Four years after losing a $4,000 deposit for a walk-in bath tub that was never delivered to her Hadley home, 76-year-old Suzzy Morin is still trying to hunt down the owner of a defunct New Jersey company.

She can't find him or her money. Authorities and regulators in the state of New Jersey apparently can't either.

"Their answer was, Mr. Pagano can't be found and a warrant is out for his arrest,'" said Morin, who last talked with consumer affairs officials in March. "We're talking about $4,000."

Morin had learned about William Pagano's company - Comfort Bath Walk-In Tubs - from an advertisement in AARP The Magazine. She had ordered the tub for a now 88-year-old woman with whom she lives and is a legal guardian.

But after weeks of no delivery and no one to take her calls, Morin got the sense she was being taken for a ride.

"They strung me along," she said. "Finally, I had to give up."

Her home contractor, Keith Fortier of Granby, was building an addition for Morin at the time. He got involved by contacting the Better Business Bureau on Morin's behalf. He also phoned the advertising director of the AARP magazine, which quickly pulled the company's ad.

"It really ticked me off," recalled Fortier, a tone of outrage still detectable in his voice. "It's not right. I think it was a scam more than anything else."

A former website for the tub company, tracked down by the Gazette, notes that its founder, Bill Pagano, "always had an entrepreneurial spirit."

"Mr. Pagano has owned several thriving businesses, but he wanted to own one that, in his words, would provide a service that would actually help people,'" it states.

Fortier had previous experience with alleged crimes against seniors and those whose care is placed in the trust of others. He said somebody stole rings from his late mother when she died in a Chicopee nursing home in 2002. His family pressed the matter with staff, but didn't make any headway. The matter was never resolved.

"She went in there with rings on every finger and came out with nothing," Fortier recalled. "She had those rings on her fingers for years. That was her thing. She liked her rings."

Financial crimes rising

In Hampshire County, a slew of cases involving financial crimes against elders has moved through the courts in recent years. Dozens more are under investigation and even more are never reported, say law enforcement officials and advocates for the elderly.

"With the downfall of the economy, we have had the expected rise in crimes against the elderly," said First Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Dunphy Farris, adding, "We also like to believe we're getting better reporting."

Today, about 30 cases involving alleged crimes against elders are moving through the courts or are under investigation by the Northwestern District Attorney's Elders and Persons with Disabilities Unit, which covers Hampshire and Franklin counties as well as Athol.

Investigators with the protective services unit at Highland Valley Elders Services are handling about two dozen cases, many of which involve elders who were neglected or victimized in some way. The unit, which works closely with the DA's office, once had six investigators but is now down to three full-time positions.

"We're in a situation where we just can't manage all the cases," said Sherry Bell, program director of the agency's protective services. "Because there are so many cuts, the safety nets for elders are disappearing."

Crimes against elders can present difficult and unique challenges for law enforcement, according to those involved. They occur on many fronts, from interstate commerce, phone and Internet scams to thefts in one's own home, bank, or nursing homes.

In many cases, family members are involved, including those who have power of attorney. Others are friends, personal care attendants and nurse aides with whom elders have established long-term relationships. This is one reason some elders are reluctant to report crimes.

"The fear is that their child is going to go to jail," said Chris Geffin, coordinator of the DA's Elders and Persons with Disabilities Unit.

Some fear retaliation or are embarrassed they have allowed a situation to go on. Others are in declining mental health and simply unaware they are being exploited. Dunphy Farris said a lot of crimes come to light after elders have died, which complicates prosecution efforts.

"The earlier the reports, the better the chance of getting a prosecution under way," she said.

But successful prosecutions can sometimes take years, as was the case involving Therese J. Pietraszkiewicz, 55, of Easthampton, who was sentenced to a year in jail and five years probation in March after admitting in court to stealing $300 from one elderly friend and nearly $10,000 from another. Pietraszkiewicz bought groceries, clothes and gifts with the money.

