[blindlaw] Blind lawyer sues agency over referrral

[Ford, Tim (DHS-OLS)]

Lawyer sues state agency over referral of criminal

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Mark Puente

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

Elyria- Attorney Carl Rose trusted the Ohio Rehabilitation Services
Commission when it asked him in May 2005 to hire Nancy Haylor to run his
law office.

 

Now, Rose says that trust has been broken - and the price tag was almost
$23,000 after Haylor, police say, wrote checks from his business account
to herself

over 18 months.

 

Rose filed a lawsuit this week in the Ohio Court of Claims against the
rehabilitation commission, which operates the Bureau of Vocational
Rehabilitation

and Bureau of Services for the Visually Impaired. The agencies help
disabled Ohioans find and retain employment.

 

 

Rose said the rehabilitation commission is responsible for the theft
because he is blind and the commission knows disabled people are
particularly vulnerable

to fraud, theft and other crimes.

 

"They referred me to a known thief," he said. "I was a consumer of their
services."

 

Rose said he assumed the bureau had done an investigation because it's a
referral service. A background check was never mentioned, he said.

 

But the rehabilitation commission said employers bear the responsibility
for background checks.

 

No law or commission rule requires the commission to check the
backgrounds of the people they place for employment, said spokeswoman
Beth Gianforcaro.

 

The commission receives more than 40,000 applications each year for
placements from people looking for work, Gianforcaro said. Of those, the
commission

finds jobs for about 8,000 disabled people each year.

 

Background checks are done only if an employer requests one or if
something triggers a need, she said. Checking the backgrounds of all
applicants would

be costly, and many employers conduct their own, which Rose should have
done, she said.

 

"It's an unfortunate situation," she said.

 

Applicants must work with counselors for about two years before they are
placed in jobs. About 78 percent are still employed two years after
placement,

Gianforcaro said.

 

Elyria police recently charged Haylor with theft, and the case was bound
over to a grand jury. Her attorney, William Willis, declined to comment.

 

 

The lawsuit says:

 

Rose receives services from the Bureau of Services for the Visually
Impaired. His counselor there, whom he had seen for a number of years,
told him Haylor

was well-qualified to be his assistant and had experience working with a
blind person. She also had experience operating a hotel, which would
benefit Rose's

law practice.

 

Rose became suspicious last November while preparing rec ords for his
taxes. Haylor had the documents at her apartment and did not want to
give them back,

he said.

 

He checked Haylor's background and discovered she pleaded guilty in a
2002 theft case relating to the disappearance of money from the Elyria
Holiday Inn.

 

Police said Haylor took the checks she stole from Rose to a
check-cashing store, which never called Rose to verify if they were
legitimate.

 

"It was the perfect scam," Rose said.

 

Rose fired Haylor on Dec. 1.

 

 

Rose said he never suspected Haylor might steal from him. She walked
with a cane and claimed to suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, he said.

 

Rose paid Haylor a $12,000 salary. Rose says he went out of his way to
take care of Haylor, including filling her gas tank and often buying her
lunch.

 

Rose, whose sight loss was gradual, overcame obstacles to become an
attorney. Diagnosed with diabetes at age 12, he began having vision
problems when he

was 30. Rose was a successful chemical engineer, but failing eyesight
and stomach ailments forced him to quit work and go on disability.

 

CONTENT_WELL_ARROW/downarrow

Advertisement

CONTENT_WELL_ARROW/continuestory

HomeGard01_CL_RoS_Multi/300_250

 

He resigned himself to a bleak life, but a kidney and pancreas
transplant in 1999 changed his outlook. His vision, though, did not
improve.

 

Rose aspired to be a lawyer but dreaded the thought of all the reading.
With new technology, he was able to attend classes and learn by
listening to a computer

read scanned material.

 

He graduated magna cum laude from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
at Cleveland State University.

 

Rose shoulders part of the blame for his loss.

 

A computer program would have allowed him to look at the bank
statements, but it would have taken time, he said.

 

Now he regrets the decision, saying: "You can't trust anybody."

