Drugs Play Key Role In The Probate Murders--Part Two

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nasgamembers ; stopguardianabuse

From: janet_c_phelan@...

Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:02:00 -0800

Subject: [stopguardianabuse] The Probate Murders--Part Two

The Probate Murders Part Two: Melodie and the State of

California -- In the Business of Death? By Janet C. Phelan “Oceania is not

at war with East or Eurasia. Oceania is at war with you.”— Orwell, “1984”

“THIS CAN’T HAPPEN HERE” On a quiet tree-lined street in Redlands,

California, in a low, architecturally unremarkable beige building, the war has

come home. Nestled behind the Redlands Police Department, the Redlands Superior

Courthouse is housing a systematic and covert assault on the lives and

life-savings of San Bernardino County's elderly and disabled. A smiling,

bespectacled security officer, sporting a platinum blonde ponytail, runs the

visitors through a metal detector as they enter. One walks into a lobby area,

with two courtrooms off to the side: Department E1 and Department E2. Only

traffic and probate are now heard in the Redlands Court. At the far end are the

filing windows, where smiling and attentive clerks will retrieve files and

accept court filings. In the California Superior Court system, one must pay a

filing fee in order to enable the court to dismantle one's life and estate.

Across from the clerk's office, the East wall is lined with photographs of San

Bernardino Court judges, beaming beatifically, and posing in their black robes.

However, Judge Welch is not smiling. Welch is one of only two probate

judges in the entire San Bernardino County, and as such is the point man for the

probate conveyor belt, which is grinding up the elderly and turning them into

cash, through the court conservatorship and guardianship programs. This is

how it works: A family member, or even a neighbor, may notice that an elderly

person is alone and may be increasingly vulnerable. Depending on the morality

and authenticity of the concerned party, that person may contact Adult

Protective Services, or may

attempt to file for guardianship over the elder, in order to either protect or

to gain access to that person's funds. The police may become involved, if there

are allegations of lack of capacity or of financial or physical abuse. This

opens the door for the professional conservator, buttressed by her lawyers, to

" move in for the kill. " A linchpin in this system in San Bernardino County

is C.A.R.E., Inc.--Conservatorship and Resources for the Elderly-- which is

located a mere stone's throw away from the Redlands Courthouse, in a quaint, two

story building at 25 E. State Street. The “C.A.R.E. Group” consists of two

conservators--Melodie Z. , President and founder of C.A.R.E. and Lawrence

Dean II-- and their attorneys. Up until last year, was primarily

represented by Hartnell, Horspool and Fox, which has split into two

firms--Hartnell, Lister and , and Horspool and . J.

Horspool appears as chief counsel on the lion's share of C.A.R.E. cases.

Horspool, who was born in nearby Riverside, is a Mormon, and was

educated at the Mormon stronghold of Brigham Young University, where he

received both his undergraduate degree and his J.D. He is a former mayor pro-tem

of Moreno Valley, and was implicated in a vote fraud issue there in the

nineties, during his campaign for city council. Hartnell recently

received some national press, as one of the sole survivors of the infamous

Zodiac killer, when the “Zodiac” movie hit the big screen. Hartnell had a bit

part in the

movie. While some detailed crime analysis has indicated that the attack on

Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard was a copy-cat and not a bonafide Zodiac attack,

this was not brought to light on the silver screen. Hartnell escaped with

non-life threatening injuries, but Shepard died as a result of the attack.

A smattering of “independent” attorneys also serve the “C.A.R.E. Group,” such as

President of the High Desert Bar Association, Sherri Kastilahn. Some of the

court-appointed counsel for potential conservatees are known to regularly lob

their clients in the direction of and Dean. These include attorneys

Donnasue Ortiz and Lenita Skoretz, among

others. By some estimates, the ”C.A.R.E. Group” now has its tentacles in 60-70%

of the conservatorship and estate administration cases in San Bernardino County.

One attorney, speaking on condition of anonymity, voiced her opinion that all

San Bernardino Probate cases were moved to Redlands recently to accommodate the

" C.A.R.E. Group,” most of whom maintain their offices in Redlands, within

walking distance of the courthouse. At the apex of this group is Melodie Z.

