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Apr 4, 2007
I am leaving C2. Please - no questions. I will email my friends with the reasons why. Thanks
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Posted: Apr 4, 2007 1:19pm
Apr 2, 2007
Love Suckers


Romance swindlers are leaving Valley seniors with empty wallets and broken hearts. That is, when they leave them alive.


Walter Nellis knows how to identify and attack an enemy target. The 82-year-old snowbird piloted bombers over Germany during World War II. Little did he know that he himself had beco me a target on a recent afternoon in Scottsdale . Nellis was lunching at Sweet Tomatoes, where he ordered his favorite me al and, like most me als since his wife passed away, sat down to enjoy it alone.


Nellis had barely finished squeezing a lemon into his iced tea when he was approached by an attractive, olive-skinned woman who acted like she knew him. “How are you?” she asked. “It’s been so long,” she said, smiling and taking a chair at Nellis’s table.


Nellis’s thick eyebrows rose in surprise. “You must have me confused with so me one else. I don’t believe I know you,” he told the woman in his characteristically shaky voice.


Persisting, the attractive young woman introduced herself as Rose and asked about Nellis’s deceased wife. “Well, unfortunately she passed away two years ago,” Nellis said.


Rose’s face filled quickly with a forced empathy as she reached out to caress Nellis’s hand and express her condolences.
 

Rose insisted she had met Nellis before and said that like Nellis, she too was lonely. “It would be so nice to have so me body just to go shopping with or to watch movies with,” she said.


Rose had in fact never met Nellis prior to running into him that day. She had followed him from the parking lot, where she saw him park his white Mercedes convertible. But Rose is no run-of-the-mill gold digger searching for a generous sugar daddy. She’s a career con artist who travels the country conning elderly me n out their valuables and occasionally their entire life savings. She currently resides in Chandler with her husband, who often plays the role of her “brother” in her elaborate ruses.
 

Once she empties a retiree’s coffers, she moves to another pension-rich state, like Florida or Nevada, where she changes her na me and begins her search for another lonely widower.
 

Rose is one of a band of con artists who have infiltrated the Southwest, perpetrating what law enforce me nt officials call the Sweetheart Scam, a confidence-gathering con that preys on the loneliness of elderly widowers.


According to police, con artists like Rose are finding plenty of suckers in the Valley.


Sweetheart scammers can make off with cars, jewelry and even life insurance payouts. Documented cases in Arizona have recorded swindlers making off with between $30,000 and $500,000. Since the swindlers are taking nothing by force, they’re rarely prosecuted as criminals. In most cases, the victims’ families are completely unaware of the scam or the scammers.


Coming to a Bingo Hall Near You


“The Phoenix Police Depart me nt has several instances where the male victims lost hundreds of thousands of dollars and were left stranded in another state,” Phoenix police say of Sweetheart Scams. “Most citizens are not aware that this scam is occurring, but it is actually quite popular.”
 

Speaking from her Colorado office, Rhoda Cook agrees. She is the founder of Citizens United to Find Fugitives (CUFF) and says she fields about 20 Sweetheart Scam reports each week from across the nation.
 

Cook and Phoenix police both say the majority of Sweetheart Scams go unreported because the victims feel embarrassed and emotionally devastated. “We have dealt with so many victims, I have about lost track of the number, Cook says.
 

“The gypsy perpetrator knows that elderly me n are lonely. Usually the victims have been widowed for several years. The Phoenix me tropolitan area is a jackpot-rich environ me nt for finding elderly people,” the Phoenix police add.


After first me eting Walter Nellis at Sweet Tomatoes, Rose’s attempt to scam the Scottsdale retiree unfolded like a page right out of the Sweetheart Scam textbook. When Nellis me ntioned he might see a movie, Rose replied, “Oh, I love watching movies. I just can’t bear to go alone.”


Within two weeks, Rose had called Nellis to request his help in purchasing a car. That’s when Nellis contacted The Time s , wondering why a young, attractive woman would be so interested in him and his money.
 

