Saturday, December 31, 2011
The worm has indeed turned
The worm has indeed turned (pardon the pun) - he is no longer being eaten.
Your friends Stern, Farenga, and Schmiedel are under real stress. They are aware that they are going to be sued for the violation of civil rights of not only yours truly, but my clients as well. I will need the authorization letters from the friends and family of Mary Sykes. They are also aware at this point in time that the ARDC complaint that I filed was not filed just with the ARDC where it could be deep sixed, but it was filed with the Justice Department. A copy was also sent to Senator Kirk.
I wish I was the type of person who just turned the other cheek; however, I am really resentful of the attempt to intimidate me. Next week I am meeting with Attorney Larry Hyman, who specializes in 'tort' claims and I will discuss with him representing me in my civil rights claim against Stern, Farenga, and Schmiedel. I will also ask him to represent my clients who provide the authorization letters. The ruling of the Appellate Court finding no jurisdiction is devistating to any defense as it eliminates even limited immunity. The Barry case should get both Justice and the ARDC active. What went on with Miriam Solo in the Cooper's case when coupled with the Sykes case complete the elements for a civil and criminal RICO proceeding. The ARDC and the Probate Court being criminal enterprises.
The foregoing should not lost on anyone, especially law enforcement. The Barry case punished Attorney Barry for doing exactly what Schmiedel, Stern, and Farenga did
to Mary Sykes, aided and abetted by Judge Connors who merely rubber stamped their violation of the notice requirements of Sodini. The ARDC not prosecuting these people and instead investigating the complaining witnesses is an oxymoron. It also makes the ARDC an assessory during the fact of the criminal activity.
The legal profession deserves to take a 'hit' on the issue of Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation. Removing the Ten Commandments from the courthouse is not going to soften the blow.
Ken Ditkowsky
http://www.ditkowskylawoffice.com/
KawamotoDragon.com
May Police Cut a Drug Baggie off a Suspect’s, uh, Nether Regions?
December 30, 2011, 2:07 PM ET.
May Police Cut a Drug Baggie off a Suspect’s, uh, Nether Regions?
.Seriously. It’s a question that needed answering. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has ruled that using a knife for such a delicate deed is too dangerous.
The case involves a Baltimore man arrested and convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base. Volokh Conspiracy and walshslaw have discussions on the opinion here and here.
The Fourth Circuit, in sum, found that an officer’s use of a knife to cut a sandwich baggie of crack off his penis, an act performed at night on a public street, was unreasonable.
The man, Joseph Edwards, had tried to have the evidence suppressed while his case was in federal district court, arguing that officers’ search inside his underwear was unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment.
The trial judge rejected the motion, concluding that Edwards’s pants were only pulled out, not down, and that no members of the public caught a glimpse of his man parts. He entered a conditional guilty plea and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The Fourth Circuit, however, said that even assuming that the search was justified in the first place, the court must consider whether the contraband was seized in a manner that “poses an unnecessary risk of harm to the person being searched.” The ruling wipes out the district court’s ruling and could lead to the government dropping its case.
“The government provides no reason whatsoever why the concealed contraband, once the police had determined that it clearly was not a handgun, could not have been removed under circumstances less dangerous to Edwards,” the court said, in an opinion by Judge Barbara Milano Keenan, an Obama appointee. “We conclude that [the officer's] use of a knife in cutting the sandwich baggie off Edwards’ penis posed a significant and an unnecessary risk of injury to Edwards, transgressing well settled standards of reasonableness.”
Keenan was joined in the opinion by Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, a Clinton appointee. They suggested alternatives to cutting the baggie with a knife — including untying, removing, or tearing it, or using blunt scissors to do the job.
Judge Albert Diaz, another Obama appointee, dissented.
“Simply put, in assessing whether the police acted reasonably, we need not ignore Edwards’ decision to store drugs in a rather unconventional location. Indeed, our cases recognize that context matters in assessing reasonableness under the Fourth Amendment, as we have upheld intrusive searches when justified by the circumstances,” He wrote. “Based on the location of the contraband . . . there was simply no delicate way to seize it.”
Please read complete article at link below:
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2011/12/30/may-police-cut-a-drug-baggie-off-a-suspects-uh-nether-regions/
Editor's note: This Shark believes judges Keenan and Motz's reasoning would definitely make the eligible for the Probate Court of Cook county. The cop was most likely wearing heavy leather police search gloves that protect him from needles and other sharp objects during a search. This would preclude him from "including untying, removing, or tearing it, or using blunt scissors to do the job." while handling a cokehead's junk. With judges like Keenan and Motz and the Probate Court crew, no wonder that there is little respect for our courts. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
KawamotoDragon.com
May Police Cut a Drug Baggie off a Suspect’s, uh, Nether Regions?
.Seriously. It’s a question that needed answering. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has ruled that using a knife for such a delicate deed is too dangerous.
The case involves a Baltimore man arrested and convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base. Volokh Conspiracy and walshslaw have discussions on the opinion here and here.
The Fourth Circuit, in sum, found that an officer’s use of a knife to cut a sandwich baggie of crack off his penis, an act performed at night on a public street, was unreasonable.
The man, Joseph Edwards, had tried to have the evidence suppressed while his case was in federal district court, arguing that officers’ search inside his underwear was unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment.
The trial judge rejected the motion, concluding that Edwards’s pants were only pulled out, not down, and that no members of the public caught a glimpse of his man parts. He entered a conditional guilty plea and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The Fourth Circuit, however, said that even assuming that the search was justified in the first place, the court must consider whether the contraband was seized in a manner that “poses an unnecessary risk of harm to the person being searched.” The ruling wipes out the district court’s ruling and could lead to the government dropping its case.
“The government provides no reason whatsoever why the concealed contraband, once the police had determined that it clearly was not a handgun, could not have been removed under circumstances less dangerous to Edwards,” the court said, in an opinion by Judge Barbara Milano Keenan, an Obama appointee. “We conclude that [the officer's] use of a knife in cutting the sandwich baggie off Edwards’ penis posed a significant and an unnecessary risk of injury to Edwards, transgressing well settled standards of reasonableness.”
Keenan was joined in the opinion by Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, a Clinton appointee. They suggested alternatives to cutting the baggie with a knife — including untying, removing, or tearing it, or using blunt scissors to do the job.
Judge Albert Diaz, another Obama appointee, dissented.
“Simply put, in assessing whether the police acted reasonably, we need not ignore Edwards’ decision to store drugs in a rather unconventional location. Indeed, our cases recognize that context matters in assessing reasonableness under the Fourth Amendment, as we have upheld intrusive searches when justified by the circumstances,” He wrote. “Based on the location of the contraband . . . there was simply no delicate way to seize it.”
Please read complete article at link below:
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2011/12/30/may-police-cut-a-drug-baggie-off-a-suspects-uh-nether-regions/
Editor's note: This Shark believes judges Keenan and Motz's reasoning would definitely make the eligible for the Probate Court of Cook county. The cop was most likely wearing heavy leather police search gloves that protect him from needles and other sharp objects during a search. This would preclude him from "including untying, removing, or tearing it, or using blunt scissors to do the job." while handling a cokehead's junk. With judges like Keenan and Motz and the Probate Court crew, no wonder that there is little respect for our courts. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
KawamotoDragon.com
North Korea's samurai rules
Yuriko Koike is a former Minister of Defence and National Security Adviser of Japan.
North Korea's samurai rules
Kim's death triggered a hereditary transfer of power, and debates about who will really be in charge.
Last Modified: 31 Dec 2011 10:18
History suggests that a clean transfer of power from father to son is the exception rather than the rule [Reuters]
Tokyo, Japan - On December 17, North Korea announced that its supreme "Dear Leader", Kim Jong-il, had died in a train carrying him on one of the many inspection tours that he had taken since suffering a stroke in 2008 - evidently part of the regime's effort to eliminate concerns about his health. The Dear Leader's death triggered a hereditary transfer of power, with the world's attention focused not only on Kim Jong-il's son and chosen successor, Kim Jong-un, but also on who will actually turn out to be the country's true leader.
Although Kim Jong-il received his reign from his own father, North Korea's founder, Kim Il-sung, history suggests that a clean transfer from father to son is the exception rather than the rule. In the thirteenth century, Minamoto Sanetomo became the third Shogun of Japan of the Kamakura Period, thus placing him at the top of samurai society at the age of 12. Actual power, however, was wielded by Hojo Masako, the first Shogun's daughter-in-law, and other members of the Hojo clan, including her father, Hojo Tokimasa. Sanetomo was simply too young and inexperienced to lead the samurai.
For the samurai, combat experience and age were decisive legitimating factors. Professional samurai would be disgruntled if given orders by a young person with no actual combat experience. It was this value system that created an opening for the Hojo clan.
Chinese history tells us something similar. The regent of the Guangxu Emperor, who became the eleventh emperor of the Qing Dynasty at the age of three, was the Empress Dowager Cixi. Until he died in 1908, the emperor was Cixi's puppet.
Both of these examples of government by regency may shed light on the succession struggle now underway in Pyongyang. At 28 (or 29, as Koreans count age), Kim Jong-un is a pudgy young man with no combat experience whatsoever. So there are substantial doubts as to whether the ageing commanders of North Korea's army, many of whom fought in the Korean War six decades ago, can swear loyalty to a callow, paper general.
This helps to explain why North Korean propaganda covered up the true cause of Kim Jong-il's death - cancer, not a heart attack. Indeed, he had become so ill recently that he could not make decisions by himself near the end, so his only full-blood relative, his sister Kim Kyong-hui, made decisions on his behalf. In other words, even before Kim Jong-il's death, a dual structure of supreme power had begun to take hold in Pyongyang.
"Even if Kim Jong-il's successor is outwardly portrayed as being Kim Jong-un, the actual power is likely to be transferred to Kim Kyong-hui, who is known for being jealous and having a strong love of winning."
For example, Jang Sung-taek, the director of the Administration Department of the Workers' Party of Korea and Kim Kyong-hui's husband, has gained much attention since Kim Jong-il's death. On the list of 232 funeral committee members, Kim Jong-un was listed first, Kyong-hui 14th, and Jang Sung-taek 19th.
In September 2010, Kyong-hui was made a general in the Korean People's Army, alongside Kim Jong-un. She is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Workers' Party of Korea. Her husband received the position of Vice-Chairman of the National Defence Commission, and also remains a candidate for Political Bureau membership.
Kim Kyong-hui is the 65-year-old daughter of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-suk. Her mother died when she was four. She was subsequently raised by various nannies, and grew to have a stern personality, owing to her complex relations with her stepmother and half-siblings. She frequently caused trouble for her brother, Kim Jong-il, who apparently once let slip that, "Nobody can stop my sister if she acts up. Not even I can do anything about it".
Even if Kim Jong-il's successor is outwardly portrayed as being Kim Jong-un, the actual power is likely to be transferred to Kim Kyong-hui, who is known for being jealous and having a strong love of winning. Indeed, to revert to the Japanese and Chinese precedents, it should be recalled that Sanetomo was later assassinated and Hojo took power, ending the effective control of the Kamakura Shogunate, and that the Xinhai Revolution brought about the end of the Qing Dynasty three years after the Empress Dowager's death.
Of course, twenty-first century North Korea is not Japan of the Kamakura Period or China during the Qing Dynasty, but, while history never repeats itself exactly, such comparisons can be instructive. Indeed, although the Kims have reduced North Korea's economy to a practically medieval state of backwardness, internet access and mobile phones are becoming more widespread. A million mobile phones are already being used in the country, and it is now possible to evade the regime's draconian information controls and censorship by exchanging information near the borders. Reliable information is conveyed into North Korea by the use of balloons to spread leaflets.
The Japanese and Chinese precedents will become increasingly relevant if these trends continue. In that case, a North Korean revolution might not be far off, particularly if relations between the country's aged generals and the Kim dynasty begin to fray.
Yuriko Koike is Japan's former Minister of Defence and National Security Adviser.
A version of this article was first published on Project Syndicate.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/12/2011122881523451491.html
KawamotoDragon.com
Guilty plea in muni bond indictments
Dec 30, 3:50 PM EST
Guilty plea in muni bond indictments
By MARK SHERMAN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A politically connected financial firm and its founder pleaded guilty Friday to taking part in fraud and bid-rigging conspiracies related to the municipal bond business.
The Justice Department said CDR Financial Products Inc. of Beverly Hills, Calif., and owner David Rubin entered guilty pleas in federal court in Manhattan. The department said they acknowledged their roles in schemes designed to win contracts to invest the proceeds of municipal bonds issued by state, county and local governments.
Rubin faces up to 20 years in prison.
Two other CDR executives are scheduled to go on trial in New York next week.
Please read complete article at link below:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MUNI_BONDS_PROBE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-12-30-15-50-34
Editor's note: Your ProbateShark uses this example of the selectivity of our FEDs in choosing cases to prosecute. Yes, Rubin is responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud. So are the judges and other criminals who represent the Probate Court of Cook County. These crooked judges are also responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars from legitimate heirs to the pockets of themselves and other crooks and yet nothing is done by the FEDs to curtail their criminal enterprises. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
Guilty plea in muni bond indictments
By MARK SHERMAN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A politically connected financial firm and its founder pleaded guilty Friday to taking part in fraud and bid-rigging conspiracies related to the municipal bond business.
The Justice Department said CDR Financial Products Inc. of Beverly Hills, Calif., and owner David Rubin entered guilty pleas in federal court in Manhattan. The department said they acknowledged their roles in schemes designed to win contracts to invest the proceeds of municipal bonds issued by state, county and local governments.
Rubin faces up to 20 years in prison.
Two other CDR executives are scheduled to go on trial in New York next week.
Please read complete article at link below:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MUNI_BONDS_PROBE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-12-30-15-50-34
Editor's note: Your ProbateShark uses this example of the selectivity of our FEDs in choosing cases to prosecute. Yes, Rubin is responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud. So are the judges and other criminals who represent the Probate Court of Cook County. These crooked judges are also responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars from legitimate heirs to the pockets of themselves and other crooks and yet nothing is done by the FEDs to curtail their criminal enterprises. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
Victims' group must reveal records in priest case
Dec 30, 6:19 PM EST
Victims' group must reveal records in priest case
By RACHEL ZOLL AND JIM SUHR
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- An advocacy group that has relentlessly pressured Roman Catholic leaders to reveal the scope of sex abuse in the church has been ordered to disclose records to a priest's defense lawyers that could include years of emails with victims, journalists and others.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests has so far failed to block the ruling by a judge, which requires the organization to produce the documents and also allows defense attorneys to depose the network's national director, David Clohessy, on Tuesday. The Missouri Press Association has filed a friend-of-the-court brief arguing the order is unconstitutional.
Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Ann Mesle said Clohessy must comply because he "almost certainly has knowledge concerning issues relevant to this litigation." Mesle argued that Clohessy is free not to respond to specific questions at the deposition and can request that individual documents remain confidential.
Mesle issued the order in one of five abuse lawsuits against the Rev. Michael Tierney and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. The plaintiff, identified only as John Doe, B.P., said he was 13 when Tierney attacked and molested him in the 1970s. All attorneys involved in Tierney's case are under a gag order.
Defense lawyers sought the documents as evidence that the accuser's attorney, Rebecca Randles, violated the gag order by giving details of the case to the Survivors Network. The defense claims the group then printed the information in a press release. Tierney has previously denied any wrongdoing. Last June, the diocese barred him from any public church work and from presenting himself as a priest.
Under the ruling, the network must produce all documents or correspondence relating to Tierney, the diocese, any priest currently or formerly associated with the diocese, the Survivors Network communication with the plaintiff and any documents related to repressed memory. The plaintiff in the lawsuit said he had repressed memories of the assault for years. The National Catholic Reporter, an independent publication that has spearheaded investigative coverage of clergy abuse, was first to report the order for the documents Friday.