, who has been referred to as the richest and most powerful conservator in

Southern California. A tall, well-dressed blonde with a college education and a

Private Investigator's

license, has a reputation as a “high-roller,” and frequently parties with

elected officials and other members of San Bernardino's upper crust. Her resume

reads like a poster-girl for an accomplished and respected conservator, and

includes expert witness status, college level teaching experience (at California

State

University at Fullerton) a stint as President of the Professional Conservators

of Southern California, as well as serving as a board member for Redlands Family

Service. Like her attorney, Horspool, she has also run for public office.

However, behind the

tasteful, expensive exterior at 25 E. State Street, an entirely different

picture has emerged, revealing a reality as shocking and heinous as what went on

behind closed doors in Hitler's eugenics labs. The “C.A.R.E. Group” is, in fact,

preying on the life-savings of its helpless and vulnerable clients, who appear

to die very quickly as soon as C.A.R.E. has sucked the lifeblood out of their

estates. According to Jerry Villanueva, an investigator

with the San Bernardino County District Attorney's office, five separate

counties have received complaints alleging criminal activity by Melodie

and her crew. Villanueva recently revealed that all incoming reports concerning

are being referred to the California Attorney General's office, which is

patently refusing to investigate allegations of criminal activity by 's

group. “I don't 'do' families,” stated a brusque Melodie , in response

to a query by this reporter as to the services offered by C.A.R.E. A review of

the court files in Redlands Superior Court

largely substantiates this. Time after time, C.A.R.E. has filed for

conservatorship of elderly women, left vulnerable after the death of a spouse,

with offspring or other family members either out of state or otherwise absent

from the picture. When there are family members present to witness the actions

taken by Melodie , in concert with other members of the “C.A.R.E. Group,”

they generally end up quite upset. Case in point is the Fairbanks

case, on file in the

Redlands Court. Beth Fairbanks, the daughter of deceased conservatee

Fairbanks, first contacted this reporter in the Fall of 2006.

Following what Beth repeatedly referred to as the murder of her mother at

the direction of Melodie Z. , the younger Fairbanks organized a

demonstration in front of the SB County Courthouse, timed with her appearance in

Court on

October 13, 2006, to lodge her protest with Superior Court Judge

Gafkowski. A number of family members, conservatorship victims and others

impacted by Melodie Z. , showed up at the demonstration, which was covered

on the local ABC affiliate and by local press. A review of

the medical records prior to Fairbanks' death substantiates Beth's

allegation that directives by Melodie Z. , conservator of person and estate

for Fairbanks, were instrumental in the elderly woman's death.

Unbeknownst to the family, Melodie had signed a " Do Not Resuscitate "

order " shortly after achieving conservatorship over Fairbanks. TAB has retrieved

the DNR from the court file, and Fairbanks signature does not appear on this

document. In 2006, Fairbanks fell ill with pneumonia, and at the apparent

direction of , received only two doses of antibiotics during the entire

course of the illness. At a critical moment in her increasing

respiratory distress, she was administered two doses of the opiate, Roxanol,

which put Fairbanks into respiratory arrest. Two hours following the

administration of the second, more powerful dose of Roxanol, Fairbanks died.

Roxanol is contraindicated for patients with respiratory problems. It was

later revealed in the accountings that Fairbanks had no money left to

fund the

conservatorship. The following statement was filed by Beth Fairbanks

in San Bernardino Court: “I have attempted since 2003 to find an attorney to

help me with stopping what Ms. was doing. No attorney would help me due to

Ms. ’s power in the San Bernardino area....My mother died of pneumonia,

which has a good success rate if treated aggressively and correctly. Why would

Ms. think if my mother was hospitalized and aggressively treated that she

could end up a vegetable? If my mother had a stroke I could understand what Ms.

did but not to give my mother a chance is incomprehensible to me.”

