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“Guardian’s Recipe for Success”
(Government and Judicially Approved Stratagem for Abuse and Exploitation of the Elderly)
by Advocate Mary Claire Connors
1.) PREDATORS – can be: government agencies, APS, (Adult Protection Services) and their contract agencies, County Area Agency on Aging, State Department of Aging, social workers, nursing facility corporations, care providers, care givers, law enforcement, attorneys, (including guardian ad litem) courts, (judges, court reporters), and their associates, such as medical doctor, psychiatrist, other professionals or greedy family members / in-laws. Litigation is the slaughter of the predator bait. The predators co-operate (collude), with each other for mutual benefit: financial gain, real estate, Federal funding stream, favors, job security, political agenda, etc.
2.) PREDATOR BAIT – elders and disabled who are victims of crime, (especially white collar), accident, friendly neighbor’s call to APS, (Adult Protective Services), disagreement among family that goes to litigation, health crisis, family crisis, any event that results in litigation; you can be advised, intimidated into believing that you need a lawyer, hence – litigation. Also, elders whose family lives out of state, elder property owner, (especially if property is wanted by state / corporation or connected to others). Widows are more common targets than male elders. Also vulnerable are those with small families, especially living out of state, and those with no doctors / attorneys in immediate family. There is something of value to be taken – financial, real estate, political, (funding stream, precedent case, etc.), by the predators…the “takings”. You do not need to be rich; assets of some kind between $100,000 and millions of dollars.
3.) Unbeknownst to you, you are rapidly encircled by “predators” before the guardianship is granted which guarantees the guardianship outcome without accountability. The circle is like strangulation. You are very unlikely to get out. You are completely surrounded by the predators which includes your own attorney and / or appointed guardian ad litem. (Bar attorneys first allegiance is to the court – not their client; it’s “job security”, etc.).
4.) If you are relative or anyone acting in behalf, defense of the targeted ward and you have a DPOA, (Durable Power of Attorney); are legitimately entitled to information, etc., YOU ARE AN OBSTACLE TO THE STRATAGEM. You will be demonized; accused of the exploitation the predators are perpetrating or the criminal actions of those who victimized you. Accusations of mental illness, (you will be ordered to get psychological testing from predator’s associate, a fairly common tactic), drug addiction, etc. No proof is necessary. Maybe the, (covered), criminal will testify against you. You are not charged with anything – therefore you have no right to face your accuser and get evidence in your defense. Accusations are made off the court record, in the court hallway. Remember, it is a kangaroo court proceeding. The judge makes the decisions, issues the orders and ignores the laws with impunity and no remedy. Elders are “expected” to get ill and die. Hence, this stratagem has been practiced on them for years in darkness of no exposure without a court order. The disabled; now publicly initiated.
5.) APS, (Adult Protective Services), are often one entity in the circle of predators.
6.) Intimidation and deception are always tools of the predator’s trade.
7.) The “circle of predators”, usually thru intimidation, makes sure, (while treating you as a criminal), there are no witnesses; no written, verbal uncensored communication; demands severe unnecessary restrictions; refuses to write them down, (avoid any possibility of proof of abuse and liability), such as, no visitors; only one visitor at a time, no video cameras; telephone access, audio recorders, no vitamins, nothing from home. You may be allowed “supervised visits”. The targeted ward’s assets will pay for the “visit supervisor’s” time. You need no record of abuse whatsoever; no verifiable evidence of abuse; you may even have proof of good care giving, (an obstacle to predators “recipe”), which will never be entered into the court record.
8.) The targeted “ward” and later declared “ward” is denied specialized medical treatment even when he / she can pay for it. He / she is allowed no contact with medical professionals outside of the predators’ circle, which includes its associates. He /s is not supposed to improve, since that is an obstacle to squeezing every penny, (possible benefit), from the ward and avoiding any possibility of liability. No independent medical evaluation is allowed, though law requires it. The predators’ doctor examines the targeted ward and that is his / her “independent med evaluation”’.