In a statement, Clohessy called the defense request "a bullying effort" that invades victims' privacy. He said the order was so broad that it could require him to produce documents involving whistleblowers, victims, parishioners, parents and journalists in other cases with no direct connection to Tierney or the diocese.
"We are going to take every possible legal step to prevent the disclosure of information concerning SNAP members and supporters, including those who have been sexually abused," said Jeff Jensen, Clohessy's attorney.
The Missouri Press Association wrote in its brief that the disclosure would "irrevocably harm the news-gathering process, chill speech by both the news media and potential sources and significantly affect the quality of investigative reporting in the state." Missouri is one of the few states without a shield law that would protect journalists from being forced to reveal their sources and notes, said Jean Maneke, an attorney for the press association.
The Survivors Network has been at the center of the Catholic abuse scandal for more than two decades, as a support and guide for victims and a constant critic of church hierarchs who failed to warn police or parents about serial offenders in the priesthood. As the costs of the scandal have skyrocketed, many bishops and other Catholics have viewed the advocacy group as an enemy, accusing the network of funneling clients to plaintiffs' lawyers who want to enrich themselves and bankrupt the church. According to studies commissioned by the U.S. bishops, dioceses have paid about $3 billion in settlements and other costs related to more than 15,700 abuse claims since 1950.
The Survivors Network argues the overwhelming majority of victims who seek the group's help do not sue over their abuse.
Marci Hamilton, a law professor and advocate for victims, said defense lawyers in other abuse cases have tried to gain access to the Survivors Network records, but the Jackson County case was the first time the request has been granted. The group's attorneys have asked the Missouri Supreme Court to intervene.
"If you see that talking to any survivors' group means your story could show up in any state in front of any other lawyers, then people are just going to shut down again," said Hamilton, a specialist in church-state issues at Cardozo Law School at Yeshiva University in New York.
Some commentators, however, said the network was hypocritical for demanding public release of diocesan records, while being unwilling to be transparent itself.
"Haven't these very same people been decrying with righteous indignation attempts by church authorities to withhold certain records from the legal process?" wrote Jimmy Akin, a columnist with the independent National Catholic Register. "Matters seem different when the shoe is on the other foot, however, don't they?"
Please read complete article at link below:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_REL_CHURCH_ABUSE_VICTIMS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-12-30-18-19-25
Editor's note: This Shark believes in many ways the abuse to victims by priests and the abuse to victims by the Probate Court of Cook County are similar. In both cases, the trust to those people in a unique position of power are usurped. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
KawamotoDragon.com
Victims' group must reveal records in priest case
By RACHEL ZOLL AND JIM SUHR
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- An advocacy group that has relentlessly pressured Roman Catholic leaders to reveal the scope of sex abuse in the church has been ordered to disclose records to a priest's defense lawyers that could include years of emails with victims, journalists and others.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests has so far failed to block the ruling by a judge, which requires the organization to produce the documents and also allows defense attorneys to depose the network's national director, David Clohessy, on Tuesday. The Missouri Press Association has filed a friend-of-the-court brief arguing the order is unconstitutional.
Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Ann Mesle said Clohessy must comply because he "almost certainly has knowledge concerning issues relevant to this litigation." Mesle argued that Clohessy is free not to respond to specific questions at the deposition and can request that individual documents remain confidential.
Mesle issued the order in one of five abuse lawsuits against the Rev. Michael Tierney and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. The plaintiff, identified only as John Doe, B.P., said he was 13 when Tierney attacked and molested him in the 1970s. All attorneys involved in Tierney's case are under a gag order.
Defense lawyers sought the documents as evidence that the accuser's attorney, Rebecca Randles, violated the gag order by giving details of the case to the Survivors Network. The defense claims the group then printed the information in a press release. Tierney has previously denied any wrongdoing. Last June, the diocese barred him from any public church work and from presenting himself as a priest.
Under the ruling, the network must produce all documents or correspondence relating to Tierney, the diocese, any priest currently or formerly associated with the diocese, the Survivors Network communication with the plaintiff and any documents related to repressed memory. The plaintiff in the lawsuit said he had repressed memories of the assault for years. The National Catholic Reporter, an independent publication that has spearheaded investigative coverage of clergy abuse, was first to report the order for the documents Friday.
In a statement, Clohessy called the defense request "a bullying effort" that invades victims' privacy. He said the order was so broad that it could require him to produce documents involving whistleblowers, victims, parishioners, parents and journalists in other cases with no direct connection to Tierney or the diocese.
"We are going to take every possible legal step to prevent the disclosure of information concerning SNAP members and supporters, including those who have been sexually abused," said Jeff Jensen, Clohessy's attorney.
The Missouri Press Association wrote in its brief that the disclosure would "irrevocably harm the news-gathering process, chill speech by both the news media and potential sources and significantly affect the quality of investigative reporting in the state." Missouri is one of the few states without a shield law that would protect journalists from being forced to reveal their sources and notes, said Jean Maneke, an attorney for the press association.
The Survivors Network has been at the center of the Catholic abuse scandal for more than two decades, as a support and guide for victims and a constant critic of church hierarchs who failed to warn police or parents about serial offenders in the priesthood. As the costs of the scandal have skyrocketed, many bishops and other Catholics have viewed the advocacy group as an enemy, accusing the network of funneling clients to plaintiffs' lawyers who want to enrich themselves and bankrupt the church. According to studies commissioned by the U.S. bishops, dioceses have paid about $3 billion in settlements and other costs related to more than 15,700 abuse claims since 1950.
The Survivors Network argues the overwhelming majority of victims who seek the group's help do not sue over their abuse.
Marci Hamilton, a law professor and advocate for victims, said defense lawyers in other abuse cases have tried to gain access to the Survivors Network records, but the Jackson County case was the first time the request has been granted. The group's attorneys have asked the Missouri Supreme Court to intervene.
"If you see that talking to any survivors' group means your story could show up in any state in front of any other lawyers, then people are just going to shut down again," said Hamilton, a specialist in church-state issues at Cardozo Law School at Yeshiva University in New York.
Some commentators, however, said the network was hypocritical for demanding public release of diocesan records, while being unwilling to be transparent itself.
"Haven't these very same people been decrying with righteous indignation attempts by church authorities to withhold certain records from the legal process?" wrote Jimmy Akin, a columnist with the independent National Catholic Register. "Matters seem different when the shoe is on the other foot, however, don't they?"
Please read complete article at link below:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_REL_CHURCH_ABUSE_VICTIMS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-12-30-18-19-25
Editor's note: This Shark believes in many ways the abuse to victims by priests and the abuse to victims by the Probate Court of Cook County are similar. In both cases, the trust to those people in a unique position of power are usurped. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
KawamotoDragon.com
'Death tax' collection opposed by local authorities
'Death tax' collection opposed by local authorities
Councillors fear being scapegoats for fees under new checks ensuring doctors complete death certificates correctly
reddit this James Meikle
guardian.co.uk, Monday 26 December 2011 09.02 EST larger
smaller Article history
Councils say the cost of setting up the new national system could make the 'death tax' as much as £170. Photograph: Alamy
The introduction of a death tax, to pay for the increased scrutiny of doctors by a new medical examiner corps, could be delayed as councils resist collecting a national charge levied on bereaved families.
Ministers have been surprised by the ferocity of opposition from local government. as Councillors fear they will become scapegoats for fees in a system of checks, covering England and Wales, which will try to ensure doctors give the right cause of death and fill in forms properly.
Better monitoring of death certificates was first ordered under Labour in an effort to prevent more killings like those perpetrated by the GP Howard Shipman, and to increase understanding of diseases. The system originally was to have been run by NHS primary care trusts but these are being abolished by the government.
The charges will pay for 1,000 part-time medical examiners, who will be experienced doctors, and hundreds of support staff. The Department of Health says the charges could be smaller than the £160.50 already paid by families of people who are cremated, amounting to nearly three-quarters of all those who die each year.
But councils say the cost of setting up the new national system could make the charge as high as £170.
The charge would affect all bereaved families and have to be collected separately by councils instead of being part of funeral directors' charges, as cremation fees are at present.
The councils say medical examiners should be the responsibility of the NHS, not employed or commissioned by local authorities. The charges, which will be applicable for burials too, should still be collected via funeral directors, they say.
Formal consultation over the plan has been delayed until the spring, so the system might not come into force until October 2013, six months later than planned.
Council heads sense there might be a "change of direction" by ministers, according to Keith Mitchell, leader of Tory-run Oxfordshire county council, and vice-chairman of the Local Government Association's community wellbeing programme board. Mitchell said: "The government is certainly aware of our concerns – in spades. It is going to be an unpopular death tax. The system would mean councils billing families for something that was not a local service.
"It is a cannon to destroy a gnat. It is not a local government issue. It is a health issue and it should stay there."
The fee, he added, might not be "a huge sum in national terms but is big to people who are not well off – in terms of NHS national spending it is pence".
At present, cremation forms have to be signed by two doctors. The fees are paid to the medics, a payment that will disappear under the changes. The forms are required at the moment because there can be no future checks on bodies. They also verify that pacemakers, which could explode during cremation, are not left in bodies.
The Department of Health said: "These proposals ensure that the weaknesses and inequalities in the current system of death certification are properly addressed." The government was "in constant dialogue" with those involved in the changes and would decide the next steps after the formal consultation was complete.
Changes in death and cremation certification were demanded by the inquiry into how Shipman managed to kill at least 260 people. The GP, from Hyde, Greater Manchester, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering 15 patients. The system failed to spot that Shipman had killed anyone.
According to those drawing up the new system, a "significant proportion" of doctors are not sufficiently precise about the cause of death on certificates, which also are often not completed fully or legibly. Many forms are not completed fully or legibly, they say.
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/dec/26/death-tax-councils-scrutiny-doctors?newsfeed=true
Editor's note: ProbateShark believes that our Brit friends across the pond are beset by "Marxist Baby Talk". The "Death Tax" is nothing more than the socialist fear of any wealth being passed from one generation to another. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
Councillors fear being scapegoats for fees under new checks ensuring doctors complete death certificates correctly
reddit this James Meikle
guardian.co.uk, Monday 26 December 2011 09.02 EST larger
smaller Article history
Councils say the cost of setting up the new national system could make the 'death tax' as much as £170. Photograph: Alamy
The introduction of a death tax, to pay for the increased scrutiny of doctors by a new medical examiner corps, could be delayed as councils resist collecting a national charge levied on bereaved families.
Ministers have been surprised by the ferocity of opposition from local government. as Councillors fear they will become scapegoats for fees in a system of checks, covering England and Wales, which will try to ensure doctors give the right cause of death and fill in forms properly.
Better monitoring of death certificates was first ordered under Labour in an effort to prevent more killings like those perpetrated by the GP Howard Shipman, and to increase understanding of diseases. The system originally was to have been run by NHS primary care trusts but these are being abolished by the government.
The charges will pay for 1,000 part-time medical examiners, who will be experienced doctors, and hundreds of support staff. The Department of Health says the charges could be smaller than the £160.50 already paid by families of people who are cremated, amounting to nearly three-quarters of all those who die each year.
But councils say the cost of setting up the new national system could make the charge as high as £170.
The charge would affect all bereaved families and have to be collected separately by councils instead of being part of funeral directors' charges, as cremation fees are at present.
The councils say medical examiners should be the responsibility of the NHS, not employed or commissioned by local authorities. The charges, which will be applicable for burials too, should still be collected via funeral directors, they say.
Formal consultation over the plan has been delayed until the spring, so the system might not come into force until October 2013, six months later than planned.
Council heads sense there might be a "change of direction" by ministers, according to Keith Mitchell, leader of Tory-run Oxfordshire county council, and vice-chairman of the Local Government Association's community wellbeing programme board. Mitchell said: "The government is certainly aware of our concerns – in spades. It is going to be an unpopular death tax. The system would mean councils billing families for something that was not a local service.
"It is a cannon to destroy a gnat. It is not a local government issue. It is a health issue and it should stay there."
The fee, he added, might not be "a huge sum in national terms but is big to people who are not well off – in terms of NHS national spending it is pence".
At present, cremation forms have to be signed by two doctors. The fees are paid to the medics, a payment that will disappear under the changes. The forms are required at the moment because there can be no future checks on bodies. They also verify that pacemakers, which could explode during cremation, are not left in bodies.
The Department of Health said: "These proposals ensure that the weaknesses and inequalities in the current system of death certification are properly addressed." The government was "in constant dialogue" with those involved in the changes and would decide the next steps after the formal consultation was complete.
Changes in death and cremation certification were demanded by the inquiry into how Shipman managed to kill at least 260 people. The GP, from Hyde, Greater Manchester, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering 15 patients. The system failed to spot that Shipman had killed anyone.
According to those drawing up the new system, a "significant proportion" of doctors are not sufficiently precise about the cause of death on certificates, which also are often not completed fully or legibly. Many forms are not completed fully or legibly, they say.
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/dec/26/death-tax-councils-scrutiny-doctors?newsfeed=true
Editor's note: ProbateShark believes that our Brit friends across the pond are beset by "Marxist Baby Talk". The "Death Tax" is nothing more than the socialist fear of any wealth being passed from one generation to another. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
Little Neck rift may yet reach trial
Little Neck rift may yet reach trial
Settlement challenged by group of residents
By Kathy McCabe
Globe Staff / December 25, 2011
Residents opposed to a $32.5 million settlement that allows the sale of Little Neck, a summer cottage colony owned by a Colonial-era land trust set up to benefit the Ipswich public schools, have asked a probate court judge to block the agreement, saying it does not do enough to protect public school children.
A motion filed in Essex Probate Court in Salem, where a trial to determine if Little Neck could be sold began Dec. 12, also seeks to have the trial continue and for residents, led by Douglas J. DeAngelis, to be allowed to take part as defendants.
The School Committee, by agreeing to a settlement to end the 351-year-old land trust, did not represent the residents’ interests, court papers assert.
“Little Neck is an asset of the town,’’ Mark E. Swirbalus, a lawyer representing the residents, said in an interview. “Whatever decisions made about this land should be made with public input and public accountability.’’
If finalized by the court, the settlement would end a decade-old legal drama that has pitted town officials against the Feoffees of the Ipswich Grammar School, a board of trustees that manages Little Neck, a 27-acre peninsula dotted with cottages rising over the mouth of the Ipswich River and Crane Beach.
In 1660, merchant William Paine left the land to the town in a private trust, with instructions that it never be sold, and all proceeds collected from rent were to benefit the town’s schools.
A lawyer for the feoffees said the settlement meets the intent of Paine’s will, and provides a more stable cash flow to Ipswich schools.
“It’s great for everyone,’’ said William Sheehan. “What you’ll have now, is an endowment. . . . And there are no longer any headaches associated with the ownership of the real estate.’’
But the settlement also prompted criticism from town officials, who said the $32.5 million price tag is not enough for prime waterfront property. Separate appraisals prepared for the School and Finance committees placed the value of Little Neck land at $42 million.
“We were trying to evaluate the true value of Little Neck,’’ said Jamie Fay, a member of the Finance Committee. “It’s pretty well known that expert appraisers came back with a substantially higher value’’ than $32.5 million.
“There is no question in my mind that this asset will continue to appreciate in value,’’ said Selectman William Craft. “Now, instead of that value benefiting school children, it will be passed on to’’ Little Neck cottage owners.
The settlement also did not sit well with some parents of students.
“It’s a serious concern to many, many people in our town,’’ said Catherine Lavoie, mother of an Ipswich High freshman. “We want to take action and do whatever we can to save this [land] trust.’’
