic lock failed to release. We waited over an hour for staff to realize we were stuck and to extricate us from the room.

She wanted to go home. I made arrangements to see her home. I found the home in gross need of repair. There was an inch of water on the floor, a partial roof collapse in the back, 40 years worth of stuff collected in the home, dead roaches in a sink full of dirty dishes, no electricity, and evidence of at least one break-in. Foreclosure notices for an ill-advised line-of-credit loan were piled up in the mailbox.

Needless to say, this home was not safe for Mrs. J. I immediately took steps to save the home from foreclosure and to repair the partial roof collapse so that the home did not take on any more water. I found volunteers to clean up the home and to pump out the water. I negotiated with the power company to turn on the power while I located financing/assets to pay the past due bills. (This may sound easy but trust me, this takes work and time.)

But all those efforts were not to be. Mrs. J. suffered a medical setback while I worked to return her to her home. It was no longer an option. I then took immediate steps to locate a safe and home-like environment for her. I put her on waitlists for the better ALFs in the area. With a little luck and a lot of hard work, I got her into one of the better ALFs in the area. She had her own apartment with her own belongings and furniture. She eventually came to call this apartment home and became the ALF's master pianist and played at their church services on Sundays. She entertained the residents every day at 4 pm and became a regular on the activity director's schedule of events. She would go on ice-cream outings with the other residents and enjoyed visits and outings with her friends who were allowed to take her.

She enjoyed several months of living there until her death this November at the age of 86. I contacted her family personally to advise them of Mrs. J's passing. Her family apologized for their earlier rudeness and thanked me for my service. Apparently, unbeknownst to me, Mrs. J. (who apparently referred to me as that nice girl who visits me) and other staff members had been reporting my many kindnesses and hard work to the family all the while.
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Thank you Maria ;

What lovely stories , please keep those coming we need those to give us hope.

I also have some good new to share upon our return from the Dominican Republic Clara's guardian Donald E .Yates, Esq. has been encouraging for Clara to move back into her house where she feels the most comfortable and has been working hard to keep Clara's bill paid and the legal costs down.

Lets hope others are as willing to work on restoring Clara's civil rights and will be as much a positive influence on her as he has been .

The War on the Vulnerable Through our Courts.-“THIS CAN’T HAPPEN HERE”

by Janet C. Phelan ( janetcphelan [at] yahoo.com )

On a quiet tree-lined street in Redlands, California, in a low, architecturally unremarkable beige building, the war has come home. Nestled behind the Redlands Police Department, the Redlands Superior Courthouse is housing a systematic and covert assault on the lives and life-savings of San Bernardino County's elderly and disabled.

A smiling, bespectacled security officer, sporting a platinum blonde ponytail, runs the visitors through a metal detector as they enter. One walks into a lobby area, with two courtrooms off to the side: Department E1 and Department E2. Only traffic and probate are now heard in the Redlands Court. At the far end are the filing windows, where smiling and attentive clerks will retrieve files and accept court filings. In the California Superior Court system, one must pay a filing fee in order to enable the court to dismantle one's life and estate.

Across from the clerk's office, the East wall is lined with photographs of San Bernardino Court judges, beaming beatifically, and posing in their black robes. However, Judge Michael Welch is not smiling. Welch is one of only two probate judges in the entire San Bernardino County, and as such is the point man for the probate conveyor belt, which is grinding up the elderly and turning them into cash, through the court conservatorship and guardianship programs.

This is how it works: A family member, or even a neighbor, may notice that an elderly person is alone and may be increasingly vulnerable. Depending on the morality and authenticity of the concerned party, that person may contact Adult Protective Services, or may attempt to file for guardianship over the elder, in order to either protect or to gain access to that person's funds. The police may become involved, if there are allegations of lack of capacity or of financial or physical abuse. This opens the door for the professional conservator, buttressed by her lawyers, to "move in for the kill."

Attorney Sherri Kastilahn's response to my call is recorded on my voicemail. She threatened me with a lawsuit, a Restraining Order and told me, in no uncertain terms, that I was not a reporter, and had no standing to ask questions about this case. It should be noted that none of the above questions were ever tendered to Ms. Kastilahn. When I spoke with her secretary I merely imparted that I had questions about "financial irregularities" in the Burke file.

So much for the First Amendment. And how about that "life, liberty and pursuit of happiness" stuff?

Well, maybe the Founding Fathers weren't referring to the elderly. Or, as an alternate explanation, maybe our country is in battle mode. With the U.S. government waging wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and wars now spreading like forest fires across the globe, maybe what we are seeing is another war, against those least able to protect themselves, right under our very noses.
**************
I am requesting that those reading this article take action, and contact the California Attorney General’s office and demand that this office step up to the plate and DO THEIR JOB. The number for Dane Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General (and Mark Geiger’s boss) is (916) 445-2030. Attorney General Jerry Brown’s number is (510) 622-4180. Judge Larry Allen, Presiding Judge for San Bernardino County Court, may be reached at (909) 457-5680.

The Fifth Commandment reads "Honor thy mother and father," not "Honor thy mother and father's cash, rob them blind, and then throw them away like old dishrags."

Abridged =>>

Adult Protective Services Investigator Protects Woman's Legacy

by Maria M Gallo ,Esquire.

I also know of at least one Adult Protective Services investigator/social worker in this circuit who was called into a case via the abuse hotline.