The ward is expected to be and almost always is a ward until death. The ward is sentenced to enforced health decline. The family has NO SAY AT ALL. If the ward is dying, the family member who is the “obstacle” to predator’s profit is often not told. THE GUARDIAN OWNS THE WARD and the fruits of his / her and his / her spouse’s lifetime of labor. Wards and slaves are regarded as property, not as humans, and are owned as a result of NO ACCOUNTABILITY, NO REMEDY, just as in the Terri Schindler display of corruption and murder.
9.) Deception and no exposure: two fundamental keys to success. The media will not print the real story if they print anything at all. Notice how most people think Terri’s case is uncommon! If exposed, there would be no predator bait.
10.) Felony crimes committed against you are suppressed, covered up. Authorities will not prosecute the crimes against you because the predators are likely to use alleged criminal against you as witness(es), etc. The acknowledgment of crime might be obstacle to gaining guardianship over the targeted ward, which is the lock down of the “takings”. Any and all ‘obstacles’ are removed with no regard for laws, crimes, human rights, abuse and exploitation. Obstruction of justice is a predator specialty. No law enforcement nor remedy, recovery, justice for the crimes committed against you is allowed.
11.) An “emergency temporary plenary guardianship of the person and estate” may be granted to one of the PREDATORS without a hearing, in the judge’s chambers. Your lawyer will play dumb or fabricate an explanation such as, “it’s just temporary until things can be investigated” and “it’s normal”.
NO! It is the initial stage of OWNERSHIP (GUARDIANSHIP) of the “ward” and the beginning of HELL.
12.) The ward’s mail, finances, health care or lack, complete existence is taken over by the emergency temporary guardian/permanent guardian. You, her advocate, will be allowed no information at all. You become non-existent. The ward has no family, for all practical purposes. If you make a complaint about the facility; you are not allowed to know the results, etc.; all information goes to the guardian. You have rights, on paper; in reality, you must know them; your attorney probably won’t tell you. When you exercise them, you will be considered angry, aggressive or something equally negative. Sometimes you are punished and can never see your loved one again.
13.) If your family seeks help thru government agencies, state government, Federal government, legislative representatives, you will get a run around, shut down, and told to leave. The more grievous the violations, the more of a closed door, “get out” reaction you get. The greater the wrong committed toward you, the more impossible to get any help.
14.) Most attorneys seem to equate “guardianship” cases with leprosy – untouchable. If you have $100,000 or more remaining, an attorney may take your case; that has nothing to do with the outcome. Contingency does not exist for guardianship. Public interest law groups will not “touch” it.
15.) Your attorney does not make a good record for appeal since he must be favorable to the probate judge. If you can still afford an attorney, you are most likely to appeal and lose. If you can’t; you can try to find remedy as a “pro per” litigant. I have been more successful learning from experienced “pro per” litigants and representing myself. The State Supreme Courts: Pennsylvania., Florida, Nevada, Massachusetts, Oregon, Virginia, and more have a negative reputation and are not known for “upholding the rule of law”.
16.) If you try federal court or bankruptcy court, (both Federal), you may delay some of the confiscation of property. Remedy is unlikely; exposing corruption in high, (Government), places is taboo. Then the excuse of “abstention doctrines”, (abstention doctrines are not in the Constitution), covers for the “taboo”. Federal courts do not take jurisdiction of cases litigated in state court if the outcome would trump a state court decision, even in matters of Constitutional violations. It is possible to get past the abstention doctrines, though much more likely, there is no remedy, as seen in Terri Schindler’s case.
17.) The ward and advocating family member pay for your own abuse, exploitation and involuntary institutionalization. After the guardianship is permanent, involuntary institutionalization may be paid by Medicare fraud; the predators want as much as possible of the “takings” to divvy among themselves.
18.) This “war” goes on for years if you persist toward remedy. Your health is negatively affected from the constant stress and you have difficulty functioning as well as you did before HELL, which compounds the stress. Depression, anxiety, ulcers, cancer, or other chronic illnesses affect the ward and family. Your financial losses are not recovered and you can easily become totally broke. A great deal of time is required for “pro per” litigation. Your family relations are difficult or shredded, due to abuse, loss, helplessness, disillusionment, etc. (This stratagem is from my experience and many others).