Judge Welch wrote a decision in the Fairbanks case, and diligently

avoided any questions of possible criminal behavior by Melodie . He took a

quick detour around the issue of whether Fairbanks herself actually requested or

even knew of the " Do Not Resuscitate " order. He wrote: “Apparently, shortly

after Ms. became the Conservator, the Conservatee had requested a “Do Not

Resuscitate” (DNR) order. Ms. ’s notes reflect that the Conservatee had the

capacity to make such a decision....The children all testified that they did not

know their mother had made such a request. In fact, they were

adamant that their mother had expressed to them just the opposite….”

Several points need to be made here. First, to state that “Apparently” Fairbanks

had requested the DNR does not resolve the issue that there is no indication,

other than the statement by her Conservator, that Fairbanks did so. Second,

Fairbanks was under an LPS conservatorship, which was initiated because of her

lack of capacity. She had a medical diagnosis of substantial mental illness. To

state that a person who has been deemed incompetent has capacity to make a

decision of this magnitude is a contradiction in

terms. As Welch waltzed into a veritable legal briarpatch he only revealed his

own intent —to exonerate Melodie , no matter how absurd his own statements

became. Welch then quickly moved on. In a manner reminiscent of former

President Bill “I feel your pain” Clinton, Welch wrote, “The last few days and,

later, the last few hours before (Fairbanks’) death were very painful for her

children. I could not help but note their grief and sorrow at the news of her

passing.” That being said, Judge Welch summarily approved all accountings

and actions by the Conservator, Melodie , and closed the case. TAB has

retrieved the DNR order, signed by Melodie Z. and dated at the inception

of the conservatorship. This is echoed by the DNR order issued and signed by

Rains, MD, on July 13, 2005, and featured here. In tandem, these orders

amount to Fairbanks' death

warrant. Dr. Rains is one of the doctors generally used by Melodie ,

to care for her elderly clients. A review of death certificates reveals that Dr.

Rains has listed “pneumonia” as cause of death for a number of C.A.R.E.

conservatees. Calls to Dr. Rains requesting input as to whether she regularly

withholds life-saving antibiotics from her elderly patients went unreturned.

“JUST DO IT!” After gaining conservatorship over an elderly or disabled

individual, , as a matter of course, applies to the court for a " Power of

Health Care. " Armed with this legal sanction to

make life and death decisions, usually signs a DNR order, thus cementing

her power to withhold medical care at the point when her client is no longer of

financial use to her.

In the case of Stevie Price, used this " Power of Health Care " both to

limit medical care and to issue directives for medical procedures which proved

unnecessary and life-threatening for her disabled client.

At age nine, Stevie Price was critically injured in an emergency room foul-up,

which left him with a permanent brain injury. His parents, Steve and Fae, sued

Loma Hospital and won.

A couple of years after the incident, Steve and Fae separated. It was during a

custody hearing in 1997, in San Bernardino, when the elder Steve Price noticed

an attorney sitting in the back of the courtroom, taking notes. The

attorney, he later discovered, was one Walter (now a partner in

Hartnell, Lister and ), one of the attorneys who regularly appears as

counsel for Melodie .

Before they knew it, the court had determined that an 'impartial' third party

was needed to represent Stevie. Judge Kathleen appointed Walter as

Stevie's attorney, who immediately nominated Melodie Z. as guardian of

Stevie's person.

soon gained control over Stevie's trust, as well. After being appointed

temporary guardian, Ms. used $300,000 of Stevie's trust, in attorney's

fees, expert

witness fees, etc., to achieve the status of permanent guardian in a trial

inexplicably held in a different city, before a traffic court judge, Judge

Heene of Chino Municipal court.

It should be noted that Heene was subsequently brought up on nine counts of

misconduct, and retired from the bench.

According to Steve Price, the " C.A.R.E. Team " manipulated Fae in order to gain

control of the Trust, promising her standing in the case, which never

materialized. Steve Price ended up in a protracted legal battle with , in

an attempt to protect his son's life and the funds so necessary to care for the

child.

On the very same day that Melodie was finally removed from the case,

Stevie Price died. The elder Price was then to discover, to his further horror,

that had run through the entire multi-million trust.

" The Trust should have been banking, not losing money, " states Steve Price.

