Martin Colin, a former Circuit Judge, was in financial crisis in the fall 2009 and asked an attorney, who had been regularly appearing in front of him, to get out of the courtroom into his office.
Colin’s wife Elizabeth “Betsy”, waited in the corridor. Sheri Hazeltine, a lawyer, was asked by the judge to represent her husband, a tennis instructor, who wanted to become a professional guardian, which is a court-appointed monitor of finances, care, and living arrangements for incapacitated seniors or disabled adults.
Hazeltine, a single practitioner with a disabled child, said that there was some fear. It was a strange thing for a judge.
Nearly a decade later, Florida documents in an administrative complaint the involvement of Colin, a guardianship judge in Savitt’s cases. Court records show that he was an invisible hand who established his wife’s position in this lucrative field.
Based on a confidential report from the Palm Beach County Clerk & Comptroller’s Office, the Office of Public and Professional Guardians has taken action against Savitt.
“While we cannot comment on ongoing litigation,” Ashley Chambers, communications director at the Florida Department of Elder Affairs which oversees guardianship, stated that the department takes seriously its legal authority to investigate complaints against professional guardians.
“Guardians have a great responsibility. We will pursue discipline action, up to and including the revocation of guardian registrations – whenever appropriate. Our top priority is protecting vulnerable adults from harm and exploitation.
According to the guardianship office, Savitt is accused of abusing her power as guardian and violating state guardianship statutes concerning conflicts of interest. She was married to Colin but failed to disclose this fact. She is also accused for failing to act in good Faith and acting in a way that was contrary to the best interests of her wards.
According to the complaint, Savitt continues serving on cases where she should have been disqualified.
Colin isn’t the only judge that the state claims Savitt had a conflict of interest with. Judge David French, who was in charge of many Savitt cases, also went on vacation at least once.
An administrative law judge is being asked by the state to impose sanctions against Savitt. These penalties could include her guardianship registration being suspended or cancelled and her having to pay restitution. According to the complaint, Savitt has been charged $190,000.
According to an order by the chief judge following a 2016 Palm Beach Post investigation into Colin and Savitt Guardianships: A Broken Trust, guardians cannot practice in Palm Beach County unless they are registered with the state.
A three-day hearing will be held in West Palm Beach on Wednesday.
Savitt’s action is the first against any guardian. The Florida Legislature granted new regulatory powers to the guardianship office in 2016, following a flood of complaints about predatory guardians throughout the state.
The guardian office cites two of Savitt’s earliest guardianships, in which Colin appointed Hazeltine to act as an attorney for another party. Hazeltine’s actions made it possible for his wife to be a guardian or guardian advocate to a disabled adult. The state accuses Colin with improperly transferring cases between jurists and avoiding random assignments from the clerk’s.
According to the complaint, Carol Dobrzynski (a 75-year-old woman with a developmental disability), was not subject to an order of transfer. Therefore, Colin was presiding at the appointment of his wife. Nearly four years after the original case was filed, the clerk officially reassigned it, which involved a trust of $290,000.
The Post discovered that a different judge signed key orders in one Savitt case. This was over Judge Colin’s printed name. Court documents reveal that Savitt took $18,000 from the joint account of the senior Ward and his wife and then overdraft it. His widow complained to the court but to no avail.
Colin also appointed Hazeltine in another case, allowing Savitt to assume a guardianship attached at trusts worth approximately $680,000.
Judge French approved at most four Savitt petitions. She had taken retainers from her incapacitated wards’ life savings without court approval before she did any work.
A motion was made by the state. Savitt stated in her deposition that she had gone on vacation with French. Ellen Morris, Savitt’s lawyer, denied that Savitt had ever been on vacation with French.
The Post reported previously that Christine Connelly, French’s second ex, claimed she was friends with Judge French and Colin Savitt. They had been planning a cruise vacation together, but Colin lost his passport so it was scrapped.
French and Colin often ate together at lunch when they were sitting on the south county bench.
French was not the only one who signed Savitt orders. According to the guardianship office, Colin has signed Savitt orders in cases where Savitt was either a professional guardian (or guardian advocate).
In 2015, Colin told The Post that he had never presided over cases involving the wife. He also denied any conflicts of interest in fee requests for lawyers who represented his wife but appeared before him in other cases.
Colin, however, resigned from the 115 cases involving his wife’s attorneys in the six months ending in 2015, after The Post began asking questions. The complaint also uses “conflicts of interest” more often than 30 times.
Chief Judge Krista Marx stated last month that the complaint by the state against Savitt was a repetition of the accusations that have plagued the guardian for many years. She did mention that Savitt was applying to be a guardian at the time. However, Chief Judge Krista Marx said that Judge Colin expressed concern about Judge Peter Blanc’s decision to not supervise Savitt’s case.
Marx stated, “There was a time when Judge Blanc became conscious of this issue.”
Blanc stated that he recalled Colin telling him that Savitt would be a professional Guardian. Blanc advised Colin that his wife would not appear before him, and that it would be up the other judges to decide if they would withdraw from her cases or not.
This is an extraordinary first hearing by a professional guardian. Think back to the match that took place between the sides before the hearing.
