Philly cellar chaining

[classicman]

The landlord of the apartment building at first thought a circuit breaker had tripped when he went to the basement Saturday and found all the lights were out. Then he realized all six bulbs had been removed, and he heard dogs barking inside a boiler room, its door chained shut.

He removed the chain, stepped into the dank, foul-smelling room and lifted a pile of blankets. Several sets of human eyes stared back at him.

Turgut Gozleveli had stumbled upon four mentally disabled adults, all weak and malnourished, and one chained to the boiler.

He may have also stumbled upon a vast scheme — stretching from Philadelphia to Norfolk, Virginia; West Palm Beach, Florida, and Texas — to steal the monthly Social Security disability checks of defenseless and vulnerable people, authorities said.

Philadelphia police on Saturday arrested three adults staying in an apartment upstairs, including the person accused of being the ringleader, Linda Ann Weston, who had been convicted of murder in a 1981 starvation death.

Link

These are the type of people for whom shooting is too kind a punishment. Effin' bastards!

[Pete Zicato]

This has become a national story. It's been discussed on the local radio news.

[jimhelm]

I thought this was going to be a gtg thread, around some kind of new fad like planking and owling.

I am dissapoint

[Spexxvet]

I thought there would be photos of dwellars in chains

[glatt]

I don't really understand this scam.

If you are claiming benefits for disabled people, do you have to physically produce them for inspection as proof that the benefits should be continued? Why were they kept alive at all? Seems like the bad guys could make more money if they just stopped feeding them and keeping them alive. They would get the benefits with no overhead costs. Also, if these people were reported as missing, how were benefits claimed in their name? You would think that if John Smith is reported missing, and a claim was made in his name, that would raise a red flag somewhere.

Or did the bad guys just create fake identities for these disabled people and then trot them out for inspection to qualify for benefits?

I really don't understand the scam they were running.

[Clodfobble]

You do have to present the person periodically, not as a specific requirement of disability checks, but because things regularly get screwed up and you have to get them started again. The real problem is this stuff isn't coordinated between states. So they figured out after awhile that the guy was reported missing in one state, cancelled his checks, and the kidnapper just took him to another state and got new benefits going.

This is one of the reasons that special needs parents are urged to file paperwork to become their child's permanent legal guardian after they turn 18, even if the person is capable of living on their own. If the disabled person is considered a full-fledged adult, the parents can't do anything about it if their child later gets scammed or otherwise taken advantage of.

[Spexxvet]

The local fox affiliate is already blaming the federal government.

[Lamplighter]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

<snip>
This is one of the reasons that special needs parents are urged to file paperwork to become their child's permanent legal guardian after they turn 18, even if the person is capable of living on their own. If the disabled person is considered a full-fledged adult, the parents can't do anything about it if their child later gets scammed or otherwise taken advantage of.

Excellent advise, Clod
There are so many things parents of special needs kids have to think about and plan, that others don't.

[classicman]

Clod is, as usual, dead on accurate. In my case this was done on his 18th B-Day. Additionally, it can always be changed later, just in case.

@ Spexx - someone should be checking up on this. Who do you suggest, if not the Gov't?

[BigV]

Child Protective Services. That's a misnomer. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. "To Protect and to Serve", LAPD. Protect? How can the federal government actually protect someone in a situation like this? They can't, and reasonable people understand this.

If you'd be willing to expand the name to "Department of taking decisive steps to reduce the chances that a similar offense can be perpetrated on a given individual once we've been made aware of an unsafe or illegal situation", then a case could be made for "not living up to the name of the department. But that's not nearly as catchy and the extra expense for the larger business cards would be the fault of the federal government too, so, lose, lose.

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by classicman

In my case this was done on his 18th B-Day.

Good good good.

I recently read a novel that centered around the idea that a mother of a high-functioning special needs child had put off the guardianship paperwork for just a few weeks past the kid's birthday, and when he ended up getting wrongly arrested she wasn't allowed to be in the room when he was interrogated, and when she tried to prove his condition to the police she realized she no longer was allowed access to his medical records, and it only got worse from there... it was the scariest freaking thing I'd read in a long while.

[classicman]

ALL parents MUST have their kids sign the HiIPAA medical release form when they get old enough (18 in PA) I think its a Fed thing, but I'm not positive.
Without this form you (the parent) will get NO information on your "of age child" I have seen horror stories of kids like mine that were simply a few months older. The parents were not allowed access to ANY medical info. Totally effed up, but still an unintended reality.

[morethanpretty]

Also, reason to screen/test for genetic mental/physical disabilities. The less people we have with these types of illnesses, the better care we can give to the ones who do and the more difficult it will be to scam/abuse them. I would hope.
Its just sad and sick what happens to so many of these people who aren't capable of fully functioning on their own.

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by classicman

@ Spexx - someone should be checking up on this. Who do you suggest, if not the Gov't?

Not the issue. You can't blame the gov't for this when your company promotes lower taxes (inhibitting the gov't from effectively doing its job) and dismantling said gov't. Unless you are a hypocrit.

[classicman]

Easy there big boy... I just asked a question.