Blog Archives
The Kidnapping of Rudy and Rennie North–Julie’s Story Part Two
This is the story of one of my dearest friends that I met through Facebook. Julie Lynn Belshe was on the internet one night desperately searching for anybody that was going through the horrific nightmare she and her parents were experiencing. She came across a video I posted of my Mom crying desperately to be released from the nursing home she had been imprisoned in by Mary Giordano, elderlawfg.com, an elder care attorney in Mineola, NY. Julie was horrified and deeply saddened. She watched this video over and over for days. She couldn’t sleep for weeks. She knew she had to reach out to me because I was the only one she found at that moment who was exposing the truth about this insidious crime. For the past few years, Julie has worked tirelessly to free her parents from the clutches of April Parks and the corrupt Clark County Nevada judicial system. In the process, she has discovered that there are thousands upon thousands of elderly victims of this country’s huge criminal guardianship enterprise system.
Julie’s parents, Rudy and Rennie North were kidnapped August 30, 2013, and freed June 2015, after two years of living as “wards” of April Parks, who took all of their personal belongings. Julie is still actively pursuing the return of their assets. While some items are now in their possession , a painting worth thousands coveted by Dr. Basu, the doctor who is responsible for stating that they needed a guardian, is still missing.
By Julie Lynn Belshe as told to Diane Wilson
For the past two and one half years I have been trying to find a cure and trying to heal from one of the most insidious outbreaks of disease that has exploded across our country. I have managed to find support groups and individuals who are suffering from the same kind of pain, the same insidious disease. They are working together to end this nightmare and I feel blessed that I found them. It is a long road but together I believe we will eliminate this problem once and for all.
Evil and greed and the lust for power and money are the causes of this secret disease. It is well-known amongst advocates as Guardianship Abuse of the Elderly and Disabled. It is America’s dirty little secret. The media has refused to report it in the past but is now beginning to expose it; the politicians refuse to help their constituents and turn a blind eye to this Holocaust; families close their eyes to it or they are part of the enslavement, theft of assets and drugging of other human beings.
I am a daughter, a mother, a wife, a friend, a businesswoman, a sister, an aunt, an accountant. I am your neighbor, your co-worker. I stand next to you in church, behind you in the grocery line, sit next to you in the movie theatre.
My name is Julie Stulman North Belshe. This is the story of the illegal kidnapping of my parents, Rudy and Rennie North on August 30th, 2013. This is a story that MUST be told. This happened to our family and it can happen to yours if we don’t speak up and stop it now.
I am the mother of three amazing children and have been happily married for the past 26 years. My husband and I own our own business and value family above everything else. Through the years our family has suffered through illness and loss and tragedies. Somehow we managed to make it through with the love and support of each other. Through it all we managed to keep our family together.
I was born and raised in Orange County, California, one of three children. In 1989, my brother died in a motorcycle accident. Our family grew closer as we worked hard to heal from this loss; unfortunately the stress and grieving became overwhelming for my Mom. A few years later she was diagnosed with leukemia. After undergoing several rounds of chemo my mother was left with very little energy and her health took a turn for the worse.
One year after Randy’s tragic accident, my sister Heidi and I were in a car accident. While stopped on the freeway in heavy traffic, a van hit us while traveling at 40 mph. My sister’s BMW was crushed into an accordion. We were lucky to be alive. At that time, my sister and I were put under the care of a chiropractor, physical therapist, and pain management doctor. According to the X-Rays, MRI’s and other tests doctors advised both of us that our injuries had changed our lives forever and certain activities would be very limited. For me it was my neck–bone on bone with three bulging discs. My back had four bulging discs.
My sister and I resumed our professional lives in Huntington Beach, California and made the best out of our situation. We lived together and were very close. Heidi was four years older than me and the best sister anybody could ever ask for. In 1987 I met my soon to be husband and after a short time, we moved in together in an apartment in Laguna Beach, California. One year later we got married.
In 1992 we moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. Life was magical and everything I always dreamed of. On June 29, 1994, I gave birth to our beautiful baby boy. Evan was truly a blessing in every way and my parents were thrilled! Dad was traveling on business at the time and Mom came to stay with me for two weeks. She fell head over heels in love with her precious new grandson.
The following year my sister gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Allie Renee. My parents decided they wanted to move to Las Vegas, Nevada so we could all be together. In 1996, my parents packed up their belongings and moved one block away from me and my family! My sister and her family followed a few months later.