In reality, Rose hails from a family notoriously engaged in an array of mafia-like organized cri me s. The family owns large estates in Nevada and, when legally charged, hires high-dollar attorneys to avoid prosecution. One of Rose’s brothers is wanted for murder, while her sister is suspiciously linked to the Sweetheart Scam death of a retiree who signed over his life insurance policy before dying.


Selling the Family Farm

Other Valley residents haven’t been as lucky as Walter Nellis. Scottsdale retiree Bo b Stickel lived just miles from Nellis. He was swindled out of more than $300,000 before dying a what his family calls a suspicious death at age 72.


When Stickel first me t the woman who introduced herself as Tatjana, he was grieving the death of his wife of 50 years. Stickel’s adult children say they were suspicious of Tatjana from day one, but didn’t want to step on their grieving father’s toes. Daughter Sandy Chrisman re me mbers the first ti me she me t Tatjana, during a dinner at Houston’s on Scottsdale Road.
 

Tatjana didn’t fit the slim, attractive stereotype of most sweetheart scam me rs. “She was a large woman and looked like she used to be a guy,” Chrisman says. But Tatjana was friendly and affectionate. She quickly beca me the aging widower’s best friend, accompanying him to doctor’s appoint me nts, garage sales and religious me etings.


“She’s gonna take his money and kill him,” Sandy’s husband J eff Chrisman said as they drove away from Houston’s that first night. Now he wishes he’d been wrong.


Bob Stickel was a simple, pleasant grandfather of a man, an Illinois farm boy who had moved to Scottsdale to raise his four children. He spent his career working as a maintenance man for Scottsdale Public Schools. Stickel awoke at 5:30 each morning in his Scottsdale townhouse. He prepared his own concoction of “zoup” in the kitchen and read his Bible, taking notes and drinking green tea.
 

Shortly after he met Tatjana, Stickel suddenly and uncharacteristically sold the working farm that had been in the family for eight generations. Over the course of the following year, Stickel would ask Tatjana to marry him twice. Tatjana never took his hand in marriage, but she did take plenty of his money.
 

Two years later, Bob Stickel was dead, and the family couldn’t find more than a few thousand dollars of the $500,000 from the farm he had sold.
 

Sitting today at the Old Town Scottsdale Village Inn where her dad used to eat, Stickel’s daughter Debby holds a sheaf of papers. The contents docu me nt the nearly $500,000 Stickel paid out in the year after he sold the farm.
 

The bundle of receipts and bank r ecords includes one check for $148,000 written to Transnation Title. The money was a down pay me nt on a house so me where, but Transnation Title won’t say what ho me or where because Stickel isn’t listed as a buyer or seller. He simply wrote the check for $148,000. The stack of state me nts is full of such unsolved mysteries.
 

Debby says the thing that bothered her most was Tatjana’s apparent effort to mimic Stickel’s deceased wife. “After she saw pictures of mom, she changed her hair to look like mom’s,” Debby says. “When we talked about mom loving garage sales , Tatjana suddenly started taking dad to garage sales .”


Unlike most Sweetheart Scam victims, the Stickel family has won a $300,000 civil suit against Tatjana, who has been difficult to track down. They have yet to collect on it and say justice is still far from being served. Stickel’s other children agree; it’s too odd a coincidence that Tatjana was the last person in Bo b S tickel’s bedroom the day he died unexpectedly.

“Dad always slept on his back,” Debby says. “When we found him that morning he was laying on his stomach with his arms out like he’d been trying to push himself up.” The Stickels did not request an autopsy, and didn’t learn that their father’s money was gone until after the funeral. Scottsdale authorities have since denied requests to exhu me the body.
 

“She had seen Bo b and targeted him for money,” Sandy says of Tatjana, who was most recently spotted in Oklahoma. “People in her life tend to die mysteriously. Her mom got sick with E. coli and died. These people that Tatjana hangs around with, their associates have been known to die quite suddenly.”