Prior to Melodie 's appointment, Price had carefully researched his son's

options, and had made decisions which would guarantee excellent medical care,

while protecting the Trust, which was anticipated to last Stevie's lifetime.

Price saw no reason that his son should not live to a ripe old

age, if given appropriate care.

He had enrolled Stevie in a medical insurance plan which was funded by state

tobacco taxes-- MR/MIP (Major Risk Medical Insurance Program) with Medi-Cal as

a secondary insurance.

A chunk of Stevie's malpractice settlement had gone to settle his Medi-Cal

bill, and to enable his enrollment with MR/MIP as his primary. With less than

$100 as a monthly premium and no pay-back requirement on death, MR/MIP also

provided a far higher standard of care than the bare bones, minimal coverage

provided by Medi-Cal. Upon achieving guardianship, Melodie

voluntarily removed Stevie from this program, thus severely restricting his

medical care to what the limited Medi-Cal program would cover. This also

unnecessarily incurred a Medi-Cal claim of $532,607.39 at Stevie's death. What

remained in Stevie's trust at that point in time was inadequate to cover this

claim.

Steve Price claims that this action by Melodie " seem(s) to have

intentionally defrauded Medi-Cal into paying Stevie's medical expenses and

exposed both him and his estate to harm. " In a report to the California Attorney

General's office, Price also states that " we believe that this was a major

factor in his death. "

In another aggressive move, which Price believes was an effort to remove Stevie

from his father's watchful eye and to place him further under ’s control,

she ordered that Stevie undergo a tracheotomy in 2000. Most institutional

facilities which would be appropriate for someone with Stevie's injuries

generally only accept patients with tracheotomies. failed to provide any

diagnostic proof of the necessity of this procedure, and in defiance of the

opinion of Stevie's long term pulmonary specialist and home-health nurses,

applied for and received court permission to have the tracheotomy performed.

Perched on the corner of a pleasant Yucaipa street, Steve Price's sprawling,

ranch-style home is a virtual shrine to personal tragedy. The walls are bedecked

with photographs of his young son, surrounded by family and friends. A framed

poem, by Stevie's former nurse and now Price's fiancée, Tammy Hull, urges those

on this side of the grave to remain strong and loving, even in the face of such

wrenching loss. But for Steve Price, justice has become elusive. The California

Attorney General's office expressed disinterest in his meticulously documented

complaint, which included evidence of 's attempt to further pad her pocket

by taking out TWO burial plots on young Stevie, one of which went unreported to

the court, and was to be cashed in by on the death of

her client. “EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER THE LAW?”

The California AG's office received another bundle of complaints this past

March. The carefully documented complaints alleged embezzlement, property

theft, perjury, denial of due process by judges in C.A.R.E. cases, attempted

murder and continued suppression of reports received by lower level justice

agencies, including the Redlands and Temecula Police Departments and a local

District Attorney's offices. These reports powerfully buttress the perception

that the " C.A.R.E. Group " is wielding undue influence all the way up the

California justice system. These reports were received by Senior

Assistant Attorney General Mark Geiger on March 6,

2007 and put back into the mail to the senders the same day. Casting around for

a plausible explanation to explain his failure to act, Geiger lamely states,

“....these are matters beyond my area of developed criminal expertise.” In a

shocking effort to continue to cover-up C.A.R.E. criminal activity, he also

falsely states that “.... the statute of limitations has run on many of the

alleged offenses,” in direct contradiction to the evidence supplied in the March

reports that the alleged crimes were reported well within the proscribed

statutory time limits to local law enforcement agencies, which dutifully and

consistently dropped the ball. Most tellingly, Geiger also neglected to assign a

complaint number to the March reports. As a matter of course, and for

tracking purposes, an incoming complaint to the Department of Justice is always

assigned a complaint number. By first omitting then stubbornly refusing to

assign a number, Geiger tacitly revealed that he buried the reports. Legally, he

put himself at risk for prosecution as an accessory after the fact. 's

influence appears to go all the way up to federal. The head of the Civil Rights

Division for the Riverside F.B.I. told one

complainant that there were “massive civil rights violations” substantiated by

the complainant, but that agency took no action.” An agent in the Los Angeles

office of the F.B.I. stated, with brazen inaccuracy, that conservatorships were

a “civil” matter and that the F.B.I did not investigate civil matters. When that

complainant provided evidence that crimes were being committed under the mantle

of “civil” court procedures, she was funneled into a telephonic “black hole,”

and was refused any more access to a duty agent. “KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY”

Melodie ’s business dealings have regularly benefited members of her

family. Her mother, Jo , aka , works out of the 25 E.

