A Victim's Daughter Fights Back Against Elder Abuse (USA)

Re-release of Paradise Costs-A Victim's Daughter Fights Back Against Elder Abuse
Marks International Elder Awareness Day; June 15, 2008

NEW YORK, NY- Bennett Blum, M.D., internationally acclaimed forensic and geriatric psychiatrist and an expert in undue influence, has added his pioneering work to that of author Irene A. Masiello in Paradise Costs-A Victim's Daughter Fights Back Against Elder Abuse, the heart-wrenching story of an infirm, 80-year-old man with Alzheimer's who was taken from his family, stripped of his assets and exploited despite the pleas of his next of kin.

Masiello supports her father's tragic story with his suspicious forensic report exemplifying a terrifying reality facing the elderly in America today. Created in a workbook format with prewritten reality writing letters as tear-outs, her book urges Americans to take action in support of federal legislation to stop elder abuse now.


Driven by grim statistics from national elder advocacy groups indicating there may be more than 25 million cases of elder exploitation in America, Dr. Blum and Ms. Masiello have joined forces to inform readers via a compelling true story while providing professional psychological assessment guidelines which are recognized and taught to professionals throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Dr. Blum has included his "Evaluating Mental Capacity, PARADISE 2 Model of Mental Capacity" and his "IDEAL Worksheet©," an acronym (Isolation, Dependency, Emotional manipulation and/or Exploitation of vulnerability, Acquiescence, Loss) inspired by his model for analyzing potential undue influence which combines his expert knowledge in psychiatry, psychology and sociology regarding the mechanisms of human manipulation.

Mario Masiello, a hearing-impaired, honorably discharged, World War II veteran, retired from the NYC Transit Authority and relocated to the quaint town of Walterboro, SC. Twenty years later, his blissful life was ravaged by the death of his wife and by several illnesses including diabetes, Alzheimer's and depression. Paradise Costs tells the chilling true story of the last years of his life when he was "grandpa-napped" from his family by neighbors and "friends."

"I never thought this type of betrayal and brutality could happen in my family," says his daughter. "My experience has made me realize how little people know about the deadly American pandemic that is elder abuse."

The American Psychological Association estimates that approximately 2.1 million senior citizens are victims of physical and psychological neglect and abuse every year. The numbers are grossly misleading for too many cases go unreported while most people are unaware or under-informed of elder abuse's broader definitions.

Ms. Masiello's objective is to provide a voice to the millions of victims that fall through the cracks every year. As readers accompany the Masiello family along their horrific journey they can't help but recognize and call for legislation that could prevent their own families from being victimized by this fast-growing phenomenon that's robbing our seniors of their dignity and right to life while causing pain and hardship for their loved ones.

The prefabricated "tear-out" letters and petitions to government officials contained in Paradise Costs are designed to create a reality-writing campaign. They are also available as free downloads at the book's website, www.ParadiseCosts.com. Readers can follow simple directions on how to e-mail legislators right from the site.

"I'm urging participation via our interactive book and website to lobby legislators to pass the Elder Justice Act now on the floor of both Houses of Congress," says the author. "Hopefully, others will be spared the suffering my father was forced to endure, and their families will not have to look on helplessly in horror as mine did."

Dr. Blum states, "Paradise Costs is a tragic, true-life tale. Unfortunately, the behaviors depicted in this book are all too common. No one knows how often criminals, 'brand new best friends' or family members exploit the elderly..Money has always been associated with the worst of human behavior. Elder financial abuse is no exception. Some of those taking assets from the elderly have been tied to gang violence, prostitution and drug trafficking. Their elderly victims are often subjected to physical abuse, neglect, abandonment, sexual abuse and murder."

Recognizing the difficulty of the aftermath of this tragedy, Ms. Masiello is determined not to let her father's death be in vain. "My goal now is to take my story to the nation and raise awareness of this deplorable social ill that's plaguing America," she says.

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Dr. Blum & Ms. Masiello are Members of the Elder Justice Coalition

Irene A. Masiello
Author: Paradise Costs-
A Victim's Daughter Fights Back Against Elder Abuse
Afterword by: Bennett Blum, M.D.
www.ParadiseCosts.com
www.BennettBlumMD.com
BennettBlum@aol.com



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