19.) The “ward”, (your mother, daughter, family member) is held hostage while you spend most of your time and resources attempting to free her / him.
20.) If you cannot free the ward, your family member, when he / she is no longer a profit producer, (about the time limited medical treatment produces diminished health / illness), he / she will have a “duty to die”. First, no food or water, when organs start to fail, some morphine, which hastens death by reducing respiration. The above stratagem without truthful media exposure is “silence of the lambs”.
Note: Without forewarning of this entire “recipe”, the predators almost always succeed and you and the “ward” pay, as victim(s) of crime with unimaginable loss, abuse and exploitation without remedy, an epidemic practice.
“Honk if You Love Life”
by NASGA Media Liaison Annie McKenna
One day several months ago on a main highway which passes through the town in which I live, both sides of the road were packed, knee deep, with people of all shapes and sizes. Something big was happening here. There were mothers with baby carriages and fathers with their kids perched up on their shoulders. I saw grandmothers and grandfathers. They were white, black, Asian, Hispanic. Some were sitting and others were standing. I had never seen anything like it, so naturally, I was curious. As I drove, I slowed down so I could read the signs that some were holding. I soon came to realize that they were supporters of an organization whose members believed in the “right to life”.
Their signs read, “Don’t kill unborn babies” and “abortion is murder”. As I drove on, I came upon a group of people encouraging the passing traffic with signs containing the words: “honk if you love life”.
I didn’t honk.
It is not that I don’t love life. It’s that I know some secrets about life. As an advocate for the elderly, especially those who become victims of abusive guardianships and conservatorships, I have seen first hand the possible nightmares that are in store for the “babies” that this crowd so diligently fights to bring into this world. When the “baby” grows old and frail, there are no demonstrations when all their civil and constitutional rights are taken away or when the “baby” is isolated from the people and places they know and love, removed from their homes and warehoused in institutions where they will be forced into incontinence, subjected to physical, chemical and psychological restraints against their will and have a perfect stranger appointed by the court who will ignore the wishes of the baby and instead will make all of the decisions for the rest of the “baby’s” life. The stranger is given the misnomer of “guardian”. The crowd holding up their signs might be shocked to learn that this “guardian” can not only dictate how the “baby” lives, but also how the “baby” dies.
You might find this hard to believe, but just ask Sarah Harvey. Her husband Gary is laying in a hospital bed in New York while a group of people, some of which might have even been a demonstrator once, are meeting to discuss removing her husband’s feeding tube which will cause him to experience a slow, agonizing death. Sarah’s one wish is for her husband to come home to die. But, the “guardian” who makes the decisions for the “baby” refuses.
And this is just one example of why I could not bring myself to honk.
“Three Key Issues for Guardianship/Conservatorship Reform”
by Advocate Kate Anderson
The first is making it MORE DIFFICULT to conserve someone. Conserved parties lose their constitutional rights – the right to vote, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the right to legal representation of their choice and more. Even the most afflicted person is usually able to make choices about where they want to live, what they eat, what they wear, who they see… Taking away these rights should not be taken as lightly as it is. It should be one of the most difficult things to do. Since Guardianship is a matter of removal of constitutional rights, it follows that Guardianship should be the jurisdiction of Federal courts. This is key! It takes the net out of the water.
Again, making it MORE DIFFICULT to accomplish and EASIER TO GET OUT OF should be the focus. It would get many of us out of the current net we are currently caught in.
The second issue is one of family. Third party Guardianships destroy families. This should almost NEVER be allowed. As far as I’m concerned, if a Guardianship needs to be placed forced on someone, a bad family guardian is still better than the best 3rd party guardian. The law is SUPPOSED to consider family members first but instead uses family disagreements as a tool to destroy and pillage the estate of the ward. Changing the law to make this mandatory would go a long way. Ideally, there would have to be some verifiable abuse required in order to preclude a member of the family from being appointed.
The third issue is making Third Party Guardianship a nonprofit agency with a cap on fees. I believe the cap for Public Guardians is 1.9% of the estate per year. Making this amount uniform removes most of the “chum” from the water and attract fewer sharks to a tank where there is little or no profit!”
