Join us Sunday evening December 23 rd, 2012, at 7:00 CST! More
TS Radio: Signs of hope in ending the guardianship nightmare
December 23, 2012
Guardianship Abuse, radio Beverly Newman, chemcial restraints, elder abuse, elder advocates, elder isolation, financial exploitation, forced medication, Guardianship Abuse, Linda Kincaid 1 Comment
TS Radio: The rights of wards and conservatees
November 25, 2012
Guardianship Abuse, radio Beverly Newman, California, corrupt probate courts, elder abuse, elder advocates, estate theft, Florida, Linda Kincaid, Marti Oakley, predatory guardians, property theft, TS Radio 1 Comment
Join us Sunday evening, November 25th, 2012 at 7:00 CST! More
Silicon Valley tax dollars fund elder abuse: Apathy & Negligence by Law Enforcement & District Attorney
November 19, 2012
Guardianship Abuse California penal code, elder abuse, Gisela Riordan, Guardianship Abuse, Linda Kincaid, predatory guardians, Public guardians, San Jose Police Lieutenant Michael Knox, Villa Fontana 5 Comments
Linda Kincaid
Elder Advocate, California
“San Jose Police confirmed that Villa Fontana isolates several residents. However, SJPD referred management of that abuse back to the Public Guardian, the perpetrator of the abuse.”
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Part IV (Parts 1,2 & 3 are linked below)
- Apathy & Negligence by Law Enforcement & District Attorney
San Jose Police Lieutenant Michael Knox is the first government employee to take any action on behalf of elder abuse victim Gisela Riordan. For over two years, Gisela has been denied visitors, phone calls, and mail. Imprisoned at Villa Fontana, she is not allowed contact with family, friends, neighbors, advocates or clergy. Each day is like every other for Gisela, lonely and filled with despair.
Lieutenant Knox listened sympathetically to Gisela’s story. Police Chief Chris Moore had already determined that SJPD’s ignoring false imprisonment and isolation was “consistent with Department policy.” Knox committed to a review of the Department’s policy on ignoring mental abuse of elders. Although a small step, it was the first positive step taken by any government employee in Santa Clara County.
Elder Abuse by the Public Guardian
Since early 2010, Gisela Riordan has been a victim of elder abuse by her conservator, the Santa Clara County Public Guardian Donald Moody. California law clearly states that a guardian or conservator does not have authority to isolate a conservatee. California law also states that isolation and imprisonment of elders are crimes.
However, the Public Guardian is not concerned with California law. Moody imprisons and isolates conservatees to suit his whims. Gisela is falsely imprisoned and unlawfully isolated at Villa Fontana, a secured residential care facility willing to violate the law in exchange for payment.
Keeping conservatees isolated simplifies the management of those individuals. With no visitors, there are no complaints of neglect or substandard care. No one sees bruises or other evidence of physical abuse. No one knows if conservatees receive medical care or enough food to eat. More
Al Katz: Holocaust Survivor Nearly Killed by Florida Public Guardian
November 18, 2012
Guardianship Abuse, radio abusive guardianships, Beverly Newman, elder abuse, elder isolation, elderly prisoners, estate theft, Linda Kincaid, looting estates, Manatee County Florida, Marti Oakley, predatory guardians 9 Comments
Join us Sunday evening November 18th, 2012 at 7:00 CST!
5:00 …PST …6:00 MST … 7:00 CST … 8:00 EST
Listen Live HERE!
Callin #: 917-388-4520
Linda Kincaid, Elder Advocate, California, will co-host this show.
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Al Katz survived the Holocaust in a Nazi prison camp. As a youth, he spent seven years in forced labor, nearly starved, and saw four Jewish boys shot through the head. Katz survived the Holocaust only to again experience the horrors of imprisonment and torture in the final year of his life. The Manatee County Public Guardian’s abuse of Katz reminded Katz of Nazi cruelty and sadism. For six weeks in 2009, Katz was kept in locked units and denied the companionship of his family and friends and decent medical care. Retreating into teenage memories, Katz believed he was once again a prisoner of the Nazis and subject to their torture. In just two months of guardianship, Katz was nearly dead.
Unlike many victims of Public Guardians, Katz escaped before he died. Katz’s daughter, Dr. Beverly Newman, fought Manatee County’s abuse of her father. With Katz nearly dead and his estate seriously depleted, the Public Guardian was replaced by a professional guardian of the property. Katz’s daughter took him home and cared for him day and night for the last eight months of his life.
