84°F
weather icon Clear

Ex-guardian sentenced to up to 40 years

Victims of former Nevada guardian April Parks packed a Las Vegas courtroom for much of Friday morning.

Relatives of those who died under her watch and of those too ill or weak to attend the proceeding spoke of the torment she put them through and observed as District Judge Tierra Jones sent the 53-year-old to prison for 16 to 40 years.

Nine people described their grief, while also reading letters from several others who lost thousands of dollars and precious, priceless heirlooms that would never be replaced because Parks stole from elderly victims for whom she was supposed to care. Her business, A Private Professional Guardian LLC, was based in Boulder City.

As the victims wept and told their stories of suffering, a shackled and seated Parks kept her head turned and never looked their way.

Larry Braslow, the first victim to speak during the nearly four-hour hearing, told the judge that a decades-old family address book had disappeared while Parks was tasked with caring for his mother, Ruth. His father’s footlocker, which contained military uniforms and accoutrements, also was gone.

Karen Kelly, Clark County’s public guardian, read through a long list of names of people victimized who lived under “intense anxiety and anguish” for the final years of their lives because of Parks and those who worked closely with her. Parks’ business partner, Mark Simmons, and her husband, Gary Neal Taylor, also were ordered Friday to serve time in prison.

“The choices she made were out of greed, not because she didn’t understand the ethical obligations of being a guardian.”

Of the victims, Kelly said, “She didn’t see them as people. They were paychecks.”

The judge ordered the three defendants to pay more than $500,000 to their victims.

Herman “Bill” Mesloh, who is blind, said Parks first visited him at the Southern Nevada Medical and Rehabilitation Center in late 2013 after he had undergone various surgeries.

He was involuntarily isolated from his wife, Kathy, for six months, he said.

“There are some evil people in this world,” he said. “And April Parks is a predator of the worst kind.”

Another woman, Barbara Ann Neely, said Parks separated her from family and friends.

“She was not a guardian to me,” Neely said. “She did not protect me. As each day passed, I felt like I was in a grave, buried alive.”

Rudy North, yet another victim, compared Parks to Adolf Hitler and said, “This lady should be banished.”

Parks, 53, pleaded guilty in November to exploitation, theft and perjury charges.

She told the judge Friday that she accepted responsibility “but never intended harm,” adding that “things could have been done better. … We were a group practice, and honestly I think some things got ahead of us.”

She said she had a “great passion” for guardianship and took “great care and concern” in her work.

Parks was one of the most active private professional guardians in the region. She often acted as the surrogate decision-maker for 50 to 100 elderly and mentally incapacitated people, called wards, at a given time. As guardian, she had full control of their finances, estates and medical decisions.

She originally faced more than 200 felony counts.

Simmons was ordered to serve seven to 18 years in prison, and Taylor was given a sentence of two to five years behind bars.

Handing down the sentences, Jones called Parks’ actions “absolutely shocking” and “downright offensive.”

Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.

MOST READ
THE LATEST
Toll Brothers gets split decision

The development of the area near Boulder Creek Golf Course known as Tract 350 (the sale of which is slated to pay for the majority of the planned replacement for the aging municipal pool) may have hit a snag last week as the planning commission voted 5-1 to deny the developers’ request to build houses closer to the street than is allowed under current law.

Council gives nod to 185 new hangars

There is at least one part of Boulder City that is set to see growth in the coming years. A lot of growth.

Boulder City ready to celebrate America

Boulder City resident James Cracolici may have put it best when he called the annual July 4 Damboree, “The crown jewel of all events held in Boulder City.”

BC can ban backyard breeders

Although there is nothing on any city agenda yet, the resolution of the issue of whether pet breeding will be allowed in Boulder City took a huge step forward last week as Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford released an official opinion on the intent and limitations of state law that had been requested by city staff last year.

Completion dates for two road projects pushed back

Mayor Joe Hardy tacitly acknowledged that Boulder City gets, perhaps, more than its fair share of funding from the Regional Transportation Commission, given the city’s size.

Businesses recognized at Chamber awards night

The Boulder City Chamber of Commerce’s annual installation and awards night featured many business owners in town and even had an appearance, albeit an A.I.-generated one, by Audrey Hepburn.

Parallel parking approved

Like so many other things in the world of Boulder City government, the issue of reconfiguring parking in the historic downtown area along Nevada Way, which generated enough heat to cause council members to delay a decision up until the last possible moment, ended with more of a whimper than a bang.

Ways to reduce summer power bills

Now that the thermometer is on the rise outdoors, the cost to cool homes and businesses on the inside is doing the same.