She arrived at the hospital to find the elderly victim in severe medical distress, having suffered some period of time, from severe medical neglect. The Adult Protective Services investigator correctly identified a VERY EXPENSIVE ring ($80,000) on the lady's finger and properly turned it over the lady's court-appointed attorney for inclusion in the lady's inventory.

This ring could easily have disappeared and it might have been checked off as being lost by the hospital or lost at the lady's home or a host of other possibilities. Instead this very expensive ring was able to be included among this lady's assets and legacy.

There are some good investigators and social workers. Let's give credit where credit is due.

As They Gather at the Appointed Place- Art work of the Month-

Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. Mark 13:12

Art used by Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992. To order prints visit her "Revelation Illustrated" site, http://revelationillustrated.com/

And Out of Zion Shall Come Forth the Electric Car

by Ezra HaLevi

(IsraelNN.com) Israel will introduce electric cars and the infrastructure necessary to make them a viable alternative to oil-consuming vehicles within the next three years.

The first cars, to be produced by Nissan and Renault, are projected to be on Israel’s streets by 2009, with 100,000 by the next year and a complete switchover from oil within the decade.

The initiative is aimed both at environmental friendliness and reducing the reliance on Arab oil.

Shai Agassi, who heads the initiative and founded Project Better Place, says the goal is to show the world that it is possible to stop using oil in a manner that can be replicated

Commenting on the cars themselves: “There's already an operational prototype. I've driven it, and it goes from 0 to 100 km per hour in 7.5 seconds. In other words, there's a product and it's one of the fastest cars on the road.”

Abridged=>>

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is based on theories of the flow of energy & blood through a system of channels in the body. Diseases are treated by needling specialized points on the body to activate energy to where it is deficient, and drains it from where there is an excess. Acupuncture regulates and restores harmonious balance within the body.

Illness, on the other hand, is thought to occur because of too much, too little, or blocked qi. Inserting the fine needles into specific points, known as acupuncture points, on the meridians is believed to stimulate the body’s own healing responses and help restore its natural balance.

Does acupuncture work?

According to the NIH Consensus Statement on Acupuncture, there have been many studies on acupuncture's potential usefulness, but results have been mixed because of complexities with study design and size, as well as difficulties with choosing and using placebos or sham acupuncture. However, promising results have emerged, showing efficacy of acupuncture, for example, in adult postoperative and chemotherapy nausea and vomiting and in postoperative dental pain. There are other situations--such as addiction, stroke rehabilitation, headache, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, osteoarthritis, low-back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and asthma--in which acupuncture may be useful as an adjunct treatment or an acceptable alternative or be included in a comprehensive management program. An NCCAM-funded study recently showed that acupuncture provides pain relief, improves function for people with osteoarthritis of the knee, and serves as an effective complement to standard care.7 Further research is likely to uncover additional areas where acupuncture interventions will be useful.8

NIH has funded a variety of research projects on acupuncture. These grants have been funded by NCCAM, its predecessor the Office of Alternative Medicine, and other NIH institutes and centers.

Visit the NCCAM Web site, or call the NCCAM Clearinghouse for more information on scientific findings about acupuncture.
Read the NIH Consensus Statement on Acupuncture, to learn what scientific experts have said about the use and effectiveness of acupuncture for a variety of conditions.

Acupunture Treats these health conditions: ADHD - Attention Deficit Disorder, Addiction, Allergies, Alzheimer's Disease, Andropause (Male Menopause), Anxiety, Arthritis and Rheumatoid Disorders, Asthma, Autism, Autoimmune Diseases, Back Pain - Sciatica, Candidiasis, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, High Cholesterol, Chronic Fatigue, Chronic Pain, Colds and Flu, Constipation, Depression, Diabetes & Hypoglycemia, Digestive Disorders, Eye Disorders, Fibromyalgia, Gall Bladder Disorders, Gastrointestinal Disorders, Headaches, Hearing Disorders, Heart /Cardiovascular Disease, Heavy Metal Toxicity, Hemorrhoids, Hepatitis, Herpes, Hypertension /High Blood Pressure (HBP), Hypothyroidism, Infertility, Inflammation, Insomnia, Joint Pain, Learning Disorders, Lupus, Lyme Disease, Memory/Cognitive Problems, Metabolic Disorders, Multiple Sclerosis, Osteoporosis, Parasites, Parkinson's Disease, Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS), Enlarged Prostate, Psoriasis, Skin Disorders, Sleep Disorders Sports Injuries, Stomach / Intestinal Problems, Stress, Stroke, Tendonitis.

How might acupuncture work?

Acupuncture is one of the key components of the system of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In the TCM system of medicine, the body is seen as a delicate balance of two opposing and inseparable forces: yin and yang. Yin represents the cold, slow, or passive principle, while yang represents the hot, excited, or active principle. Among the major assumptions in TCM are that health is achieved by maintaining the body in a "balanced state" and that disease is due to an internal imbalance of yin and yang. This imbalance leads to blockage in the flow of qi (vital energy) along pathways known as meridians. It is believed that there are 12 main meridians and 8 secondary meridians and that there are more than 2,000 acupuncture points on the human body that connect with them.

