in the absence of facts and common sense, make up a rightwing nutter conspiracy theory
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > ------ Forwarded Message > From: Nelson and Mary <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2005 16:24:42 -0600 > To: Rick Archer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Fw: [CTN-Jogues] Fwd: Guardianship & Theresa Schiavo > > Hey Rick, > I didn't know how to clean up this message and put it on ffl. > Maybe itis too long but at least read it and then decide. > These people make Jack Kavorkian look like a boy scout- he must be proud > of them. Thanks, N. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Susan Bush <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2005 12:09 AM > Subject: Fw: [CTN-Jogues] Fwd: Guardianship & Theresa Schiavo > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: acm <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2005 11:47 AM > Subject: [CTN-Jogues] Fwd: Guardianship & Theresa Schiavo > > > I found this on the web...very interesting even if lengthy. From Anna > > From: acm <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Guardianship & Theresa Schiavo > > Thursday, March 17, 2005 > > What's REALLY Driving the Death Train for Terri! EXPLOSIVE > Revelations About Judge Greer and Pinellas County "Guardians!" > "Outside of execution, guardianship is the most radical remedy we > have." — Elias Cohen, Philadelphia Attorney and Gerontologist > Is Pinellas County using guardianship as a cover for robbing the > handicapped and elderly? > If you had found a way to steal thousands of dollars from wealthy > elderly, where would you find the most victims? Yes, Florida is the > first state that comes to my mind. > I never bought into the "right to die" thing. It is as much spin as > the term "reproductive rights" is for abortion. "Right to die" is > spin, but spin for what? While I know evil exists and admit I can't > understand the rational of being in favor of killing people; I felt > there just had to be more than a pro-death "belief." I think I found > what is behind this "belief." It isn't about death with dignity. I > think you will be shocked and horrified at what I found. > Pinellas County Internal Auditor, Robert W. Melton has been assigned > by Florida legislators to address guardianship reform. He > says, "….the practices I have seen in the short time I have been > involved in guardianships is shocking. It is time to put an end to > unscrupulous practices at the expense of our state's most vulnerable > citizens." > Court appointed professional guardians in Pinellas County have a > great system going under the protection of judges like George Greer. > Most of these guardians handle cases for wards who are mentally or > physically incapable of doing so themselves. Even though Michael > Schiavo is not a "professional" guardian, this case will set a > precedent for the treatment of the disabled. Right now the abuse robs > these people of their life savings and assets, while accusing family > members of being the greedy ones and these "guardians" are > only "protecting" these vulnerable citizens. > A GREAT example of how they operate to gain guardianship and > then "protect" their wards is below. > Here are just 10 of the "dirty tricks," as outlined by Pinellas > County Internal Auditor Robert W. > Melton:http://www.justiceforfloridaseniors.org/dirty-guardian- > tricks.html > Guardian creation of a trust: Remove all oversight by the court as a > provision of the trust agreement; guardian becomes trustee; provide > that the trustee can do whatever they want at their sole discretion. > Sell real estate at lowball price: Use "lowball" valuations as a > benchmark; don't list property with Realtors; sell to a land trust, > where nobody knows the beneficiary; watch property resold a few > months later for a huge increase. > Maximize your (or your crony's) profit from investments: Hire money > manager for "financial expertise" and let the manager select an > investment broker; invest in volatile stocks and trade frequently to > generate commissions; if you run up a large gain, don't selectively > liquidate over time to pay the taxes but hold a "fire sale" to raise > funds all in one day. > Undervalue beginning inventory: Have a used-furniture "friend" value > a house full of antiques for $3,000; "forget" to put some of the more > expensive items on the inventory; "forget" to include a $40,000 > certificate of deposit. > Pay yourself first: Make payment of guardian and attorney fees the > highest priority; disregard mortgage payments and let ward's home go > into foreclosure; squirrel away money in the attorney's escrow > account for possible future expenses. > Maintain guardianship at all costs: Keep family members uninformed; > if family members try to become guardian, accuse them of stealing; > use the ward's assets for legal fights to retain guardianship. > Improper financial reporting: Bury asset-management and brokerage > fees as aggregate capital losses "due to market fluctuations"; don't > classify disbursements separately; file incomplete or incorrect safe- > deposit box inventories. > Forced incompetency: Visit assisted-living facilities and establish > employee contacts; obtain voluntary limited financial guardianship; > if there is money in the estate, do paperwork to force an evaluation > of competency; get control over everything and the ward loses all > rights. > Pay your attorney well: Let attorney bill full rate to shop for a > computer and set it up for the ward; let attorneys bill their full > rate, even if work is done by a paralegal or assistant. > Forget to file federal tax returns: Ensure there is a refund; wait > till the ward dies; get check without oversight. > One way to prevent improprieties, according to Melton, would be to > make public the initial inventories of wards' estates and the annual > accountings of assets that guardians are required to file with the > court. "The lack of public scrutiny breeds misdeeds and > misappropriations because people who may know the truth would not > have access," says > Melton.http://www.justiceforfloridaseniors.org/gulfcoast.html > In Melton's own words, "When we have both guardians and judges trying > to keep auditors out, we have a system ripe for corruption and fraud." > "Absurd......" was the reaction of George W. Greer, a Pinellas > circuit judge who hears probate cases, to Melton's proposal for more > openness in guardianships. "I'm at a loss to see what that would > accomplish." > As for auditing guardianships, Melton told the task force that his > office is getting stonewalled. > "In Pinellas County, attempts are being made to limit the clerk's > audit authority," Melton said. "This ranges from guardians that > refuse to submit to an audit unless a court order is received, to > judges that question the authority of the clerk to use professional > auditing staff to conduct the audits." > As I researched further I found something even more troubling. I > found the records of Judge Greer's campaign contibutions for 2004( > You can go here to see them for yourself. When filling in the > boxes, remember to list for General ELection 2004 and Greer's name. > You will also need to change the amount of those you want listed from > 500 to 1000 in order to get the FULL list.). Out of the 739 > Contributors, well over half are attorneys. Many are also involved > with real estate. Greer raised a total of $162,106.10. According to > sources in the media, this is the most money ever raised by a > judicial campaign. > If you use the links above, you will find much much more information > on this DANGEROUS web of money and manipulaion. You will find stories > of how professional guardians "shop" nursing homes for prospects, and > are able to gain full control over people's estates by simply > challenging > them in court to PROVE their own competency! > I will wrap up by sharing these quotes I found: > It is a system that in practice often serves lawyers over clients. > Even as the court's lax oversight allows guardians to neglect their > responsibilities, it also permits some lawyers to take unnecessary > control of people's lives. — Washington Post, 2003 > Judges and their favored professional conservators and guardians, > expert witnesses and court investigators have unspoken agendas: > money, power and control. When an elderly individual is brought into > court and forced to prove his or her competence, we soon see that the > system does not work. We have a system rife with court-sanctioned > abuse of the elderly. Why? Judges override protections that have been > put in place in the codes. It happens every day. Judges disregard > durable powers of attorney — the single most important document each > of us can create to determine our care should we become > incapacitated. Judges ignore our lists of pre-selected surrogate > decision-makers. The current system does not work. This reality is > most apparent when a wealthy individual falls victim to these > involuntary proceedings and his or her wealth becomes a ripe plum to > be shared by the Judge's favorites. — Diane G. Armstrong, Ph.D., > excerpt of prepared statement before the U.S. Senate's Special > Committee on Aging, February, 2003. Author of The Retirement > Nightmare: How to Save Yourself from Your Heirs and Protectors: > Involuntary Conservatorships and Guardianships. > The denial of these rights is the consequence of a court > determination that an individual is legally "incompetent" > or "incapacitated" and the appointment by the court of a guardian to > act as surrogate decision maker on the person's behalf. The real > tragedy is that mounting evidence suggests that many of these > individuals — having been stripped of their right to self- > determination — are being poorly served, and even victimized and > exploited by the very persons or agencies appointed to protect them > and to make decisions on their behalf. — House of Representatives, > Select Committee on Aging Report > "Ironically, the imposition of guardianship without adequate > protections and oversight may actually result in the loss of liberty > and property for the very persons these arrangements are intended to > protect. — Chairman of the Senate Special Committee, Larry Craig > ...guardianship can divest an elderly person of all the rights and > freedoms we consider important as citizens. — Chairman of the Senate > Special Committee, Larry Craig > "Instead of serving to protect the assets of incapacitated persons, > the existing guardianship system presents the opportunity for > unscrupulous guardians to loot the assets of their wards and enrich > themselves with impunity." — New York Grand Jury > "These are not isolated, occasional blips. This constitutes a > significant portion of the cases out there. They were flat-out rip- > off situations." — Robert L. Aldridge, elder law attorney and a > member of ElderLawAnswers.comhttp://elderlawanswers.com/ > http://www.justiceforfloridaseniors.org/index.php? > option=content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=2" To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