Little Neck is a community of 167 cottages owned by residents who rent the land from the trust. Since 2006, residents and the Feoffees have been in a legal dispute over how much rent should be charged. A separate lawsuit on the issue is pending in Superior Court. Since the lawsuit was filed, Ipswich schools have not received any payments from the trust.
But the settlement also would end that dispute. About $3 million in back rent, placed in escrow, was added to the sale price, boosting the original offer of $29.1 million to $32.5 million, lawyers said.
After expenses and debt, an estimated $25 million would be put into an endowment fund, the income from which would benefit the public schools. A new seven-member Feoffees board - made up of two members each from the Board of Selectmen and School and Finance committees, and one chosen by Town Meeting - would oversee the fund.
Ipswich residents also would have access to Pavilion Beach, a popular swimming spot now owned by the Feoffees.
The settlement has been approved by Judge Mary Ann Sahagian and the state attorney general’s office, which oversees charitable trusts. But it cannot be finalized until a decision has been made on the residents’ request to intervene, Swirbalus said.
“I will be seeking a hearing date soon,’’ he said last week.
Jeffrey Loeb, chairman of the Ipswich School Committee, said the settlement was the surest route to end litigation.
“We came to the conclusion that the proposal, in its entirety, was better than what we were going to end up with at the end of the trial,’’ Loeb said. “We had to get the best deal we could for the town.’’
A majority of the seven-member School Committee voted in an emergency meeting on Dec. 17 to consider the settlement. But not all members are happy about it.
“I’ve always believed that Little Neck is a town asset and that the town as a whole should determine its fate,’’ said Jan Bauman, a School Committee member elected last spring.
DeAngelis, the lead plaintiff in the motion to continue the trial, said he is determined to get a better outcome.
“It’s not over,’’ he said. “We need to get our opinion in front of the court. . . . Our primary goal has always been to get this out in the open, so that the town can decide the way forward.’’
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2011/12/25/little_neck_rift_may_yet_reach_trial/?page=full
Editor's note: Kind of reminds this Shark of the revisionist re-writing of the U.S. Constitution. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
Settlement challenged by group of residents
By Kathy McCabe
Globe Staff / December 25, 2011
Residents opposed to a $32.5 million settlement that allows the sale of Little Neck, a summer cottage colony owned by a Colonial-era land trust set up to benefit the Ipswich public schools, have asked a probate court judge to block the agreement, saying it does not do enough to protect public school children.
A motion filed in Essex Probate Court in Salem, where a trial to determine if Little Neck could be sold began Dec. 12, also seeks to have the trial continue and for residents, led by Douglas J. DeAngelis, to be allowed to take part as defendants.
The School Committee, by agreeing to a settlement to end the 351-year-old land trust, did not represent the residents’ interests, court papers assert.
“Little Neck is an asset of the town,’’ Mark E. Swirbalus, a lawyer representing the residents, said in an interview. “Whatever decisions made about this land should be made with public input and public accountability.’’
If finalized by the court, the settlement would end a decade-old legal drama that has pitted town officials against the Feoffees of the Ipswich Grammar School, a board of trustees that manages Little Neck, a 27-acre peninsula dotted with cottages rising over the mouth of the Ipswich River and Crane Beach.
In 1660, merchant William Paine left the land to the town in a private trust, with instructions that it never be sold, and all proceeds collected from rent were to benefit the town’s schools.
A lawyer for the feoffees said the settlement meets the intent of Paine’s will, and provides a more stable cash flow to Ipswich schools.
“It’s great for everyone,’’ said William Sheehan. “What you’ll have now, is an endowment. . . . And there are no longer any headaches associated with the ownership of the real estate.’’
But the settlement also prompted criticism from town officials, who said the $32.5 million price tag is not enough for prime waterfront property. Separate appraisals prepared for the School and Finance committees placed the value of Little Neck land at $42 million.
“We were trying to evaluate the true value of Little Neck,’’ said Jamie Fay, a member of the Finance Committee. “It’s pretty well known that expert appraisers came back with a substantially higher value’’ than $32.5 million.
“There is no question in my mind that this asset will continue to appreciate in value,’’ said Selectman William Craft. “Now, instead of that value benefiting school children, it will be passed on to’’ Little Neck cottage owners.
The settlement also did not sit well with some parents of students.
“It’s a serious concern to many, many people in our town,’’ said Catherine Lavoie, mother of an Ipswich High freshman. “We want to take action and do whatever we can to save this [land] trust.’’
Little Neck is a community of 167 cottages owned by residents who rent the land from the trust. Since 2006, residents and the Feoffees have been in a legal dispute over how much rent should be charged. A separate lawsuit on the issue is pending in Superior Court. Since the lawsuit was filed, Ipswich schools have not received any payments from the trust.
But the settlement also would end that dispute. About $3 million in back rent, placed in escrow, was added to the sale price, boosting the original offer of $29.1 million to $32.5 million, lawyers said.
After expenses and debt, an estimated $25 million would be put into an endowment fund, the income from which would benefit the public schools. A new seven-member Feoffees board - made up of two members each from the Board of Selectmen and School and Finance committees, and one chosen by Town Meeting - would oversee the fund.
Ipswich residents also would have access to Pavilion Beach, a popular swimming spot now owned by the Feoffees.
The settlement has been approved by Judge Mary Ann Sahagian and the state attorney general’s office, which oversees charitable trusts. But it cannot be finalized until a decision has been made on the residents’ request to intervene, Swirbalus said.
“I will be seeking a hearing date soon,’’ he said last week.
Jeffrey Loeb, chairman of the Ipswich School Committee, said the settlement was the surest route to end litigation.
“We came to the conclusion that the proposal, in its entirety, was better than what we were going to end up with at the end of the trial,’’ Loeb said. “We had to get the best deal we could for the town.’’
A majority of the seven-member School Committee voted in an emergency meeting on Dec. 17 to consider the settlement. But not all members are happy about it.
“I’ve always believed that Little Neck is a town asset and that the town as a whole should determine its fate,’’ said Jan Bauman, a School Committee member elected last spring.
DeAngelis, the lead plaintiff in the motion to continue the trial, said he is determined to get a better outcome.
“It’s not over,’’ he said. “We need to get our opinion in front of the court. . . . Our primary goal has always been to get this out in the open, so that the town can decide the way forward.’’
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2011/12/25/little_neck_rift_may_yet_reach_trial/?page=full
Editor's note: Kind of reminds this Shark of the revisionist re-writing of the U.S. Constitution. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
Friday, December 30, 2011
Hospice Care Breeds Corrupt and Dangerous Culture of Death
Hospice Care Breeds Corrupt and Dangerous Culture of Death
-Part 2; The Stories
Posted on Jul 26, 2011
Although advocates of hospice care cite better end-of-life satisfaction, a gulf exists between this pain-relieving care and the administration of life-saving care.
Whistleblowers and families are fighting back: Over 30 cases were opened last year and federal hospice investigations rose 50% from 2008 to 2010.
Misty Wall, an ex-employee of VistaCare, claims widespread fraud. Her job was to convince patients they were not going to survive, in order for them to consider hospice care. Kickbacks were offered to patients and employees who referred new patients. Doctor-shopping guaranteed patient certification for hospice care. Patients were sent on beach holidays and gambling trips with Medicare funds. Forced weight-loss was also mandated to convince Medicare auditors that patients were dying. Vistacare claims Ms. Wall is not expertly qualified to determine proper treatment procedures.
Vitas is another hospice company that is under much legal scrutiny. In one case, a 91-year-old woman was left untreated. Eventually, 11 maggots were discovered in her big toe and she died of sepsis soon thereafter.
Vitas also denied one California whistleblower the privilege to stay with a suffering and dying woman, even after he offered to stay for free. She died one to two hours later.
Another Vitas case involved a nurse who left after claiming her prostate cancer patient was comfortable. The next morning, the patient's wife -- who had Parkinson's -- was found lying next to his deceased body, calling his name.
Another case documents the misadministration of a drug, which led directly to an elderly patient's death, despite the bottle warning against feeding the drug to elderly patients.
Dallas' Attorney General is now suing Vitas for Medicaid/Medicare fraud and falsifying data.
As a practicing medical malpractice, wrongful death, and personal injury attorney in New York, I deal with nursing home and hospice care abuse like this often. If you would like more information about how medical malpractice and negligence cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.
Read More About Hospice Care Breeds Corrupt and Dangerous Culture of Death-Part 2; The Stories...
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.oginski-law.com/news/hospice-care-breeds-corrupt-and-dangerous-culture-of-deathpart-2-the-stories20110726.cfm
-Part 2; The Stories
Posted on Jul 26, 2011
Although advocates of hospice care cite better end-of-life satisfaction, a gulf exists between this pain-relieving care and the administration of life-saving care.
Whistleblowers and families are fighting back: Over 30 cases were opened last year and federal hospice investigations rose 50% from 2008 to 2010.
Misty Wall, an ex-employee of VistaCare, claims widespread fraud. Her job was to convince patients they were not going to survive, in order for them to consider hospice care. Kickbacks were offered to patients and employees who referred new patients. Doctor-shopping guaranteed patient certification for hospice care. Patients were sent on beach holidays and gambling trips with Medicare funds. Forced weight-loss was also mandated to convince Medicare auditors that patients were dying. Vistacare claims Ms. Wall is not expertly qualified to determine proper treatment procedures.
Vitas is another hospice company that is under much legal scrutiny. In one case, a 91-year-old woman was left untreated. Eventually, 11 maggots were discovered in her big toe and she died of sepsis soon thereafter.
Vitas also denied one California whistleblower the privilege to stay with a suffering and dying woman, even after he offered to stay for free. She died one to two hours later.
Another Vitas case involved a nurse who left after claiming her prostate cancer patient was comfortable. The next morning, the patient's wife -- who had Parkinson's -- was found lying next to his deceased body, calling his name.
Another case documents the misadministration of a drug, which led directly to an elderly patient's death, despite the bottle warning against feeding the drug to elderly patients.
Dallas' Attorney General is now suing Vitas for Medicaid/Medicare fraud and falsifying data.
As a practicing medical malpractice, wrongful death, and personal injury attorney in New York, I deal with nursing home and hospice care abuse like this often. If you would like more information about how medical malpractice and negligence cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.
Read More About Hospice Care Breeds Corrupt and Dangerous Culture of Death-Part 2; The Stories...
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.oginski-law.com/news/hospice-care-breeds-corrupt-and-dangerous-culture-of-deathpart-2-the-stories20110726.cfm
Whistleblower Accuses Chemed Unit of Medicare HMO Conspiracy
Whistleblower Accuses Chemed Unit of Medicare HMO Conspiracy
By Peter Waldman - Nov 16, 2011 A former Vitas Healthcare Corp. manager has accused the hospice chain of defrauding the federal government by conspiring with health insurers to enroll Medicare patients who weren’t dying.
Vitas, a unit of Cincinnati-based Chemed Corp. (CHE), is the largest U.S. provider of hospice care, which has attracted government scrutiny as its Medicare-covered patients have doubled to 1.1 million over the last decade.
Chemed fell 15 percent, the most since April 2008, to $49.10 at 10:37 a.m. in New York.
The allegations came in a lawsuit unsealed last week in U.S. District Court in Dallas. Vitas spokeswoman Kal Mistry said the company “cannot comment on pending litigation.”
In the same court, the Department of Justice is seeking internal Vitas documents in an investigation focused on alleged abuses of federal health-insurance programs. The government has told the court it suspects Vitas of “an extensive scheme” to defraud Medicare and Medicaid of “hundreds of millions of dollars” by falsifying records and hospice certifications.
Vitas has “consistently been in compliance with Medicare and Medicaid rules,” Mistry said.
The newly unsealed suit was filed by Michael Rehfeldt, a former branch manager for Vitas in San Antonio, who is seeking damages for the government as a whistleblower under the U.S. False Claims Act, which entitles him to part of any recoveries. Such claims are also called qui tam suits.
“False certifications, fraudulent billing and cost shifting to the United States constitute a widespread, systematic practice endemic to Vitas,” Rehfeldt’s suit alleges.
Investigation Continuing
The Justice Department said in a court filing that it is “not intervening at this time” in the whistleblower suit, although “its investigation of the allegations will continue.” The Texas Attorney General’s office filed an identical notice.
Vitas has been Chemed’s main engine of growth, accounting for 74 percent of the company’s $341.4 million of revenue in the third quarter, when it reported net income of $21.9 million. Chemed also operates the Roto-Rooter drain-cleaning and plumbing chain.
Rehfeldt, who left Vitas in 2009, also named as defendants WellMed Medical Management Group and Care Level Management LLC, health-maintenance organizations acquired in March by Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH)
Vitas conspired with the two HMOs to admit their unprofitable patients into hospice, though they weren’t facing imminent death and thus weren’t eligible for hospice under Medicare rules, the lawsuit says. It says the arrangement allegedly benefitted Vitas by providing hospice patients, while allowing “the HMO defendants to dump non-profitable patients onto hospice, regardless of their qualifications.”
‘Strong Message’
WellMed and Care Level spokesmen denied Rehfeldt’s allegations. The HMOs said the Justice Department and the Texas Attorney General’s office have told the companies that they are not joining in the case against WellMed or Inspiris, the UnitedHealth unit that owns Care Level.
“We believe their decisions are correct and send a strong message regarding the merits of this suit,” said David Canniff, chief financial officer of Inspiris.
Rehfeldt told his bosses about the misconduct and they ignored him, according to the lawsuit, which says top Vitas executives knew about the illegal arrangement.
A former Vitas executive in Texas, Keith Becker, teamed up with Justo Cisneros, a former Vitas medical director who also worked for the HMOs, “both large referral sources for Vitas,” according to the whistleblower complaint. Cisneros referred, enrolled and recertified patients at Vitas who weren’t terminally ill, the suit says.
‘Paradigm Shift’
To be eligible for hospice, Medicare requires patients must have six months or less to live, certified by two doctors. Yet a patient can stay on hospice indefinitely, as long as a hospice doctor recertifies their terminal diagnosis every 60 days.
“Cisneros signed, wholesale, hundreds or perhaps thousands of certifications without examining patients or even reviewing their charts,” Rehfeldt claims in the suit.
Both Becker and Cisneros now work for Inspiris, which owns a hospice in San Antonio. Becker did not return phone messages.
Cisneros denied conspiring to enroll ineligible patients at Vitas. The company’s San Antonio operation got caught in a government “paradigm shift,” he said in a telephone interview.
After encouraging hospices to enroll more patients with diagnoses such as dementia and “general debility,” Medicare cracked down on the long stays that resulted from admitting them, according to Cisneros.
“These patients were sick,” he said. “Yes, they were on longer, but they were needy.”
‘Rules Changed’
In 2008, 22 percent of Vitas’s 560 patients in San Antonio were on hospice for at least 500 days, according to Rehfeldt’s suit. The average length of stay for all Medicare hospice patients in 2008 was 83 days.
After a Medicare audit of the Vitas San Antonio office in 2007, the company discharged 295 live patients in 2007 and 2008, compared to a total of 64 live discharges in 2005 and 2006, the suit alleges.
“They changed the rules in the middle of the game,” Cisneros said. “There was a lot of confusion.”
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-16/whistleblower-accuses-chemed-unit-of-medicare-hmo-conspiracy.html
Editor's Note: In a previous editor's note, ProbateShark mention a "nice hospice". This shark is quite sure that the "nice hospice" was the company above.
"Editor's note: Alice R. Gore, deceased, a disabled 99 year old ward of the Probate Court of Cook County, Judge Kawamoto's courtroom was similarly mistreated while a ward of the court. Alice had massive ulcers that actually exposed her spine and was languishing in her own feces while in a "court selected nursing home". Her mentally disabled granddaughter, who the court appointed as Alice's guardian wanted to place her grandmother in a "nice hospice". Why aren't the court officers being charged with the same crime as Ms. Rhody? Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com"
KawamotoDragon.com
By Peter Waldman - Nov 16, 2011 A former Vitas Healthcare Corp. manager has accused the hospice chain of defrauding the federal government by conspiring with health insurers to enroll Medicare patients who weren’t dying.
