WILKES-BARRE — Continuing its work to address and prevent one of the fastest growing forms of elder abuse, the Department of Aging this week announced the formation of a dedicated investigative unit to support Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) in probing complex financial exploitation cases and obtaining justice for older Pennsylvanians.
The Financial Abuse Specialist Team (FAST) is a four-person unit consisting of an analyst/supervisor, two analysts, and an attorney to assist the aging network for the next two years.
The creation of FAST evolved from a pilot program that began with the hiring of David Aiello, a retired state trooper with expertise in financial exploitation investigations, who has served as a shared resource for the AAA network for the past two years.
The department has obtained $666,000 in federal grant funding to expand the capacity of this program for the next two years.
“Based on a sample of 22 cases where we exercised enhanced coordination and early intervention, nearly $3 million in assets were protected from further exploitation,” said Secretary of Aging Robert Torres. “Given these results, we decided to expand this model and build more capacity to better support AAAs on these cases and get the justice that victims deserve. This FAST unit will be available to assist in both investigating and resolving financial exploitation cases. It will also work on building or strengthening relationships with law enforcement to achieve justice for older adult victims and to mitigate damages as quickly as possible.”
Financial exploitation ranks in the top three types of elder abuse reported to the department. It can take the form of property theft, misuse of income or assets, misuse of Power of Attorney; or scams of many types including medical, contractor, grandchild imposter emergencies, Social Security or IRS, fake charities, gift card scams, pension poaching and more.
The formation of the FAST investigative unit is an extension of PDA’s ongoing work in protecting older adults and preventing financial exploitation. The department conducted a study on the impact of financial exploitation of older Pennsylvanians.
The average financial loss to each victim in the study was almost $40,000, totaling close to $12.5 million in the cases reviewed in the study alone. The study recognized that many of these cases go unreported so the extent of losses due to financial exploitation are likely much higher.
In addition to FAST and Department of Aging protective services team members, Sec. Torres was joined by representatives from the Pennsylvania State Police, Office of the Attorney General, and the departments of Banking and Securities and Military and Veterans Affairs, each of whom shared their department’s efforts to combat financial exploitation in its many forms.
STC adopts updated 12-year transportation program
Pennsylvania’s State Transportation Commission (STC) this week updated the 12-Year Program.
The new plan anticipates $84 billion will be available over the next 12 years for improvements to roads, bridges, transit systems, airports and railroads.
The 12-Year Program, or TYP, is a multi-modal, fiscally constrained planning tool used to identify and prioritize Pennsylvania’s transportation projects and the funds needed to complete them. State law requires the STC to review and update the TYP every two years. No capital project can move forward unless it is included in the TYP.
The newly adopted program, which takes effect October 1, incorporates funding from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), and anticipates the following funding availability in the first four years of the TYP from federal, state and local sources:
$16 billion for state highway and bridge projects;
• $11.4 billion for public transit;
• $331 million for multi-modal projects;
• $232 million for rail freight; and
•$168 million for aviation.
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has already made a noticeable impact on transportation projects in Pennsylvania across all modes,” said PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian. “While additional investment in our large transportation network is certainly needed, PennDOT takes pride in being a responsible steward of federal, state and local dollars to help improve infrastructure across all modes.”
The TYP also highlights some of PennDOT’s major accomplishments over the past two years, ranging from the modernization of train stations to the implementation of innovative strategies and the latest technologies to enhance safety and efficiency across a wide range of operations.
Four Rural Planning Organizations, 19 Metropolitan Planning Organizations and one independent county partnered with PennDOT in the review and development of the update. Now that the STC has approved the update, it has been submitted to the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration for review and approval.
Meuser co-sponsors bill to protect correctional officers
U.S. Rep. Meuser, R-Dallas, this week co-sponsored Rep. David Kustoff’s legislation, H.R 8645 — “The Cellphone Jamming Reform Act of 2022.”
The bill would empower state and federal prisons to utilize jamming systems against contraband cellphones. The phones are used by inmates to conduct illegal activity, including ordering hits inside and outside of prison, running illegal drug operations and planning escapes.
“This legislation will protect correctional officers nationwide, including those in the Ninth Congressional District,” Meuser said. “These officers face many dangerous situations behind prison walls. We often lose sight of how important their work is, safeguarding the public from some of society’s most dangerous individuals,” Meuser commented.”
Meuser said the use of contraband cell phones culminated in the killing of Supervisory Correctional Officer Osvaldo Albarati. He was murdered on the Jose De Diego Expressway in Puerto Rico after completing his shift at the Metropolitan Detention Center in 2013.
The assassination was initiated by inmates, housed in a federal facility, contacting the gunman with a contraband phone.
The legislation is supported by The Correctional Leaders Association, Council of Prison Locals, American Correctional Association, National Sheriff’s Association and Major County Sheriffs of America.
Supporting this bill builds upon Meuser’s work on behalf correctional officers. Earlier this year, he co-sponsored Rep. Brad Wenstrup’s bill, H.R. 5761 — “The Pay Our Correctional Officers Fairly Act.”
Meuser said currently, correctional officers employed by the Bureau of Prisons in the 9th Congressional District are compensated unfairly because they work right outside of the Philadelphia and New York pay zones.
Wyoming County joins AG Shapiro’s treatment initiative
Attorney General Josh Shapiro this week announced that Wyoming County has joined the Law Enforcement Treatment Initiative (LETI) — a program launched by Shapiro in collaboration with law enforcement that provides assistance to Pennsylvanians suffering from substance use disorder in enrolling in treatment services.
Shapiro said 16 counties across the Commonwealth have previously joined the LETI program.
PA LETI is a law enforcement-led treatment initiative that will allow Pennsylvanians in Wyoming County seeking treatment for substance use disorder to use their local law enforcement, county officials, and community stakeholders, to contact Luzerne/Wyoming Drug and Alcohol Program for treatment services without the threat of arrest.
“We lose 14 Pennsylvanians a day to the opioid epidemic,” Shapiro said. “Connecting individuals to the treatment they need will save lives, make our communities stronger, and help minimize the stigma associated with substance use disorder. I commend District Attorney Peters and our law enforcement partners across Wyoming County for implementing this program in their communities.”
Shapiro said partnering Wyoming County law enforcement agencies and others under PA LETI will:
• Open their doors to those suffering from substance use disorder.
• Help identify individuals seeking treatment services.
• Assist with ensuring that people have transportation to treatment services.
• Maintain relationships with our local drug and alcohol administration to understand availability, and collect data to study outcomes.
In Wyoming County, individuals can contact a member of law enforcement, county official, or community stakeholder at any time to ask for a referral or to be connected to treatment with no threat of arrest or prosecution. This policy also includes the ability for law enforcement to connect individuals to treatment at their discretion. Law enforcement and county leadership in Wyoming County will be partnering with Luzerne/Wyoming Drug and Program to facilitate these referrals.
LETI currently operates in Berks, Bradford, Carbon, Chester, Clearfield, Columbia, Dauphin, Delaware, Elk, Fayette, Mifflin, Montgomery, Northumberland, Schuylkill, Snyder, and Somerset counties. District Attorneys in Pennsylvania interested in starting a PA LETI program should contact the Office of Attorney General at 570-826-2483.