Newsfeed – Friday, February 7, 2014
The newsfeed includes articles and stories related to abuse of elders and adults with disabilities. Articles related to elders appear in the top half of the newsfeed. Articles related to abuse of adults with disabilities appear towards the bottom. To subscribe to the NCEA listserv, please send an email with your name, occupation, your organization/agency name, city and state, and a statement about your professional interest or expertise in elder abuse to NCEA@UCI.edu. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter! An archived collection of previous newsfeeds is available here: http://ncea.posthaven.com/
A calendar of upcoming elder abuse and neglect events and funding opportunities can be found at the bottom of the newsfeed.
***************************************************************************************
ELDER ABUSE NEWSFEED
CALIFORNIA (Petaluma), Petaluma 360, February 5, 2014
Senior scams on the rise
http://www.petaluma360.com/article/20140205/COMMUNITY/140209782?p=1&tc=pg
Petaluma Police report that several Petaluma residents were recent victims of schemes classified as “Top Ten Senior Scams” in a list compiled by the National Council on Aging. Dozens of elderly Petaluma residents lost millions of dollars to Aldo Baccala, who is currently facing 123 counts including grand theft, securities fraud and elder financial abuse in a widespread Ponzi scheme uncovered in 2012.
CALIFORNIA (San Francisco), SFBG, February 5, 2014
San Francisco landlords targeted for elder abuse
http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2014/02/05/san-francisco-landlords-charged-elder-abuse
Lisa Gray-Garcia led a press conference outside the San Francisco Hall of Justice Feb. 5 to announce that she and fellow activists were filing elder abuse charges against San Francisco landlords. Gray-Garcia said criminal charges were being filed against the landlords in accordance with California Penal Code 368, which creates a special category for crimes – such as infliction of pain, injury or endangerment – committed against elders and dependent adults.
COLORADO, The Gazette, February 4, 2014 (Opinion)
Money & the law: laws aim to curtail exploitation of seniors
http://gazette.com/money-the-law-laws-aim-to-curtail-exploitation-of-seniors/article/1513999
Colorado attempts to discourage financial exploitation of older people in a couple of ways discussed in this article. One way is starting July 1, people in health care industries, law enforcement, fire protection, social work, banking and government services, among others, are subject to a mandatory reporting obligation within 24 hours of observing exploitation - or the potential for exploitation - of an "at-risk elder" the author states.
ILLINOIS (Macon County), WAND 17, February 6, 2014
Macon County cracks down on elder fraud
http://www.wandtv.com/story/24657567/macon-county-cracks-down-on-elder-fraud
The Macon County Sheriff and States Attorney have teamed up to stop scams targeting the elderly in this area. The county has worked with local businesses and Rotary 180 to help inform seniors of potential scams. A hotline has also been set up.
INDIANA (Lawrenceburg), WCPO Cincinnati, February 5, 2014
Kathy Hess: Nursing home nurse charged with abusing 77-year-old patient to death
A former nursing home nurse is charged with abusing a 77-year-old patient to death. An autopsy was conducted and ruled that Scalf died as a result of a broken vetebra. The nurse is charged with battery resulting in the death of an endangered adult, neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury and negligent homicide.
IOWA, Press-Citizen, February 4, 2014 (Opinion)
Lawmakers must address needs of older Iowans, too
The Iowa Legislature has many issues on its agenda. My hope is that lawmakers will not forget older Iowans, the author states. Iowa has an adult dependent abuse law, however, it protects only those who are dependent and abused by their caretaker. Over 50 percent of the reported cases of adult abuse have been rejected because of this narrow law.
MINNESOTA (Maple Grove), Star Tribune, February 6, 2014
Maple Grove city council member pleads guilty to taking at least $35,000 from ailing father
http://www.startribune.com/local/west/243871691.html
A longtime Maple Grove City Council member pleaded guilty Wednesday to taking at least $35,000 from her ailing father while she had his power of attorney. LeAnn Bobleter Sargent, 63,was charged in January 2013 with three felony counts, accused of using her power of attorney to raid the trust fund for her own benefit from 2009 until days before her father, Robert Bobleter, died on March 12, 2012, at age 84.
NEW YORK (Staten Island), Silive, February 5, 2014
Staten Island man convicted in $5 million investment scam
http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/02/staten_island_man_convicted_in.html
When a client of Peter Liounis' called and said he needed to access the cash in his father's investment account to put the elder man, who had suffered a heart attack, into assisted living, Liounis lied to him, said federal prosecutors. Liounis, a Staten Island resident, told the younger man his father only had $3,000 in his Grayson Hewitt account, prosecutors said. It actually contained $23,000.
OKLAHOMA (Tahlequah), February 6, 2014
Possible elder abuse under investigation
http://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/policeblotter/x831574932/Possible-elder-abuse-under-investigation
Cherokee County sheriff’s investigators are looking into a possible case of elder abuse. According to a report filed by Deputy Raymond Hendricks, authorities were called to a Tahlequah hospital last week when the victim was treated for multiple wounds. Nurses told Hendricks they had found wounds on the man’s back side containing a severe infection.
