Another Jon Norheim Court Appointed
Guardian Charged With Exploitation

Family Court Judge Charles Hoskin Issues Letter Replete With
Factual Inaccuracies insulting Families of Exploited Elders

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        Judge Charles Hoskin                        Guardianship Commissioner Jon Norheim

INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
November 17, 2014

LAS VEGAS - In July, 2014, appointed Clark County Guardianship Commissioner Jon Norheim ignored testimony and evidence indicating financial exploitation by Helen Natko, then awarded Natko full guardianship of the estate and person of 83 year old Delford Mencarelli. Three months later, on October 24, 2014, Natko was criminally charged for converting $37,057.53 from Mencarelli's account to her own use.
 

Register of Actions Case No. 14F14465X State of Nevada vs. NATKO, HELEN Case Type: Felony Date Filed: 10/24/2014 Location: JC Department 3 Party Information Lead Attorneys Defendant NATKO, HELEN   Paul J Adras, ESQ  Retained State of Nevada State of Nevada Charge Information Charges: NATKO, HELEN   Statute  Level  Date 1.  Exploit old/vuln pers, $5K+ [50304]  200.5099.3c Felony 10/23/2014

This was the second time Commissioner Norheim appointed guardianship to a person who would later be charged with Exploiting Old/Vulnerable Persons. Jon Norheim was appointed to his position by District Court Presiding Judge Charles Hoskin who oversees his court.

In November 2009,  Commissioner Norheim awarded Jared E. Shafer's private fiduciary firm full guardianship of the person and million dollar estate of then-90 year old Guadalupe Olvera.  Guardian Patience Bristol was employed by Shafer's Professional Fiduciary Services of Nevada, Inc. (PFSN, Inc.) and was charged with looking after Mr. Olvera. Shafer and Bristol enjoyed full power of attorney over Mr. Olvera's estate until a California Superior Court Judge put an end to their exploitation.

On May 26, 2014, Patience Bristol was convicted of exploiting the elderly, and is currently serving 3 - 8 years in the Nevada State Penitentiary. Jared Shafer has not yet been charged with a crime.

Appointing Bristol and Natko guardians are just two examples of the many bad decisions Commissioner Norheim made under the supervision of Judge Hoskin, decisions that resulted in the exploitation of millions of dollars from senior citizens and disabled persons living in Clark County, Nevada.

In regard to the Delford Mencarelli case currently on Norheim's court docket, Mencarelli's son in law Richard Black on October 14, 2014 wrote a letter to Norheim's boss Judge Hoskin requesting that he conduct an investigation of alleged wrongdoing in Norheim's court.

Richard Black's full letter to Judge Hoskin: http://www.stevemiller4lasvegas.com/BlacksHoskin.C.Letter.10.14.pdf

In his letter, Black stated: "Clark County Family Court Guardian Commissioner is Hearing Master Jon Norheim, 52 (shown on left with Ralph and Rick Rizzolo in photo taken by the late Buffalo Jim Barrier).  He was appointed by Judge Charles Hoskin, and has served on the bench since March 2005.  Jon Norheim is an attorney and prior to becoming hearing master was employed by Patti and Sgro as a senior associate and was primary counsel for convicted organized crime racketeer Rick Rizzolo.  Patti and Sgro is a Las Vegas based law firm specializing in criminal defense and personal injury.  After 10 years on the bench and many questionable decisions regarding jurisprudence and fiduciary decision making with regard to Clark County guardianships, you would think a former organized crime defense lawyer's suitability to insure justice for the vulnerable would be closely scrutinized. Commissioner Norheim has demonstrated an extreme bias to keep high net worth elderly singles in need of a guardian in the state of Nevada and under the care of the private guardians he chooses.

Below is a list of guardianship cases I have investigated where Commissioner Norheim permanently denied capable family members guardianship, and awarded private guardians.  I have documented over $5.5 Million of wasted assets of 7 of the families listed below in just the last 5 years with no additional services provided to the ward due to Commissioner Norheim's decisions to assign private guardians."