Vitas, a unit of Cincinnati-based Chemed Corp. (CHE), is the largest U.S. provider of hospice care, which has attracted government scrutiny as its Medicare-covered patients have doubled to 1.1 million over the last decade.
Chemed fell 15 percent, the most since April 2008, to $49.10 at 10:37 a.m. in New York.
The allegations came in a lawsuit unsealed last week in U.S. District Court in Dallas. Vitas spokeswoman Kal Mistry said the company “cannot comment on pending litigation.”
In the same court, the Department of Justice is seeking internal Vitas documents in an investigation focused on alleged abuses of federal health-insurance programs. The government has told the court it suspects Vitas of “an extensive scheme” to defraud Medicare and Medicaid of “hundreds of millions of dollars” by falsifying records and hospice certifications.
Vitas has “consistently been in compliance with Medicare and Medicaid rules,” Mistry said.
The newly unsealed suit was filed by Michael Rehfeldt, a former branch manager for Vitas in San Antonio, who is seeking damages for the government as a whistleblower under the U.S. False Claims Act, which entitles him to part of any recoveries. Such claims are also called qui tam suits.
“False certifications, fraudulent billing and cost shifting to the United States constitute a widespread, systematic practice endemic to Vitas,” Rehfeldt’s suit alleges.
Investigation Continuing
The Justice Department said in a court filing that it is “not intervening at this time” in the whistleblower suit, although “its investigation of the allegations will continue.” The Texas Attorney General’s office filed an identical notice.
Vitas has been Chemed’s main engine of growth, accounting for 74 percent of the company’s $341.4 million of revenue in the third quarter, when it reported net income of $21.9 million. Chemed also operates the Roto-Rooter drain-cleaning and plumbing chain.
Rehfeldt, who left Vitas in 2009, also named as defendants WellMed Medical Management Group and Care Level Management LLC, health-maintenance organizations acquired in March by Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH)
Vitas conspired with the two HMOs to admit their unprofitable patients into hospice, though they weren’t facing imminent death and thus weren’t eligible for hospice under Medicare rules, the lawsuit says. It says the arrangement allegedly benefitted Vitas by providing hospice patients, while allowing “the HMO defendants to dump non-profitable patients onto hospice, regardless of their qualifications.”
‘Strong Message’
WellMed and Care Level spokesmen denied Rehfeldt’s allegations. The HMOs said the Justice Department and the Texas Attorney General’s office have told the companies that they are not joining in the case against WellMed or Inspiris, the UnitedHealth unit that owns Care Level.
“We believe their decisions are correct and send a strong message regarding the merits of this suit,” said David Canniff, chief financial officer of Inspiris.
Rehfeldt told his bosses about the misconduct and they ignored him, according to the lawsuit, which says top Vitas executives knew about the illegal arrangement.
A former Vitas executive in Texas, Keith Becker, teamed up with Justo Cisneros, a former Vitas medical director who also worked for the HMOs, “both large referral sources for Vitas,” according to the whistleblower complaint. Cisneros referred, enrolled and recertified patients at Vitas who weren’t terminally ill, the suit says.
‘Paradigm Shift’
To be eligible for hospice, Medicare requires patients must have six months or less to live, certified by two doctors. Yet a patient can stay on hospice indefinitely, as long as a hospice doctor recertifies their terminal diagnosis every 60 days.
“Cisneros signed, wholesale, hundreds or perhaps thousands of certifications without examining patients or even reviewing their charts,” Rehfeldt claims in the suit.
Both Becker and Cisneros now work for Inspiris, which owns a hospice in San Antonio. Becker did not return phone messages.
Cisneros denied conspiring to enroll ineligible patients at Vitas. The company’s San Antonio operation got caught in a government “paradigm shift,” he said in a telephone interview.
After encouraging hospices to enroll more patients with diagnoses such as dementia and “general debility,” Medicare cracked down on the long stays that resulted from admitting them, according to Cisneros.
“These patients were sick,” he said. “Yes, they were on longer, but they were needy.”
‘Rules Changed’
In 2008, 22 percent of Vitas’s 560 patients in San Antonio were on hospice for at least 500 days, according to Rehfeldt’s suit. The average length of stay for all Medicare hospice patients in 2008 was 83 days.
After a Medicare audit of the Vitas San Antonio office in 2007, the company discharged 295 live patients in 2007 and 2008, compared to a total of 64 live discharges in 2005 and 2006, the suit alleges.
“They changed the rules in the middle of the game,” Cisneros said. “There was a lot of confusion.”
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-16/whistleblower-accuses-chemed-unit-of-medicare-hmo-conspiracy.html
Editor's Note: In a previous editor's note, ProbateShark mention a "nice hospice". This shark is quite sure that the "nice hospice" was the company above.
"Editor's note: Alice R. Gore, deceased, a disabled 99 year old ward of the Probate Court of Cook County, Judge Kawamoto's courtroom was similarly mistreated while a ward of the court. Alice had massive ulcers that actually exposed her spine and was languishing in her own feces while in a "court selected nursing home". Her mentally disabled granddaughter, who the court appointed as Alice's guardian wanted to place her grandmother in a "nice hospice". Why aren't the court officers being charged with the same crime as Ms. Rhody? Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com"
KawamotoDragon.com
Battles of wills doesn't pay the bills
Battles of wills doesn't pay the bills
by: Janet Fife-Yeomans From: The Daily Telegraph December 24, 2011 12:00AM 28 comments
THEY are often the only winners when families go to war over disputed wills but the state's most expensive lawyers have been told by judges to stay off the battlefield.
As legal costs eclipse the value of some of the estates being fought over, top silks should know better than to get involved when they are not needed, however lucrative the work, judges believe.
When flautist Jane Rutter, 52, and her brother David, 51, challenged their father Barry's will after their stepsister, 25, made a claim for a greater share of his estate, the judge was scathing that the four-day hearing cost an "outrageous" $400,000 in legal bills. The estate was worth only $375,000.
In another notorious case, two daughters and a granddaughter of widow Alma Sherbourne won a $360,000 inheritance from the late 81-year-old's estate - but their legal bill was $450,000.
Professor Prue Vines last week released a study of fights over wills for the country's judges and said it wasn't that top lawyers weren't doing a good job for their clients but most disputes over wills were not complicated enough to merit the expense of hiring a Queen's Counsel or a Senior Counsel.
"It's very hard to ask someone to turn down work but judges have said to me that a silk should be able to say, 'that (case) doesn't really need me'," Professor Vines, from the University of NSW's law faculty, said. "Judges generally feel that silks have the ability and the knowledge to know when they are not necessary."
Her study for the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration found that family members sparring over the smallest amounts were willing to spend the most on lawyers. The most disproportionate costs came in cases between battling siblings, followed in second place by fights between the children of the first wife and the children of the second wife.
In one case, a 61-year-old woman claimed for the cost of a car from her late step-father's estate despite the fact neither she nor her son drove. She didn't get the car but did get $30,000. Her legal costs were $38,000. Judges have been outspoken in court when the legal costs have added up to more than one quarter of the value of the estate being fought over but Professor Vine said that some cases involved costs adding up to more than half the value of the estate.
Families are then shocked to discover they have to pay out of their own pockets because they were no longer automatically paid out of the estate, as had traditionally been the case.
Professor Vine said this was the end of the generation where parents would scrimp and save and "starve" to ensure there was something to leave to their children. Latest figures show there were 1576 disputes over wills filling the Supreme Court lists in 2009, with 512 new cases filed that year and 605 finalised. Numbers have remained high for years - in 2005 there were 655 new cases filed and 578 finalised.
It was reminiscent of Charles Dickens' Bleak House, where the fight over the inheritance went on so long that beneficiaries did not live to see the end, Professor Vines said. Costs balloon because people swear hundreds of affidavits which means longer in court time and the resulting costs.
Professor Vines suggested that people discuss their will with their family before they die and explain the decisions they are making so the bad news doesn't come as so much of a shock when they lose the inheritance lottery.
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/battles-of-wills-doesnt-pay-bills/story-e6freuzi-1226229759420
Editor's note: Regarding the Estate of Alice R. Gore, deceased, a 99 year old disabled ward of the Probate Court of Cook County, Judge Kawamoto's courtroom. The greedy parasites habituating the court raped Alice's million dollar estate before she died. There wasn't funding to bury Alice. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
KawamotoDragon.com
by: Janet Fife-Yeomans From: The Daily Telegraph December 24, 2011 12:00AM 28 comments
THEY are often the only winners when families go to war over disputed wills but the state's most expensive lawyers have been told by judges to stay off the battlefield.
As legal costs eclipse the value of some of the estates being fought over, top silks should know better than to get involved when they are not needed, however lucrative the work, judges believe.
When flautist Jane Rutter, 52, and her brother David, 51, challenged their father Barry's will after their stepsister, 25, made a claim for a greater share of his estate, the judge was scathing that the four-day hearing cost an "outrageous" $400,000 in legal bills. The estate was worth only $375,000.
In another notorious case, two daughters and a granddaughter of widow Alma Sherbourne won a $360,000 inheritance from the late 81-year-old's estate - but their legal bill was $450,000.
Professor Prue Vines last week released a study of fights over wills for the country's judges and said it wasn't that top lawyers weren't doing a good job for their clients but most disputes over wills were not complicated enough to merit the expense of hiring a Queen's Counsel or a Senior Counsel.
"It's very hard to ask someone to turn down work but judges have said to me that a silk should be able to say, 'that (case) doesn't really need me'," Professor Vines, from the University of NSW's law faculty, said. "Judges generally feel that silks have the ability and the knowledge to know when they are not necessary."
Her study for the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration found that family members sparring over the smallest amounts were willing to spend the most on lawyers. The most disproportionate costs came in cases between battling siblings, followed in second place by fights between the children of the first wife and the children of the second wife.
In one case, a 61-year-old woman claimed for the cost of a car from her late step-father's estate despite the fact neither she nor her son drove. She didn't get the car but did get $30,000. Her legal costs were $38,000. Judges have been outspoken in court when the legal costs have added up to more than one quarter of the value of the estate being fought over but Professor Vine said that some cases involved costs adding up to more than half the value of the estate.
Families are then shocked to discover they have to pay out of their own pockets because they were no longer automatically paid out of the estate, as had traditionally been the case.
Professor Vine said this was the end of the generation where parents would scrimp and save and "starve" to ensure there was something to leave to their children. Latest figures show there were 1576 disputes over wills filling the Supreme Court lists in 2009, with 512 new cases filed that year and 605 finalised. Numbers have remained high for years - in 2005 there were 655 new cases filed and 578 finalised.
It was reminiscent of Charles Dickens' Bleak House, where the fight over the inheritance went on so long that beneficiaries did not live to see the end, Professor Vines said. Costs balloon because people swear hundreds of affidavits which means longer in court time and the resulting costs.
Professor Vines suggested that people discuss their will with their family before they die and explain the decisions they are making so the bad news doesn't come as so much of a shock when they lose the inheritance lottery.
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/battles-of-wills-doesnt-pay-bills/story-e6freuzi-1226229759420
Editor's note: Regarding the Estate of Alice R. Gore, deceased, a 99 year old disabled ward of the Probate Court of Cook County, Judge Kawamoto's courtroom. The greedy parasites habituating the court raped Alice's million dollar estate before she died. There wasn't funding to bury Alice. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
KawamotoDragon.com
Probate judges once ruled
Probate judges once ruled
Published 12:00am Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Email This Post Comments
We are in the midst of the holiday season with Christmas just around the corner. However, we are also in political season. Traditionally, we have held our primaries in June but earlier this year, in a cost-saving measure, the legislature changed the date of our primary. In order to have one primary instead of two they combined the presidential and general election primary into one date. That day is March 13. Thus, qualifying is fast approaching. The last day to qualify for the March 13 primary and Nov. 6, 2012, General Election is Jan. 13. Therefore, you might be seeing campaign ads rather than holiday greetings on television and you might be getting a campaign solicitation letter with your Christmas cards.
The 2012 Election could well be dubbed the Year of the Judge. The presidential contest will be the marquee event. However, our state judicial races will take center stage next year. Five out of nine of our State Supreme Court seats are up for election, as well as several seats on the appellate courts and a good many circuit judges throughout the state. In addition to these very important state court posts, all 68 probate judges in the state are up for election.
Some of you may wonder why there are 68 probate judges and only 67 counties. Before you write to correct me, the imperial county of Jefferson has two probate judges. The once vaunted and mystical throne of probate judge in Alabama has gone by the wayside with the passing of years. It has become a quasi bureaucratic, quasi judicial and clerical position. They now spend a lot of time on family and estate matters. They have also become inundated with commitment hearings. Nevertheless, the GOP has made taking over these offices a priority in this election year in their march towards total domination of Alabama politics.
As late as 50 years ago the office of probate judge in Alabama was the most powerful and prestigious position in Alabama politics. In every county in Alabama, especially in rural Alabama, the probate judge was the omnipotent ruler of the county and essentially the king of the county. He was not only the judge, he appointed all county positions, hired all county employees and ruled the county as chairman of the county commission.
Not only was he the most powerful political figure in the county, he also became one of the wealthiest people in the county through his judgeship. There were no ethics laws in that era. Therefore, it was common practice for someone aspiring to sell equipment, gas, supplies or build roads for the county to grease the palms of the probate judge. However, this pay-to-play practice was not the most lucrative vein of remuneration for the judge. The probate judge by law was on the fee system. That meant that he essentially owned the highest office in the county. He received a fee off of all transactions made in the office. He got a cut off of every car tag or license sold in the county.
It was estimated that the salary of a probate judge in 1962 was around $100,000 per year even in small counties. That, my friends, would equate to about $300,000 or more today. He was not only king of the county, he also made a kingly salary. The probate judge term is for six years. With that kind of reward you can imagine the competition to capture that perch in that era.
The best politician in the county essentially emerged victorious. He knew where the votes were and how to count votes. There were quite a few votes that could be bought at that time, usually with a pint of whiskey and a $5 bill. The probate judge knew who those folks were and where to find them. Thus, the economic saying that you have to spend money to make money applies to politics in this case. To the victor goes the spoils. The rewards of victory were quite lucrative and powerful.
The famous Southern political historian and scholar Dr. V.O. Key said in 1950 without a doubt the most powerful figure in Alabama politics is the probate judge. In the days before television the best way to campaign for governor was to garner the support and endorsement of the probate judge in each county. Aspiring gubernatorial candidates would begin their statewide journey for the brass ring of Alabama politics by kissing the ring of the king of each county, the probate judge.
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.andalusiastarnews.com/2011/12/21/probate-judges-once-ruled/
Published 12:00am Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Email This Post Comments
We are in the midst of the holiday season with Christmas just around the corner. However, we are also in political season. Traditionally, we have held our primaries in June but earlier this year, in a cost-saving measure, the legislature changed the date of our primary. In order to have one primary instead of two they combined the presidential and general election primary into one date. That day is March 13. Thus, qualifying is fast approaching. The last day to qualify for the March 13 primary and Nov. 6, 2012, General Election is Jan. 13. Therefore, you might be seeing campaign ads rather than holiday greetings on television and you might be getting a campaign solicitation letter with your Christmas cards.
The 2012 Election could well be dubbed the Year of the Judge. The presidential contest will be the marquee event. However, our state judicial races will take center stage next year. Five out of nine of our State Supreme Court seats are up for election, as well as several seats on the appellate courts and a good many circuit judges throughout the state. In addition to these very important state court posts, all 68 probate judges in the state are up for election.