Preclinical studies have documented acupuncture's effects, but they have not been able to fully explain how acupuncture works within the framework of the Western system of medicine that is commonly practiced in the United States.9-14 It is proposed that acupuncture produces its effects through regulating the nervous system, thus aiding the activity of pain-killing biochemicals such as endorphins and immune system cells at specific sites in the body. In addition, studies have shown that acupuncture may alter brain chemistry by changing the release of neurotransmitters and neurohormones and, thus, affecting the parts of the central nervous system related to sensation and involuntary body functions, such as immune reactions and processes that regulate a person's blood pressure, blood flow, and body temperature.15,16

You may need several acupuncture treatments in order to help your problem, usually about six to start with. A large number of people feel relief from their symptoms after the first treatment. This relief will usually be short lived in the first instance, but relief should progressively increase in quantity as the treatment progresses. In some instances you may not feel relief until the second or third treatment.

The improvements made may be permanent or temporary, for long term conditions such as Arthritis; acupuncture may need to be repeated every week to start with then tailing down to monthly session to help keep the person mobile and pain free.

Quit Claim Deeds+Alzheimer's=Windfall Profit

Miami,Florida USA.- He was buried on Monday ! I had written to you about how he was isolated and secluded from family. We got to see him last year and he got a pneumonia in the nursing home. Ended up in Larkin Hospital then sent back to the Nursing home and then finally to Hialeah Hospital. He passed away from a heart attack!!!!

My father went to see him at the hospital till he passed away. However the wife's daughter took his property away while secluding him last year. I just saw legal documents showing that the name preparing such QCD -Quit Claim Deed is the same as the nursing home owner where he was staying . It is strange. I think there is so much bad things surrounding his death and these people stripping him from his home. I feel sad that he died and they did this to him !!!!

Alida

View Document
CFN #2007 R 529347, Group ID #1
Order Certified Copy

MY uncle Pepe's Wife's Daughter filed a Quit Claim Deed on 5/25/2007 when Tio Pepe was missing or secluded away without our knowledge where he was. He had Alzheimer's and so this document should not be valid or legal.

We are not going to pursue this but it was not legal when a person is secluded and isolated from family and with a mind set that they forget things.......THis person harmed my uncle !!!! Her mother could of signed it for herself but not for Tio.

Its just sad what they did to Tio Pepe !!!

---------------------------------------------------

I am sorry to hear that your Tio passed away, they have to do those Quit Claim Deeds after they have Alzheimer's , same with my mother, they have a lifetime during which they ignore the elder and then when they are on their death bed they show up with documents on hand.

What's even more sad is that the authorities don't see it for what it is, elder financial abuse and robbery and intervene, the rule is normally once you notice their mental powers declining, the first one to get to them wins, no matter prior directives, Wills or Trusts, it's better to circumvent probate by showing up on their deathbeds pen in hand and attorney in tow or so it seems.

and Alida and I don't blame you for not pursuing it legally, elder justice is for the rich, it took Clara over $100,000 in legal fees for the court to come to the same conclusion we knew from day one, that she had been improperly removed from her home.

Financial exploitation should be considered if the patient has suddenly transferred assets to a family member.From: Irwin
N. Perr, MD , JD

DCF Fla.Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs

Location:520 Knott BuildingMailing Address:404 South Monroe Street Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100(850) 487-5340 / Senate VOIP 5340SunCom 277-5340

storms.ronda.web@flsenate.gov

Chair: Senator Ronda Storms (R)

(850) 487-5072

Vice Chair: Senator Gwen Margolis (D)

margolis.gwen.web@flsenate.gov

(850) 487-5121

Senator Carey Baker

baker.carey.web@flsenate.gov

850) 487-5014

SenatorAnthony C. "Tony" Hill, Sr.

hill.anthony.web@flsenate.gov

(850) 487-5024

SenatorEvelyn J. Lynn

lynn.evelyn.web@flsenate.gov

(850) 487-5033

SenatorNan H. Rich

rich.nan.web@flsenate.gov

(850) 487-5103

SenatorJ. Alex Villalobos

villalobos.alex.web@flsenate.gov

(850) 487-5130

---------------------------------------

Two Caregivers Arrested In Elder Abuse, Exploitation

TALLAHASSEE, FL - North Co.Gazette Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that the owner and operator of a Santa Rosa County Adult Family Care Home has been arrested and charged with exploiting an elderly resident of the facility.

Marian Tolbert was taken into custody based on allegations that she intimidated the victim into making her the beneficiary of his $10,000 life insurance policy. She was arrested by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit with assistance from the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office. The victim, a 74-year old resident of the Minda Pascual Adult Family Care Home, was temporarily moved to the Tolbert Adult Family Care Home while his caretakers were out of town. He reported to investigators from the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit that he was forced to sleep on a couch for the better part of three weeks. He also described how Tolbert would constantly harass him for money and would threaten him in order to make her the beneficiary of his life insurance policy.

In another case involving elder abuse and exploitation, an employee of South Florida State Hospital has been arrested on charges that she abused a disabled resident of the hospital. Shirley Burch, a medical technician at the Pembroke Pines hospital, allegedly pushed the elderly resident who suffers from schizoaffective disorder and the abuse was reported to authorities.

Burch was subsequently terminated from her employment at the hospital. The abuse was reported to the Department of Children and Families which referred the investigation to the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit’s Patient Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation (PANE) team

Abridged =>>

Honor killings: When the ancient and the modern collide

Cinnamon Stillwell Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, young Muslim women are being targeted for violence. Lest it be thought hate crimes are to blame, it is, in fact, their own relatives who are the perpetrators. So-called honor killings, whereby a Muslim male family member, typically the father, murders his daughter in order to defend the family's honor, is a growing problem.