Unfortunately, the family’s suspicions will probably never be substantiated. Tatjana will likely never face criminal charges because Stickel willingly gave his savings away.


“He was lonely, and us kids could only keep him so busy,” Debby says. “He was used to giving to mom. She moved right into that spot after mom died. He got taken.”


Flying
Just Under the Legal Radar


The Stickel family’s civil judg me nt against Tatjana is extre me ly rare. Few sweetheart scam me rs see any penalty for their actions.


“There is much more to this epidemic than just the victims’ tragedies,” CUFF founder Rhoda Cook says. “The heart of this matter is the criminal justice system’s perspective on these frauds. It is one of the reasons why it is so easy and productive these days to use love as a lure for profit.”


In her years following Sweetheart Scams, Cook has seen only one swindler serve jail time —a con woman who scammed a California man out of $400,000 is currently serving four years for the crime.


“Right now we have a lot of people who realize how easy it is to lie to so me body to get their money,” Cook says. “We want to get the public mad enough to motivate law enforce me nt to do so me thing.”


Cook says many Valley retirees are specifically being targeted, not only at casinos and shopping centers but also through Internet dating sites. “A lot of older people in Scottsdale are finding other people on Web sites. People are getting conned on almost every senior site,” Cook says.
 

“Our whole purpose is that we recognize that fraud is not being investigated. Police need to be educated as to what it is and get these con artists off the streets,” Cook adds.


The Phoenix Police Depart me nt, one of the few to target Sweetheart Scams, agrees that sweetheart scam me rs are
slippery.
 

“Prosecution is often difficult because the victim is reluctant to assist, or his me mory is so poor that he makes a bad witness,” Phoenix Police Organized Cri me experts say.
 

Cook says the scam me rs know they won’t go to jail and confidently move from one scam to another. If they’re ever caught, the scam me rs simply say they were befriending the victim and then give the gifts back.


‘Til Death Do Us Part


In 1944, while Walter Nellis was parachuting into Germany, another World War II veteran, Al Dobelstein, was also fighting for the Allied Forces. Three years ago, Dobelstein was approached by a sweetheart scam me r who coincidentally used the sa me na me , Rose.
 

Rose used many of the same tactics employed just weeks ago on Nellis in the Valley. Only for Dobelstein, the setting wasn’t a Sweet Tomatoes but a horse track near Tacoma, Washington. By the time Dobelstein’s daughter Candice met Rose, her father was already paying Rose’s phone bills and her mortgage.


“My dad would complain about her doing things with other guys,” Candice Dobelstein says. “Now I know it’s because Rose was actually married the whole time .”
 

The textbook Sweetheart Scam involves the scam me r’s husband, who poses as a brother or uncle. In Dobelstein’s case, as with Nellis in Scottsdale, Rose introduced her tall, intimidating husband as her brother.


It wasn’t until after her father’s death that Candice learned he had bought a house for Rose as well as a brand-new Ford Mustang convertible. Dobelstein had also cashed out three separate $100,000 life insurance policies for the sweet-talking temptress.


“She had him so manipulated he just couldn’t see what was going on. These scammers got a lot of money. They moved on. Nothing was done,” Dobelstein says. “It’s amazing how many people have come to me , having been taken by these women,” she says.


“These women are professional. Gypsy scammers are groomed for this from an early age, and there are a whole lot more non-gypsy scammers out there using the same Sweetheart Scam tactics,” Dobelstein adds.
 

Dobelstein says she thinks about her dad’s scam every day, not just because the perpetrators took his life savings, but because the authorities haven’t pressed any charges in his suspicious death.
 

Al Dobelstein was discovered naked on the floor of his home , wearing only a sock. When he was taken to the intensive care unit of an area hospital, Candice discovered Rose had obtained her father’s power of attorney. “I actually had to win guardianship of my own father in court,” she says.
 

It was then that Dobelstein learned Rose had a social security number with her father’s last na me and was receiving his pension payments.
 

“Too often the police act like these old men were going to die anyway,” Dobelstein says. “These crimes won’t stop until laws are enforced. These are a low priority to law enforcement. That’s what many victims have been told.”


