Arrest over mom's missing money

Published Tuesday December 20, 2011


Arrest over mom's missing money

By Todd Cooper

WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER


At least he can't be charged with perjury.

When questioned about why thousands of dollars went missing from his mother's court-supervised account, Lawrence Nero told a judge: "I gamble, Your Honor."

Now, not so much.

Nero, 63, of 2125 Pratt St., is in the Douglas County Jail after being arrested this week and charged with felony abuse of a vulnerable adult in connection with $15,000 missing from his mother's account — money he was supposed to be overseeing as her conservator. He could not be reached for comment Monday.

The charge comes as court officials statewide have stepped up their scrutiny of guardians and conservators tasked with the oversight of the health and wealth of incapacitated people. Several reforms were instituted after a World-Herald investigation revealed that one Omaha-area guardian had looted her wards' estates of more than $400,000.

In Nero's case, authorities made the allegations after an unusual exchange during a review hearing last March with Douglas County Judge Darryl Lowe, who was overseeing Arlene Nero's guardianship case.

According to court transcripts:

Lowe: "Mr. Nero, the account is not adding up here. We've had some — we've got withdrawals from Ameristar Casino and cash withdrawals going up to several thousand dollars. Why is that?"

Nero: "It's . I gamble, Your Honor."

Lowe: "Well, you can't gamble with your mom's money."

Nero: "Yes, Sir, I know that now. And I didn't at the time . I know that, Your Honor."

Lowe: "So what you're going to have to do is find some way to put that money back, otherwise you're looking at a situation where the court may have to refer this to the County Attorney's Office."

Nero: "I started the process of barring myself from the casino for life."

In court documents, investigators say, Nero became his mother's guardian-conservator in August 2005 after she was diagnosed with dementia.

From Dec. 8, 2009, to May 10, 2010, someone withdrew $10,918 in cash from Arlene Nero's account and rang up the following charges: $1,000 to Ameristar Casino; $1,400 to Payday Express; $286 to the YMCA; and $1,075 in overdraft charges and returned checks.

The court order appointing Nero as his mother's guardian had the following admonishment, standard in such cases: "You shall not pay compensation to yourself or your attorney from assets of your ward, or sell property of the estate, without an order authorizing same."

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