While statistics are notoriously hard to come by due to the private nature of such crimes and the fact that very few are reported, the United Nations Population Fund approximates that as many as 5,000 women are murdered in this manner each year worldwide. Undoubtedly that's a low estimate, as reports from Turkey, Jordan, Pakistan and the Palestinian territories, among other locales, are filtering in at an alarming rate. Add to the list Germany, Sweden, other parts of Europe, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, and it's clear that young Muslim women in the West are becoming increasingly vulnerable.
While fathers are commonly responsible for honor

Trying to balance a tightrope between the demands of competing and in some cases incompatible cultures, young Muslim women in the West are caught between two worlds. And all too often they pay the ultimate price. Indeed, two such cases have rocked the United States and Canada in recent months, bringing the specter of honor killings much closer to home.

Although the girls' mother denied that Said was motivated by religion or culture and their brother, Islam, claimed it was not an honor killing, all evidence points to the contrary.

Regrettably, silence is the more typical reaction to these crimes. Fearful of giving offense or being branded with the ubiquitous "Islamophobia" label, law enforcement, journalists, social workers, government officials and, most of all, Western feminists are allowing a grave threat to women's rights go unaddressed.

Feminist groups such as the National Organization for Women, which put out an occasional press release decrying honor killings, need to make combating this practice as high a priority........Ironically, many of them are on the right side of the political spectrum or, like author, blogger and activist Phyllis Chesler, have been cast out of the leftist-dominated feminist movement for speaking the uncomfortable truth.

It is up to every one of us to speak out where, not only women's, but human rights are in question. Young women's lives are at stake.

Abridged =>>

Abuse of Our Elders - "Time to Stop The Shame!"

by Ray Fernandez

Many people are horrified by stories of elder and elder financial abuse all over this country and write then off to sibling rivalry or happenstance.

However we at E.A. will tell the truth "Elder abuse is such an ugly crime". Its victims are left to suffer in silence and loneliness, often at the hands of the very people charged with their care." This quote was taken from Napa Register article by Paul Seave entitled; "Facing the facts on elder abuse."

We will continue to tell you about this non regulated, wide open field, where there is no Federal or State Legislation requiring fingerprinting for non-certified caregivers who are going into the homes of our elderly.

When we hear that County District Attorney Gary Lieberstein stated that he had heard stories from the State Parole System that parole officers are telling convicts that home care giving is a promising field for gainful employment. Parolees are able to get the work without a lot of background checking we are going to tell you.

Opportunist thrive and the people that profit on the misery of others make millions, often with the help of the very same people that we thought could be trusted, while cold and ruthless predators "Line Our Elders Up, One by One, Until Our Savings Are Completely Gone."

What a shame.

In this Murky, Topsy, Tervy world of Elder Abuse, nothing is as it seems, not even medical records are to be trusted in this deceitful field that takes in the millions in revenue.

Two Elder Abuse lawsuits filed on January 16, 2008 claim 82-year-old Sylvia Saucedo (Case No. 1265784) and 66-year-old Judith Fortmeier (Case No. 1265782) bear this horrible reality.

Each were each found with serious and unexplained injuries. One suit alleges Ms. Saucedo was found by Mission Terrace staff with terrible bruises covering the left side of her face. Mission Terrace kept Ms. Saucedo for 2 days following the fall despite a deterioration of her condition, and only transferred her to the hospital for evaluation at the family's insistence, the lawsuit says.

Ms. Fortmeier, a resident of the assisted living facility, Cliff View Terrace, suffered 6 fractured ribs, a traumatic injury which her medical records describe as "akin to a motor vehicle accident." According to the lawsuit, her medical records also reveal that she told the doctors and nurses treating her that she was pushed. Three days after the incident, paramedics were summoned and they found her weak, struggling to breathe, and dehydrated. Ms. Fortmeier later died as a result of complications from this injury, the lawsuit says.

When we read more in depth we realize the allegations that multiple versions of the resident charts exist. According to the lawsuits, the families were given one set of records and their lawyer, Jody Moore, an Elder Abuse Attorney, was given another.

"It is highly suspicious to have 2 versions of the record," Moore said. "Medical records are supposed to be timely written and accurately record a person's symptoms and condition, as well as the treatment being given. When entries are made in a record days or weeks after the fact, and made to look like they were written contemporaneously, you have to wonder what's really going on."

Keeping two sets of medical records for elder patients would normally surprise me, but having seen enough fraud, deceit, corruption, neglect, exploitation, and betrayal in the case of my own parents to keep me writing for years, this does not surprise me in the least bit.

Deception is Commonplace in dealing with Elders..

On August 5Th. 2005, the Sheriff Department extracted Clara from where alleged abductors were holding her.

On August 23rd. 2005, she recovered enough to talk.

On August 23, 2005 Clara's outraged family and friends gathered in her home to file a sheriff report and ask for protection.

The police report states:

"THIS INVESTIGATOR DID NOT OBSERVE ANY SIGNS OF PHYSICAL ABUSE OF MRS. CLARA FERNANDEZ AT THE TIME OF 'THIS INTERVIEW. MRS. CLARA FERNANDEZ, APPEARED TO BE HAPPY BEING IN HER HOUSE AT I5 WEST CYPRESS, IDENTIFYING THAT SHE AND HER HUSBAND BUILT THIS HOUSE, AND THAT IT HAS MANY MEMORIES.