State Street offices as a “Client Care” specialist. ’ name also

appeared on the property at

26735 Redlands Blvd, which was formerly the site of Orange Blossom, an

unlicensed Assisted Living center, previously owned by Melodie . The

property, which burned to the ground recently, was subsequently sold to Loma

Hospital for a cool seven figures. ’s sister, Dona Zinck, has

appeared on accountings as being reimbursed for grocery go-fer services.

Another family member, Alvin Zinck, has been the recipient of at least one

property transfer, which he apparently received free of charge. In 1994, Alvin

and Lois Zinck were the recipients of a 1958 Terry Trailer, which had previously

belonged to one Lois B. Nightingale, who was under conservatorship with Melodie

. The Bill of Sale, signed by Melodie as Conservator for Lois

Nightingale, notes that “This trailer traded for yard clean-up services and

labor.” “THE FAMILY HOME” Under the laws governing conservatorships of

estate, has total access to all the conservatee's bank accounts and may,

with the court's approval, sell the conservatee's property, in order to further

pay for her services. An unusual pattern has emerged concerning the sale of

real property, which is always approved by 's judges. Probate property, as

it is called, be it under a conservatorship case or under the estate

administration of the “C.A.R.E. Group,” is generally substantially

under-appraised and sold at a still deeper discount from the initially low

appraisal. Here is a short list of such transactions, garnered from the

Redlands Probate files and matched up with the San Bernardino's tax assessor's

office: Elmer Archie Heath 23538 Court St, San Bernardino Appraised at

$60,000 Sold at $28,600 Heath’s vacant lot on Road, Palm Desert

Appraised at $8,000 Sold at $1,000 Titus 49888 Senilis Ave, Morongo

Valley Appraised at $35,000 1/2interest sold at $3000

Townsend 1244 Ramona Drive, Redlands Appraised at $140,000 Sold at

$110,000 Mattie Kirby 1028 W. 9th, San Bernardino Appraised at $65,000

Sold at $43,000 After selling off property at bargain basement prices, many

of these properties suddenly and without explanation dramatically increase in

assessed value. For example, the “C.A.R.E. Group” handled the estate

administration for Norris, whose single family home in Victorville,

California, was appraised at $2,788. No , that’s not a misprint. The home was

sold to a Salonsin, in November of 2004. Incomprehensibly, the

assessed value then jumped to $76,000, and Salonsin quickly sold it in a “flip”

to Ilona Winegarden, where it was re-assessed at $96,900. Conservatee Arthur

Gurley’s vacant Victorville lot jumped in assessed value from $7,273 to $44,880

when it passed into the hands of Eagle Assets & Management LLC in 2005, and his

Victorville cabin also

skyrocketed in value from $8,312 to over $57,000 when Eagle acquired this

property, also in 2005. The list goes on and on. Lena Peden’s retail

business, appraised at $15,392, jumped in appraisal to over $81,000 as soon as

it was acquired in 2006. The jumps and flips are too numerous to list here;

however, it should be noted that the San Bernardino Tax Assessor, Bill Postmus,

is currently under Grand Jury investigation. As the sole heir of the estate

of conservatee Una Haley, Sheryl received absolutely nothing. ,

who was Haley’s granddaughter, had applied to be her conservator, only to have

this strong-armed away from her by the “C.A.R.E. Group.” has stated

that this group outright stole the proceeds from the sale of Haley’s home. The

court file reveals that conservator Lawrence Dean and his attorney Craig

(of Hartnell, Horspool and Fox) did an even divvy of the remains of Haley’s

estate. In the final distribution, Dean and declared to the court on

August 26, 2003 that

they each received $4,775.15. This poses some alarming questions. ’s

fees as an attorney are roughly in the $200-$250 range, while Dean’s services

are generally in the neighborhood of $40.00 an hour. There is simply no

probable mathematical equation which could have resulted in the even divide of

the remaining money. TAB has uncovered another source of potential fraud.