“OBRA Trusts: Medicaid Planning, or Medicaid Fraud and Abuse?”
by an Anonymous Member Advocate
There are reports of many cases in the Cook County Probate Courts where powers of attorney are illegally removed, and the court appoints a non-family member or inappropriate family member as guardian; cases where owners of guardianship companies have deceived the ward in an effort to be named as guardian; and cases where the court appoints a guardian on a date when it is known to the court players that a family member willing to be named guardian cannot be present for the court hearing.
OBRA Special Needs Pooled Trusts, as well as other types of trusts, are being utilized by unethical lawyers, nurses, and guardianship companies to enrich themselves while the elderly disabled wards are being assigned court-appointed guardians and being placed into public aid nursing homes.
OBRA Special Needs Pooled Trusts were originally designed to enable people with devastating illnesses and/or injuries to be placed into public aid nursing homes while preserving their estate for their OWN special needs (special medical equipment, health insurance, etc). However, due to some legal loopholes, these accounts are being abused, and “Medicaid Planning” is on the rise.
Although legal, many find Medicaid Planning to be unethical, especially if the Trust is opened solely for the purpose of qualifying the ward for public aid. However, the practice is growing as more and more lawyers and clients become aware of it.
The following website lists attorneys in Illinois who specialize in Medicaid planning:
http://www.careillinois.net/list18_IL_elder_law_attorneys_lawyers_medicaid_advice.htm#assistance
In fact, one Cook County Probate Court lawyer educates her peers in ways in which very large estates may be placed into OBRA and/or other types of trusts, to allow the disabled ward to qualify for Medicaid. She also educates her peers on which types of trusts are lacking oversite, and which types of trusts allow for “administrative fees” (i.e., attorneys’ and guardians’ fees). Her educational video, which some feel to be controversial, may be viewed at this website: http://www.illinoisprobono.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.dsp_Content&contentID=5512
Unfortunately, some corrupt players in the Cook County Probate Court system (lawyers, nurses, judges, and guardianship companies) have discovered a legal loophole so they may enrich themselves through OBRA Special Needs Pooled Trusts. This Medicaid abuse can occur because only certain “special needs” expenses may be paid from OBRA Special Needs Pooled Trusts, such as medical bills, insurance premiums, and “administrative fees”. However, housing may NOT be paid from these accounts. As a result, the ward is immediately moved to public aid housing once their estate is placed into the OBRA Special Needs Trust. The OBRA Trust is non-revokable, meaning that once the estate is placed into this trust, it cannot be transferred out. Thus, the ward is sentenced to a life in public aid housing, even though they may have enough in their estate for many years at a private pay nursing home.
These unethical guardians are placing the wards’ estates, sometimes valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, into OBRA Special Needs Pooled Trusts to qualify the ward for public aid housing. Once the ward is in public aid housing, the bulk of the estate is utilized to pay excessive legal and guardian fees. In essence, the taxpayer is paying for the care of the ward, and the unethical court players are enriching themselves with the estate.
How, you may ask, does this occur? Well, the answer is quite simple. The judge allows it, and the Illinois Supreme Court provides no oversight.
There are numerous victims of this Medicaid Abuse scheme. There are even cases where the Office of the Public Guardian has been named as guardian of the estate. There are cases in Cook County where the lawyers and/or guardians, with the knowledge of the judge, illegally deposited dis-allowable funds of the ward (VA disability benefits, newly-discovered funds, etc) into the OBRA Trust. (In the Matter of Lynch, N.Y.S. 2d 653 (Surr.Ct, Onondaga County, 1999, the court held that it would not allow SSI income to be put into a Special Needs Trust, stating that it was “troubled by the concept of funding the special needs trust with benefits received from governmental entitlements”.)
There are cases where the judge, no questions asked, approved the lawyers’ and guardians’ requests to transfer the estate into an OBRA Trust. Court transcripts support the families’ claims that the judges did not even ask the guardian about the change in living conditions that would result from the transfer of the ward’s estate into an OBRA Trust, thus requiring a transfer to public aid housing.