Some of you may wonder why there are 68 probate judges and only 67 counties. Before you write to correct me, the imperial county of Jefferson has two probate judges. The once vaunted and mystical throne of probate judge in Alabama has gone by the wayside with the passing of years. It has become a quasi bureaucratic, quasi judicial and clerical position. They now spend a lot of time on family and estate matters. They have also become inundated with commitment hearings. Nevertheless, the GOP has made taking over these offices a priority in this election year in their march towards total domination of Alabama politics.
As late as 50 years ago the office of probate judge in Alabama was the most powerful and prestigious position in Alabama politics. In every county in Alabama, especially in rural Alabama, the probate judge was the omnipotent ruler of the county and essentially the king of the county. He was not only the judge, he appointed all county positions, hired all county employees and ruled the county as chairman of the county commission.
Not only was he the most powerful political figure in the county, he also became one of the wealthiest people in the county through his judgeship. There were no ethics laws in that era. Therefore, it was common practice for someone aspiring to sell equipment, gas, supplies or build roads for the county to grease the palms of the probate judge. However, this pay-to-play practice was not the most lucrative vein of remuneration for the judge. The probate judge by law was on the fee system. That meant that he essentially owned the highest office in the county. He received a fee off of all transactions made in the office. He got a cut off of every car tag or license sold in the county.
It was estimated that the salary of a probate judge in 1962 was around $100,000 per year even in small counties. That, my friends, would equate to about $300,000 or more today. He was not only king of the county, he also made a kingly salary. The probate judge term is for six years. With that kind of reward you can imagine the competition to capture that perch in that era.
The best politician in the county essentially emerged victorious. He knew where the votes were and how to count votes. There were quite a few votes that could be bought at that time, usually with a pint of whiskey and a $5 bill. The probate judge knew who those folks were and where to find them. Thus, the economic saying that you have to spend money to make money applies to politics in this case. To the victor goes the spoils. The rewards of victory were quite lucrative and powerful.
The famous Southern political historian and scholar Dr. V.O. Key said in 1950 without a doubt the most powerful figure in Alabama politics is the probate judge. In the days before television the best way to campaign for governor was to garner the support and endorsement of the probate judge in each county. Aspiring gubernatorial candidates would begin their statewide journey for the brass ring of Alabama politics by kissing the ring of the king of each county, the probate judge.
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.andalusiastarnews.com/2011/12/21/probate-judges-once-ruled/
Laurens County Probate Court Probate Judge
Submitted: Saturday, December 24, 2011Posted: Saturday, December 24, 2011 Reported By: SarahD Carolina United States of America
Laurens County Probate Court Probate Judge, Probate Court Laurens County is a fraud and they mishandled my father's probate case. Dorothy Cromer was my father's wife at the time of his death 6/13/2011. She opened the estate file 11/18/2001, s Laurens , South Carolina
Corporate Advocacy Program I am sending a copy of this information to let everyone in Laurens County know that my father's estate was mishandled and I haven't received my father's property yet. It was distributed to people that court wanted; and they were supposed to notify the heirs of the estate. I was told about one piece of property that if we paid off the mortgage that was made by Dorothy Cromer at the time of my father's death.
It would go into the estate as well, she sold, destroy, and transfer property during the probate court case opened and they never did anything about it. They put my father's property in the paper in another county, without notification to the heir first, and then they allowed Dorothy to put her children names in the estate and pay them $5000 each of life insurance monies that belongs to me.
And I feel that my fathers estate was mishandled, and all properties that listed in the original filing, all insurance monies from United Insurance and AFLAC; every vehicle was listed in the inventory NADA values should be paid to me by the court, and everything Dorothy was allowed to sell should be considered her 50% of the estate, everything McQuiller Davis transferred, sold or stole from the estate should be his portion, and $5000 received by Walter Jr; should be closed out the estate,
and I asking the court to pay me the bond that was held on this estate for the vehicle that were transferred to Dorothy and her children which wasn't apart of the estate, and I feel that the probate judge should clear my father probate case up by setting my father property aside and update the information, by transferring my father properties over to me, and I do believe that once an auditor goes into Laurens County court house, they will find out that all probate cases are being mishandled by this judge.
I would like immediate action on this case file, it has been since 6/13/2001. I refuse to continually pay another attorney to handle something that being mishandled in every way. That's what the Probate Judge is far to settle the final case and not allow information not to be sent out to the heirs prior to putting it in the paper. I want my father property back, bank account, vehicle back, or I want the value of the probate case immediately.
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/court-judges/laurens-county-proba/laurens-county-probate-court-1f63c.htm
Laurens County Probate Court Probate Judge, Probate Court Laurens County is a fraud and they mishandled my father's probate case. Dorothy Cromer was my father's wife at the time of his death 6/13/2011. She opened the estate file 11/18/2001, s Laurens , South Carolina
Corporate Advocacy Program I am sending a copy of this information to let everyone in Laurens County know that my father's estate was mishandled and I haven't received my father's property yet. It was distributed to people that court wanted; and they were supposed to notify the heirs of the estate. I was told about one piece of property that if we paid off the mortgage that was made by Dorothy Cromer at the time of my father's death.
It would go into the estate as well, she sold, destroy, and transfer property during the probate court case opened and they never did anything about it. They put my father's property in the paper in another county, without notification to the heir first, and then they allowed Dorothy to put her children names in the estate and pay them $5000 each of life insurance monies that belongs to me.
And I feel that my fathers estate was mishandled, and all properties that listed in the original filing, all insurance monies from United Insurance and AFLAC; every vehicle was listed in the inventory NADA values should be paid to me by the court, and everything Dorothy was allowed to sell should be considered her 50% of the estate, everything McQuiller Davis transferred, sold or stole from the estate should be his portion, and $5000 received by Walter Jr; should be closed out the estate,
and I asking the court to pay me the bond that was held on this estate for the vehicle that were transferred to Dorothy and her children which wasn't apart of the estate, and I feel that the probate judge should clear my father probate case up by setting my father property aside and update the information, by transferring my father properties over to me, and I do believe that once an auditor goes into Laurens County court house, they will find out that all probate cases are being mishandled by this judge.
I would like immediate action on this case file, it has been since 6/13/2001. I refuse to continually pay another attorney to handle something that being mishandled in every way. That's what the Probate Judge is far to settle the final case and not allow information not to be sent out to the heirs prior to putting it in the paper. I want my father property back, bank account, vehicle back, or I want the value of the probate case immediately.
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/court-judges/laurens-county-proba/laurens-county-probate-court-1f63c.htm
Convicted Lawyer Rothstein Says Two of His Partners Knew of Fraud Scheme
Convicted Lawyer Rothstein Says Two of His Partners Knew of Fraud Scheme
By Susannah Nesmith - Dec 22, 2011 Scott Rothstein, the Florida lawyer convicted in a $1.2 billion investment fraud, said two of his former law firm partners also knew of the scheme, according to a transcript of a sworn deposition made public yesterday.
Rothstein, sentenced to 50 years in prison, said his former partners, Stuart Rosenfeldt and Russell Adler, were aware of the scheme, according to a transcript of the deposition taken this month at the federal courthouse in Miami as part of their law firm’s bankruptcy case. The transcript was posted on the website of the law firm Conrad & Scherer, which represents some of the investors seeking to recover money invested in the scheme.
“They knew that we were moving money illegally in and out of the law firm,” Rothstein said of Rosenfeldt and Adler, according to the transcript. “At various points in time, they came to know that there was a Ponzi scheme going on, although the word Ponzi was never utilized.”
Rothstein, formerly of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler PA in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, pleaded guilty in January 2010 to five counts of racketeering, money laundering and wire fraud after admitting he sold investors interests in bogus settlements in sexual-harassment and whistle-blower lawsuits.
Bruce Lehr, a lawyer for Rosenfeldt, said yesterday in a phone interview that his client wasn’t aware of the Ponzi scheme.
‘No Credibility’
“Stuart Rosenfeldt had absolutely no idea of the wrongdoings of Scott Rothstein until Mr. Rothstein fled the country,” Lehr said. “Mr. Rothstein, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 50 years in prison, had no credibility then. The fact that after spending some time behind bars, he has decided to throw his law partner under the bus has not awarded him new credibility.”
Adler’s attorney, Fred Haddad, said Rothstein was lying about his client.
“He didn’t know anything about what Rothstein was doing,” Haddad said. “I like Scott personally. I’ve gotten drunk with Scott. But he said at the beginning of his depo that this would be the first time in his life that he’s told the truth. I think he still hasn’t reached the first time in his life to tell the truth.”
Rosenfeldt and Adler haven’t been charged with wrongdoing.
Eight Charged
Eight people, including Rothstein, have been charged in the probe by the U.S. Of those, Rothstein and five others have been convicted.
Rothstein, according to the deposition transcript, described a complicated scheme with what he referred to as “sub-levels.”
“There were many arms,” he said, according to the transcript. “There were political arms, there were law enforcement arms, there were arms all over the place in every facet, as the judge pointed out when he sentenced me, in almost every facet of daily life.”
Rothstein named several people he said were involved in the scheme, including lawyers and other employees of the firm, according to the transcript. He said in the deposition in response to lawyer’s questions that other people at the firm knew nothing of his illegal actions.
‘Rothstein Lifestyle’
“You’re going to find as you question me, there is a very large category of people that fell within the -- what we fondly refer to as living the rock star or the Rothstein lifestyle,” he said, according to the transcript. “That is, in fact, the way we paid off a substantial number of the people that we were ultimately, for lack of a better term, bribing to do our dirty work.”
Rothstein said, according to the transcript, that he probably spent about $200 million. He said he and others spent money on lavish parties, trips, dinners and gifts for wives or mistresses.
Several other people handled the details of getting money in from investors and paying the money out, while he helped convince new investors of the soundness of the investment by putting on what he called “dog and pony shows,” according to the transcript. His staff was supposed to be handling the payments to investors, he said in the transcript.
The case is In re Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler PA, 09-34791, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Southern Florida (Fort Lauderdale).
To contact the reporter on this story: Susannah Nesmith in Miami at susannahnesmith@yahoo.com
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-21/scott-rothstein-says-other-lawyers-at-florida-firm-knew-of-fraud-scheme.html
By Susannah Nesmith - Dec 22, 2011 Scott Rothstein, the Florida lawyer convicted in a $1.2 billion investment fraud, said two of his former law firm partners also knew of the scheme, according to a transcript of a sworn deposition made public yesterday.
Rothstein, sentenced to 50 years in prison, said his former partners, Stuart Rosenfeldt and Russell Adler, were aware of the scheme, according to a transcript of the deposition taken this month at the federal courthouse in Miami as part of their law firm’s bankruptcy case. The transcript was posted on the website of the law firm Conrad & Scherer, which represents some of the investors seeking to recover money invested in the scheme.
“They knew that we were moving money illegally in and out of the law firm,” Rothstein said of Rosenfeldt and Adler, according to the transcript. “At various points in time, they came to know that there was a Ponzi scheme going on, although the word Ponzi was never utilized.”
Rothstein, formerly of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler PA in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, pleaded guilty in January 2010 to five counts of racketeering, money laundering and wire fraud after admitting he sold investors interests in bogus settlements in sexual-harassment and whistle-blower lawsuits.
Bruce Lehr, a lawyer for Rosenfeldt, said yesterday in a phone interview that his client wasn’t aware of the Ponzi scheme.
‘No Credibility’
“Stuart Rosenfeldt had absolutely no idea of the wrongdoings of Scott Rothstein until Mr. Rothstein fled the country,” Lehr said. “Mr. Rothstein, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 50 years in prison, had no credibility then. The fact that after spending some time behind bars, he has decided to throw his law partner under the bus has not awarded him new credibility.”
Adler’s attorney, Fred Haddad, said Rothstein was lying about his client.
“He didn’t know anything about what Rothstein was doing,” Haddad said. “I like Scott personally. I’ve gotten drunk with Scott. But he said at the beginning of his depo that this would be the first time in his life that he’s told the truth. I think he still hasn’t reached the first time in his life to tell the truth.”
Rosenfeldt and Adler haven’t been charged with wrongdoing.
Eight Charged
Eight people, including Rothstein, have been charged in the probe by the U.S. Of those, Rothstein and five others have been convicted.
Rothstein, according to the deposition transcript, described a complicated scheme with what he referred to as “sub-levels.”
“There were many arms,” he said, according to the transcript. “There were political arms, there were law enforcement arms, there were arms all over the place in every facet, as the judge pointed out when he sentenced me, in almost every facet of daily life.”
Rothstein named several people he said were involved in the scheme, including lawyers and other employees of the firm, according to the transcript. He said in the deposition in response to lawyer’s questions that other people at the firm knew nothing of his illegal actions.
‘Rothstein Lifestyle’
“You’re going to find as you question me, there is a very large category of people that fell within the -- what we fondly refer to as living the rock star or the Rothstein lifestyle,” he said, according to the transcript. “That is, in fact, the way we paid off a substantial number of the people that we were ultimately, for lack of a better term, bribing to do our dirty work.”
Rothstein said, according to the transcript, that he probably spent about $200 million. He said he and others spent money on lavish parties, trips, dinners and gifts for wives or mistresses.
Several other people handled the details of getting money in from investors and paying the money out, while he helped convince new investors of the soundness of the investment by putting on what he called “dog and pony shows,” according to the transcript. His staff was supposed to be handling the payments to investors, he said in the transcript.
The case is In re Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler PA, 09-34791, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Southern Florida (Fort Lauderdale).
To contact the reporter on this story: Susannah Nesmith in Miami at susannahnesmith@yahoo.com
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-21/scott-rothstein-says-other-lawyers-at-florida-firm-knew-of-fraud-scheme.html
TSE's closing ceremony wishes for brisk 2012
TSE's closing ceremony wishes for brisk 2012
People who work at the Tokyo Stock Exchange wished for more robust trading in 2012 during a ceremony to mark the end of the last session of this year.
Two members of Japan's world-cup winning women's soccer team, the coach and a player, joined traders Friday in a hand-clapping ritual. The tradition is meant to help usher in a prosperous New Year.
Tokyo Stock Exchange President Atsushi Saito told the gathering the soccer team's win provided excitement in a difficult year marked by the March 11th disaster in Japan and the debt crisis in Europe.
Saito said he hopes the market will overcome its difficulties and that there will be brisk trading next year.
Over the course of 2011, the benchmark Nikkei index of 225 selected issues lost more than 1,900 points, or about 18 percent.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange finished the last trading day of the year at its lowest year-end closing level since 1982.
Friday, December 30, 2011 22:27 +0900 (JST)
Please read complete article at link below:
.
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20111230_19.html
KawamotoDragon.com
People who work at the Tokyo Stock Exchange wished for more robust trading in 2012 during a ceremony to mark the end of the last session of this year.
Two members of Japan's world-cup winning women's soccer team, the coach and a player, joined traders Friday in a hand-clapping ritual. The tradition is meant to help usher in a prosperous New Year.
Tokyo Stock Exchange President Atsushi Saito told the gathering the soccer team's win provided excitement in a difficult year marked by the March 11th disaster in Japan and the debt crisis in Europe.
Saito said he hopes the market will overcome its difficulties and that there will be brisk trading next year.
Over the course of 2011, the benchmark Nikkei index of 225 selected issues lost more than 1,900 points, or about 18 percent.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange finished the last trading day of the year at its lowest year-end closing level since 1982.
Friday, December 30, 2011 22:27 +0900 (JST)
Please read complete article at link below:
.
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20111230_19.html
KawamotoDragon.com
Pair suspended as executors of copper heiress' estate
Pair suspended as executors of copper heiress' estate
The prospect of Huguette Clark's Santa Barbara estate being turned into an art museum grows dimmer as a New York judge suspends longtime advisors Wallace Bock and Irving H. Kamsler as executors of her will, citing accusations of tax fraud.