Such an ex parte communication would usually not receive an answer because most are considered improper contact with a court, but Black's inquiry obviously hit a nerve with Hoskin, and he sent this response in the middle of an ongoing case involving Black:

Here is the full text of Judge Hoskin's "Investigation:"
http://www.stevemiller4lasvegas.com/HoskinInvestigation.11.7.2014.pdf

 Quotes from Judge Hoskin's Investigation:

The defensive tone of Judge Hoskin's reply and the words "replete with factual inaccuracies" inspired INSIDE VEGAS to take a closer look at his findings.

"Mr. Black asserted that Ms. Natko stole from the word, but evidence to make that finding was not presented."

The felony charges against Ms. Natko completely contradict Judge Hoskin's findings.

"No further action.. has been initiated to recoup any stolen funds."

The whereabouts of the over $500,000.00 missing from Christina Berger's account was questioned on May 22, 2013 in Norheim's court.  This court video showing Patience Bristol's employer Jared E. Shafer's reaction to the questions should have grabbed Judge Hoskin's immediate attention, but Hoskin and Norheim chose to ignore all available evidence of organized exploitation of Berger's assets:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee8XnR56gow

.Attorney Elyse Tyrell (left) is an associate of Jared Shafer (right). They are involved in a political sign business that's run out of Shafer's PFSN office. There may be a reason behind the duo's interest in outdoor advertising, and she may not have been in the Court by accident the day of Jason Hanson's hearing. While she looked the other way, or just didn't care, the 24 year old cerebral palsy victim lost his house and inheritance when they were converted with Family Court approval into Jared Shafer's use. Here is Jason's story in his own words: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tgqmyKb8WI.

Judge Hoskin and Commissioner Norheim obviously didn't care about Jason's well being. Based on Norheim and Hoskin's lack of oversight, no one knows how much money Shafer, et. al. converted from Jason's late-father's estate because no financial reports were required by the Court.

Here is the response by Charles Pascal, Ms. Dudeck's son in law:  "Investigations usually consist of contacting parties from both sides before arriving at a conclusion regarding the surrounding facts.  After reading the letter to Mr. Rick Black written by Judge Charles Hoskin, I seriously doubt any investigation on the part of Judge Hoskin actually took place. Did Judge Hoskin contact attorneys who represented the families involved in the disputed guardian cases?  (No)!  Did someone working on judge Hoskin’s staff contact the family members to obtain their side of the story? (No)! Did Judge Hoskin read the briefs submitted by attorneys representing both sides?  (No)!

It appears Judge Hoskin decided to follow the verbiage supplied to him by the attorneys who only represented the guardian side of the story.

Marcy DuDeck was never kept in a van. The Pascal’s have never owned, rented or leased any type of van.  When Marcy arrived in California, she spent her first night in a hotel with her daughter Heidi.  The reason for the hotel stay on the first evening in California was because she arrived too late to be admitted at Sunrise Senior Assisted living in Playa Vista.  Mrs. DuDeck’s admission occurred the next morning.

When Heidi brought Marcy to California, no court order had been issued to stop her from leaving Nevada.  Documentation of this case in 2006 verifies this fact.  While under Shafer's guardianship, Marcy asked to be removed from her residence at Chancellor Gardens in Las Vegas after it was found to have 108 Nevada State Board of Health violations.   Marcy had no toilet paper, hadn't been bathed, and her weight was 114 pounds.  Norheim refused to take any action, stating the fact that Heidi was an out of state resident and this would legally preclude her from having any input regarding the living conditions of her mother. All of these events failed to appear in Judge Hoskin’s report to Mr. Black regarding our case.  The Hoskin investigation is a Matrix version of history complete with a virtual white wash of all unpleasant facts.

The person who kidnapped Marcy DuDeck against her will was Lance DuDeck, Marcy’s son.  Mrs. DuDeck was removed against an existing Nevada court order, which stated she was to remain at Sunrise for the rest of her life. This outcome was documented in the evidentiary hearing held on May 1, 2007.  Lance DuDeck received no penalty for violating a Nevada court order.  Lance DuDeck received the bulk of Marcy's estate.   Marcy was in excellent medical health before she was kidnapped.  A medical report from Dr. David Weiss will confirm the fact she weighed 134 pounds before being kidnapped from California.  At the time of her death after being transported to Nevada, Marcy’s weight was 122 pounds. The medical report listed the cause of her death as dehydration. In California, Marcy was encouraged to drink water.  In Nevada no one was available to encourage her. Marcy was frail, but this condition occurred in Nevada under Shafer's guardianship, and not in California.