Additionally, victims’ families have reported that their lawyers failed to explain the matter to them to the extent reasonably necessary to permit the family to make informed decisions so they would not object to the transfer of funds. In other words, no one explains to the victim’s family that the OBRA Trust will result in a lifetime of public aid housing for the ward. The victims’ families are being told that it is done to preserve the estate for the “special needs” of the ward.
However, the reality of the subsequent accountings shows that the estate is used almost exclusively for the “special needs” of the lawyers and guardians, as their excessive fees are subsequently approved by the judge until the entire estate is depleted.
Where, you ask, is the oversight for these Corrupt Cook County Probate Court cases? There is obviously no oversight at all. Billions of dollars go through the Cook County Probate Courts annually. Yet, there is no oversight. The judges allow estates to be depleted in this manner. The ARDC of the Illinois Supreme Court fails to bring to hearing the complaints of cases originating in the Cook County Probate Courts.
What exists in Chicago is legalized financial exploitation of the elderly disabled, as well as Medicaid Fraud and Abuse. The taxpayers of Illinois are footing the bill as our Medicaid system is being depleted, and the disabled elderly wards are being placed unnecessarily into public aid nursing homes. And the unethical court players get rich. Very rich.
If you suspect Medicaid Fraud or Abuse on your loved one’s case, please report it to:
http://www.cms.gov/FraudAbuseforConsumers/02_How_to_Report_Suspected_Fraud.asp
If you want to see the four banks in Illinois that offer OBRA Special Needs Pooled Trusts, visit this website:
http://www.perliselderlaw.com/comparison_trusts.php
Also, please contact the VA benefits office nearest you if you identify illegal funding of an OBRA account with VA benefits.
“Constitutional Requirement for Separation of Powers”
by Member David Arnold
The root cause of guardianship abuse is that the present system of managing guardianship violates the principle of separation of powers required under the constitution to provide checks and balances. Cut the root and the whole plant will die.
The difference between democracy and dictatorship is that no one in a democracy has absolute power. When there is no separation of powers the result is dictatorship.
Under the present system the court is responsible for selection and appointment of guardians in addition to its defined duty of prosecuting abuse by guardians. The court has sole power over guardianship.
If there is collusion between a judge and a guardian there is no legal recourse! If there is a complaint against a guardian the judge is both a party to the dispute and the arbiter of the dispute. This is a conflict of interest.
Judges cannot be forced to prosecute a guardian they appointed. This forces judges to admit they made a mistake. This violates the constitutional right of judges against self incrimination!
The answer to the problem is to separate authority for appointment and oversight of guardians from authority for prosecuting guardians.
Separation of powers can be accomplished by transferring authority for managing the affairs of incapacitated elder persons from the court to the state Elder Service agencies.
My state of Massachusetts has good Elder Service agencies that are capable of managing guardianship. This separation of powers would prevent collusion between a judge and a guardian and allow a judge to prosecute a guardian as a disinterested party without fear of self incrimination.
Having the Elder Service agency be responsible for selection and oversight of guardians does not represent a net increase in cost since the court would no longer have this duty.
“E-mail Letter to Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt “
From: Becky Olvera Schultz [mailto:]
Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2017 12:16 PM
To: aginfo@ag.nv.gov
Subject: Lack of Professional Guardianship Prosecutions
Attorney General Adam Laxalt,
I’ve always been one of your strongest advocates. After the 2014 election, your office accomplished more than any agency in Nevada in dealing with guardian abuse.
Unfortunately, your progress has stalled. We have received reports regarding the cases your office is currently prosecuting in Northern Nevada. The prosecutions are against family members, not professional or public guardians, who have taken advantage of seniors. These prosecutions do not include any of the notorious guardians in Clark County. It appears there is a hunt for easy targets in Northern Nevada for family members who are using small amounts of their elder’s funds. If we compare these cases to the financial exploitation now occurring in Clark County, NV, by guardians including Jared E. Shafer, April Parks, Denise Comastro, their attorneys and family court judges, the conclusion appears to be the system will not tackle this problem.