On September 30th, 1997, I gave birth to my second son, Parker. That same year my sister gave birth to another precious baby girl, Andrea. The following year, on November 16th, 1998, I gave birth to my third son, Aaron. Our family was growing in leaps and bounds and my parents were in heaven being surrounded by their loving daughters and five grandchildren!
We were a very busy and close-knit family. My backyard is a virtual oasis and family and friends always congregated there. There were weekly get-together’s, barbecues, swimming, boating, watching movies. All of the family holidays were held at my home. Mom and Dad were very involved with their family. As the children grew older, I would have coffee with my parents every morning after dropping them off at school. Life was perfect and the years just flew by.
Tragedy struck my family again in May 2008. I received a call from my father. I knew from the tone in his voice that something was terribly wrong. He said “Sweetheart, it’s your sister, Heidi. She has passed away.” My heart stopped; my sister; my best friend…gone. I raced over to her house and kissed her goodbye before they took her. We all somehow managed to get through the funeral. Heidi left behind three beautiful children and a husband and our family life as we knew it changed in an instant.
Mom’s condition worsened and in 2010 she was diagnosed with CLL, Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia. She started undergoing chemo sessions again. During these sessions my Dad and I sat by her side. I would bring her fresh fruit and vegetables for juicing, homemade chicken soup, jello and fresh Star gazing lilies to cheer her up. I laid with her on the bed and held her and talked. We laughed and cried together and talked about Heidi and Randy and all of the good times we always had as a family. Our memories were our treasures. I made sure to check in on my Mom a few times a day, either calling or stopping by.
My Dad continued to attend all of the boys’ football games and other sport activities. After the games we would all go out to eat or just grab a pizza to take home. Life started to regain a sense of normalcy again. According to the doctor, Mom was in remission; however her actual condition was getting worse. She lost feeling in her arms and legs; her hands were becoming claw like and the days were becoming increasingly difficult for her. Many days I would get a call from my Dad to let me know the ambulance was on its way and that I was to meet them at the hospital. After one of the many hospital stays she was diagnosed with chemo neuropathy. She was transferred to rehab where she received physical therapy and learned how to become mobile again using a wheelchair. I visited often and checked in on my father as well. After a few weeks at the Southwest Rehab Center, I was able to bring my mother home. I arranged for a nurse, a maid and hired a friend of mine as a caretaker. After a short time, my friend could no longer put in the hours required. It was then that I stepped in and became my mother’s caretaker for six days a week. I cooked for both of my parents and showered my Mom daily. I took her out for walks and slowly got her acclimated to going out in public in a wheelchair. This was a very difficult transition for a beautiful woman who never went out unless her hair and makeup was perfectly done and her shoes and clothing and jewelry were all perfectly matched. With a lot of love and emotional support, my mother started to become her old self again. The physical therapist came a few days a week to work with her and the nurse stopped by a few days a week to monitor her health.
While Mom was starting to recuperate, I went over one day to find my father acting very strange. Thinking that he had suffered a stroke, I immediately took him to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a prostate infection. I stayed with dad until he was comfortable and then went back to my mother’s house to stay with her. While Dad was in the hospital my husband and my three sons came to help my mother so I could run back and forth to the hospital. Once I brought my father home from the hospital, the nurse showed me how to change a catheter bag and what to watch out for. My parents were thrilled to be back together again.
So now Mom was home. We had all of the instructions from the doctor and followed them to the tee. Unfortunately she became constipated and after a few days we had to rush her to the emergency room where she was admitted for the next three days. My husband and I took turns staying with my parents between the hospital and their home. He literally ran our own household during this time and was not at all resentful. I was grateful to be able to give my parents the care they deserved along with lots of love and attention. Who else but family would you want taking care of you during an illness? In addition, I cooked, cleaned, ran errands and did it all out of love. I never missed one day.
Eventually, with Dad’s health greatly improved, and with my parents understanding and agreement, I decided to take a break and go back to caring for my own family. I made certain everything was in place for my parents; all of their doctors had me listed as their emergency contact and I only lived a few blocks away. This occurred on April 1st , the day before Easter Sunday. I continued to call them every day and of course continued to visit. Things were going smoothly. During this time period, my parents decided to contact an attorney to have a will made up and to make certain their personal possessions were divided up amongst their family the way they wanted, including their very precious art collection.
What happened next should send a chill through every single citizen of this country.