Numerous calls from the IRS were made to Heidi Pascal to determine why taxes hadn't been paid on Marcy’s estate, which prompted Heidi to challenge Nevada Family Court's appointment of Jared Shafer.  Mr. Shafer’s refusal to answer our questions regarding the IRS tax issues only added additional fuel to the case.

We have a check in the amount of $20,000, made out to Jared Shafer, which was signed by Marcy DuDeck one year after she was declared to be not competent by Nevada's Elder Protective Services.  This check was cashed by Jared Shafer and treated by the courts and banks as if Marcy actually signed this check.

The courts ignored the fact Marcy was removed from her home because Lance DuDeck tested positive for meth.  The test for meth was documented in our case. The Nevada courts continued to treat Heidi as an outsider.  Heidi was forced to close the case without any accounting by Jared Shafer

Judge Hoskin is either living on another planet or is badly misinformed."

The exploitation of WW2 hero Guadalupe Olvera (left) has been widely reported. Evidently, Judge Hoskin has never reviewed media coverage of Olvera's fight to return to his family in California; or to recover over $420,000.00 bled from his trust account while he was a "ward" of PFSB, Inc.. Mr. Olvera, now 95, is presently living a happy and healthy life with his family in Santa Cruz, County, and is busy pursuing a Federal Racketeering lawsuit against Jared Shafer and his crew.  Here is his daughter Rebecca Schultz' response to Judge Hoskin's investigation:

“As victims, we are astounded by the inaccuracies and fabrication put forth in Mr. Hoskin’s letter to Mr. Black, which adds insult to injury.  Mr. Hoskin has NEVER spoken to my father or me and has only been told one side of the story, which came from the persons who violated my father's rights and financially exploited him. Here are just a few inaccuracies stated by Mr. Hoskin:

1)     The 1st exploiter of my father was not a caregiver but the receptionist at Sun City Anthem's Community Center, Cathy Elliott. Little did we know when Shafer and Tyrell removed her that dad was going into the hands of a superior exploiter! Mr. Shafer DID NOT seek prosecution of Ms. Elliott as I was told, even though the police assisted in her removal from my father's home. Exhibit 1.

2)     I DID NOT hire Mr. Shafer as a permanent guardian. Mr. Shafer sent me to attorney Elyse Tyrell, assuring me she would “help”. I paid her $3700 only to have her later tell me, “I work for Jared.” She said the guardianship would be “temporary”. Exhibit 2.

3)     Hoskin approved of Norheim allowing Shafer to violate NRS Chapter 160 Veterans Guardianship Uniform Act, which states if a guardian has more than one veteran as a ward, he may not have more than a total of 5 wards. We have the videos from these hearings as well as ward lists.  Exhibit 3 and Exhibit 4.

4)     My father was not “abducted”. He left of his own volition, having asked my husband and I to bring him back to CA. There was no court order limiting his travel out of the area. He told the court he was going to CA. My father was fully cognizant of his situation. The hearing of 9-8-10 demonstrates Norheim's reluctance to allow my father to speak at his own hearing! Exhibits 5 and 6.

5)     My father did not have “dementia” nor was he suffering from “loss of memory and cognitive functioning” as Mr. Hoskin stated—so he thinks he's a medical professional now? Dr. Sherk evaluated my father in 2007 and found he had “the capacity to amend or change and amend his trust and/or will” and, in her opinion “he does not require a guardianship”. Once back in CA, dad was again deemed competent by Stephen Aaron, M.D., Stanley G. Einhorn, Ph.D. and the VA, contrary to what Norheim's court kept stating in order to prevent my father from expressing his wishes and attending court. Mr. Shafer and Norheim elected to IGNORE Sherk’s report and REFUSED to acknowledge CA reports. Exhibit 7 and Exhibit 8

6)     My father NEVER lived in Boulder City nor has he ever lived in a VA facility. During his time in NV under Shafer’s guardianship, my father lived the entire time in his home in Henderson with caregivers from Shafer’s Keep You Company service.