To their credit, detectives in Dobelstein’s case did interview Rose about the assets she acquired before Al Dobelstein’s death. Rose maintained the assets were all gifts. Candice Dobelstein says that’s hard to believe. When her dad lay dying and unconscious in the hospital, Rose snuck in and slipped his gold watch off his wrist, replacing it with a Timex.


Today, another victim’s daughter calls from Las Vegas. Her father has already been scam me d out of $40,000 and a brand-new Ford Thunderbird, but he’s so emotionally roped in that she has to monitor his phone calls.


The Vegas scammer has been interviewed by detectives, but she still telephones the widower, asking for money. Las Vegas detectives say the con artist is not alone in the Southwest. She has a sister named Rose. m


If you or so
me one you know may be involved in a Sweetheart Scam, contact the police.

 

Copyright 2007, Strickbine Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.
http://scottsdaletimes.com/apr07-feature1.asp

This my dad Al Dobelstein  
my dad


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Posted: Apr 2, 2007 8:34am
Mar 15, 2007

You Can Help Catch Internet Con Artists


 And See Them Arrested on National TV !!!

CUFF is working with the media to turn the tables on Internet con artists who blatantly defraud online sweethearts & auction site customers because they believe the U.S. justice system's limited resources will deter prosecution.

Con artists will have to rethink their well-worn Internet fraud strategies.  Now, their latest mark might be a CUFF Fraud Watcher and not the innocent victim they thought they had hooked.  Instead, it might be the con artist who is hooked and their arrest aired on national TV.  So, con artists, we ask you - "Do you feel lucky?  Well, do ya?"



I am a active member and Fraud Fighter with Citizens United to Find Fugitives (CUFF). I became involved with CUFF and other LE agencies because my dad was a victim of the deadly version of the sweetheart scam. He was not only a victim of abuse and neglect by his con artist sweetheart scammer but he and my family was also financiallly exploited, and my dad murdered by poison with a drug called Digitalis and a victim of the system who failed to protect him. Yet still these agencies recieved state and federal funding for their programs. It has been a long 8 years and still no justice. Yet his murderers are still allowed to go from victim to victim without any charges being filed as is the case with most all victims of scams, cons and frauds. CUFF refers many sweetheart scam victims to me and the painful stories are the same again and again - just like my dad's.

Whatever the excuse by LE and other state and federal agencies - there is no excuse good enough why these crimes are allowed to continue with no charges filed and no convictions. Lack of funding does not cut it as an excuse.

The police (LE) state elderly victims of crimes and victims of frauds are a low priority and therefore LE and the criminal justice system allows these criminals to get away with their crimes and it is left up to the citizens to help stop the cons and help enforce the laws in place that are supposed to protect us. We are told it is a civil matter and our only options is in the civil courts. Murder is not a civil matter. It is a felony. Fraud is not a civil matter - it is a felony.

If you think you are too smart to be taken in by a con artist - think again. Especially in the area of romance cons. Cons are experts in their field. CUFF has excellent resources to help you spot a con and to help you from becoming a victim. Please protect yourselves and your loved ones. Know the signs.

My dad's case will be featured again in the media spotlight thanks to CUFF. Keeping my dad's case alive and unsilenced is the only justice I and my family will ever see.

Thanks, Kansas aka Healing Rain K

You may contact CUFF at:

Citizens United to Find Fugitives (CUFF)

Web sites: www.straightshooter.net & www.cuff.ws

Phone: 800-408-0105

Address: 8175-A Sheridan Blvd.; Suite 216
Arvada, CO 80003

E-Mail: mail@straightshooter.net

Contact: Rhoda Cook
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Posted: Mar 15, 2007 2:43am
Mar 8, 2007
Please read and note the below for a friend of mine.
Thanks, Kansas

Hi friends, I just posted a news release regarding one of my next five koala books coming out soon on the Care2.com (C2NN) network here:
http://www.care2.com/news/member/883712391/318511

If you wouldn't mind passing this on, that would be awesome. Eight Ancient Aboriginal tales centering around the koala were retold by award-winning author Lee Barwood; Young art students from Ohio helped me illustrate the book. 90 Australian animals and terms are either depicted or explained in detail.
 