Yet when the Court was told that "Clara Does Not Own any property in Key West",..... We were all left with our mouths hanging open!



The end result is that the Judge transferred Clara's case far away from her home and her husband, making for untold, expense and travel.

Such unbelievable suffering of her husband who at 87 years old now had to travel back and forth if he wanted to attend court proceedings at a place far away from their home.

--------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------
*Clara holds a life estate in the property, which is inextinguishable.

Judge William O’Malley - Judicial Champ

This is a follow up on "Attorneys who mislead,bully and steal" story, we are so glad a Judge with gumption stopped this bully.

Jay Grodner, the Chicago lawyer who keyed a Marine's car in anger because the car had military plates and a Marine insignia, finally got his day in court last week.

Grodner pleaded guilty in a Chicago courtroom packed with former Marines. Some had Marine pins on their coats, or baseball jackets with the Marine insignia. They didn't yellor call him names. They came to support Marine Sgt. Michael McNulty, whose car Grodner defaced in December, but who couldn't attend because he's preparing for his second tour in Iraq.

Grodner was late to court for the second time in the case. Grodner called Assistant State's Attorney Patrick Kelly, (Marine Corps/Vietnam 1969-1972), informing Kelly that he would be late to court.

"I don't run my courtroom that way!" responded Judge William O'Malley, ordering Grodner be arrested and held on $20,000 bail when he arrived. Finally, Grodner strolled in. A short man, wide, wearing a black fedora, dark glasses, a divorce lawyer dressed like some tough guy in the movies.

Grodner told me he'd describe himself as a "radical liberal" who's ready to leave Chicago now with all this negative publicity and move to the south of France and do some traveling.

During the proceedings, the judge described the offense as anger rose in his voice, especially as Grodner started balking on a plea arrangement he'd made with prosecutors.

"Is this what you did? Yes or no," Judge O'Malley asked Grodner."Without knowing, yes," Grodner said, sticking to his I-might-have-done-it-but-didn't-really-mean-it defense.O'Malley asked again, in a stronger voice, not that of a judge but of a cop on the street or a Marine who meant business."DID YOU KNOWINGLY CAUSE DAMAGE TO THIS CAR?" O'Malley asked.

Grodner bowed his head, meekly, and responded in his new meek voice, not in his tough divorce lawyer voice, but the gentle, inside voice he'd just learned. "Yes ," he said.

Grodner tells me he plans to leave for the French Riviera and get some sun.

Sgt. McNulty will get some sun, too. In Iraq.

Dr. Robert Sarhan Pleas For Justice

1.The Petitioner ,Yvonne Sarhan, never wanted nor requested a Guardian,this was forced upon her will......

2. Yvonne Sarhan requested orally and in writing to Judge Bruce Levy."that if she had to have a guardian she wanted her son Robert,M.D."

4. Yvonne Sarhan was competent at the time of her being adjudicated incapacitated on August 5, 2003, she was ruled competent by the Court appointed Psychiatrist,Dr.Mario Sanchez on March 10,2004. Dr.David Racher also a board certified Neurologist at Baptist Hospital,also evaluated Yvonne Sarhan and both agreed that she was competent and had good judgment and Insight about her financial and personal life.

..... means these judges in the Probate are ruling the elderly people in South Florida incapacitated ,when they are fully competent to make decisions for themselves. ........

Read about the Murky, Tipsy Turvy convoluted world of elder law, where nothing seems like it is...

Please support Dr. Robert Sarhan who is due in court to have his case heard in the Miami Federal Courthouse at 3:30 on January 23rd, 2008

Anyone that is able to offer Dr. Sarhan any support, either by being there or by offering to help as an attorney , Robert's family is in desperate need of compassion and support during this difficult moment in which he is seeing his family destroyed right before his very eyes.

Get in touch with Robert and offer any support that you are able to:

Dr. Robert Sarhan , M.D.
22795 S.W. 212 Ave
Miami, Florida 33170
305-338-6160 cell
305-246-4279 home

Habeas Corpus.pdf

Response to Strike Motion to Dismiss Writ of Habeas Corpus

Clara Receives a Heros Welcome-Evidence of Wrongdoing Released

BubbleShare: Share photos - Play some Online Games.

Clara returned to the U.S. to a hero's welcome to flowers and a tour of the Everglades , Clara returned to face the people in court that put her in (4) four nursing homes and as many hospitals while stealing her CD's ,Bond Accounts,Stock Accounts and Transferring her property out of her name while rendering her incapacitated by neglectful abandon.

Clara survived the internment of four nursing homes, against her will when she was doped over and beyond what a person her age is able to tolerate and left alone in a hotel room.

Clara was told that since there were no signs of physical abuse it was civil matter, financial elder abuse not being considered a crime worth prosecuting, and year to date the elder Clara has to date spent over $150,000 in legal fees for what has been referred to as "playing cat and mouse games' with her alledged abusers and in fighting the court system to stay out of nursing homes.

