Partnership recovers money for defrauded senior citizens
WASHINGTON – A partnership between the Washington County District Attorney’s office and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Area Agency on Aging has resulted in the recovery of more than $500,000 for senior citizens who had been defrauded. District Attorney John Pettit said that criminal charges have been pursued in two or three cases, but most of the time just the threat of criminal charges is enough to result in restitution to the elderly victims.
“We’re often dealing with family members. If we can preserve the family unit, that’s much better,” Pettit said.
Pettit said many of the cases also involve drug abuse on the part of the family member or caregiver who defrauds the elderly victim.
“Frequently, people who have drug problems will try to get the financial resources to take care of their habit any way they can,” Pettit said. “If we come across someone who is trafficking in drugs or using drugs illegally as part of our (elder abuse) investigation, we will prosecute.”
Marie Christinis, the supervisor of Protective Services for Older Adults with the Southwestern Pennsylvania Area Agency on Aging, said partnering with the DA’s office has given her agency more clout and credibility.
“In the past, we had a very difficult time getting these crimes prosecuted. People didn’t understand that individuals who may be confused can be witnesses. There are district attorneys across Pennsylvania who won’t even consider working with the Area Agencies on Aging,” Christinis said.
Christinis said she handled one case recently in which the deed to an elderly man’s house was improperly transferred.
“When we mentioned the District Attorney’s office, it was transferred back without our having to take any further action,” Christinis said.
Washington County started its Elder Abuse Taskforce two years ago and entered into the formal agreement with the Area Agency on Aging in February 2005. Pettit said there are several benefits to formalizing the relationship between the agencies with the agreement. One benefit is having a defined system in place that can attract grant money. It can also serve as an example to law enforcement agencies in other counties and other states. He said formalizing the working relationship between the DA’s office and the Area Agency on Aging also allows the program to continue regardless of who is in charge of either program in the future.
“This document is going to be here in perpetuity,” Pettit said.
Dr. Ronald Costen, the director of Temple University’s Protective Services Institute for the elderly, said the partnership is already attracting grant money to Washington County.
“We have gotten a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to train all the police officers in Washington County on how to investigate cases of sexual assault in nursing homes,” Costen said.
Most of the $270,000 grant went into the development of the curriculum, Costen said. It will be used in a number of Pennsylvania counties, with Washington’s share for police training coming to $10,000. Costen said that he would like to see at least one officer from each of the 55 departments in Washington County participate in the training. Costen said he will be talking to the district attorneys in Fayette and Greene counties to see if the program can be expanded in the future. The SWPA Area Agency on Aging provides services to all three counties.
Pettit said he wants to see the training started in Washington County before the end of this year. Costen said that when one assault occurs in a nursing facility, studies have shown that all of the residents are at risk of future assaults, so proper investigation techniques and prosecution are important.