By Steve Chawkins, Los Angeles Times
December 24, 2011
When Huguette Clark's will was filed six months ago, art lovers in Santa Barbara were delighted: The bluff-top estate owned by the reclusive 104-year-old copper heiress was to be transformed into a museum.
It was an exciting but uncertain prospect at the time, largely because the museum was to be established by Clark's attorney and accountant — longtime advisors whose ethics had been questioned in news reports and in legal actions by Clark's relatives.
The possibility grew even dimmer Friday when a New York City judge suspended the pair as Clark's executors, citing accusations of massive tax fraud.
At a hearing in Surrogate's Court, which rules on estate matters, Surrogate Kristin Booth Glen pointed to charges by the New York public administrator's office that the pair caused Clark's estate to lose more than $50 million.
In court filings, the office said attorney Wallace Bock and certified public accountant Irving H. Kamsler should be removed "by reason of their dishonesty, improvidence, waste, and want of understanding."
New York prosecutors have been investigating alleged mismanagement of Clark's estate for more than a year. No criminal charges have been filed, and John Dadakis, an attorney for both men, said his clients had always acted "in Clark's best interest and at her express wishes."
For outsiders, Clark's intent was hard to divine. A 2005 will left most of her fortune to the distant relatives who were her only family. But another will — drawn up just six weeks later — directed Bock and Kamsler to turn Bellosguardo, a grand home Clark hadn't visited for at least 50 years, into a repository for her extensive art collection.
Also included in the will was a bequest of more than $30 million for Clark's longtime nurse, Hadassah Peri.
The change of heart came about as Clark, who was then 98 and living in a New York hospital, reflected on her legacy, according to a spokesman for Dadakis.
Clark's relatives have challenged the Bellosguardo will, saying Bock and Kamsler designed it to allow themselves unlimited access to Clark's wealth. Named as executors in both wills, they stood to make millions in fees alone.
Under Friday's ruling, the pair may apply to the court for reinstatement. That could be a tough case to make, with the public administrator contending they filed false tax returns, charged Clark for work they never did, lied to the IRS and allowed their client to give more than $56 million to individuals, including themselves and Peri.
In Santa Barbara, Mayor Helene Schneider said Clark "was as mysterious in death as she was in life."
"I just hope that this can come to a conclusion that befits her legacy," she said.
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-heiress-20111224,0,3554862.story
The prospect of Huguette Clark's Santa Barbara estate being turned into an art museum grows dimmer as a New York judge suspends longtime advisors Wallace Bock and Irving H. Kamsler as executors of her will, citing accusations of tax fraud.
By Steve Chawkins, Los Angeles Times
December 24, 2011
When Huguette Clark's will was filed six months ago, art lovers in Santa Barbara were delighted: The bluff-top estate owned by the reclusive 104-year-old copper heiress was to be transformed into a museum.
It was an exciting but uncertain prospect at the time, largely because the museum was to be established by Clark's attorney and accountant — longtime advisors whose ethics had been questioned in news reports and in legal actions by Clark's relatives.
The possibility grew even dimmer Friday when a New York City judge suspended the pair as Clark's executors, citing accusations of massive tax fraud.
At a hearing in Surrogate's Court, which rules on estate matters, Surrogate Kristin Booth Glen pointed to charges by the New York public administrator's office that the pair caused Clark's estate to lose more than $50 million.
In court filings, the office said attorney Wallace Bock and certified public accountant Irving H. Kamsler should be removed "by reason of their dishonesty, improvidence, waste, and want of understanding."
New York prosecutors have been investigating alleged mismanagement of Clark's estate for more than a year. No criminal charges have been filed, and John Dadakis, an attorney for both men, said his clients had always acted "in Clark's best interest and at her express wishes."
For outsiders, Clark's intent was hard to divine. A 2005 will left most of her fortune to the distant relatives who were her only family. But another will — drawn up just six weeks later — directed Bock and Kamsler to turn Bellosguardo, a grand home Clark hadn't visited for at least 50 years, into a repository for her extensive art collection.
Also included in the will was a bequest of more than $30 million for Clark's longtime nurse, Hadassah Peri.
The change of heart came about as Clark, who was then 98 and living in a New York hospital, reflected on her legacy, according to a spokesman for Dadakis.
Clark's relatives have challenged the Bellosguardo will, saying Bock and Kamsler designed it to allow themselves unlimited access to Clark's wealth. Named as executors in both wills, they stood to make millions in fees alone.
Under Friday's ruling, the pair may apply to the court for reinstatement. That could be a tough case to make, with the public administrator contending they filed false tax returns, charged Clark for work they never did, lied to the IRS and allowed their client to give more than $56 million to individuals, including themselves and Peri.
In Santa Barbara, Mayor Helene Schneider said Clark "was as mysterious in death as she was in life."
"I just hope that this can come to a conclusion that befits her legacy," she said.
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-heiress-20111224,0,3554862.story
Swampscott man held for elderly fraud scam
Swampscott man held for elderly fraud scam
Originally Published on Friday, December 23, 2011
By Taylor Provost / The Daily Item
SWAMPSCOTT — A Swampscott man was arraigned in Lynn District Court Thursday after he allegedly confessed to Lynn Police that he stole over $5,000 from an elderly woman with dementia by using her debit card for several months.
Mikhail Perlin, 49, of 94 Redington St., was held without bail on five counts of larceny over $250 by a single scheme. According to a police report by Lynn Police Officer Thomas Morley, Perlin made at least 55 unauthorized transactions using a debit card belonging to a 71-year-old woman he met while working for Multicultural Services, where he told officers he “provided companionship, cleaning and shopping services for clients.”
The woman, Galina Yanisherskay, formerly of Farrar Street in Lynn, suffers from severe dementia and has been living in a nursing home in Braintree since May 31, according to the report.
Perlin told Lynn Police that he used to go grocery shopping with Yanisherskay, who apparently has no family, and that she would sometimes have him pay using her debit card. But charges made after she entered the nursing home aroused suspicion from the court-appointed conservator for Yanisherskay.
The conservator, attorney Amber Cohen of Plymouth, requested the woman’s Eastern Bank account records on Nov. 11 and immediately noticed several discrepancies. The report said Yanisherskay receives monthly Social Security deposits that had been depleted in the months after she entered the hospital and moved to the nursing home.
A second report filed by Lt. Thomas Reddy said the bank records indicate the majority of the transactions, made between March 11 and Nov. 21, were made at grocery stores, and a number were at Dunkin’ Donuts or smaller convenience stores. Perlin also reportedly made four $500 withdrawals from the account.
Reddy identified Perlin by obtaining photos from Eastern Bank of three ATM transactions using Yanisherskay’s debit card and had someone at Multicultural Services identify the man in all three photos.
During an interview with Reddy, the report said, Perlin admitted to making ATM withdrawals and using Yanisherskay’s debit card to buy “cigarettes and stuff” after she went into the hospital and that the card had been “taken” by an ATM machine while he was attempting another ATM withdrawal.
Perlin has a pre-trial hearing on March 1 and required the use of a Russian interpreter during his arraignment.
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.itemlive.com/articles/2011/12/23/news/news04.txt
Originally Published on Friday, December 23, 2011
By Taylor Provost / The Daily Item
SWAMPSCOTT — A Swampscott man was arraigned in Lynn District Court Thursday after he allegedly confessed to Lynn Police that he stole over $5,000 from an elderly woman with dementia by using her debit card for several months.
Mikhail Perlin, 49, of 94 Redington St., was held without bail on five counts of larceny over $250 by a single scheme. According to a police report by Lynn Police Officer Thomas Morley, Perlin made at least 55 unauthorized transactions using a debit card belonging to a 71-year-old woman he met while working for Multicultural Services, where he told officers he “provided companionship, cleaning and shopping services for clients.”
The woman, Galina Yanisherskay, formerly of Farrar Street in Lynn, suffers from severe dementia and has been living in a nursing home in Braintree since May 31, according to the report.
Perlin told Lynn Police that he used to go grocery shopping with Yanisherskay, who apparently has no family, and that she would sometimes have him pay using her debit card. But charges made after she entered the nursing home aroused suspicion from the court-appointed conservator for Yanisherskay.
The conservator, attorney Amber Cohen of Plymouth, requested the woman’s Eastern Bank account records on Nov. 11 and immediately noticed several discrepancies. The report said Yanisherskay receives monthly Social Security deposits that had been depleted in the months after she entered the hospital and moved to the nursing home.
A second report filed by Lt. Thomas Reddy said the bank records indicate the majority of the transactions, made between March 11 and Nov. 21, were made at grocery stores, and a number were at Dunkin’ Donuts or smaller convenience stores. Perlin also reportedly made four $500 withdrawals from the account.
Reddy identified Perlin by obtaining photos from Eastern Bank of three ATM transactions using Yanisherskay’s debit card and had someone at Multicultural Services identify the man in all three photos.
During an interview with Reddy, the report said, Perlin admitted to making ATM withdrawals and using Yanisherskay’s debit card to buy “cigarettes and stuff” after she went into the hospital and that the card had been “taken” by an ATM machine while he was attempting another ATM withdrawal.
Perlin has a pre-trial hearing on March 1 and required the use of a Russian interpreter during his arraignment.
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.itemlive.com/articles/2011/12/23/news/news04.txt
2 charged with financial exploitation of Mt. Prospect woman
Article updated: 12/21/2011 5:36 PM
2 charged with financial exploitation of Mt. Prospect woman
By Barbara Vitello
Mount Prospect police charged a married couple with financial exploitation of an elderly person after authorities say they wrote themselves checks on the woman’s account.
Richard Bugayon, 40, and Jocelyn Bugayon, 35, of the 1500 block of W. Dempster St., in Mount Prospect, are charged with a class three felony. If convicted, they could face from two to five years in prison. Probation is also an option.
Cook County Judge Jill Cerone Marisie set bail at $30,000 for each defendant and ordered they have no contact with the complaining witness. Marisie also ordered that the couple, who are natives of the Philippines, surrender their passports.
The couple served as caretakers for the 92-year-old woman, said Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Lesley Gool. During that time, they wrote checks to themselves or to cash from the woman’s account, Gool said.
Police said the defendants led the woman to believe she was endorsing checks to various charities. After the victim endorsed the checks, the Bugayons would increase the dollar amount on the checks and make them out to either or their own names, police said in a prepared release.
The defendants then kept the money, which totaled approximately $2,400, police said.
Police began investigating the couple after the woman’s nephew called to report a substantial reduction in the funds in his aunt’s checking account.
The couple have no criminal background. They next appear in court on Jan. 13.
Police said the case points up the importance of restricting access to personal information, and the need for people to pay close attention to friends and family who may not have the ability to manage their own financial affairs or simply are too trusting and prone to be victimized in this manner.
Please read complete article at link below:
http://dailyherald.com/article/20111221/news/712219788/
Editor's note: ProbateShark would like to know if this couple were associated with any agency connected to the court. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
Thursday, December 29, 2011
US welcomes Futenma report submission
US welcomes Futenma report submission
The US Defense Department has welcomed the submission of a key report on the planned relocation of a US Marine air base within Okinawa Prefecture.
US Defense Department Press Secretary George Little said in a statement on Wednesday that there had been "significant progress".
He said the US will cooperate with Japan in taking the next step of securing the landfill permit for the relocation site from the governor of Okinawa prefecture.
Governor Hirokazu Nakaima opposes the relocation.
The US Congress has not approved the funding for transferring about 8,000 US Marines to Guam from Okinawa as lawmakers say the relocation plan is deadlocked with strong opposition from local residents.
The relocation of the Futenma airbase in a densely populated area to Nago in the same prefecture is a precondition for the transfer to Guam.
Protesters blocked two attempts to deliver the report on Tuesday before officials of Japan's Defense Ministry carried boxes into the prefectural government office at 4 AM on Wednesday. The central government's action has fueled public anger in Okinawa.
Thursday, December 29, 2011 12:39 +0900 (JST)
Please read complete article at link below:
.
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20111229_11.html
KawamotoDragon.com
The US Defense Department has welcomed the submission of a key report on the planned relocation of a US Marine air base within Okinawa Prefecture.
US Defense Department Press Secretary George Little said in a statement on Wednesday that there had been "significant progress".
He said the US will cooperate with Japan in taking the next step of securing the landfill permit for the relocation site from the governor of Okinawa prefecture.
Governor Hirokazu Nakaima opposes the relocation.
The US Congress has not approved the funding for transferring about 8,000 US Marines to Guam from Okinawa as lawmakers say the relocation plan is deadlocked with strong opposition from local residents.
The relocation of the Futenma airbase in a densely populated area to Nago in the same prefecture is a precondition for the transfer to Guam.
Protesters blocked two attempts to deliver the report on Tuesday before officials of Japan's Defense Ministry carried boxes into the prefectural government office at 4 AM on Wednesday. The central government's action has fueled public anger in Okinawa.
Thursday, December 29, 2011 12:39 +0900 (JST)
Please read complete article at link below:
.
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20111229_11.html
KawamotoDragon.com
Daughter Beaten by Texas Judge Finally Gets Justice
Daughter Beaten by Texas Judge Finally Gets Justice
Posted by Jeanne Sager on November 23, 2011 at 11:35 AM
Comments (54)
Likes (10) .It's a holiday miracle! Texas Judge William Adams, the family court adjudicator caught beating his disabled daughter on video, has been suspended from his post by the state's supreme court. Considering the last we'd heard on the case indicated the statute of limitations for child abuse had run out, it hardly matters that the court is mum on just why Adams is off the job.
Justice feels too good to question it. Adams has been caught up in the type of scandal that would normally put a father in front of the bench rather than manning it. The 2004 video, uploaded by now 23-year-old Hillary Adams, was so disturbing that many Internet surfers (me included) couldn't watch it in its entirety. But news he wouldn't be charged left us all wondering:
Shouldn't judges be held to a higher authority than Joe Schmo? Especially when they're caught, dead to rights, on video? We're not talking about allegations here!
I've always had the feeling that statutes of limitations are put in place to make life easier for the police. There are only so many crimes they can follow up on. If every Tom, Dick, and Harry can come out of the woodwork 40 years after a crime has been committed to complain, the resources of our law enforcement will be taxed beyond belief. It's common sense.
But a judge isn't just a Tom, a Dick, or a Harry. He's got the authority to determine what is and isn't just. But getting respect means giving respect. Just like us parents who are advised to practice what we preach, a judge who is out committing crimes is destroying his own credibility.
The Supreme Court move may not fall in line with we all hoped would happen to Judge Williams, but it's certainly good for Hillary and for the sanctity of the court. Here's hoping they keep him off the bench for good!
Could you respect a judge who had committed a crime?
Please read complete article at link below:
http://thestir.cafemom.com/in_the_news/129245/daughter_beaten_by_texas_judge?utm_medium=sem2&utm_campaign=outbrain&utm_source=outbrain&utm_content=outbrain&quick_picks=1
Editor's note: The author's comment "Could you respect a judge who had committed a crime?" caused your ProbateShark to reflect on that statement. This Shark has been involved with the estate of a relative in the Probate Court of Cook County for the past 4-5 years. The Probate Court of Cook County IL is reputed worldwide to be a "criminal activity". ProbateShark has watched every judge involved in his relatives estate case knowingly commit a crime or allow a crime to be commited. The answer is NO you cannot respect a judge who had committed a crime. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
KawamotoDragon.com
Woman charged with neglect of 81-year-old father
chicagotribune.com
Woman charged with neglect of 81-year-old father
Staff report
10:33 AM CST, December 29, 2011
A Hanover Park woman has been arrested and charged with neglecting her 81-year-old father, police said today.