 

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

 

mpuente at plaind.com, 440-324-3773

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/lorain/1169113
399160940.xml&coll=2&thispage=3

 
     
-------------- next part --------------
Message
 
Lawyer sues state agency over referral of criminal
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Mark Puente
Plain Dealer Reporter
 
Elyria- Attorney Carl Rose trusted the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission when it asked him in May 2005 to hire Nancy Haylor to run his law office.
 
Now, Rose says that trust has been broken - and the price tag was almost $23,000 after Haylor, police say, wrote checks from his business account to herself
over 18 months.
 
Rose filed a lawsuit this week in the Ohio Court of Claims against the rehabilitation commission, which operates the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation
and Bureau of Services for the Visually Impaired. The agencies help disabled Ohioans find and retain employment.
 
 
Rose said the rehabilitation commission is responsible for the theft because he is blind and the commission knows disabled people are particularly vulnerable
to fraud, theft and other crimes.
 
"They referred me to a known thief," he said. "I was a consumer of their services."
 
Rose said he assumed the bureau had done an investigation because it's a referral service. A background check was never mentioned, he said.
 
But the rehabilitation commission said employers bear the responsibility for background checks.
 
No law or commission rule requires the commission to check the backgrounds of the people they place for employment, said spokeswoman Beth Gianforcaro.
 
The commission receives more than 40,000 applications each year for placements from people looking for work, Gianforcaro said. Of those, the commission
finds jobs for about 8,000 disabled people each year.
 
Background checks are done only if an employer requests one or if something triggers a need, she said. Checking the backgrounds of all applicants would
be costly, and many employers conduct their own, which Rose should have done, she said.
 
"It's an unfortunate situation," she said.
 
Applicants must work with counselors for about two years before they are placed in jobs. About 78 percent are still employed two years after placement,
Gianforcaro said.
 
Elyria police recently charged Haylor with theft, and the case was bound over to a grand jury. Her attorney, William Willis, declined to comment.
 
 
The lawsuit says:
 
Rose receives services from the Bureau of Services for the Visually Impaired. His counselor there, whom he had seen for a number of years, told him Haylor
was well-qualified to be his assistant and had experience working with a blind person. She also had experience operating a hotel, which would benefit Rose's
law practice.
 
Rose became suspicious last November while preparing rec ords for his taxes. Haylor had the documents at her apartment and did not want to give them back,
he said.
 
He checked Haylor's background and discovered she pleaded guilty in a 2002 theft case relating to the disappearance of money from the Elyria Holiday Inn.
 
Police said Haylor took the checks she stole from Rose to a check-cashing store, which never called Rose to verify if they were legitimate.
 
"It was the perfect scam," Rose said.
 
Rose fired Haylor on Dec. 1.
 
 
Rose said he never suspected Haylor might steal from him. She walked with a cane and claimed to suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, he said.
 
Rose paid Haylor a $12,000 salary. Rose says he went out of his way to take care of Haylor, including filling her gas tank and often buying her lunch.
 
Rose, whose sight loss was gradual, overcame obstacles to become an attorney. Diagnosed with diabetes at age 12, he began having vision problems when he
was 30. Rose was a successful chemical engineer, but failing eyesight and stomach ailments forced him to quit work and go on disability.
 
CONTENT_WELL_ARROW/downarrow
Advertisement
CONTENT_WELL_ARROW/continuestory
HomeGard01_CL_RoS_Multi/300_250
 
He resigned himself to a bleak life, but a kidney and pancreas transplant in 1999 changed his outlook. His vision, though, did not improve.
 
Rose aspired to be a lawyer but dreaded the thought of all the reading. With new technology, he was able to attend classes and learn by listening to a computer
read scanned material.
 
He graduated magna cum laude from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University.
 
Rose shoulders part of the blame for his loss.
 
A computer program would have allowed him to look at the bank statements, but it would have taken time, he said.
 
Now he regrets the decision, saying: "You can't trust anybody."
 
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
 
mpuente at plaind.com, 440-324-3773
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/lorain/1169113399160940.xml&coll=2&thispage=3