This is a true story- a true letter sent me by today --- the names have been changed to protect the innocent
July 12, 2014
County Attorney’s Office
RE: CA# XXX-XXX
:
I am writing to express in writing my concern and
disappointment about the phone call I received from you on the afternoon of
July 10, 2014, informing me that the XXXX County Procesutors office and
associated police detective, had lost the evidence that had been obtained in
investigating the case of financial exploitation (including at a minimum credit
card theft and possibly more serious theft in 2009/2010) of my father, a
vulnerable adult . It becomes clear that
our family, including my father, a
silent victim, and a vulnerable
adult under Court Ordered Protection status,
will be twice victimized by virtue of police and/or court
associated lack of attention to detail/ ? incompetence/ ? lack of caring,
permitting the loss of important evidence that would have allowed a fair day in
court, in defense of his due process rights, to occur.
I speak for all victims of financial exploitation and fraud,
and for all senior citizens who are the prey of con artists whose only living
is to steal from them, when I express my alarm about what it appears has now occurred
in the handling of our case. I mentioned
on the phone that it would seem our case wasn’t seen as very important by local
authorities, given the loss of evidence.
I again state my belief , resulting from the current
circumstances, that clearly the silent vulnerable can be neglected and marginalized
in the court system, since they won’t have the wherewithal to complain about sub-professional handling
of their cases.
You called me on Thursday afternoon to inform me that the
evidence was lost. You mentioned that
perhaps it was already known over a year ago that the folder containing CDs
with video surveillance from XXXXX Tire and taped interviews was missing. You didn’t tell me that this case is
scheduled for trial on July 14, 2014, something I have discovered though my own
internet search for the case today. In
fact, the last I heard from the XXXXX County Attorney’s office was in late 2012 when I sent the attached victim
impact statement. I am assuming today that the case will be
completely dropped now because of the lost tapes, even though I could easily
provide you again with the evidence I had sent previously (and which I am
attaching to this letter).
I recognize that we all are busy and that it may be common
to wait until a short time before a deadline pertaining to a given case in order
to focus on it. However, it appears to
me today that we will not have due process prosecution for a case that is to be
heard on July 14, 2014, because your office not only lost the evidence, but
because you couldn’t possibly pull it together in a day. It
would seem to me today that the words you didn’t speak in our
conversation were that not only did you lose the evidence, but that the case
would now be dropped in only a few days?
Or am I reading too much into the fact that the court date is scheduled
for July 14, 2014? (and that I wasn’t
ever told this even though I had asked to be kept informed in the attached
documents).
As I would hope you already know, exploitation of senior
citizens and other vulnerable adults is a financially lucrative business for
those criminals engaged in the process.
Individuals such as my father, by virtue of their observed incompetence,
are quickly identified to sucker lists and the victimization and exploitation
grows. Until you personally experience
the devastation of this practice, and a family member who becomes insidiously
incompetent, you may not fully appreciate that what is occurring is, in fact, a
form of terrorism, directed against one family at a time. Nobody is fully immune. Its cost to our society as a whole is larger
than currently appreciated.
I would like to see the XXXXX County Attorney’s office
and associated detectives work to re-collect the lost evidence, allowing my
father his due process. I would
also like to be reassured that this mistake results in some internal
organizational soul searching, if not review of evidence handling practices. This case should not be dropped due to our
silence, or our distance from you, or because of your internal mistakes. This
is not just about my father, or our family, but it is much bigger than
that. This is about GOOD vs BAD– in defense and
representation of ALL vulnerable seniors
and other mentally incompetents who are victims of financial exploitation. Please
don’t’ let us down. Justice for one
individual DOES represent justice for all in cases such as this.
I am copying this letter to the xxxxxx County Court where my fathers's protection status originates, for their information, as they may also
have a stake in what this case represents.
Sincerely,
Against Senior Fraud