A portion of proceeds will benefit the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital, a major project of Wildlife Warriors Worldwide Ltd (the charity by Steve and Teri Irwin.) More info can also be found here:
www.koalajo.com/press.html.

Thank you,
Joanne
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Posted: Mar 8, 2007 12:13am
Mar 7, 2007

This is too cute and funny to not share with you all. Enjoy!!!!  Kansas

http://egg.d21c.com/egg.swf
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Posted: Mar 7, 2007 11:59pm
Mar 6, 2007

Bear trap


In a follow-up to an item we mentioned last year, country music superstar Troy Gentry of the duo Montgomery Gentry was sentenced by a federal judge this week to three months probation and fined $15,000 for killing a captive black bear during a canned hunt in 2004.


Gentry killed the bear, named Cubby, in a fenced enclosure near Sandstone, Minn. The "hunt" was videotaped and edited to make it appear that Gentry took the bear in the wild during a "fair chase" bow hunt. In addition to the fine and probation, Gentry also will forfeit the bear, stuffed for display for the singer's home, the bow used during the hunt and his Minnesota hunting privileges for five years.


The legal issue at stake was the fact the Gentry claimed the captive bear with his Minnesota big game license.


Lee Marvin Greenly, the owner of the 80-acre Minnesota Wildlife Connection game farm, sold the bear to Gentry for $4,650.


The Gentry incident occurred right after the well-known Indiana case involving "Beller's Place" hunting lodge near Peru.

Memories are finally beginning to fade after that onerous episode but this corner is happy to use our bully pulpit to remind ethical hunters that there is absolutely nothing positive that can be said about high-fence hunting.


If you find yourself pouring over footage to make sure the fence or feeders don't appear in your "hero video," there is a serious problem with your motivations. If, like many canned hunting customers, you have plenty of money but no time to invest in hunting, we'd suggest you would be better served to become involved in illegal drug abuse or golf.


At least you wouldn't be bringing discredit to the vast majority of people whom I believe are honorable in their pursuit of wild game.
 

Wheat, based in Lebanon, writes a weekly outdoor column. He can be reached via e-mail at btwheat@wildindiana.com.

http://www.jconline.com:80/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070304/COLUMNISTS19/703040366

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Posted: Mar 6, 2007 6:26am
Feb 28, 2007
Remind the Senate of the True Cost of Iraq

This was supposed to be the week the Senate got real about winding down the Iraq war. They were *supposed* to vote on taking back the war authorization which allowed this whole thing to get started back in 2002. Instead, they're delaying. Again. So we're bringing back our "Faces of War" memorials to remind the Senate what the true cost of this war is -- the lives of American men and women. The entire Senate has another chance to take a stand, so we're going to remind them all week long to do the right thing.

After 47 Senators blocked the last anti-escalation vote, thousands of TrueMajority members flooded them with over 40,000 printed memorials of fallen soldiers. Now the entire Senate has another chance to take a stand, so we’re going to remind them all week long to do the right thing this time.


Click here
to download and print a photo memorial and send it to your Senators' district offices today.

Americans across the country have been rising up to push for an end to the war, and TrueMajority members have pulled together to keep Congress accountable week after week. It hasn’t been easy, and we’ve still got lots to do to end the war -- but we ARE seeing progress.


The House passed a resolution against escalation in Iraq, and we brought you every word of that debate so you could see where your Rep stood and let them know how you feel. And, thanks to your emails to state legislators, states including Vermont, Iowa and California have passed similar resolutions, adding much needed momentum to this fight.


Last week, TrueMajority members sat down with their Representatives to talk about the next steps in Iraq and urge them to do more to end the war. We gave you the tools to set up and hold these meetings, and you put them into action in a great way. Here's how a couple of them went in your own words:

"I felt heard and that my input was valued and would get to [Rep.] Udall. I was concerned before I went that this was just a meeting that would not go past the staff person. I left feeling very differently."