One of the victims, a 77-year-old woman, moved in with Pietraszkiewicz and introduced her to the second victim, who was 94 years old. The thefts were discovered in 2008 by a home-based care provider and occurred while Pietraszkiewicz was on probation for earlier stealing $219 from a mentally disabled woman in her care.

"What we see are more people going into people's homes," Geffin said. "A lot of times it's home health aides and personal care attendants helping themselves."

The Pietraszkiewicz investigation, she said, "was a long time in the making."

Banking crimes

Last year, Angela Feliciano, a 21-year-old personal care attendant from Easthampton, was sentenced to five years probation for stealing $2,360 from a former disabled client of hers who had moved into a nursing home. Feliciano had forged 14 checks dating back to 2007, allegedly paying herself for services she was no longer providing to the woman. The bogus checks were discovered by a Florence Savings Bank teller eyeing signatures.

In June, Florence Savings Bank and one of its security officers, Michelle Lawrence-Bennett, were recognized by Highland Valley Elder Services for their long-term commitment to elder safety and advocacy. As part of her work on behalf of elder account holders at the bank, Lawrence-Bennett works with other bank employees to recognize and assist with possible elder financial exploitation.

On the flip side, a Bank of America teller is due back in court in August to face 14 counts of larceny from a person over the age of 60. Prosecutors allege Claire O. Vukovich of Northampton made $14,000 in unauthorized withdrawals from Amherst resident Agnes Ting's bank accounts while she worked at the bank's branches in Northampton and Easthampton.

Police unraveled the unauthorized withdrawals after Ting, who is 70, noticed $3,000 had been withdrawn from her bank account in Easthampton, where she never goes.

"I'm an old lady, and I trust the bank, so I wasn't checking my account online," Ting said at Vukovich's arraignment in February.

Employee screening key

Elderly advocates say the state could do a better job of providing easily accessible information about whether potential employees, such as certified nurse aides or home health or hospice aides, have been disciplined in the past, especially those seeking to work in private homes.

"There is a need for a statewide registry to identify perpetrators for an elder or vendor agency that is trying to hire staff," Bell, of Highland Valley Elder Services said. "There is not one for nurse aides and personal care attendants who provide assistance in the home."

The state Board of Registration in Nursing maintains a fairly updated list of disciplinary actions against licensed practical nurses, registered nurses and nurse practitioners on its website. Last year, 240 nurses working in the commonwealth were disciplined, including more than half who either surrendered their licenses or had them revoked. The list does not provide the reasons for those actions, however.

The state Department of Public Health maintains a Nurse Aide Registry and employers are required to report any allegations of abuse, neglect or misappropriation to the state agency. Employers also are required to check the nurse aide registry and conduct criminal background checks before hiring staff, though not all agencies do, Bell and others have found.

The regulations apply to nursing homes, rest homes and home health hospice and homemaker agencies. But Geffin, of the DA's office, said not all private agencies placing personal care attendants in homes are conducting criminal background checks. This, Geffin said, is a situation that should be remedied by law.

Renaissance Manor on Cabot, a 36-bed skilled nursing facility in Holyoke, is one place that takes the screening of employees very seriously, said Karen Hamley, director of nursing service.

"We have a zero tolerance policy for theft," Hamley said.

Last year, the nursing home fired a certified nurse aide after she was caught stealing a candy bar out of a patient's room. Hamley said the theft was reported to the state Department of Public Health, as required. The state agency later spent a day at the nursing home investigating the theft, including interviewing staff and patients.

In addition to conducting criminal background checks, careful interviewing and screening employees, Hamley said the nursing home also runs CORI checks annually on employees to determine whether something has occurred that has fallen through the cracks. She noted the nursing home let go one employee after a routine criminal background check revealed pending assault charges against him in court during the past year.

"I think all of this helps to diminish the chances of someone who is going to steal," she said.

Dan Crowley can be reached at dcrowley@gazettenet.com.