Paulette Rhody, 56, of the 7000 block of Hanover Street in the western suburb, was charged with a felony count of criminal neglect of an elderly person and another one of unlawful financial exploitation of an elderly person.
The arrest was made by Mount Prospect police. Rhody's father lived there, police said.
Mount Prospect police said they began their investigation last January after being asked by Catholic Charities to conduct a well-being check. At that time, officers found the 81-year-old man "in need of medical assistance and the residence in disarray," police said in a news release.
At that time, Rhody--who police said as her father's primary caregiver--could not be located, police said. Her father was then placed under the care of the Cook County Public Guardian.
Rhody was arraigned Wedneday, and her bond was set at $50,000, police said. She is next sheduled to appear in the Rolling Meadows courthouse Jan. 20.
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-woman-charged-with-neglect-of-81yearold-father-20111229,0,2071111.story
Editor's note: Alice R. Gore, deceased, a disabled 99 year old ward of the Probate Court of Cook County, Judge Kawamoto's courtroom was similarly mistreated while a ward of the court. Alice had massive ulcers that actually exposed her spine and was languishing in her own feces while in a "court selected nursing home". Her mentally disabled granddaughter, who the court appointed as Alice's guardian wanted to place her grandmother in a "nice hospice". Why aren't the court officers being charged with the same crime as Ms. Rhody? Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
KawamotoDragon.com
Woman charged with neglect of 81-year-old father
Staff report
10:33 AM CST, December 29, 2011
A Hanover Park woman has been arrested and charged with neglecting her 81-year-old father, police said today.
Paulette Rhody, 56, of the 7000 block of Hanover Street in the western suburb, was charged with a felony count of criminal neglect of an elderly person and another one of unlawful financial exploitation of an elderly person.
The arrest was made by Mount Prospect police. Rhody's father lived there, police said.
Mount Prospect police said they began their investigation last January after being asked by Catholic Charities to conduct a well-being check. At that time, officers found the 81-year-old man "in need of medical assistance and the residence in disarray," police said in a news release.
At that time, Rhody--who police said as her father's primary caregiver--could not be located, police said. Her father was then placed under the care of the Cook County Public Guardian.
Rhody was arraigned Wedneday, and her bond was set at $50,000, police said. She is next sheduled to appear in the Rolling Meadows courthouse Jan. 20.
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Editor's note: Alice R. Gore, deceased, a disabled 99 year old ward of the Probate Court of Cook County, Judge Kawamoto's courtroom was similarly mistreated while a ward of the court. Alice had massive ulcers that actually exposed her spine and was languishing in her own feces while in a "court selected nursing home". Her mentally disabled granddaughter, who the court appointed as Alice's guardian wanted to place her grandmother in a "nice hospice". Why aren't the court officers being charged with the same crime as Ms. Rhody? Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
KawamotoDragon.com
PERJURY
PERJURY
Perjury occurs with a witness testifying under oath or affirmation gives false testimony concerning a material matter with the willful intent to provide false testimony. Materiality is one of the elements of perjury. It is said that a statement is material if it has a natural tendency to influence, or is capable of influencing, the decision of the decisionmaking body to whom it is addressed.
Unfortunately, we have heard of many cases where guardians and/or lawyers enter false information into the court record during guardianship proceedings. We have read cases in which the family members are portrayed inaccurately so a non-family guardian can gain guardianship for personal profit. We have read cases in which family members are portrayed inaccurately to the court by the guardian to elicit restrictions in visitation when the family members raise concerns over poor care of the ward or concerns over financial exploitation of the ward by the guardian. We have read cases in which the ward's medical condition is portrayed inaccurately for the purpose of a guardian trying to gain a new client.
Here is an excellent link to an overview of the federal law regarding perjury:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/98-808.pdf
If you feel that perjury has been committed in your loved ones' Cook County Probate Case, please contact the federal authorities.
Japan - Abductees families call for immediate action
Abductees families call for immediate action
Relatives of Japanese people abducted by North Korea have called for the government to take the opportunity of the change of leadership in the country and act immediately to get their loved ones back.
Abductees' relatives and their supporters held a rally in Tokyo on Wednesday, the day a funeral service was held in Pyongyang for the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
Shigeo Iizuka, who represents the families' group, said that an opportunity like this may not come again, and that the government should act now, instead of just watching the situation.
Shigeru Yokota, whose daughter Megumi was abducted at the age of 13 in 1977, said that Japan should discern the stance of North Korea's new leader, and reopen negotiations first. His wife Sakie said that Japan should tell North Korea to ensure the abductees' safety.
Participants expressed both optimistic and pessimistic views about how the change in leadership in North Korea will affect the deadlocked issue.
Thursday, December 29, 2011 02:07 +0900 (JST
Please read complete article and view video at link below:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20111229_03.html
KawamotoDragon.com
Relatives of Japanese people abducted by North Korea have called for the government to take the opportunity of the change of leadership in the country and act immediately to get their loved ones back.
Abductees' relatives and their supporters held a rally in Tokyo on Wednesday, the day a funeral service was held in Pyongyang for the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
Shigeo Iizuka, who represents the families' group, said that an opportunity like this may not come again, and that the government should act now, instead of just watching the situation.
Shigeru Yokota, whose daughter Megumi was abducted at the age of 13 in 1977, said that Japan should discern the stance of North Korea's new leader, and reopen negotiations first. His wife Sakie said that Japan should tell North Korea to ensure the abductees' safety.
Participants expressed both optimistic and pessimistic views about how the change in leadership in North Korea will affect the deadlocked issue.
Thursday, December 29, 2011 02:07 +0900 (JST
Please read complete article and view video at link below:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20111229_03.html
KawamotoDragon.com
More seniors addicted to drugs and alcohol
More seniors addicted to drugs and alcohol
Published: 28 Dec 11 13:51 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/society/20111228-39781.html
Hundreds of thousands of German senior citizens are dependent on drugs or alcohol and authorities worry the number is only increasing.
According to the government’s drug and addiction expert Mechthild Dyckmans, at least 400,000 Germans over 60 are dependent on alcohol.
Among old people who receive round-the-clock care, either in a nursing home or at home, one in seven are addicted to drugs or alcohol, Dyckmans told the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper.
“These are alarming figures,” Dyckmans said, while pointing out that the number or elderly with addictions will only be increase in coming years as the population ages.
While excessive drinking is often viewed as a problem plaguing young people, statistics show that trends are going in the opposite direction.
About 26,000 people between 10 to 20 had to be treated for acute alcohol poisoning in 2010, 400 fewer than the year before. But 12,350 over 60 received treatment for alcohol poisoning in 2010, an increase of 400.
Currently projects are underway to train doctors and nurses about addiction problems faced by their older patients, but Dyckmans told the Rundschau that more attention still needs to be paid to problems unique to the elderly.
She is due next year to release a new national strategy paper on combatting drug addiction.
The Local/mdm
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.thelocal.de/society/20111228-39781.html
Published: 28 Dec 11 13:51 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/society/20111228-39781.html
Hundreds of thousands of German senior citizens are dependent on drugs or alcohol and authorities worry the number is only increasing.
According to the government’s drug and addiction expert Mechthild Dyckmans, at least 400,000 Germans over 60 are dependent on alcohol.
Among old people who receive round-the-clock care, either in a nursing home or at home, one in seven are addicted to drugs or alcohol, Dyckmans told the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper.
“These are alarming figures,” Dyckmans said, while pointing out that the number or elderly with addictions will only be increase in coming years as the population ages.
While excessive drinking is often viewed as a problem plaguing young people, statistics show that trends are going in the opposite direction.
About 26,000 people between 10 to 20 had to be treated for acute alcohol poisoning in 2010, 400 fewer than the year before. But 12,350 over 60 received treatment for alcohol poisoning in 2010, an increase of 400.
Currently projects are underway to train doctors and nurses about addiction problems faced by their older patients, but Dyckmans told the Rundschau that more attention still needs to be paid to problems unique to the elderly.
She is due next year to release a new national strategy paper on combatting drug addiction.
The Local/mdm
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.thelocal.de/society/20111228-39781.html
Rare’ brain disorder may be more common than thought
Rare’ brain disorder may be more common than thought
By MAYO CLINIC
12/29/2011 14:57
With new research there is hope that a genetic diagnosis will now be possible without the need for a brain biposy or autoposy.
Newswise — JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A global team of neuroscientists, led by researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida, have found the gene responsible for a brain disorder that may be much more common than once believed. In the Dec. 25 online issue of Nature Genetics, the researchers say they identified 14 different mutations in the gene CSF1R that lead to development of hereditary diffuse leukoencephalopathy with spheroids (HDLS). This is a devastating disorder of the brain’s white matter that leads to death between ages 40 and 60. People who inherit the abnormal gene always develop HDLS. Until now, a definite diagnosis of HDLS required examination of brain tissue at biopsy or autopsy.
The finding is important because the researchers suspect that HDLS is more common than once thought and a genetic diagnosis will now be possible without need for a brain biopsy or autopsy. According to the study’s senior investigator, neurologist Zbigniew K. Wszolek, M.D., a significant number of people who tested positive for the abnormal gene in this study had been diagnosed with a wide range of other conditions. These individuals were related to a patient known to have HDLS, and so their genes were also examined.
“Because the symptoms of HDLS vary so widely — everything from behavior and personality changes to seizures and movement problems — these patients were misdiagnosed as having either schizophrenia, epilepsy, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, stroke, or other disorders,” says Dr. Wszolek. “Many of these patients were therefore treated with drugs that offered only toxic side effects.
“Given this finding, we may soon have a blood test that can help doctors diagnose HDLS, and I predict we will find it is much more common than anyone could have imagined,” he says.
Dr. Wszolek is internationally known for his long-term efforts to bring together researchers from around the world to help find cases of inherited brain disorders and discover their genetic roots.
Dr. Wszolek’s interest in HDLS began when a severely disabled young woman came to see him in 2003 and mentioned that other members of her family were affected. The diagnosis of HDLS was made by his Mayo Clinic colleague, Dennis W. Dickson, M.D., who reviewed the autopsy findings of the patient’s uncle, who had previously been misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis, and subsequently, Dr. Wszolek’s patient and her father. All members of the family had HDLS.
Dr. Dickson had identified other cases of HDLS from Florida, New York, Oregon and Kansas in the Mayo Clinic Florida brain bank and knew of a large kindred in Virginia with similar pathology, based upon a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Association of Neuropathologists. With concerted efforts, Dr. Wszolek and collaborators at University of Virginia were able to obtain DNA samples from the Virginia kindred. Dr. Wszolek also sought other cases, particularly those that had been reported in the neuropathology literature, and he was able to obtain samples from Norway, the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada, and other sites in the U.S. He and his team of investigators and collaborators have since published studies describing the clinical, pathologic and imaging characteristics of the disorder, and they have held five international meetings on HDLS.
In this study, which included 38 researchers from 12 institutions in five countries, the study’s first author, Rosa Rademakers, Ph.D., led the effort to find the gene responsible for HDLS. Her laboratory studied DNA samples from 14 families in which at least one member was diagnosed with HDLS and compared these with samples from more than 2,000 disease-free participants. The gene was ultimately found using a combination of traditional genetic linkage studies and recently developed state-of-the art sequencing methods. Most family members studied — who were found to have HDLS gene mutations — were not diagnosed with the disease, but with something else, thus emphasizing the notion that HDLS is an underdiagnosed disorder.
The CSF1R protein is an important receptor in the brain that is primarily present in microglia, the immune cells of the brain. “We identified a different CSF1R mutation in every HDLS family that we studied,” says Dr. Rademakers. “All mutations are located in the kinase domain of CSF1R, which is critical for its activity, suggesting that these mutations may lead to deficient microglia activity. How this leads to white matter pathology in HDLS patients is not yet understood, but we now have an important lead to study.”
“With no other disease have we found so many affected families so quickly,” says Dr. Wszolek. “That tells me this disease is not rare, but quite common.” He adds, “It is fantastic that you can start an investigation with a single case and end up, with the help of many hands, in what we believe to be a world-class gene discovery.”
The study was funded by a Mayo benefactor and the Mayo Foundation. Additionally, Mayo Clinic in Florida is a Morris K. Udall Parkinson’s Disease Research Center of Excellence supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.jpost.com/Health/Article.aspx?id=251265
By MAYO CLINIC
12/29/2011 14:57
With new research there is hope that a genetic diagnosis will now be possible without the need for a brain biposy or autoposy.
Newswise — JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A global team of neuroscientists, led by researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida, have found the gene responsible for a brain disorder that may be much more common than once believed. In the Dec. 25 online issue of Nature Genetics, the researchers say they identified 14 different mutations in the gene CSF1R that lead to development of hereditary diffuse leukoencephalopathy with spheroids (HDLS). This is a devastating disorder of the brain’s white matter that leads to death between ages 40 and 60. People who inherit the abnormal gene always develop HDLS. Until now, a definite diagnosis of HDLS required examination of brain tissue at biopsy or autopsy.
The finding is important because the researchers suspect that HDLS is more common than once thought and a genetic diagnosis will now be possible without need for a brain biopsy or autopsy. According to the study’s senior investigator, neurologist Zbigniew K. Wszolek, M.D., a significant number of people who tested positive for the abnormal gene in this study had been diagnosed with a wide range of other conditions. These individuals were related to a patient known to have HDLS, and so their genes were also examined.
“Because the symptoms of HDLS vary so widely — everything from behavior and personality changes to seizures and movement problems — these patients were misdiagnosed as having either schizophrenia, epilepsy, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, stroke, or other disorders,” says Dr. Wszolek. “Many of these patients were therefore treated with drugs that offered only toxic side effects.
“Given this finding, we may soon have a blood test that can help doctors diagnose HDLS, and I predict we will find it is much more common than anyone could have imagined,” he says.
Dr. Wszolek is internationally known for his long-term efforts to bring together researchers from around the world to help find cases of inherited brain disorders and discover their genetic roots.
Dr. Wszolek’s interest in HDLS began when a severely disabled young woman came to see him in 2003 and mentioned that other members of her family were affected. The diagnosis of HDLS was made by his Mayo Clinic colleague, Dennis W. Dickson, M.D., who reviewed the autopsy findings of the patient’s uncle, who had previously been misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis, and subsequently, Dr. Wszolek’s patient and her father. All members of the family had HDLS.
Dr. Dickson had identified other cases of HDLS from Florida, New York, Oregon and Kansas in the Mayo Clinic Florida brain bank and knew of a large kindred in Virginia with similar pathology, based upon a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Association of Neuropathologists. With concerted efforts, Dr. Wszolek and collaborators at University of Virginia were able to obtain DNA samples from the Virginia kindred. Dr. Wszolek also sought other cases, particularly those that had been reported in the neuropathology literature, and he was able to obtain samples from Norway, the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada, and other sites in the U.S. He and his team of investigators and collaborators have since published studies describing the clinical, pathologic and imaging characteristics of the disorder, and they have held five international meetings on HDLS.
In this study, which included 38 researchers from 12 institutions in five countries, the study’s first author, Rosa Rademakers, Ph.D., led the effort to find the gene responsible for HDLS. Her laboratory studied DNA samples from 14 families in which at least one member was diagnosed with HDLS and compared these with samples from more than 2,000 disease-free participants. The gene was ultimately found using a combination of traditional genetic linkage studies and recently developed state-of-the art sequencing methods. Most family members studied — who were found to have HDLS gene mutations — were not diagnosed with the disease, but with something else, thus emphasizing the notion that HDLS is an underdiagnosed disorder.
The CSF1R protein is an important receptor in the brain that is primarily present in microglia, the immune cells of the brain. “We identified a different CSF1R mutation in every HDLS family that we studied,” says Dr. Rademakers. “All mutations are located in the kinase domain of CSF1R, which is critical for its activity, suggesting that these mutations may lead to deficient microglia activity. How this leads to white matter pathology in HDLS patients is not yet understood, but we now have an important lead to study.”