The guardian office demanded all communications Savitt had between her and Judge Colin regarding the case in question. It also requested Savitt’s communications and “photographs, or video recordings” in which Savitt was seen with former or current judges.
Morris claimed spousal privilege in the proceeding to keep the pillow talk secret, even though it would seem to support the state’s claim that it was an intrinsic conflict of interest.
Morris asked for the guardianship to acknowledge that there was no law that requires guardians to disclose marriages to judges who are not presided over guardian cases. She also requested that the guardianship admit that the orders Colin signed in Savitt cases were “perfunctory.”
The guardianship office replied that Colin had signed two mandatory annual guardianship plans submitted by Savitt, and denied that they were routine.
Morris stated in court documents that Savitt’s actions weren’t within the jurisdiction of the state guardianship officer since it was not established by law until March 2016. She challenged the clerk’s authority in determining how judges transfer cases. However, she maintained her belief that Savitt was entitled to retainers before performing any work.
Morris wrote in Savitt’s objection that “there are many court documents which disprove these allegations.”
Morris objected strongly in a motion against the use of the confidential clerk’s report during the hearing. Mary Li Creasy, an administrative law judge, denied the motion late Friday.
The witnesses for the hearing include Colin, Savitt, and Hazeltine. Anthony Palmieri, deputy inspection general for the clerk’s office, is also listed as a witness.
Morris has stood by Savitt’s defense as many families have repeatedly accused Morris of putting her and her lawyers’ financial interests above the care of their loved ones. Families accuse Morris of missingmoney, overbilling, and unnecessary litigation to earn fees. Savitt has not been found guilty of any missing money, or for engaging in unnecessary litigation to generate fees.
Savitt didn’t return an email or phone call, but she dismissed The Post stories about her in the past as “fake News.”
Colin stated that the allegations in the complaint are not meritorious, but he said that he feels it was inappropriate to comment on them given the pending hearing.
Colin wrote in an email that the Post had been asked to postpone writing a story about mere allegations against Ms. Savitt, until the final hearing. The judge will then make a decision. “Regrettably, however, the Post stated that it would not wait and that the reporter had been instructed to write the story prior to the hearing. This is not surprising, but it is regrettable.
Colin was removed from the guardianship division after the publication of The Post’s initial investigation. Later, he announced his retirement. All cases of Savitt were transferred to the north county courthouse. French and all the other south county judges were instructed to withdraw from Savitt cases. French was also moved to another division, and he has announced his retirement at the end of the year.
Palm Beach County adopted new guardians requirements that addressed the problems highlighted in Savitt’s conduct. They included taking thousands of dollars from the savings of elderly wards to pay “retainers”.
Savitt’s reign began in 2009 when Colin approached Hazeltine at the South County Courthouse.
Hazeltine recalls, “I was leaving courtroom when he hopped off of the bench and asked me if I wanted to meet him outside the courtroom.” His wife was present and he asked me if I would sit down with him in a side conference area, outside the courtroom. He introduced me to her, and asked if I would be her representative in guardianship matters. This is how it all began.
The judge’s finances at the time were marred by foreclosures, unpaid debt, and liens. Records show that Colin borrowed money from Helen Rosburg Rich, the heir to Wrigley’s gum fortune, multiple times.
Rich claimed that Rich initially refused to pay $20,000 and that the judge made a “diaper boy fit” for Colin. Kirk Friedland was Rich’s former partner in law. He was to earn more than $500,000 fees in a probate matter where Colin appointed him as a neutral fiduciary between the warring heirs of Wet ‘n Wild founder. The IRS placed liens against Colin in 2008 for $67,000 in unpaid income tax.
The Post’s early cases show Colin’s role in directing guardianships for his wife.
Irving Stone, aged 83, from Boynton Beach, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. He lived for eight days during guardianship, according to court documents.
After Stone’s son had petitioned for the guardian, Colin appointed Hazeltine to act as Stone’s attorney on November 30, 2011. Two days later, a temporary emergency guardian petition was filed. The name of Stone’s child is crossed out. Savitt’s name is written in pen above it.
Colin’s name appears on the order as judge making the decision. However, the signature of Circuit Judge James Martz is found in court documents.
Judge Colin asked the clerk Dec. 6 for a transfer of the case. However, the transfer is effective five days before. Savitt had been appointed by Judge Colin and received $18,000. Stone died four days after.
According to court documents, Savitt was paid $3,240 for less than two weeks as a guardian. Hazeltine got $4,600. The fees of two other attorneys were nearly $10,000.
Clifford Hark was Stone’s attorney. His bill states that he reviewed a Judge Colin fax and charged more than $7,100. He would then refer other guardianships back to Savitt.
Hark stated that “Retired Judge Colin never asked for me to help his wife in establishing her as a guardian”
Hazeltine’s bill states that Hazeltine was in touch the judicial assistant who told her to prepare a notice so it “reflects it is before Judge Martz.”
Jean Stone, Jean Stone’s spouse of 17 years and a former school teacher, refused to pay the fees demanded by Savitt or the attorneys. She claimed that the guardian had ignored her husband’s will. He gave her power to make decisions for her and also named her as his health care surrogate.