In August of that same year, a pain management doctor that my parents had been seeing for a number of years, Dr. Sanghamitra Basu, decided to pay an unannounced visit, with her husband, to my parents’ home. She did not contact me or my parents in advance; she just showed up at their home. When they walked into the house, Dr. Basu started talking about how wonderful they looked and how she hoped that when she and her husband are older they hope to be just like them. She also expressed an unusual interest in my parents’ art collection. Apparently she found out what they had during many conversations with my father over the years and had asked him if she could “borrow” one of his paintings. Dad always thought she was joking. During this visit, she asked my father five different times if she could “borrow” a particular painting. She stated that she wanted him to “loan” it to her; that she wanted to hang it up somewhere but she had not decided exactly where it would go. My mother was becoming very angry with her and finally just said absolutely not and ended both the conversation and the visit.
It was this doctor who wrote a Physician’s Certificate stating that Rudy North suffered from confusion, and the deterioration in his health was a permanent status. She also claimed he was in “immediate risk of physical harm” and had an “immediate need for medical attention.” She also stated that there was a “substantial and immediate risk of financial loss.” In the report where she had to provide an assessment of the needs of the Proposed Ward she filled in “medication management, financial management, safety assistance, ADL assistance, housekeeping assistance.” It must be noted that my parents’ house was always immaculate. This was nothing but one lie after another.
On page two of this Physicians Certificate, Dr. Basu wrote “It is in my opinion that this patient needs a guardian of Person and Estate. I have advised the patient of his/her right to counsel and the Proposed Ward does not wish to be represented by counsel in the guardianship proceeding.” Dr. Basu NEVER discussed this with my father. He never knew about any of this. However, Dr. Basu did compliment my parents on their lovely home and how great they looked. She also knew about me and knew where to contact me. Instead Dr. Basu either mailed or faxed this over to the public guardian on August 12th, 2013.
It is now obvious to me that Dr. Basu was working alongside April Parks, using her status as a doctor to find out which people are “ripe for the picking.” It is a scam of gigantic proportions. Her visit and subsequent writing of a “Physician’s Certificate” is what started this nightmare. On August 28, 2013, April Parks filed an electronic document to the court stating that she would be taking temporary legal guardianship of Rudy North. She listed my father as the ward and my mother as wife of the ward. She stated that there was no family contact since their only daughter was a drug addict. More lies…
On August 30th, 2013, my parents were just finishing up breakfast and tidying up the house when the doorbell rang. The only person they were expecting was an aide from hospice who came each day to assist my mother with her shower. When my father answered the door for the aide, April Parks, along with her entourage was also there and just entered the house. She handed my father a piece of paper showing that she was now his legal guardian and that they were there to take them. My father was in total shock when April Parks said to my Mom “You are going on a three-week vacation and then you will be coming home” My Mom was pleading and crying. My father desperately tried to calm her down. April Parks said you have four options:
“You will either go to the hospital, go to a mental facility, go to Jail, or go to an assisted living facility in Boulder City.” My Mom pleaded with April Parks “Please don’t take me. Let me call my daughter.” April said “We will contact her.” And with that, they were taken away.
I was never contacted.
I had plans to visit my parents the next day with my children. I started calling them that morning to let them know we were on our way but they never answered the phone. I called before I left home and on my way there, more than twenty times. I knew their daily routine and I knew something was very wrong. When we arrived, the porch light was on, the newspaper was out on the front porch and the house was locked up. I drove back home and told my husband that my parents were gone and I feared that someone had kidnapped them. I continued to call their house and decided to drive back there the next day. When I arrived I found a sign on the door to contact the “professional legal guardian in case of emergency.” That was it. The state of Nevada had stepped in and taken my Parents without contacting any family member.
As soon as I got home I called the private “legal” guardian, April Parks, who told me, “Julie this is legal.” I didn’t ask if it was legal but those were the first words out of April’s mouth. This is legal I asked? Where the hell are my Parents? She told me where they were and reminded me again that this was all “legal.” She repeated that a number of times. I didn’t respond. I just hung up. By the time my husband and I arrived at Lakeview Terrace Assisted living Facility my parents were clearly shaken. They were terrified and in shock. They had no access to a phone. Their personal cell phone was gone, nowhere to be found. They had been placed in the model apartment at the facility with a cardboard bed. My Dad was totally humiliated and embarrassed that he had not been able to protect his precious wife, my dear mother.
