SYNOPSIS: A daughter is left with a startling forensic report after her father is “grandpa-napped” away from his family and dies prematurely in this shocking and compelling true story delving into a hidden and ignored social ill.
Mario Masiello, age 80, died with illegal substances in his body states a forensic toxicology report conducted on an innocent lock of hair taken for sentimental purposes. How illicit drugs came into this grim picture remains a mystery given that Mario was bedridden, had insulin dependent diabetes, a medically documented case of severe Alzheimer’s, was receiving all nourishment through a gastric tube after he had a stroke and was totally dependent on those around him. His caregivers? His neighbors who made sure they were named Mario’s new “heirs.”
Sound far-fetched? Not so, says Bennett Blum, M.D. an expert forensic and geriatric psychiatrist and author of this book’s afterword. He quotes a law enforcement colleague, “After the money is gone, all that’s left is a witness.” Blum sites the nightmarish reality in a report given by him in 2005 at an invitation-only policy development conference for the White House Conference on Aging. The statistics are terrifying: 1-in-6 seniors will be victims of elder abuse, neglect or exploitation. That’s roughly 13 million seniors-plus as the numbers of boomers turning 65 increases.
This powerful first person narrative presents medical records and other legal documents demonstrating the level of corruption in a small town in South Carolina that’s representative of the lack of care, compassion and concern that haunts America today. One national organization states, “$20 million A DAY is pilfered from the elderly in California alone.”
This fast-paced, riveting, wake-up call set against 9/11, local and national politics, our country’s failed healthcare system and millions of cases of elder abuse, includes Dr. Blum’s pioneering work (PARADISE-2 & IDEAL) in establishing undue influence and diminishing mental capacity corroborating a chilling story. Also contained are lists of red-flags in personalities of high risk seniors and families, behaviors indicating abuse, exploitation or neglect is underway, tips for hiring aides, what illnesses make seniors targets, understanding medical jargon, stages of Alzheimer’s, work sheets for readers caring for seniors to document financial exploitation, causes of dementia, nutritional and cognitive aspects of impairment, when you need a lawyer vs. psychiatrist or mental health practitioner, guidelines for attorneys, explanation of evaluating mental capacity, 16 behaviors and cognitive functions described in layman’s terms for the assessment of diminishing capacity and more.
Paradise Costs is now part of the nation’s largest database on professional, scholarly and academic works on elder abuse through National Center on Elder Abuse and the Clearinghouse on Abuse and Neglect of the Elderly (NCEA/CANE) based at the University of Delaware.
Authors:
Irene A. Masiello is a NYC-based magazine columnist writing for over a decade on alternative wellness modalities, spiritual empowerment and personal growth. She’s a certified: holistic/CORE counselor, stress management consultant and adult educator. Irene is Baby-boomer TV’s elder care expert, a member of the Elder Justice Coalition and frequent radio and TV guest speaking about the concerns of the aging, spiritual development, personal responsibility and self-healing.
Bennett Blum, M.D., author of the afterword, is an internationally known expert in forensic and geriatric psychiatry authoring the pioneering and widely accepted “PARADISE-2” and “IDEAL” acronyms (included in this book along with professional medical information and worksheets for applying the above work as evidence) for establishing undue influence and diminishing capacity in the elderly. Dr. Blum has consulted on hundreds of legal cases throughout the United States, including the criminal trials of Susan Smith, Andrea Yates, and Theresa Ramirez, the civil litigation case of O.J. Simpson and testified before the first International War Crimes Tribunal since Nuremberg. He’s best known as the co-author of the seminal research on the now famous police assisted suicide…“suicide-by-cop.”
Dr. Blum and Ms. Masiello are members of the Elder Justice Coalition.
REVIEWS: John Bradshaw, New York Times best-selling author: Bradshaw On: The Family, Healing the Shame that Binds You, Home-coming and Creating Love: "Paradise Costs is a compelling journey through the scripts and tapes of the past into a dysfunctional family dynamic to which many of us can relate. More than a story of personal tragedy and triumph, this is a call to concrete action in support of the Elder Justice Act. Irene’s reality writing creates a simple and efficient way to take a proactive stance against elder abuse, neglect and exploitation."
Larry Dossey, MD, author: The Extraordinary Healing Power of Ordinary Things, Reinventing Medicine, Healing Words and 8 other books: "We owe our elders everything; they deserve our compassion, love, protection and the best of care. Irene Masiello's voice is a clarion call to provide them what they need, unconditionally and with gratitude."
Jacqueline Marcell, author of Elder Rage & host of Coping with Care-giving radio show: This is a riveting wake-up call for anyone faced with caring for elderly loved ones, including 78 million 'at risk' Baby Boomers…it’s a gripping true story told through the eyes of a courageous daughter, who demonstrates how ordinary circumstances can turn into an extraordinary chain of events leading to unthinkable crimes. Through this compelling and cautionary page-turner, the author encounters unforeseen issues and obstacles during her remarkable effort to save her father, just one of too many seniors who fall between the cracks of our failing system.”
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