WESTFIELD – A Springfield woman’s apparent attempt to insert herself into her grandfather’s financial life and exploit his resources was stymied by an alert banker who alerted a relative of the victim.
City police became involved when the banker reported suspect elder abuse and called police.
Det. Todd Edwards reports that the woman, Christina C. Rosario, 36, of 33 Revere St., Springfield, had taken her grandfather to the bank to make a $950 cash withdrawal and a short time later went into the bank with the man and attempted to make changes to his joint bank accounts.
Edwards reports that the victim’s sister, who holds his durable power of attorney, is listed on his bank accounts and Edwards reports “Ms. Rosario attempted to have the victim’s sister removed from all his accounts and be replaced with her. The Westfield Bank personal became suspicious and spoke to the victim alone, at which point Ms. Rosario tried to have him leave. Upon speaking to the victim they confirmed the suspicion of financial elder abuse.”
When the banker contacted the man’s sister, she said that the younger woman does not live with the victim and asked that a ‘No trespassing’ order be served for his home.
Edwards reports that the woman told him that she lived there and brazenly said that it would take six months to evict her but Edwards found that the facts did not support her contention.
Although the woman had an expired driver’s license listing her grandfather’s address, he said that a neighbor positioned to see the coming and goings at the house said that she has only been at the man’s home for a few days.
He said that when he inspected the room in the man’s house where she said she had been living he found that most of the property there belonged to her grandfather and there were only a few bags which contained her property. In addition, a woman with her said that they had only been there a few days.
Those few days were eventful, however.
Edwards said that the woman had persuaded her grandfather to give her money to pay for medicine she needed and she took him to his bank on Sunday where he withdrew $600.
Also on Sunday, Rosario took her grandfather to Noble Hospital. Police were notified by Highland Elder Services that she appeared to be under the influence of drugs and apparently attempted to have pain medicine prescribed for him. Later that day she also took her grandfather to Holyoke Hospital.
Edwards reports that when he served Rosario with the trespassing order she adamantly insisted on taking her “stuff” with her and claimed two duffle bags and two plastic shopping bags which she had left in the room she had been staying in at her grandfather’s home.
Edwards reports one of the duffle bags was open and he observed two of the man’s blank checks inside so he insisted that she show him what she was taking to ensure it all belonged to her.
When the woman emptied the bags, he reports, she had “many personal papers including the victim’s will, Social Security card, bank paperwork, the missing Westfield Bank debit card, and other personal papers.”
The debit card had been found to be missing from the man’s safe when an authorized relative inspected it. Also found in the bags were three silver coins and one gold coin that had been in the safe.
Edwards also found a large amount of cash which presumably included the $600 Rosario had told her grandfather she needed for medicine. The prescriptions found with her name on them had cost her only a few dollars each (since Rosario has Mass Health insurance) but several prescription medications were found that she had no prescriptions for.
Those drugs included medications which are frequently abused including hydrocodone, oxycodone and clonazepam and she was arrested.
Rosario was arraigned Tuesday in Westfield District Court before Judge Philip A. Contant on charges of larceny of property valued more than $250 from a person older than 60 years-of-age or disabled, larceny of a credit card, possession of a Class B drug, possession of a Class C drug and possession of a Class E drug.
She was held in lieu of $2,500 cash bail pending a Jan. 7 hearing.