Beverly Newman has a Doctor of Education and Child Psychology. She dedicated much of 2010 to caring for her father, after rescuing him from an abusive guardianship. Dr. Newman is now an active advocate for rights of guardianship victims. More
TS Radio: Guardianship Abuse and the tragic saga of Gary Harvey
November 11, 2012
Guardianship Abuse, radio Chemung County, elder advocates, estate theft, gary harvey, Guardianship Abuse, insurance fraud, Linda Kincaid, Marti Oakley, NASGA, sara harvey, St Joseph’s Hospital Ethics Committee 1 Comment
Join us Sunday evening, November 11th, 2012, at 7:00 CST! More
Silicon Valley tax dollars fund elder abuse: Part II
November 5, 2012
Guardianship Abuse Conservatee’s Rights, Elder advocacy, Gisela Riordan, Guardianship Abuse, Handbook for Conservators, Judicial Council of California, Linda Kincaid, predatory guardians, Santa Clara County Public Guardian, Violation of Conservatee’s Rights 3 Comments
Linda Kincaid
Elder Advocate, California
Part I: READ HERE
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Part II –
Public Guardian imprisons & isolates Gisela Riordan
Linda Kincaid
In 2010, Santa Clara County Public Guardian Donald Moody petitioned for conservatorship of Gisela Riordan. Based on false allegations by Court Reporter Herlinda Acevedo, Judge Thomas Cain approved the petition. With the stroke of a pen, Moody had complete control over Gisela’s life.
Moody immediately seized Gisela’s bank accounts. He evicted her son and sold their home the following year. Gisela languishes in isolation. For two and a half years, Moody has denied Gisela’s right to visitation, phone calls, and mail. Consistent with his wholesale violation of civil rights, Moody denied Gisela’s right to vote in 2012.
Moody imprisoned and isolated Gisela at Villa Fontana, a secured residential care facility that will violate the law in exchange for payment. Villa Fontana blatantly violates personal rights of residents. They refuse to discuss those violations with elder advocates.
April 27 – 30, 2012: Jennifer Lan & Violation of Resident’s Personal Rights
This reporter temporarily established contact with Gisela by arriving at Villa Fontana on a Friday evening, shortly after a visit by Deputy Public Guardian Rebecca Pisano-Torres. The Villa Fontana night staff assumed I was with the Public Guardian’s office, and they allowed me to enter.
When I first approached Gisela, she was bewildered that anyone would come to see her. She was horribly lonely and sobbed for over an hour, clutching my arm and begging me not to forget her. She demanded I promise that I would visit her again. Sadly, the Public Guardian has prevented my keeping that promise.
On Monday, Villa Fontana staff recognized me as an elder advocate. Employee Jennifer Lan, accompanied by four male staffers, entered Gisela’s room and ordered me to leave. I guided Lan to a poster of the residents’ rights located in the facility lobby. More
Silicon Valley tax dollars fund elder abuse
November 4, 2012
Guardianship Abuse elder abuse, elder forced medication, elder isolation, Gisela Riordan, Linda Kincaid, looting estates, Notice of Conservatee’s Rights, Probate Code, Santa Clara County Public Guardian Donald Moody., theft of assets 9 Comments
Linda Kincaid
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Part I –
Public Guardian takes control of Gisela Riordan
San Jose, California resident Gisela Riordan, 84, prays every night for God to take her. Imprisoned and isolated, she is denied visitors, phone calls, and mail. Her arms are boney, and her cheeks sunken. Her features stir memories of Holocaust survivors. Forbidden companionship of her loved ones, Gisela languishes in despair.
Gisela has not been charged with a crime. She has not been sentenced to prison. No judge ordered her isolation. Gisela lost her freedom with the stroke of a pen, when Judge Thomas Cain approved a conservatorship petition submitted by Santa Clara County Public Guardian Donald Moody.
Moody seized Gisela’s bank accounts in 2010 and sold her home in 2011. Moody now uses Gisela’s own estate to keep her imprisoned at Villa Fontana, a residential care facility that will violate resident’s rights in exchange for payment. Taxpayer dollars, authorized by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, fund the Public Guardian’s abusive activities.
Before Conservatorship
Gisela Riordan was an active vibrant woman who lived life to the fullest. Gisela and her companion of 17 years travelled the world together. She zipped around town in a convertible, the wind in her hair and the sun on her shoulders. Like many California transplants, she loved the beach and the waves breaking around her ankles. Retired comfortably, Gisela and her son Marcus Riordan shared a pleasant townhouse in a desirable area of west San Jose.