Psychiatric Evaluation =>

To download the entire psychiatric report in .pdf format here = >>

To Read reports by other MD's that examined Clara =>>

To Read other Psychiatric Evaluations by MD's here =>>

Follow up here =>>

Evidence of Hospital placement while Clara was hidden from her family=>>

Evidence of Nursing Home Placement while Clara was hidden from her family=>>

Proof that Clara was left alone in a hotel room, by social worker sibling and partner William A. Hart

Proof that Clara was drugged =>>

Elder abuse is doing something or failing to do something that results in harm to an elderly person or puts a helpless older person at risk of harm. This includes

• Physical, sexual and emotional abuse
  Neglecting or deserting an older person you are responsible for
  Taking or misusing an elderly person's money or property

*according to http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/elderabuse.html

No Family Inmunity Here, Judges Gives 20 Years

A Lafayette County woman who pleaded guilty in November to elder abuse and manslaughter in the death of her mother has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Prosecutor Page Bellamy told a judge during the sentencing that Suzanne Skrzelewski, 59, of Lexington, has shown no remorse in the 2005 death of Longina Skrzelewski, 85.

Paramedics found the elder Skrzelewski lying in her own fecal matter without ample food and stuck to a cold floor. Numerous gangrenous sores were found on her body. Several Lafayette County authorities described the case as the worst abuse they have ever seen.

Skrzelewski was sentenced to 20 years for the elder abuse charge and seven years for involuntary manslaughter. She is to serve the terms concurrently.

Kevin Hoffmann, khoffmann@kcstar.com

Elders Line Up, One by One "Our Savings are Completely Gone. We've had to Sell Every Item We Could. We are very Depressed", - Time To Stop The Shame.-

By Brandon BaileyMercury News

One by one, a succession of elderly fraud victims spoke in a San Jose courtroom Thursday, many struggling for words and composure as they described how a dishonest mortgage broker took their life savings as part of a $43 million scam - and left them bereft.

"Our savings are completely gone. We've had to sell every item we could. We are very depressed, and feel so frustrated, that we must count every penny," said 76-year-old Henry Bertrand, a retired military man whose voice grew hoarse as he explained ..............

"I was shaken to the core," added 80-year-old Mel Nashban,

Fourteen others spoke ........

One by one, a succession of elderly fraud victims spoke in a San Jose courtroom Thursday, many struggling for words and composure as they described how a dishonest mortgage broker took their life savings as part of a $43 million scam - and left them bereft.

"Our savings are completely gone. We've had to sell every item we could. We are very depressed, and feel so frustrated, that we must count every penny," said 76-year-old Henry Bertrand, a retired military man whose voice grew hoarse as he explained that he had trusted broker Michael Schneider, only to become the victim of an elaborate scheme.

Several said they were robbed of their retirement plans and their families' financial security. Some said they were forced to sell their homes, their cars and other property to survive. They described feelings of betrayal, shame and humiliation after learning they had been deceived by a man who had attended their children's weddings and college graduations.

Kate Talbot spoke on behalf of a good friend, Joan Baker, a retired nurse who died earlier this month after suffering a broken hip. Baker recovered from surgery to repair the injury, Talbot said, but she had already lost the will to live.

"She died of a broken heart," Talbot said, explaining that her friend was ashamed to be suddenly impoverished, after trusting Schneider with "every single last penny that she had."

Contact Brandon Bailey at bbailey@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5022.

Abridged =>>

This will be a series of publications that E.A. will be doing highlighting the "Betrayal of Our Elder Nation."

Tens of Thousands Suffer in Silence

Submitted Article

Too ashamed or scared to speak up, tens of thousands of 50-plus victims of domestic violence suffer in silence...

"It's a hidden epidemic," says Daniel Reingold, president and chief executive officer of the Hebrew Home for the Aged in Riversdale, New York, who compares the current awareness of late-life domestic violence to the nascent domestic violence and child-abuse movements 25 years ago.

"Which to say, we don't have any agreed-upon definitions, and intervention is sporadic and uneven."

Abridged=>>

----------------------------

What they are saying is late-life domestic violence will be in twenty-five where child abuse is today , a comforting thought for those younger readers

Assembly Members in Rochester Told More Needs to be Done About Elder Abuse

Justina Wang Staff writer Rochester Democrat

(January 18, 2008) — Advocates for and family members of seniors who have faced abuse told state Assembly members at a hearing today that more needs to be done about the problem.

During hours of testimony at City Hall, the advocates and experts told stories of sons and church members stealing tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars from elderly men, women arriving in hospital emergency rooms afraid of their family members and caretakers blatantly neglecting those under their watch.

Only about one in four cases of elder abuse are reported, and only 5 percent of victims report the wrongdoings themselves, said Art Mason, director of Lifespan’s elder abuse prevention program. Because often times the abuser is a family member, “there’s so much shame, there’s so much embarrassment...that they’re very reluctant to report,” he said. While the problem is growing, advocates who spoke Friday argued that too few resources are available to educate and help abused seniors.

Son Takes Dead Aim at 65 Year Old Father Celebrating Birthday Kills Him Instantly

Lewiston,ME, USA Sun Journal.Com By Christopher Williams , January 17, 2008

Poirier climbed into his pickup truck with a .270-caliber Browning rifle and drove to his father's Lewiston home on Grove Street where he was celebrating his 65th birthday with family members, including children and a baby, Marchese said.Scott Poirier parked in front of his sister's house next door and walked around the back of his parents' home.

There, he stood in the rain and pointed the rifle at his father through a glass door, using its hunting scope to take aim. When he squeezed the trigger, the bullet traveled through the French doors. It grazed the elbow and back of his aunt, Pearl Roger, who sat at the dining table, shattered a wine bottle and struck his father in the neck, killing him.