This is an excellent start but these cases send a message reinforcing the professional guardian’s point of view which states only the “families” are causing this problem. The message has up to this point changed the focus from the problem guardians we are attempting to bring to justice back toward the families. Professional guardians have been using this message as a shield, which allows them to plunder estates. Professional guardian/former public guardian, Jared E. Shafer, made a statement illustrating this point at one of the guardian commission meetings in Las Vegas.
Your office has failed to go after professional guardians including Jared E. Shafer and April Parks. It appears the cases which have been presented as of this date are in the category of low hanging fruit. The perpetrators appear to be of the garden variety types who simply do not have the tools to fight back.
Charles Pascal, who had the unfortunate experience of having his mother-in-law, Marcy DuDeck, kidnapped through orders given by Jared E. Shafer, has relayed the nature of many conversations he had with this guardian. According to Pascal, Shafer told him that he along with other guardians bribed judges and attorneys and guaranteed that nothing would ever be done because there were large amounts of money involved. Pascal has told many of us that Shafer taunted him into filing complaints because he wanted to show Pascal that nothing would ever be done. And, after all these years of Pascal, myself and others filing complaints with every available agency, nothing has been done. Pascal has been giving this information to victims since 2010 and it appears what Shafer told him is sadly the ugly truth.
The Las Vegas Voice in their current February 2017 issue wrote a harsh article concerning the performance of your office along with that of District Attorney, Steve Wolfson. Many of your strongest supporters are beginning to believe the crack down on guardian abuse is turning into a dog and pony show. I’m having a very difficult time convincing victims this is not true and I am quickly losing faith. Sadly, I have to now agree with this article in that only the “low hanging fruit” is being picked and for what Shafer and Parks would consider “pocket change”.
The specific lack of inaction by your office concerns in particular, guardian April Parks. Judge Allf in Clark County family court recently ruled that Parks indeed took money under wrongful pretenses from Elizabeth Indig, a first from a judge from that Kangaroo Court. Unfortunately, your office along with D.A. Wolfson failed to follow through on the family court ruling.
Another victim, Kristina Berger, is suing Shafer and the trial is this April. She was the victim who had money stolen from her by Shafer’s employee, Patience Bristol, who was convicted. Bristol worked for Shafer and used his office, computer, phone, email, business cards and was under his supervision. The IRS would define Bristol as an employee, but Shafer has yet to suffer repercussions in this matter. Bristol will be released this November unless she is given parole this June 4th.
In the North’s case, we have an unqualified doctor and her employee being sued for submitting false documents to the court declaring both Norths to be incompetent when in fact both were competent. This doctor worked with April Parks to gain control of this couple. Since your office is infatuated with low hanging fruit, this is a ripe plum ready for the picking.
Inquiring minds want to know why April Parks has not been charged with a single crime when you have the North’s case and the Indig case with evidence of exploitation. It’s been over a year since April Park’s home, office and storage was raided, yet she remains a free woman out of state. Why has Shafer been allowed to crawl away into his home, close up his guardian office and live as a free man off my father’s money along with the huge sums of money he has bragged about taking from hundreds of victims since 1979?
We were told that indictments would occur by the election in November 2016, in particular the Jason Hanson case. Unfortunately nothing happened. Then we were told something would take place by the end of 2016. The year ended with no cases being filed. The North’s daughter, Julie Belshe, spoke with D.A. Wolfson recently and now the story is “the end of 2017”. Unfortunately, Mr. Shafer’s words about nothing being done, grows louder in our minds. This delay could go on indefinitely. Yet, a few non-professional family guardians are being prosecuted for “pocket change” for taking advantage of one person while Shafer and Parks exploited hundreds of victims to the tune of millions or possibly more?
Our patience is growing very thin waiting to see justice for all this professional guardian exploitation that has racked in millions, if not billions in the last nearly 30 years. This is money that is pumped into the Nevada economy so we all wonder if the real agenda is for officials to make sure this cash flow is not interrupted.
I will continue to support your office, however this task is becoming increasingly more difficult as each week goes by.
