Officer accused of exploiting woman was 'community policing,' says lawyer
Portsmouth police Sgt. Aaron Goodwin, left, and the late Geraldine Webber.Herald file photo / Image from video / NFS
PORTSMOUTH — After studying accusations that police Sgt. Aaron Goodwin exploited an elderly woman with dementia, to inherit most of her $1.8 million estate, police officials determined the opposite was true and “Goodwin engaged in the type of community policing that we encourage our officers to engage in on a daily basis,” according to new court documents.
The documents were filed by Hampton attorney Gary Holmes who, on May 2, 2012, created a new will and trust for the late Geraldine Webber, who died in December 2012 at the age of 94. Webber's estate plans, as drafted by Holmes, name Goodwin as the beneficiary of Webber's riverfront home, its contents, stocks and bonds, but the estate is now being disputed in the county probate court.
Attorney Paul McEachern is representing several parties disputing Webber's estate and he claims a video recording of Webber endorsing her new will and trust shows Holmes treating her as though she lacked the mental capacity to do so. In a Sept. 4 answer to that, and other allegations, Holmes places much blame with Webber's prior lawyer, James Ritzo.
Holmes claims Ritzo was named as a 5 percent beneficiary in Webber's earlier wills and that Ritzo attempted to access her financial accounts “without her permission.” Ritzo said Tuesday that he never tried to access Webber's accounts, but did some of her banking at her request. He also said Holmes' allegation was investigated by the attorney general's office, which concluded it was unfounded.
“It's just spin,” Ritzo said.
Holmes' new answer to the legal complaint states that Goodwin “befriended” Webber, including helping “her deal with the conflict with attorney Ritzo.” Webber “developed great respect and appreciation” for Goodwin and “decided to show her gratitude for his ongoing friendship” through her last will and trust, Holmes states.
In response, Holmes claims, Ritzo filed allegations about Goodwin to state officials, and the local police department, all of which determined there was no wrongdoing. Ritzo's goal, Holmes alleges, was to protect his financial status under terms of Webber's prior will.
Ritzo responded that Webber was suffering from dementia and first asked him to change her will so she could “leave everything to Aaron.” The Portsmouth lawyer said he told Webber he wouldn't do that because her wishes had been consistent through the years and had not include Goodwin.
“I was looking out for her best interest,” Ritzo said. “What they were trying to do is get me out of the picture so Aaron could have his way with her.”
Holmes claims in court records that Ritzo's allegations about Goodwin “became oppressive to the point” that Webber asked the attorney general's office to intervene and that Ritzo was served with a no-contact order. But Ritzo countered that the no-contact order was based on allegations that were untimately deemed unfounded.
Holmes also claims in his new court filing that Webber consistently reported wanting to provide for Goodwin in the manner she did and that a doctor determined she exhibited “a positive sign of preserved cognition to a large extent.”
However, state investigatory records quote the same doctor as saying Webber had “mild dementia,” “lacks capacity to engage in complex business decisions” and “on a bad day she's out there.”
Holmes closes his response to the court saying Webber befriended Goodwin and “sought his assistance in severing ties from attorney Ritzo.”
“Their relationship developed to the point that she viewed him as a second son,” Holmes wrote. “Well aware of her assets and her family, she chose of her own free volition to execute an estate plan that, in part, provided for her second son.”
Holmes asks the court to uphold the will and trust he wrote, and to dismiss challenges to them.
Through attorney Charles Doleac, Goodwin denies the allegations that he exploited Webber and asks the court to “respect the independence, dignity, and feisty capacity of Geraldine Webber” by upholding her last will and trust.
In a May 2, 2012 state investigatory report, Webber is quoted as saying, “Aaron comes by on the weekends and cooks me breakfast. He calls or comes by practically every day. I'm leaving Aaron the house and the money. Aaron said don't tell people.”
Parties in the case — which were named in Webber's prior will and removed or named as lesser beneficiaries in the disputed trust — include the Portsmouth Police and Fire Departments, the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the Shriners Hospitals for Children, Braintree (Mass.) High School, Webber's disabled grandson, and a list of Webber's former friends
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