The two sides in the case will disagree on Poirier's state of mind when he pulled the trigger, the attorneys said in opening statements.

Abridged =>>

Elders Are Sitting Ducks

Alexander Chancellor Revised Jan 18, 2008 The Guardian ~

Parents are sitting ducks. They can't imagine that their children would want to do them any harm!

Recently there has been a spate of articles on Elder Abuse.

The New York Times first took up the subject....And the consensus among the experts is that most Elder Abuse - physical, financial, psychological, even sexual - is carried out by relatives.

"The rich and powerful are as helpless and vulnerable as anybody else," said one American specialist in the field.

It is the same in Britain. The Charity Action on Elder Abuse recently published a chilling report saying that middle-aged sons and daughters were the people most likely to rob their parents.

It said that 53% of theft, fraud and deception against elderly people was committed by their children.

It seems incredible that they should allow greed to override their natural affection....

"Maybe they just resent having been born."

Abridged Article Archived here >>

Case of Dumping Indigent Patients on the Street Could Leave Hospitals Liable to Lawsuits

Andrew Blankstein and Ari B. Bloomekatz, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers January 17, 2008

Civil rights attorneys today sued Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in connection with the dumping of a paraplegic man on skid row last year.

The suit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of Gabino Olvera, 41, and seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages against the hospital for alleged elder abuse, negligence and infliction of emotional distress.It also asks the court for an injunction that would bar the hospital and the van company, Empire Transportation Inc., from engaging in future cases of "homeless dumping."

Abridged =>>

Every Day in the United States, Hundreds of Elderly People are Preyed Upon by Financial Predators.

By Shirley A. Cox Vintage Visions

A cursory review of headlines across the nation reveals the extent of the problem: "Suspect Arrested, Accused of Forging Elderly's Check,” "Man Charged with Exploiting Elderly Couple,” "Brothers Admit Stealing from Grandpa,” "Women Bilk Aunt, 94, Of $1.3 Million” and so on.

These are real headlines taken from the National Center on Elder Abuse Newsfeed. Every day in the United States, hundreds of elderly people are preyed upon by financial predators. Many situations involve family members or friends relying on the senior's trust and confidence.

The cases may involve a caretaker who coerces a vulnerable adult to sign papers transferring property or a niece who gains access to bank accounts through a power of attorney and then proceeds to write checks for thousands of dollars for furniture, clothes, trips or other items for herself.

Shirley A. Cox is legal services developer for the state Department of Human Services. Contact her by calling 522-3069 or e-mail to Shirley.Cox@okdhs.org.

Abridged=>>

Senator Ronda Storms Stays on Top of Elder Abuse Issues by Reading E.A.

Thank you Senator Ronda Storms, there is a saying "If you want something done give it to a busy person" which exemplifies the fact that you always find the time to research about the issues that are troubling your constituents, this is a sign of truly responsive leadership something we are sorely lacking in the elder protection lobby

Attorney Uses Status As Power of Attorney to Steal Thousands of Dollars from a Dead Woman's Estate

FLORIDA KEYS MARATHON — A Marathon woman accused of stealing from a dead woman was arrested on an outstanding warrant for grand theft Wednesday, according to reports.

Tammy Poore-Russell, whose occupation is listed as a legal assistant and lawyer on the Web site of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, allegedly used her status as power of attorney to steal thousands of dollars from a dead woman's estate, reports state.

After the woman died in May 2006, Poore-Russell, 47, allegedly wrote many checks and made withdrawals from an account set up in the woman's name at a local bank, according to reports.
Power of attorney over someone ends with their death, but the bank reportedly was unaware that the woman had died.

A friend who lived with the woman before she died told Key West police that she received a copy of the woman's bank statement that showed withdrawals made after her death.

Taken from a Keys Crime Report
080307

this is an older post, however we are reposting it because it is relevant to the discussion that we are having and how we feel the legal establishment needs to do a better job in weeding out the bad apples.

Open Letter to Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum

• ROBERT SARHAN, M.D.
  22795 S.W. 212 AVENUE
  MIAMI, FLORIDA 33170
  TEL.NO. 305-246-4279 home
  TEL.NO. 305-338-6160 cell
  
  
  Florida Attorney General
  Bill McCollum
  Office of Attorney General
  State Of Florida
  The Capitol PL-01
  Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1050
  
  Dear Mr.McCollum,
  
  Over the past four and a half years we have begged your agency to help my mother, get out of a fraudulent guardianship case, here in Miami-Dade County Florida. By your agency ignoring us over the last four and a half years, you have destroyed our lives. You have a responsibility to protect the elderly people of South Florida and you have failed to do your job and the results are devastating. Recently, I filed a writ of habeas corpus in Federal Court and I found that your office is representing Judge Arthur Rothenberg, I could not believe that you would represent a criminal over the victims, here in South Florida.
  
  Elderly Abuse and Exploitation 825.103 is a crime, and the people that are supposed to protect the elderly are the ones committing the crime. The Probate Judges, The Attorneys and The Guardians are all working together to extort million and millions of dollars from the elderly people of South Florida. Our lives are being destroyed yet, You, Congressman, Senators, The Governor all know these crimes are being committed by the Judges and yet you look the other way.
  