Sincerely,
Becky Olvera Schultz
Daughter of Shafer victim, Guadalupe Olvera
Vegas Voice Feb 2017 Issue
“E-mail Letter to Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt “
To Nevada Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt:
2/14/17
In 1992 your grandfather Senator Laxalt assisted me when I was living in Carson City, Nevada. I was appreciative for the assistance provided by the former Nevada Senator. Today I’m writing you about what appears to me to be a serious inconsistency in the law.
After reading the February 10, 2017 article regarding the disciplinary proceedings being conducted against Justice of the Peace Melanie Andress-Tobiasson, it became clear that I should bring this matter to your attention.
In 2009 my mother-in-law, Marcy E. DuDeck, was kidnapped by her son, Lance DuDeck. She was taken against her wishes to Nevada. The kidnapping was committed against an existing Nevada court order, which stated my mother-in-law, Ms. DuDeck was to remain in California at Sunrise Senior Assisted living for the rest of her life.
After the kidnapping, Commissioner Jon W. Norheim delayed in filing his ruling to return Ms. DuDeck to the California residence, which was previously ordered by Norheim’s Clark County Family Court in May of 2007. Please note Commissioner Norheim himself wrote the 2007 court order which he violated. Commissioner Norheim’s failure to act on behalf of Mrs. DuDeck clearly demonstrated his intent not to enforce his own court order.
Mrs. DuDeck became ill as a result of this kidnapping and died alone at Del Mar Gardens in Las Vegas. The kidnapping was conducted on August 4, 2009, which was two days before a California evidentiary hearing was to take place in a Los Angeles County Court. The hearing would have exposed numerous disturbing facts about Mrs. DuDeck’s guardian, Jared E. Shafer, revealing that Mr. Shafer failed to pay IRS taxes for the DuDeck estate, that he billed the estate for visits which never occurred, testimony to the fact that Mr. Shafer himself bragged about ordering the kidnapping, witnesses to statements made by Mr. Shafer that he was bragging about bribing judges and the fact that Patience Bristol, who was not a licensed guardian at the time, was being paid from the DuDeck estate for guardian services when she was not Ms. DuDeck’s guardian. As you probably know, Bristol is serving a three to eight year sentence in state prison for exploitation of senior citizens.
By revealing our story in the beginning of this email will illustrate the main point, which I’m about to argue, which states that LGBTQ citizens are granted more civil rights than other citizens.
Justice of the Peace Melanie Andress-Tobiasson was involved in a case involving LGBTQ rights. Judge Tobiasson is facing the type of accountability for her actions which victims of families, who do not fall into the LGBTQ category, have been demanding from Nevada for close to a decade. The disciplinary proceedings filed against Justice of the Peace Melanie Andress-Tobiasson sends a strong signal to families who do not fall into the LGBTQ category. It appears families who are not LGBTQ are not provided the same rights as those citizens who fall into the LGBTQ category.
Commissioner Norheim has not faced accountability for his failure to enforce the law in our case and in many other cases I’m familiar with. Jason Hanson is still waiting for justice. Becky Olvera Schultz is
suing in a federal court to recover moneys paid from her father’s estate without court orders. In the Olvera case, Commissioner Norheim stated in a court video that he wouldn’t enforce NRS Chapter 160 pertaining to veterans when Mr. Olvera was a WW2 veteran.
When Commissioner Norheim refused to enforce NRS Chapter 160, did he rule this way because Olvera wasn’t LGBTQ? Could this be the reason why the law was never enforced to protect veteran Mr. Olvera?
The North family lost everything as a result of actions by another guardian, April Parks. Elizabeth Indig’s mother is another individual who lost everything and has never received justice. All of the cases listed above are not LGBTQ.
The Supreme Court’s guardianship commission to look into guardian abuses in Nevada has resulted in no arrests or convictions of professional guardians or disciplinary actions against any Family Court judges. Unfortunately, Justice of the Peace Melanie Andress-Tobiasson will face punitive action for her failure to apply the law.
This letter to your office will be widely published as well as your answer to it. I sincerely hope equal justice will be applied to citizens who are not LGBTQ.
~Charles P. Pascal