We all cried and hugged and I kept repeating over and over again that I would fix this and please don’t worry.
For the first few weeks I stayed with them eight hours a day, trying to keep them calm and make sense out of a situation that made no sense at all. I mean, we were in America, right? Land of the free? Wasn’t kidnapping illegal? My husband and I scheduled appointments with one attorney after another but not one wanted to get involved. I researched and dug deeper and deeper until I finally found out that this was going on all across the country! I read horror stories all over the internet about the kidnapping of people’s parents and grandparents and husbands and brothers and sisters. Really?? In America?? If all of this was true, how was I going to save my parents?
This is one of the creepiest scams out there; with the blessing of the courts these scammers and criminals were raking in billions of dollars by kidnapping the elderly, locking them up in nursing homes and assisted living facilities and drugging them to make them complacent and compliant. This was slavery, human trafficking. The judges and politicians were in on it; they all knew what was going on. Many people from Hospice, doctors, private agencies, hospitals, law firms, lawyers, private “legal” guardians, all of these criminals are getting kickbacks from this huge scam.
For years all of the complaints to Nevada officials from victims and their families had fallen on deaf ears. Not one person would listen. Not one person would stop this.
Dorothy Driesen—South Dakota Victim
UPDATE–9-24-15
Today, 9-24-15 is Dorothy Dreisen’s 96th birthday. Her guardian continues to keep her in isolation in a nursing home, her children and all family members are banned from seeing her despite the new law that went into effect this past July, 2015, which states denying visitation is illegal. The American courts and most of the so-called “professionals” running them willfully break the law whenever it is convenient for them. Dorothy’s son, Jay, asks friends and supporters to send birthday cards to his Mom to let her know she is still loved and cared about.
Ms. Dorothy Driesen
Whispering Heights
2116 14th St.
Rock Valley, IA 51247
You can call and ask to speak to her and wish her a Happy Birthday at 712-467-8200.
Each time I read these stories I shake my head in disbelief and literally feel sick to my stomach. This is wrong. It is wrong on every single level. There is not one person in the world who can justify what has been done to Dorothy Dreisen and her family. There is not one person in this world who can justify what was done to my mother Dorothy Wilson, by Mary Giordano, an elder care attorney with Franchina and Giordano in Garden City, NY, elderlawfg.com law firm. This is another horrific story of guardianship abuse at the hands of our extremely corrupt judicial system. The guardian has completely isolated her children from seeing their own mother and the courts allow it. My heart aches for this family.
Dorothy Driesen, a 94-year-old widowed Mother, has had her entire estate taken away from her by court decree and forced to reside at the Rock Valley, IA nursing home that has had multiple felony accounts charged against it in 2003.
The judge took our Mother into his chamber, asked her a few questions, had her read from a prepared statement and then fired both Dorothy and her son as Trustees, appointed a bank to be her new Trustee, appointed an adversarial guardian over her and accepted a purported amendment devising her entire Trust estate the new guardian. All of this happened within one days time upon the filing of court documents by the wannabe guardian and friend of the court.
After this drastic and unbelievable event in the local district court, the two sons of our Mother have been falsely accused of various things and arrested and incarcerated on four separate occasions. To add insult to injury, the two sons of our Mother and their families have not been able to visit their Mother since early 2008.
The last call that was made from our Mother during New Years weekend in 2009 was a call of desperation in which our Mother claimed her life was in danger and she pleaded with us to get her out of this nursing facility. Mail that the family tries to send our Mother is received by the guardian and does not appear to reach our Mother. All incoming calls to our Mother are screened by the front desk and she has no way of calling out.
Shortly after our Mother was incarcerated in this nursing home, before this disastrous court decision, the family would attempt to visit our Mother and shortly after we would arrive, either the guardian would show up in the doorway and demand that we leave or the town police officer would show up and threaten us with arrest.
This case has been heard by the Sioux County, IA District Court in early 2008 and appealed. Jay, as the original trustee, lost this entire first court battle. Then the predators and bank, thinking they had victory, later filed for perceived monetary damages from Jay, Dorothy’s eldest son, in neighboring Lyon County, IA District Court, where Jay resides. Jay fought back pro se in attempt to save his incarcerated Mother and her Irrevocable Trust. For over one year, the predators and bank attempted to gain their loot and then labored to shut this second case down by way of motion. After the judge initially ruled in Jay’s favor three separate times; for some reason, the bank was finally successful in receiving a judgment against Jay for over $34,000. This amount was deemed necessary by the court to adequately compensate this bank (was appointed as Trustee in August, 2008), that is highly active in farm land, for their effort in defending the case and to cover their expense in securing the assets of Mother Driesen. This case had originally been scheduled for a jury trial, including all evidence of the murders in this nursing home during 2003, but the case was shut down by motion for Summary Judgment.