  In our case, 03-3440, In re Guardianship of Yvonne Sarhan, My mother’s court appointed attorney was representing my mother and the guardian of my mother at the same time. This attorney denied he was representing my mother and the guardian of my mother at the same time, which is a Fraud Upon The Court, which is supposed to void all judgments and orders of that court. However, the Judges seem to do whatever they want because they know, you will look away at these crimes against the elderly.
  
  I asked you for help for the past four and a half years and my mother and I were denied. Tell me, how you would feel if my mother had 440,000 dollars in the bank and it is now gone, taken by the Judges, Attorneys and Guardians. The House that was once mine and stolen from me, and was paid for, has a reverse mortgage and is owned by someone else. How could this happen in America, to be ruled incompetent, when the court appointed psychiatrist rules you competent, is against every principle that this country stands for. The Corruption is so bad in the Dade County Courts that we have absolutely no possibilities in winning, even though the law states we are right.
  
  What are you going to do to help us, before I dropped dead of a Heart Attack, you have caused me to live in such an enormous amount of stress that I kiss my son Good Night over and over, thinking I will not wake up tomorrow, because you have allowed the Judges to get away with these crimes for so long, they know they can get away with murder. There is no laws in the Courtrooms because of you and the State Attorney look the other way, while the Judges Attorneys and Guardians, robbed the elderly out of every dime they have.
  
  If you do not come to our aid, you have left me no choice but to file suit against the state of Florida for allowing the elderly abuse and exploitation to occur, many of us have contacted you and you ignored us, what do we have to do to get your attention?
  
  Respectfully Submitted,
  
  Robert Sarhan, M.D.
  

Attorneys Who Bully,Mislead & Steal

Lawyer Damages Marine's Car on Eve of Deployment

Marine Sgt Mike McNulty is on activation orders to Iraq (second tour). On December 1st, 2007, Mike went to visit a friend in Chicago before deploying to say goodbye. In order to get to his friend's residence, and keep in mind that Chicago is a myriad of diagonal and one-way streets, the front entrance (right way) to the one-way street was blocked. Mike, being a Marine, overcame and adapted by driving around the block to the other end of the street and backing up all the way to his friend's place.

While saying goodbye, at about 11am, he noticed a man leaning up against his car. Mike left his friend's apartment and caught the man keying his car on multiple sides.


After caught in the process, the man told Mike, "you think you can do whatever you want with Department of Defense license plates and tags". (In Illinois you can purchase veteran, Marine, or medal plates. Mike has Illinois Marine Corps license plates.) During the exchange, he made additional anti-military comments.

Mike called the Chicago police and had the man arrested. A citation against the man was issued for misdemeanor criminal damage to private property.

The police report (and I have copies if needed) states:

Victim related to P/O that as he walked back to his vehicle, he observed the
offender leaning up against his vehicle and rubbed/dragged his left arm and hand
across the passenger side. As offender walked away from victim's vehicle,victim observed a scratch along the rear trunk and passenger's door area where offender dragged his arm and hand over. Victim and witness stopped offender and confronted him. Victim has military plates and decals on his vehicle and offender made anti war and military comments to victim. Upon P/O's arrival to scene, offender denied scratch victim's vehicle, but did admit to rubbing past it. Victim at this time did not sign complaint, because he is leaving tour for military duty. Offender said they accused him of scratching the car because he is Jewish. Offender's statements/responses to P/O's questions unreasonable.

As it turns out, the man is Chicago lawyer Jay R. Grodner, who owns a law firm in the city and has offices in the suburbs.


After sending the car to the body shop, it was determined there is $2400 in damage, making this a felony. Mike went to court Friday morning to collect the damages against Mr. Grodner and file felony charges. Though the damages are over $300 (the amount which determines felony or misdemeanor) Grodner offered Mike to pay his deductible, $100, and have Mike's insurance pay for it.

The Illinois States Attorneys tried to coerce Mike into accepting the offer. Appalled, Mike said he wanted this to be a felony. The state told Mike that it was not worth pursuing felony damage against Grodner because they don't have the time. In addition, the state prosecutors told him that he would never it 'would be difficult to recover the damages' from Grodner because he is a lawyer.


Instead, the State asked Mike if he would accept probation for Grodner. Mike accepted, probation was offered to Grodner, and Grodner declined the offer, saying within ear shot of Mike, "I'm not going to make it easy on this kid".


Update 01-03-08: The Chicago Tribune's John Kass has a column up about the incident.

Public's Got a Right To Know-Letters to Editor-

BubbleShare: Share photos - Find great Clip Art Images.

In the meantime, I want to point out, FYI and your readers - guardianship/conservatorship law is promulgated under the police power of the state, as parens patriae - the state, as "parent of the country."

As you have seen from the SGA "Warning:" which I wrote - the purpose of Gship and Cship was to PROTECT and CONSERVE (and to prevent the ward from becoming a public charge). That purpose is long forgotten.

Since this is a public-interest law, there can be NO confidentiality. The public has a right to know!

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Thank you LoriD for writing in and providing the copy, I provided the photos , and we all know and abhor how these forced guardianships that are only supposed to be used when the elder has no family, or advance directives in place , oftentimes work to the detriment of the elder, in this case as in the case of child Jon Shiflett the authorities feel they are doing right in bulldozing over individual rights and liberties, that's why when in the erosion of our rights the government ceases to be a government by the people and for the people and starts to become a tyranny, and this should be a grave cause of concern for everyone .

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