UTAH, KUTV, February 5, 2014
Protecting the elderly from money thieves
http://www.kutv.com/news/features/local/stories/vid_5810.shtml
Hundreds of thousands of dollars allegedly swindled from an 86-year-old woman. This 86 year-old woman is struggling to get by because her life savings gone. Her home is gone and she says it was all taken by her son and daughter-in-law who she says she had trusted to help her manage her finances.
ABUSE OF ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES
NEW YORK (Long Island), CBS New York, February 6, 2014
Hamptons group home workers allegedly ran ‘developmentally disabled fight club’
Four workers at a group home allegedly encouraged a person with developmental disabilities to attack another disabled person on Long Island, prosecutors said. The four defendants have been charged with endangering the welfare of a disabled person, and have been fired from their jobs.
PENNSYLVANIA (Arlington Heights), Trib LIVE, February 4, 2014
Police called to Arlington Heights residence 7 times
http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/5534686-74/police-peterson-calls#axzz2sai4FVRI
Seven times since April 2012 police went to the Arlington Heights home of a man and his girlfriend accused of using baseball bats to discipline his mentally challenged 25-year-old grandson. Jimmie Peterson, 68, and Michelle Thompson, 61, admitted to investigators that they beat Cherron Peterson with belts and bats, withheld food, and taped him to a wooden chair and locked him in a third-floor storage room, according to a criminal complaint.
RELATED ISSUES
CALIFORNIA (Blythe), The Press-Enterprise, February 5, 2014
Blythe: elderly riverside man found stranded in remote desert
Deep in the desert far from the nearest town, an 83-year-old Riverside man was found sitting disoriented in his disabled car without food or water, sheriff’s officials say. He was taken to a hospital. And adult protective services officials were called to assist the man, whose name was not released.
GEORGIA (Waynesboro), WRDW 12, February 6, 2014
New legislation could help Alzheimer’s program
http://www.wrdw.com/home/headlines/New-legislation-that-could-help--243888251.html
The family of a missing Waynesboro woman suffering from Alzheimer's is bumping up the reward to ten thousand dollars. Birt has been searching for her sister Althea Bennet for three weeks now. As she looks at her sisters missing posters she hopes someone somewhere will know where she is.
****************************************************************************************
Upcoming Elder Abuse Conferences/Training Events (in chronological order):
· IOM Forum on Global Violence Prevention will host a public workshop on February 26-27, 2014. This workshop will explore a model for thinking about mental health, violence, and prevention with the goal of arriving at a better understanding of the relationships between mental illness and risks of violence perpetration and victimization as well as the mental health consequences of exposure to violence. The workshop will be held at the Keck Center in Washington, DC, and is free and open to the public. However, space is limited. More information found here: http://www.iom.edu/Activities/Global/ViolenceForum/2014-FEB-26.aspx?utm_medium=etmail&utm_source=Institute%20of%20Medicine&utm_campaign=12.18.13+Forum+and+Roundtable+News&utm_content=&utm_term=
· The Arc’s National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability is holding its second webinar featuring Dr. Nora Baladerian’s presentation, “Crime Victims with Disabilities: An Overview for Professionals in the Criminal Justice System” on February 27th at 12:30 CST, 1:30 EST. This comprehensive webinar will present an overview of the issues surrounding victimization of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), and where various professionals fit into the solution. Contact NCCJDInfo@thearc.org with any questions. To register please use the following link: https://thearc.webex.com/thearc/k2/j.php?MTID=tcac50d94749c6b73e527d08cc6459376
· 14th Annual International Family Justice Conference “The Root of All Crime” is April 2-4, 2014 in San Diego, CA. The conference will include training and interactive peer to peer discussions on issues related to the handling of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, elder abuse and stalking cases with special focus on law enforcement response, criminal prosecution, civil legal assistance, and advocacy. For more information click here: https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/default.aspx?EventID=1231094
· The 7th Annual Forensic Investigations on Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and Child and Elder Abuse. This conference will be held in the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, Missouri from May 14-16th, 2014. For more information click here: https://www.saintlukeshealthsystem.org/classes-and-events/forensic-conference-7th-annual or contact saintlukesconcierge@saint-lukes.org
· The 3rd World Congress on Adult Guardianship will be convened on May 28-30th , 2014 in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area. It is sponsored by the National Guardianship Network in affiliation with the International Guardianship Network. The theme of the conference is, “Promising Practices to Ensure Excellence in Guardianship Around the World.” Proposals for presentations are due July 31. See http://worldcongressguardianship.org
An archived collection of previous newsfeeds is available here: http://ncea.posthaven.com/
National Center on Elder Abuse
Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse & Neglect
University of California, Irvine
Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology
101 The City Drive South
Orange, CA 92868
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!
This message contains confidential information and is intended only for the individual named. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail if you have received
this e-mail by mistake and delete this e-mail from your system. E-mail transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. The sender therefore
does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this message, which arise as a result of e-mail transmission.
This message contains confidential information and is intended only for the individual named. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail if you have received this e-mail by mistake and delete this e-mail from your system. E-mail transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this message, which arise as a result of e-mail transmission.