This reporter has unearthed partial General Ledger reports on two C.A.R.E.

conservatorships-- Dora Pakuts, in San Bernardino and one from a Riverside

case. In both ledgers, there are numerous skipped check numbers, with no

explanation provided, such as a " Void " notation, should a check be cancelled

out. TAB has been able to obtain a copy of one of these checks, written by

Melodie on a conservatee's account for over $4,000 and never reported to

the court or noted in the General Ledger. TAB subsequently contacted Melodie

, with questions about skipped check numbers, but she did not respond to

these calls. A phone call to C.A.R.E. attorney Sherri Kastilahn, however,

was indeed returned. After poring over the conservatorship file of F.

Burke, now deceased, I had some concerns about what appeared to be a substantial

amount of unaccounted for money. Burke had gone under conservatorship with

C.A.R.E. conservator Larry Dean in late 2000, and had died in January of 2003.

There was some ambiguity in the court file on a number of

issues. Kastilahn and Dean reported to the court the sale of Burke's residence

in September of 2001, but were still listing the house as an asset in March of

2002. The house had sold for $130,000, but Kastilahn and Dean reported only

$45,000 left in the estate in February of 2003. To further confuse matters,

Judge Pro-Tem E. Joan Nelms documented as estate assets over $87,000—nearly

twice what Dean and Kastilahn had just reported-- two months later, in April of

2003. Two months after Burke passed away, Kastilahn requested the court

approve her placing $30,000 of the decedant’s estate into her own State Bar

attorney-client account, for " further conservator

compensation, costs and attorney fees to be incurred in the administration of

the conservatorship proceeding. " (direct quote from court file) I wanted to ask

Ms. Kastilahn what possible conservatorship services could be offered a dead

man. I was also intensely curious as to the distribution given the sole

heir, one Lester Leroy Lorge. Kastilahn and Dean had declared to the court that

it took them two years to locate Lorge. In an unusual departure from the typical

receipt, Lorge only signed for his

" full distributive share. " I could find no notation in the court file as to

what that might be, and had never before seen a receipt for distibution in these

files which failed to note how much was received. It only took me one call

to a Private Investigator and forty-eight hours to locate Lester Lorge. He

expressed surprise that Dean and Kastilahn seemed to have such trouble locating

him. He stated that he had been close to conservatee F. Burke for about

fifty years, and was called by the hospital the day he died. Lorge revealed

to me that his “full distributive share” was, in fact, $25,940—a mere fraction

of what Kastilahn and Dean had declared as the remainder of the estate.

Attorney Sherri Kastilahn's response to my call is recorded on my voicemail. She

threatened me with a lawsuit, a Restraining Order and told me, in no uncertain

terms, that I was not a reporter, and had no standing to ask questions about

this case. It should be noted that none of the above questions were ever

tendered to Ms.

Kastilahn. When I spoke with her secretary I merely imparted that I had

questions about " financial irregularities " in the Burke file. So much for

the First Amendment. And how about that " life, liberty and pursuit of happiness "

stuff? Well, maybe the Founding Fathers weren't referring to the elderly.

Or, as an alternate

explanation, maybe our country is in battle mode. With the U.S. government

waging wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and wars now spreading like forest fires across

the globe, maybe what we are seeing is another war, against those least able to

protect themselves, right under our very noses. ************** I am

requesting that those reading this article take action, and contact the

California Attorney General’s office and demand that this office step up to the

plate and DO THEIR JOB. The number for Dane Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney

General (and Mark Geiger’s boss) is (916) 445-2030. Attorney General Jerry

Brown’s number is (510) 622-4180. Judge Larry , Presiding Judge for San

Bernardino County Court, may be reached at (909) 457-5680. The Fifth Commandment

reads " Honor thy mother and father, " not " Honor thy mother and father's cash,

rob them blind, and then throw them away like old dishrags. "

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