Financial Abuse of the Elderly: A Detective's Case Files Of Exploitation Crimes

Chapter 9: Mr. Quick, Mrs. Wright And One Bad Lemon

Excerpt from Financial Abuse of the Elderly

The priest case marked the end of a difficult year of investigations that left me feeling frustrated. 

But on July 1, 1995, a new Florida law went into effect. This law introduced phrases like “lacks capacity” and “short-term memory loss” into the statutes. The new language was much more effective and included stiffer penalties that covered almost every type of exploitation scenario. It closed huge loopholes that had protected exploiters living in the Sunshine State.

After that date, prosecutors sometimes still had to rely on the grand theft statute to make their cases stick, but this became the exception rather than the rule.
Now began a consistent string of successful prosecutions and, along with them, public awareness increased significantly. Newspaper articles started to use the word “exploited” rather than “defrauded” far more often. Readers at least had a general understanding that there was a difference.

The following cases represent this new legal crackdown, a welcome shift from the prior “lawless” year. But remember that the law is just a tool and good tools alone do not make a good carpenter.

MR. QUICK
The First Arrest

On July 12, 1995, a 93-year-old German woman named Ottilie was walking up to her car in a shopping center parking lot when a middle-aged man approached her.

He told her that smoke and fire were coming from her car’s engine and offered to take a look. Though confused and fearful, she agreed because she thought that she had no choice but to trust him. After a brief inspection under the hood, he convinced her that he could fix the problem, but it was serious and would be very costly. He suggested  that they go to her bank for more money. She gave him her car keys and then he literally “took her to the bank.”

Once there, he escorted her to a teller window and did all the talking. He told the teller that Ottilie wanted to take out a $4,700 cash advance on her credit card for car repairs.

The teller looked at the tiny, frail woman standing nervously by the man’s side and asked her if this was in fact what she wanted.
Ottilie just said “yes.” Fortunately, the bank’s cameras took their pictures throughout the transaction.

After they left the bank, the man drove them back to the shopping center, got out of the car, and calmly walked away with Ottilie’s money. It seemed as if he had done this type of thing before. Ottilie sat there in her car for a while, confused and afraid, and finally asked a passerby to call the police.

When I took this case there was only so much I could do. I got the suspect’s picture into the papers, hoping that someone might recognize him. Then I gathered the usual statements from the victim and teller.

In her statement, Ottilie came right out and said that she had lost her memory. She broke down crying and explained that, because of this problem, she couldn’t function in her daily living. Sometimes she would wake up in the morning not knowing who or where she was.

Ottilie said that she thought the man had wanted only $47 dollars but couldn’t be sure of that either.

Luckily, the bank teller’s statement had revealed that the suspect had requested $4,700 for car repairs. Once again, though, I had to listen to a teller tell me that she knew something was wrong during the transaction but thought her hands were legally tied.
Several nights after this incident, a local nightclub manager happened to see the suspect’s photo in the local newspaper while the con man was standing right there at the bar. The manager called the police, who responded promptly and took him into custody.

When he arrived at the police station, I was already there waiting.
His name was Tom Quick and he said that he was a Rumanian Gypsy. Quick admitted he was the same person in the bank photo but denied taking any money or telling Ottilie that her car was broken.

The victim was a poor witness because of her memory loss, of course – but the bank teller’s memory was just fine. Using the new law, I charged Quick with exploitation.

He was probably the first person in Florida charged under the new law. But the reality is that, if not for an alert nightclub manager, Quick likely would remain today just another nameless face in a bank photo of a crime in progress.

The point being that a good “eye” was needed in addition to the good law and an alert citizen made that difference. Good laws, enforcement and help from the public can solve even the hopeless cases.

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Cat Sep 17, 2008 Suggest Removal

I wish that a copy of this book was in every police station in the country. Too often Elder Abuse - especially financial elder abuse is perceived as a civil rather than a criminal matter. Nothing can prepare you for the heartbreak of seeing a loved one victimized and defrauded. I hope everyone reads this book