"There were eight of us at yesterday's meeting...and I am really grateful that they were so well prepared....Thank you again for making such creative use of the internet!"

We even received a call from Rep. Lloyd Doggett's (TX) office, inviting TrueMajority members in Austin to meet with him about Iraq. And, of course, they did.
 

Our elected officials are listening, and it's important that they hear from us. So, while the Senate continues to stall on Iraq, be sure to remind them about the true cost of war and let them know where you stand. We must hold Congress accountable to Iraq, and we won't let up until we've made real progress to end this war and bring our troops home.


Matt Holland

TrueMajority Online Director


1 - "Democrats Seek to Repeal 2002 War Authorization", Washington Post, February 23, 2007.

2 - "Dems grasp for Iraq strategy while public stews", CNN.com, February 27, 2007.



TrueMajority.org is a grassroots group of citizens who believe in America's true values of openness, fairness and compassion. We believe participating in an effective government is the best way to be mutually responsible for our community.



TrueMajority.org, 191 Bank Street, Third Floor, Burlington, VT 05401


What did your Representative say about escalating Iraq?

The House passed a resolution opposing Bush's plan to escalate the war in Iraq. This is an important first step, but we aren't going to stop until we have binding legislation to block escalation and start bringing our troops home. Thanks for all your time, effort and donations that have made this first step possible.


We tracked every moment of the House debate so you can read your Representative's exact words. Click here to access the transcripts and find out what your Rep. said.

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Posted: Feb 28, 2007 3:41am
Dec 10, 2006

Court rejects disabled man's appeal in prescription drug case


Associated Press 12/07/2006


TAMPA, Florida: A man who said he obtained vast amounts of prescription drugs to control severe pain is a drug trafficker and has to serve a minimum 25-year prison sentence, an appeals court ruled.


But in an unusual decision issued Wednesday, the court expressed sympathy for Richard Paey, 48, and suggested he ask Florida Governor Jeb Bush to commute his sentence.
Paey's argument that he does not deserve the long sentence "does not fall on deaf ears, but it falls on the wrong ears," the appellate court said.


Paey's story gained widespread attention in the United States after it was featured in national media earlier this year.


Advocates for chronic pain sufferers said the case illustrates flaws in the law and how people who are dependent on strong pain medication can get tangled up in the government's overzealous war on drugs.


Paey's attorney, John Flannery, said Thursday he immediately wrote to Bush's office about the case.


Bush spokesman Anthony DeLuise said the office has received more than 100 letters on Paey's behalf but has not yet received any official clemency request.


Paey, a former attorney and father of three who uses a wheelchair, suffered a serious back injury in a 1985 car accident and later was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He said nothing blunted the pain except large amounts of strong narcotics like Percocet and Vicodin.


Prosecutors said he was forging prescriptions and getting so many pills that he had to be selling them, even though investigators' two-month surveillance found no evidence of trafficking.


Paey said that because doctors in Florida were reluctant to prescribe medication in the amounts he required, he got his former doctor in New Jersey to send him undated prescriptions he could fill here.


A jury convicted Paey in 2004 of 15 counts of prescription forgery, unlawful possession of a controlled substance and drug trafficking. The judge imposed the minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years.


In a dissenting opinion, Associate Judge James H. Seals took issue with Paey's prosecution.


"Instead of recognizing the real problem and the real behaviors that led to his real crimes and holding him appropriately accountable, the State decided to bring out the artillery designed to bring down the drug cartels," Seals wrote.

State Attorney Bernie McCabe said Thursday that he had made multiple plea offers to Paey that did not involve him going to prison. Paey rejected every one because he thought he would win at trial.


"He made his own bed here as far as I'm concerned," McCabe said. "People can try to couch it some other way all they want, but that's the way it is."


Paey's wife said he had rejected the pretrial plea offers because he didn't want to be branded a drug trafficker.