Stone demanded $18,000 from Savitt, which was taken from a joint account in the bank. This caused it to be overdrawn.
“This woman should be in prison. Jean Stone, now at 87, said that she is an evil, wicked person.
According to the widow, she had first spoken with Savitt via phone on Thanksgiving night 2011, a week before Savitt’s wife was appointed. Jean Stone stated, “She said you had to be there at 8 a.m. otherwise,” “I didn’t know what I should do.”
She said that Savitt, Irving Stone’s estranged relatives and a sheriff’s officer showed up at her home at 2 am. Savitt wanted to make an inventory of the house, but Stone, widow, had left everything to her. The deputy wouldn’t allow her to enter.
Jean Stone stated that $18,000 was not recoverable. It was impossible to recover it.”
She claimed that Savitt treated her, the wife of a dying gentleman, “like I was that thing that crawled under a rock.” They (Colin & Savitt) should be punished.”
Jennifer Keller, a woman suffering from schizophrenia, was another early Savitt guardian. She had a trust of $680,000 after a personal injury settlement, which she used to finance her guardianship.
Keller was 48 years old when she called Hazeltine, September 2009, to ask for help. She wanted out of the assisted living facility that had been placed her by her guardian. Keller had diabetes and required kidney dialysis. After Keller became involuntarily hospitalized, the trust administrators sought guardianship.
Colin asked Hazeltine to become his wife’s attorney at the same time.
Colin chose Hazeltine as Keller’s representative. Hazeltine initiated proceedings to remove Keller from guardian status and brought in Savitt. According to the guardianship office, Colin made an “order for transfer” to Circuit Judge Charles Burton. This was in addition to avoiding a random assignment by his clerk’s office.
Documents show that Keller’s trust administrator paid $25,000 per year for guardianship in 2008.
Savitt is also accused of allegedly promising to Wendy Schmid, a 45-year old mentally disabled woman, that she would be a co-guardian. She did not receive any compensation. However, she later submitted a petition to be paid $903 from a Social Security ward who earned about $1,000 per month.
Morris claims that Savitt did indeed agree to no compensation and was paid money, but denies it violated the court’s order.
Savitt is cited in the administrative complaint for accepting fees without approval from the court. The Post discovered that she received nearly $20,000 in retainers. This includes cases in which guardians were challenged by their families.
Helen O’Grady (83), a Kansas schoolteacher: Savitt took $1724 without obtaining court approval. Before doing any work in guardianship cases, O’Grady died. She and Hazeltine then took $30,000 to “hold in trust”. They were ordered to return it by a judge.
Robert Paul Wein, a New York accountant, 89: Savitt admitted that she received $17,000 in fees and a retainer for $8,000 from Wein’s accounts. This was without any court permission.
Lorraine Hilton, a Chicago-area decorator, was 94 at the time. Savitt had failed to open a bank account. One of her sons was able to access it, and he wrote two checks totaling $49 685 for real estate. Without prior approval from the court and before she did any work, she also took out a retainer of $2,000.
Carla Simmonds, Delray Beach nursing administrator: Savitt tried to collect fees from the $640,000 trust that the stroke victim had set up and then asked the court for permission to drain her $46,000 IRA in order to pay fees equal to one-quarter of the amount. To get her out of the case, her caretaker gave $13,300 to Savitt as well as her lawyer. Savitt initially paid a retainer of $2,500 without court approval.
Albert Vassallo Sr., a retired plumber from Deerfield Beach, was 88. Savitt received a retainer of $3,000 without the need for court approval. The senior was placed with a girl who stole $130,000 from her father’s savings. This forced the guardianship order to be taken by a sibling. Savitt attempted to funnel $54,000 more from Vassallo’s estate to his daughter after Vassallo died.
James Vasallo was the senior’s only son. He wanted the guardianship as he felt that his siblings were stealing from him. Because Vasallo hired Hark, an attorney who referred the guardianships on to Colin’s wife, Savitt was appointed guardian.
James Vasallo stated that she was not doing right and that the judges had signed off on everything she requested. “She was concerned about the money and not my father,” James Vasallo said.
Sam Sugar, co-founder of Americans Against Abusive Probate Guardianship helped to push for reforms that resulted in the state guardianship office being reformed and is currently pursuing Savitt.
He stated that Colin and Savitt are the best examples of how guardianship can harm families and the vulnerable loved ones they entrust to the court.
Sugar stated that the state court system and the judges who allowed Sugar to abuse her wards for so long must now face the unavoidable need to conduct a thorough and effective investigation into the system that continues exploiting the most vulnerable of us.
Marx, chief judge, stated that the new requirements for professional guardians and a wheel for random appointments go a long way in addressing the problem. She said, “We recognize it is an area that requires to be closely followed.”
Hazeltine was also fed up with Savitt. After The Post revealed that Savitt was using fees from her elderly wards’ life savings, she quit representing him.
Hazeltine stated that she regretted Savitt’s representation, insofar her name and my law office’s name were being associated with Judge Colin and their actions.