“With no other disease have we found so many affected families so quickly,” says Dr. Wszolek. “That tells me this disease is not rare, but quite common.” He adds, “It is fantastic that you can start an investigation with a single case and end up, with the help of many hands, in what we believe to be a world-class gene discovery.”
The study was funded by a Mayo benefactor and the Mayo Foundation. Additionally, Mayo Clinic in Florida is a Morris K. Udall Parkinson’s Disease Research Center of Excellence supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.jpost.com/Health/Article.aspx?id=251265
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Death Investigation in America
Post Mortem
Death Investigation in America
Post MortemA year-long investigation into the nation’s 2,300 coroner and medical examiner offices uncovered a deeply dysfunctional system that quite literally buries its mistakes.
Gone Without a Case: Suspicious Elder Deaths Rarely Investigated
A retired U.S. government scientist, Shepter spent his final two years dwelling in a nursing home in Mountain Mesa, Calif., a small town northeast of Bakersfield. A stroke had paralyzed much of his body, while dementia had eroded his ability to communicate.
In collaboration with the Investigative Reporting Program at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
He died in January 2007 at age 76. On Shepter's death certificate, Dr. Hoshang Pormir, the nursing home's chief medical officer, explained that the cause was heart failure brought on by clogged arteries.
Shepter's family had no reason to doubt it. The local coroner never looked into the death. Shepter's body was interred in a local cemetery.
But a tip from a nursing-home staffer would later prompt state officials to re-examine the case and reach a very different conclusion.
When investigators reviewed Shepter's medical records, they determined that he had actually died of a combination of ailments often related to poor care, including an infected ulcer, pneumonia, dehydration and sepsis.
Investigators also concluded that Shepter's demise was hastened by the inappropriate administration of powerful antipsychotic drugs, which can have potentially lethal side effects for seniors.
Prosecutors in 2009 charged Pormir and two former colleagues with killing Shepter and two other elderly residents. They've pleaded not guilty. The criminal case is ongoing.
Health-care regulators have already taken action, severely restricting the doctor's medical license. The federal government has fined the home nearly $150,000.
John Shepter with his wife. (Photo courtesy of the Shepter family)
Shepter's story illustrates a problem that extends far beyond a single California nursing home. ProPublica and PBS "Frontline" have identified more than three-dozen cases in which the alleged neglect, abuse or even murder of seniors eluded authorities. But for the intervention of whistleblowers, concerned relatives and others, the truth about these deaths might never have come to light.
For more than a year, ProPublica, in concert with other news organizations, has scrutinized the nation's coroner and medical examiner offices [1], which are responsible for probing sudden and unusual fatalities. We found that these agencies -- hampered by chronic underfunding, a shortage of trained doctors and a lack of national standards -- have sometimes helped to send innocent people to prison and allowed killers to walk free.
When it comes to the elderly, the system errs by omission. If a senior like Shepter dies under suspicious circumstances, there's no guarantee anyone will ever investigate. Catherine Hawes, a Texas A&M health-policy researcher who has studied elder abuse for the U.S. Department of Justice, described the issue as "a hidden national scandal."
Because of gaps in government data, it's impossible to say how many suspicious cases have been written off as natural fatalities. However, the limited evidence available points to a significant problem: When investigators in one jurisdiction comprehensively reviewed deaths of older people, they discovered scores of cases in which elders suffered mistreatment.
An array of systemic flaws has led to case after case being overlooked:
•When treating physicians report that a death is natural, coroners and medical examiners almost never investigate. But doctors often get it wrong. In one 2008 study, nearly half the doctors surveyed failed to identify the correct cause of death for an elderly patient with a brain injury caused by a fall.
•In most states, doctors can fill out a death certificate without ever seeing the body. That explains how a Pennsylvania physician said her 83-year-old patient had died of natural causes when, in fact, he'd been beaten to death by an aide. The doctor never saw the 16-inch bruise that covered the man's left side.
•Autopsies of seniors have become increasingly rare even as the population age 65 or older has grown. Between 1972 and 2007, a government analysis [2] found, the share of U.S. autopsies performed on seniors dropped from 37 percent to 17 percent.
Dr. Michael Dobersen, a forensic pathologist and the coroner for Arapahoe County, Colo., said he worries about suspicious deaths in nursing homes. "Sometimes, if I don't want to sleep at night, I think about all the cases that we miss," Dobersen said. "I'm afraid we're not looking very hard."
With the graying of the baby boom generation, such concerns will only grow in urgency. Within a few years, nearly one-third of all Americans will be over 60.
In a handful of locales, coroners and medical examiners have begun to view older Americans as a vulnerable population whose deaths require extra attention. Some counties have formed elder death review teams that bring special expertise to cases of possible abuse or neglect. In Arkansas, thanks to one crusading coroner, state law requires the review of all nursing-home fatalities, including those blamed on natural causes.
But those efforts are the exception. In most places, little is being done to ensure that suspicious senior deaths are being investigated.
"We're where child abuse was 30 years ago," said Dr. Kathryn Locatell, a geriatrician who specializes in diagnosing elder abuse. "I think it's ageism -- I think it boils down to that one word. We don't value old people. We don't want to think about ourselves getting old."
Please read complete article that is continued at link below:
http://www.propublica.org/article/gone-without-a-case-suspicious-elder-deaths-rarely-investigated
Editor's note: It is to be noted in the matter of the Estate of Alice R. Gore, deceased, a 99 year old ward of the Probate Court of Cook County, Judge Kawamoto's courtroom, Alice had a nursing home bracelet with DNR (do not resuscitate) at the time of her death. The express wish of Alice as noted on court record was to use all means necessary to resuscitate. Funeral directors also found Alice to be extremely dehydrated. These facts would make a reasonable person wonder if there was a conspiracy to eliminate Alice since her 1 million dollar estate was already depleted by the court in less than three years. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
KawamotoDragon.com
Death Investigation in America
Post MortemA year-long investigation into the nation’s 2,300 coroner and medical examiner offices uncovered a deeply dysfunctional system that quite literally buries its mistakes.
Gone Without a Case: Suspicious Elder Deaths Rarely Investigated
A retired U.S. government scientist, Shepter spent his final two years dwelling in a nursing home in Mountain Mesa, Calif., a small town northeast of Bakersfield. A stroke had paralyzed much of his body, while dementia had eroded his ability to communicate.
In collaboration with the Investigative Reporting Program at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
He died in January 2007 at age 76. On Shepter's death certificate, Dr. Hoshang Pormir, the nursing home's chief medical officer, explained that the cause was heart failure brought on by clogged arteries.
Shepter's family had no reason to doubt it. The local coroner never looked into the death. Shepter's body was interred in a local cemetery.
But a tip from a nursing-home staffer would later prompt state officials to re-examine the case and reach a very different conclusion.
When investigators reviewed Shepter's medical records, they determined that he had actually died of a combination of ailments often related to poor care, including an infected ulcer, pneumonia, dehydration and sepsis.
Investigators also concluded that Shepter's demise was hastened by the inappropriate administration of powerful antipsychotic drugs, which can have potentially lethal side effects for seniors.
Prosecutors in 2009 charged Pormir and two former colleagues with killing Shepter and two other elderly residents. They've pleaded not guilty. The criminal case is ongoing.
Health-care regulators have already taken action, severely restricting the doctor's medical license. The federal government has fined the home nearly $150,000.
John Shepter with his wife. (Photo courtesy of the Shepter family)
Shepter's story illustrates a problem that extends far beyond a single California nursing home. ProPublica and PBS "Frontline" have identified more than three-dozen cases in which the alleged neglect, abuse or even murder of seniors eluded authorities. But for the intervention of whistleblowers, concerned relatives and others, the truth about these deaths might never have come to light.
For more than a year, ProPublica, in concert with other news organizations, has scrutinized the nation's coroner and medical examiner offices [1], which are responsible for probing sudden and unusual fatalities. We found that these agencies -- hampered by chronic underfunding, a shortage of trained doctors and a lack of national standards -- have sometimes helped to send innocent people to prison and allowed killers to walk free.
When it comes to the elderly, the system errs by omission. If a senior like Shepter dies under suspicious circumstances, there's no guarantee anyone will ever investigate. Catherine Hawes, a Texas A&M health-policy researcher who has studied elder abuse for the U.S. Department of Justice, described the issue as "a hidden national scandal."
Because of gaps in government data, it's impossible to say how many suspicious cases have been written off as natural fatalities. However, the limited evidence available points to a significant problem: When investigators in one jurisdiction comprehensively reviewed deaths of older people, they discovered scores of cases in which elders suffered mistreatment.
An array of systemic flaws has led to case after case being overlooked:
•When treating physicians report that a death is natural, coroners and medical examiners almost never investigate. But doctors often get it wrong. In one 2008 study, nearly half the doctors surveyed failed to identify the correct cause of death for an elderly patient with a brain injury caused by a fall.
•In most states, doctors can fill out a death certificate without ever seeing the body. That explains how a Pennsylvania physician said her 83-year-old patient had died of natural causes when, in fact, he'd been beaten to death by an aide. The doctor never saw the 16-inch bruise that covered the man's left side.
•Autopsies of seniors have become increasingly rare even as the population age 65 or older has grown. Between 1972 and 2007, a government analysis [2] found, the share of U.S. autopsies performed on seniors dropped from 37 percent to 17 percent.
Dr. Michael Dobersen, a forensic pathologist and the coroner for Arapahoe County, Colo., said he worries about suspicious deaths in nursing homes. "Sometimes, if I don't want to sleep at night, I think about all the cases that we miss," Dobersen said. "I'm afraid we're not looking very hard."
With the graying of the baby boom generation, such concerns will only grow in urgency. Within a few years, nearly one-third of all Americans will be over 60.
In a handful of locales, coroners and medical examiners have begun to view older Americans as a vulnerable population whose deaths require extra attention. Some counties have formed elder death review teams that bring special expertise to cases of possible abuse or neglect. In Arkansas, thanks to one crusading coroner, state law requires the review of all nursing-home fatalities, including those blamed on natural causes.
But those efforts are the exception. In most places, little is being done to ensure that suspicious senior deaths are being investigated.
"We're where child abuse was 30 years ago," said Dr. Kathryn Locatell, a geriatrician who specializes in diagnosing elder abuse. "I think it's ageism -- I think it boils down to that one word. We don't value old people. We don't want to think about ourselves getting old."
Please read complete article that is continued at link below:
http://www.propublica.org/article/gone-without-a-case-suspicious-elder-deaths-rarely-investigated
Editor's note: It is to be noted in the matter of the Estate of Alice R. Gore, deceased, a 99 year old ward of the Probate Court of Cook County, Judge Kawamoto's courtroom, Alice had a nursing home bracelet with DNR (do not resuscitate) at the time of her death. The express wish of Alice as noted on court record was to use all means necessary to resuscitate. Funeral directors also found Alice to be extremely dehydrated. These facts would make a reasonable person wonder if there was a conspiracy to eliminate Alice since her 1 million dollar estate was already depleted by the court in less than three years. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
KawamotoDragon.com
Wendy’s Opens First Restaurant in Japan
Wendy’s Opens First Restaurant in Japan
By Jennifer Booton
Published December 27, 2011
FOX Business
Quick service restaurant Wendy’s (WEN) opened its very first branch in Japan on Tuesday, kicking off a planned national rollout of the restaurants over the next few years.
The Wendy’s opening in Tokyo’s Omotesando area marks the first of an estimated 100 expected to pop up around the country over the next five years.
The U.S. company estimates the long-term market potential to be about 700 restaurants.
Wendy’s Japan was established earlier this year as a joint venture between Wendy’s and Higa Industries. Ernest Higa, CEO of the joint venture, successfully owned and operated 180 Domino’s Pizza stores in Japan before selling the business in February 2010.
“The opening of our first joint venture restaurant in Japan is an important step in our international growth plans, and an expression of our confidence in the bright future of Japan,” Wendy’s International president Darrel van Ligten said in a statement.
Higa says Wendy’s in Japan will have its signature made-to-order foods, such as square-beef patty burgers, salads, chili and the Frosty desserts.
He also plans to differentiate the restaurants by adding new menu options catered toward the Japanese market, including the avocado wasabi hamburger and the truffle and Porcini gilled chicken sandwich.
Please read complete article at links below:
Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2011/12/27/wendys-opens-first-many-restaurants-in-japan/print#ixzz1hps4KRry
http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2011/12/27/wendys-opens-first-many-restaurants-in-japan/
KawamotoDragon.com
Monthly Injectable Antipsychotic Medication Could Help Many
Monthly Injectable Antipsychotic Medication Could Help Many
By Dr. Keith Ablow
Published December 27, 2011
FoxNews.com
Psychiatric medications are no panacea.
Recent studies have raised questions, for instance, about whether antidepressants are really any better than placebo pills. While I still believe that antidepressants can be very useful when prescribed by experts for the right patients, this data highlights the continuing importance of psychotherapy, behavioral techniques, diet and exercise to overcome depression and anxiety.
No credible study, however, has suggested that medicines that treat psychosis—the delusions and hallucinations that can occur with schizophrenia—are ineffective. They have been and remain important therapeutic tools to free patients from hearing voices, seeing visions or living with paranoia.
Antipsychotic medications seem to work by blocking the brain chemical messenger dopamine, which is thought to be overactive in patients suffering with psychosis.
Too few clinicians and too few patients, in fact, are aware that patients can opt for a monthly injection of such medications (marketed as Risperdal Consta and Invega Sustena, among others), rather than a daily oral dose. This is particularly important for those individuals who aren’t certain they will remember to take their medicines or who can’t be relied upon to do so. Noncompliance with antipsychotic medications is commonly responsible for relapses into psychosis, resulting in repeatedly cleaving the patient from his or her social and clinical supports and, often, in the need for more frequent psychiatric hospitalizations.
Part of the problem is that many psychiatrists remain unfamiliar with the straightforward protocols by which they can dose and deliver these monthly medications. So they may tend not to suggest them. This means that patients who feel they could benefit from the monthly dosing may need to search for clinicians who offer it. They may find that hospital-based outpatient clinics and community mental health centers are more likely sources.
In addition to those who would voluntarily take monthly injections of antipsychotic medications to control their symptoms, I believe that courts (including judges, defense attorneys and prosecutors) and prisons, should consider the risks versus benefits of insisting that those who have committed crimes while psychotic (a vast minority of psychotic individuals) show up for monthly injections of depot antipsychotic medications as a condition of probation. Some states have laws that allow such enforced, outpatient treatment, while others do not. I believe every state should.
Indeed, the use of monthly injected antipsychotic medications could, arguably, drastically reduce recidivism in those whose violence is due to severe disorders of impulse control. It is well known that certain antipsychotic agents reduce aggressivity.
The availability of monthly injections of antipsychotic medications that make compliance with them so much easier to achieve and simpler to keep track of also raises the issue of why more medications are not available in this form. Where there is little incentive to provide such medicines in the marketplace (due to relatively small demand), but potentially great gains to the community (such as creating a monthly injectable form of disulfiram, which causes severe, toxic reactions when alcoholics—i.e. repeat drunk drivers—drink alcohol), the government has a proper role in incentivizing the pharmaceutical industry to create them.
Dr. Ablow is the author of "Inside the Mind of Casey Anthony." He is a psychiatrist and member of the Fox News Medical A-Team. Dr. Ablow can be reached at info@keithablow.com. His team of Life Coaches can be reached at lifecoach@keithablow.com.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/12/27/monthly-injectible-antipsychotic-medication-could-help-many/print#ixzz1hpqkAjPY
Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/12/27/monthly-injectible-antipsychotic-medication-could-help-many/
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