7)     Dr. Sherk is a M.D. with a J.D. in law but she is NOT licensed to practice law, therefore she is not an “attorney” as stated by Mr. Hoskin.  This can be verified by a search of her name at the NV State Bar: http://www.nvbar.org/find-a-lawyer

8)     Shafer DID NOT cooperate with terminating the guardianship in NV after we created a conservatorship as per his demand in CA. It took numerous requests from our attorney and fiduciary to have the guardianship dissolved and Wells Fargo refused to give up control over the Trust until our attorney sent a demand letter to their legal department. All parties in NV fought tooth and nail to hang on to dad's estate, even though he had been living in CA well over 2 years. Shafer kept saying he was the “guardian” yet he provided NO services or money to my father at all; in fact he didn't even call one time to ask how he was doing. For Shafer, it was all about keeping dad's money and home, and Norheim and Hoskin backed Shafer 100%."

Click HERE to see court video of 91 year old WW2 hero plead to be allowed to spend his final days with family in California. Private Guardian Jared E. Shafer signals his displeasure to Family Court Judge Jon Norheim who refused to permit senior to leave LV. Family followed patriarch's orders and moved him to Santa Cruz County while funds were bled from his account in Nevada to pay Shafer's lawyers to fight for his return.

MORE INFORMATION on Olvera case:
http://www.americanmafia.com/Inside_Vegas/2-25-13_Inside_Vegas.html

The strange case of Leann Goorjian inspired me to write "Grave Robbery Under Color Of Law."

Three years before Leann died on February 24, 2008 leaving a multi-million dollar fortune, she was placed into the guardianship of Jared E. Shafer. That was in 2005 when she was deemed a "vulnerable person." Since her death, Judge Hoskin has not required Shafer to relinquish guardianship over her estate, and Shafer continues draining it of hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.

A total of $432,043.00 was converted from Leann's account after her death and paid to Shafer in "fees" starting with his first self-payment of $294,543.00 on August 4, 2009, eighteen months after Leann passed away, and ending with two payments of $12,500.00 each, one on March 28, 2013, and another on April 19, 2013, again for "fees." This does not include tens of thousands of dollars Shafer paid over the five year period to his personal attorneys, accountants, business partners, and other cronies for their "services" to the deceased woman.

Evidently, Judge Hoskin does not find this to be unusual.

You be the judge as to who is "replete with factual inaccuracies."

Following years of elder exploitation under color of law, THE VEGAS VOICE, a local weekly newspaper has spotlighted the Achilles heel that allows so many such cases to fall through the cracks each year. The newspaper has identified the Nevada law that prohibits relatives who live outside Nevada from becoming guardians of their loved ones residing in Nevada, and enlisted the help of the Nevada Legislature to abolish NRS 159.059 at this winter's legislative session.  The present law per 159.037 1 states:  "The venue for the appointment of a guardian when the ward's home state is this State must be (a) The the county where the proposed ward resides."

This arbitrary law prohibits family members living outside Nevada from caring for the personal and financial needs of their loved one - a terrible law designed to enrich Nevada private guardians and deny the human rights of well to do elderly or disabled persons. (Poor people are not provided court appointed guardians.)

                       SIGN ON LINE:  http://www.thevegasvoice.net/guardianship-petition.html

People like Judge Hoskin, Commissioner Norheim, Patience Bristol, Elyse Tyrell, and Jared E. Shafer fought long and hard to put NRS 159.059 into law, and it's expected that they (with the absence of Bristol who is in prison) will vigorously oppose any effort to abolish their profitable law.

The law must be changed, or seniors should be warned about the perils of retiring in our state. Keep in mind that Shafer and Tyrell may be owed favors from legislators they helped get elected with their billboards, so PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION no matter where you live.

Let Nevada politicians know they are being watched, and immeidate action is required before any more inheritances can be stolen.

BACKGROUND:
http://www.americanmafia.com/inside_vegas/3-17-14_Inside_Vegas.html
http://www.stevemiller4lasvegas.com/ShaferFinancialRecords2.html