Flannery said he will challenge the appeals ruling if the governor's office does not provide relief.


THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!!!!!!
The below is a message from The Pain Relief Action Forum I received which provides more insight into Richards case and how to contact Jeb Bush on Richards behalf.

12/10/2006 - Fw: [painreliefactionforum] Richard Paey - Lost appeal - Please send a letter of his behalf


Below is something Tom/CA forwarded to me - very sad tragic news.


Richard lost his appeal. It is truly heart breaking that a person suffering pain and so needs medication has to spend 25 yrs in jail.


For those who might not know about the case, it all began merely because a pharmacist became suspicious over the number of pills he was taking. He was subsequently charged with "drug trafficking" on the possession of a single standard prescription in which they added the weight of the tylenol to the hydrocodone or oxycodone in that one bottle to get to the weight needed to charge him with drug trafficking - and even though after a 3 month round the clock police surveillance, they did not find any evidence he had in fact sold a single pill or any hint of it - it merely "assumed" based on the total numbers (which was a lot).


He got into trouble by having moved from another state to Florida where he could not find a single pain doctor to take on his case (one doctor told him straight out - "you're f..ked") and so his doctor in the former state forwarded prescriptions to him which in many cases apparently did not include the date because of they being time sensitive. So they got him on fraud & forgery for written in that date ...which however the pharmacies verified by calling the doctor. However, since it is perfectly okay for police to lie, when they told his doctor in the other state that Richard was in fact selling his pills and that the doctor as well was under investigation, suddenly the doctor who could have saved him - changed his mind about what he would say or do - only for himself, nothing for Richard. He testified in court as well, but "unfortunately" could not  find Richard's file.


Just some more trivia, Richard was tried three times before they "got 'em". The first was a hung jury, the second thrown out on a technicality, and the third finally got the verdict they wanted - but in which 2 or 3 of the people in the jury would not have given that verdict except for being reassured again and again - that since this was his first offense, he would only get probation. However, the 25yr sentence was mandatory for "drug trafficking". They claim they offered him plea bargains, but when he did agree to "house arrest" for a year - bawling, this so as not to put his family through all this - they took back their offer. He was offered it again apparently, but he felt he had done nothing wrong and that if he plead guilty, no doctor would ever touch him again. He felt screwed no matter which way it went.


Also add in that no doctor offered him anything stronger and certainly nothing long lasting, plus that he had taken vicoden for 10 yrs already, he needed to take at least 3 every 2-3 hours. Of course, those numbers look terribly high over a several month period - but if saying oxycontin  or fentanyl patches, the numbers would be, by comparison very small.


However, this could easily happen to any one of us, especially if possession of a single prescription bottle equals "drug trafficking", irregardless of whether you sold them or not. I would beg everyone to write on Richard's behalf to Jeb Bush for clemency....harry, wi



I think as chronic pain patients we must all write Jeb Bush.


*Subject:* Richard's pardon

Hi Friends,

We are pretty shocked and upset by the news from the appeals court but we are recovering from this blow. I am including the link to the latest AP article concerning Richard loss at the appellate level. It's pretty good except for an inaccuracy which continues to be perpetuated by the prosecution down here. Rich did not turn down all of the plea agreements negotiated, he did however turn them all down after the prosecution pulled, for the second time, a plea agreement that had already been negotiated and accepted by Richard.

We are asking for everyone to call, email, fax, and send letters to Jeb Bush's office to support Rich's clemency/pardon request. Jeb has an opportunity to correct this travesty before he leaves office.

CONTACT GOVERNOR JEB BUSH at:

*Via Email*

jeb.bush@myflorida.com

*Phone/Fax*

Phone: 850/488/7146
Fax: 850-487-0801

*Mailing Address*

The Capitol
400 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399

Thanks everyone.

Linda Paey


This petition had been addressed C2 in many groups many a times. This petition was created by the Pain Relief Action Forum mentioned above.


