State: Care home failed to check workers

ELIZABETH TOWNSHIP - The personal care home where a handyman is accused of sexually assaulting a 79-year-old resident over the weekend was cited in December for violating state regulations regarding criminal background checks of employees, a state official said Monday.  Owner Chester Niedzwiecki and his daughter, Deborah, who is director of the home, could not be reached for comment.  A staff member at the facility declined comment last night as four residents sat in a darkened common room watching television.  Employee Dwight Hill, 44, who lives at the home, was charged Saturday with indecent and simple assault and criminal attempt to commit involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. He is accused of assaulting a woman who has dementia and uses a wheelchair.  Stacey Ward, spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Welfare, which licenses personal care homes, said an inspection showed that while Scenery Heights had done background checks on some employees, it also accepted outdated checks of several others.

Minnesota to Offer Online Criminal Histories…..

Minnesota next month will begin posting an adult criminal history database online, allowing  anyone surfing the Internet — your boss, landlord or latest love interest — to access it for a $5 credit card charge. Adult gross misdemeanor and felony convictions will be part of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's (BCA) searchable database. In Minnesota, convictions are part of the public record for 15 years after a defendant completes his or her sentence and probation. Minnesota joins at least a dozen states, including Wisconsin and Washington, to sell the public Internet access to criminal rap sheets for fees ranging from a few bucks to $25 a search. States whose Web sites are already running are fielding hundreds of thousands of queries each year.

Keeping Closer Tabs on Cabbies…….

Although the City of Monterey revoked the permits of four cabbies—for failing to disclose criminal convictions when they were hired—each has found work in counties nearby. The revocations were spurred by the arrest of Monterey driver Raymond Richard Whitall on suspicion of committing several assaults last March. While the Whitall arrest led police and transportation officials to revisit how taxi drivers are licensed in an area where many people, particularly tourists and the elderly, rely on cabs to get around, the aftermath suggests there is still more work to be done. The region's patchwork of overlapping jurisdictions is ripe for abuse.

Door-to-Door Magazine Solicitor Kills Woman; Background Checks Examined…..

In response to the murder of a Dover Township woman in early June, the New Jersey State Attorney General's Office is investigating firms that have door-to-door solicitors working in the area without permission. Azriel R. Bridge of Chicago is being charged with murder, felony murder and robbery, for the stabbing death of Shirley Reuter, 77, after she let him into her home. Bridge, 18, is employed by Phoenix Imaging, an Indiana firm that hires solicitors who travel the country selling magazine subscriptions door to door. Phoenix Imaging, which contracts with American Community Services of Michigan City, Ind., had solicitors in the NJ area last week without required permits. Say Dover Twp. authorities: "We trust that both American Community Services and Phoenix Imaging will conduct appropriate background checks of their sales force and will not unload people in this state who are dangerous." 

Group Wants Criminal Checks on Repairmen…….

Sue Weaver didn't expect a twice-convicted sex offender to walk through her front door after calling for an air conditioning repairman from a well-known company. The repairman—Jeffrey Hefling—cleaned Weaver's air ducts in February 2001, then returned six months later to rape and kill the Orange County woman.  A criminal background check on the killer would have revealed a past riddled with felony convictions.

Insurance Industry Suggests That Church Conduct Background Checks……..  

The Mulberry Street Methodist Church in Mount Vernon, Ohio, this month enacted a new policy requiring anyone who works with a minor to have a full criminal background check. “Nothing has happened in our church, but we want to make sure nothing happens,” said Pastor Rod Buchanan. The church didn’t need to take this measure, but it was suggested by their local insurance company, Dumbaugh Insurance. “We didn’t get any pressure, but as a part of our study we contacted the insurance company and they were thrilled that we were going to do something like this,” said Buchanan, adding that the Methodist church hierarchy is also recommending, but not requiring, these types of safeguards.

The BIS Blotter

Compiled from various sources