March 12, 2010: Petition for Conservatorship & Court Investigator’s Report
Kaiser Permanente contacted Adult Protective Services when Gisela was subject to physical and financial elder abuse by her bi-polar daughter. At the time, Gisela had a full estate plan in place. Her son, Marcus Riordan, was designated in her Advance Health Care Directive, and Marcus was successor trustee for Gisela’s living trust.
Kaiser Permanente restricted Gisela from seeing Marcus. The Public Guardian petitioned for temporary and general conservatorship. Court Investigator Herlinda Acevedo attached a report to the petition stating:
Ms. Riordan has been admitted to Kaiser Hospital 19 times in the last 12 months for depression, anxiety, atrial flutter, COPD, and issues related to complex family dynamics.
Gisela responded in a recorded phone conversation with Marcus.
Where did she get her numbers? Out of thin air?
Acevedo’s report to the court further stated:
Ms. Riordan would like to return to her home, but has expressed reluctance to do this while her son is residing in the home.
Gisela responded in her phone conversation with Marcus.
She is a liar. No way would I say that! We have lived together before. That’s nothing I ever said. That’s stupid.
It’s just stupid. That’s false witness. She could go to jail for that.
I’d like to come home and live with my son. I want my money released…
I didn’t save that money for the, what are they called? They took my money away from me. They have no right. I worked for that money.
It should be noted that Court Investigator’s reports were signed under penalty of perjury. More
TS Radio: ABC 7 News I-Team exposed the Santa Clara County Public Guardian
November 4, 2012
Guardianship Abuse, radio Dr. Robert Fettgather, elder abuse, elder isolation, forced medication, Gisela Riordon, Lillie Scalia, Linda Kincaid, looting of estates, Marti Oakley, Santa Clara County Guardianship Abuse Leave a comment
Join us Sunday evening November 4th, 2012 at 7:00 CST! More
Gloria Bathgate: Stolen by North Carolina Department of Social Services
October 28, 2012
Guardianship Abuse elder advocates, Gloria Bathgate, Johnston County Court, Linda Kincaid, Medicaid, NASGA, North Carolina Department of Social Services, North Carolina guardianship, Oakview Commons Assisted Living Center, Senator Richard Burr 5 Comments
Linda Kincaid & Susan Williams
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Eighty-year-old Gloria Bathgate found herself prisoner of a Johnston County, North Carolina guardianship just days after she arrived in the state. Gloria was falsely imprisoned and unlawfully isolated at Oakview Commons Assisted Living Center in Raleigh. Care in the facility was dismal. She had several falls in the first few days and many unexplained bruises. Denied any contact with her daughter, Gloria’s physical and mental condition declined rapidly.
2007 – October 2010
Gloria enjoyed an active and sometimes flamboyant social life before moving to Raleigh. A feisty and opinionated woman, Gloria was quick to express herself in colorful language peppered with expletives. Her daughter, Susan Williams, still chuckles about Gloria wearing miniskirts and high heels at 77.
Living with her family since 2007, Gloria attended church three times a week and routinely played bingo at the firehouse with her firefighter grandson. Her younger Eagle Scout grandson included her in his troop’s activities. Gloria participated in elder activity programs most days of the week. In the evenings, she cooked meals and helped her grandchildren with homework.
When the family planned their move from Pennsylvania to Raleigh, Gloria’s daughter Susan called ahead to North Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS). North Carolina DSS told Susan that Gloria would have to establish residency in Raleigh before DSS would process any requests for services.
October 24, 2010
Gloria moved to Raleigh with her daughter and family. Susan immediately called Johnston County DSS to request Medicaid, a hospital bed, elder day programs, and transportation assistance for Gloria. DSS told Susan there could be a two-year wait before services were available. DSS added, “If you wanted all those services, you should have stayed in Pennsylvania.”
Shannon West from Johnston County DSS visited the home and told Gloria she could receive services more quickly if she moved into Oakview Commons, an assisted living facility. Gloria objected to leaving her family, but West assured Gloria that she could sign out of Oakview any time she wished. Susan convinced Gloria to move into Oakview temporarily to obtain services. Shortly before Halloween, Gloria signed herself into Oakveiw Commons on the advice of her daughter and Shannon West. More
Guardianship abuse: Convenient incompetency
October 20, 2012
Guardianship Abuse, radio elder abuse, guardian abuse, hopitalists, Linda Kincaid, Marti Oakley, predatory guardianships, TS Radio 4 Comments
Join us Sunday evening October 14, 2012 at 7:00 CST! More