On appeal, the Iowa Court of Appeals applied the doctrine of “claim preclusion” as an original error was not raised by the defense attorney.
A small victory was gained in the Iowa Legislature in 2010 wherein a guardianship hearing can not take place unless notice of service is served on the proposed ward (protected person) and their present family and / or care taker. In our Mother’s case, a guardianship hearing took place without advanced notice being served on her nor her present children caretakers. Notice of what had happened was served on the family over 20 days later.
Since the initial dramatic events occurring in 2007 – 2009, the family members were forced to retreat into survival mode and tend to numerous legal suits hurled their way….suits aimed at destroying their finances and business.
During the fall of 2011, Jay was successful in reaching his Mother by a late evening phone call placed to the nursing home. An unsuspecting nursing assistant brought Mother Driesen to the front desk and gave her the phone to converse with her son Jay. Very quickly the supposed “incompetent” Mother asked Jay about her farm land and etc. Suddenly there was a scuffling noise as Jay could hear the phone receiver fall to the floor and with a later hang up click.
Further negative action levied against Jay’s business necessitated taking many of the defendant’s to the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.
Our Mother has now reached the ripe age of 94 years and regardless of the stress placed on her by denial of her civil rights per 42 USC Sec 1395i-3, she remains in good physical and mental health. Jay has been in to see his Mother numerous times as of late and is continually run out with threat of arrest made regardless of Jay’s Mother expressing strong desire for him to continue with the visit. Jay then hands them a copy of the quoted Federal Code. At present, the nephew attorney of the guardian has sent a letter to Jay threatening arrest if Jay attempts to visit his Mother again, in direct violation of this particular Federal Code. In December, 2013, Jay has filed an Attorney Complaint with the Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board on the attorney. The Attorney Complaint was soon turned down.
The Long Lasting and Lifetime Effects of Guardianship Abuse
Watching my mother being abused by a horribly corrupt judicial system, uncaring politicians, greedy attorneys and family members that are supposed to love one another has truly been a life changing experience for me. I worked hard to save her from being placed in nursing homes. The first two times I managed to bring her home; the third time was just too much for her and the fear took her life.
My grandchildren, as young as they are, remember their great-grandma. The guardian, Mary Giordano, did everything she could to isolate my mother from them and from me. They do not yet know what happened but they will. This is not a deep dark family secret; it is America’s dirty little secret.
While for me the tears still appear at the oddest moment, the what ifs still linger in my mind and at times keep me up at night, the long lasting effects of guardianship abuse was also life changing for my daughter. It is often said that some good ultimately comes out of bad and in my Mom’s case, I believe this to be true.
by Tara Wilson
November 6, 2014
Normally, as parents to young children we are concerned with protecting our little ones; whether that is from falling, the common cold, or which guardian would raise them in the event of our incapacity or passing. As our children get older and learn to protect themselves, we are often reminded that we need to look out for our other loved ones as well. So while our children are becoming more independent, our aging parents and grandparents are in need of more support and protection. We fall into that “sandwich generation” where we are caring for our children and our own parents.
A few months later I went on to have a healthy baby boy, my grandmother’s first great-grandson. I lived and breathed my new role as a mother, loving and caring for him and making certain he was fully protected.At the same time, my mother took on the role of caretaker for my grandmother. In order for my mother to help with my grandmother’s medical and financial care, taking her to doctor’s appointments and balancing her checkbook, my mother needed legal authority to do so. My grandmother signed a Power of Attorney and Health Care Proxy when she realized she couldn’t quite handle everything. While I tried to give my grandmother other advice, my grandmother believed she would be fine with the minimal planning she put in place before I entered law school; she and my grandfather had prepared simple wills naming each other as beneficiaries and their three children as successors. Unfortunately, within a few months, my grandmother got very sick and my mother’s siblings had a very different view on how my grandmother should be cared for (or not cared for as the case may be).
JUDICIAL DESTRUCTION OF DOROTHY WILSON 