Support the H.R. 1020 Bill National Pain Care Policy


There are only 435 signatures on this petition. Please - if you have not done so - sign, forward, cross post, share outside of C2 - do whatever you need to do to get this law passed. If we do not get this law passed many many more people like Richard will be criminally charged, prosecuted and convicted with a felony simply becasue they are disabled in chronic pain and sick. This man did NOTHING wrong. What the hell kind of message is this sending to all of us. I am beyond furious and outraged. Thank You to all who have signed this petition.

Imported from external blog

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Posted: Dec 10, 2006 9:31am
Dec 3, 2006
Focus: Animal Welfare
Action Request: Petition
Location: United States
PLEASE SIGN, SHARE AND FORWARD THIS PETITION!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!

Boycott Troy Gentry for Killing "Cubby" the Black Bear

Target: Troy Lee Gentry, Country Singer, Montgomery Gentry Duo, Sony BMG Entertainment, Sponsor: Jennie Boatman

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/237370630

The purpose of this petition is to boycott Troy Lee Gentry, Country Western singer (Montgomery Gentry duo), for killing "Cubby" a domesticized black bear in a pre-arranged "canned" killing on November 28th in the bears 3 acre pen attached to a wilderness area. In addition, Mr. Gentry lied in registering with the Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources in which he claimed to be hunting in the larger wilderness area attached to the penned area where Cubby was located. Because Gentry is a wealthy "star" the fine of $15,000 is a mere "slap on the hand." This "punishment" was a plea agreement made w/the star so he does not have to appear in court. He did have to return Cubby mounted head. There were no legal ramifications for killing Cubby because "canned killing" is not illegal in MN. Someone like Mr. Gentry is more likely to understand the error of his ways if the public who make his fame and wealth possible boycott his concerts, CD's and other products. We are asking that by signing this petition, you are supporting and participating in a boycott of Mr. Gentry, his concerts and any products associated with him. He needs to know that the American people do not approve of his behavior - he is neither an honorable hunter, nor is he a good role model for our children. We can't bring Cubby back but we can BOYCOT for CUBBY!


On November 28th, Troy Lee Gentry, in a pre-arrangement with the owner, shot and killed, a domesticated black bear named Cubby for the sum of $4650. The owner generally charges $750 for hunters to use the wilderness next to the penned-in area where Cubby lived. The owner was charged w/two felonies and has not yet appeared in court. Mr. Gentry admitted he lied on the registration form he completed for the Department of Natural Resources (MN) when he indicated he would be hunting in the wilderness area. He later apologized to his young fans (mostly young women who quickly forgave him because he is according to one, "hot"). In a plea agreement, Mr. Gentry agreed to the $15,000 fine, and to return Cubby's mounted head, and to give up his MN hunting license (5 years). He was only charged with a misdemeanor crime of sumbitting a false registration form and there were no charges in relation to killing Cubby.



http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/237370630
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Posted: Dec 3, 2006 4:40am
Nov 12, 2006
Focus: Animal Welfare
Action Request: Write E-Mail
Location: United States
House Vote on AETA this Monday!

Take Action!

This is your ONLY chance to defeat the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (HR 4239, S3880)!

BREAKING NEWS

In a late night move on Friday, AETA was added to the House Suspension Calendar for THIS Monday 11/13/06! This underhanded fast-track maneuver, like the one in the Senate, means that AETA will not have any debate... only an up/down vote.


Contact your Representative this weekend and Monday morning!

Calling is most important, but if you can't do that, then please, at least send an email HERE  (or here if you cannot click through: http://capwiz.com/bigcatrescue/issues/alert/?alertid=9014956&type=CO )

If you received this alert in email and cannot click on the links, cut and paste this URL into your Internet browser bar: http://capwiz.com/bigcatrescue/callalert/index.tt?alertid=9169276&type=CO

To find out more about this bill and how the Senate voted for it without knowing what it was, click here: http://www.bigcatrescue.org/lawsanimalenterpriseterrorismact.htm


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Posted: Nov 12, 2006 4:37pm

 

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