Reported by Marti Oakley

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When corruption of any kind reaches so high into our government and its corporate agencies who prey on the general public under the guise of “public service” or other misnomer, we must speak out.  We should all be speaking out in the case of Gary Harvey.  What has happened to Gary and his wife, Sara, could happen to any one of us at any time; Gary has been held as a virtual prisoner by Chemung County agencies in New York while a predatory guardian has burned through the couples assets. 

Once the predatory guardian, unknown to the Harvey’s prior to his accident, and who never even filed a petition, somehow was granted guardianship of Gary, he lost all of his rights of any kind…and all of his assets.  Now that the assets are depleted, the guardian has issued a “Do Not Resuscitate” (DNR) order.  Gary’s wife Sara has had to battle the attempt by hospital and doctors, at the request of the predatory guardian, to stop them from intentionally starving and dehydrating him to death. 

No one has been able to explain how the predatory guardian knew to be in court that day regarding a man the guardian did not know and had no previous contact with.

After repeated efforts to garner the help of state officials, agencies and various other legal agents and agencies, Sara wrote this letter to New York governor, Cuomo.  She awaits his repsonse.

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  January 28, 2011 


The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo
Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224

RE: Gary E Harvey, help concerning guardianship

Dear Mr. Cuomo: 

Can you or someone on your staff give me some direction as to where I might turn for help in rescuing my husband, Gary E. Harvey, from an inappropriate and dangerous care setting, and from a guardianship which I believe to be contrary to his best interests, safety and survival? 

Gary is a Vietnam veteran.  He suffered a head injury in a fall, in January of 2006, and subsequently deteriorated to the point that he has been incapacitated for some time.  In a sequence of events all too common in cases where the state assumes control, I was denied guardianship over my beloved husband, and a professional guardian has been appointed (just showed up out of nowhere at my hearing and without a petition). Both Gary’s and my assets have been used up by this abusive guardianship.   Sometimes, I am denied the right even to visit him, on arbitrary grounds or without explanation. 

I strongly feel that my husband is being abused in a scheme of healthcare fraud.  I have reached out to NY State Senator Tom O’Mara who sits on the hospital board, but what I did not realize at the time of doing so, Tom O’Mara’s law firm Davidson & O’Mara, Elmira NY represents Chemung County, the hospital and every “service provider” who claim to be caring for my husband.  Truth is they are all profiting at the expense of my husband’s misfortune and, at the expense of our fundamental liberties as the same relates to our marriage and family.  How does my husband ever get his day in court and a fair trial or hearing when the deck is stacked with an existing local bias and prejudice and a club of local attorneys who represent all of the practitioners involved?    
I have many very good reasons to believe that Gary is receiving inadequate and inappropriate care. Over  600 lab works, x-rays and 50 + surgeries in a 2.5 year time frame is more than good reason.  I believe he does not receive appropriate nutrition, hydration, skin care or treatment for his many health challenges.  His appointed guardian has improperly put a DNR order in place, contrary to what I know Gary’s beliefs and wishes to be.

My main goal is to be able to bring Gary home and care for him, with whatever nursing and other professional supervision and support may be needed.  We both vowed to care for each other in sickness and in health for as long as we both shall live.  Instead, I see that strangers have asserted complete control over his life, and are using it in ways that fail to protect him.  I feel that every human being deserves more respect and consideration than my husband is receiving.  As for me, no one should have to stand by helplessly while a loved one suffers such neglect.  I spend every day knowing that Gary is at risk of death whenever a minion of the bureaucracy decrees it, as surely as if he were on Death Row, but with far less due process along the way. 

Gary’s plight is the one that is compelling to me personally, but I am sure you are aware that guardianship abuse is all too common in our great country, and this situation will continue so long as corrective measures are not taken.  Some of those measures may be accomplished through the courts; but for the many Gary’s and the aged parents and others out there, trapped by a dangerously inept system, legislation is needed to protect their quality of life—and, in fact, their very lives as well. 

Can you suggest where I may turn for help? And, if you are interested in sponsoring a bill that would end guardianship abuse, how may I be of service in that effort? 

Thank you for your attention. I look forward to hearing from you.

Very truly yours, 

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SARA HARVEY

Wife of Gary E. Harvey

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