Judge sends ‘elder abuser’ to prison in 5-year sentence

Ex-caretaker stole thousands from 86-year-old woman under her care

WAILUKU -- More than a decade after depleting the savings of an 86-year-old Kihei woman, her former caretaker was sentenced Friday to a five-year prison term.

The case against Rosemarie Delatorre, 60, was delayed because she fled to the Cayman Islands in 2011 while criminal charges were pending, said Deputy Prosecutor Carson Tani.

He said the Department of Justice intervened and it took years to get permission from the Cayman Islands to bring Delatorre back to Maui to face the charges.

"This is a very tragic case," Tani said. "The defendant depleted Millicent Tatiner's savings, and so she really had, in her mind, no option but to commit suicide, based on the fact that she lost all of her money. She lost her independence."

Delatorre had pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of third-degree identity theft, with 21 other charges dismissed in exchange for her plea.

Second Circuit Judge Rhonda Loo noted that Delatorre was supposed to be a caregiver for Millicent Tatiner.

Delatorre was hired to work as a certified nursing assistant for Tatiner, who was living at Kalama Heights Retirement Residence in Kihei.

As the two developed a friendship from 2005 to 2008, the older woman began to trust Delatorre and gave her personal information that allowed the caregiver to make financial transactions, even though Hawaiian Health Care Professionals didn't allow its employees to do financial transactions for clients, Loo said.

An investigation showed Delatorre forged 17 checks for nearly $31,000 over a two-year period. She also forged a letter to a bank in Ohio to close the woman's certificate of deposit there and transfer nearly $42,000 to her bank here, investigation showed.

"And then you began draining that bank account as well," Loo said.

From February 2006 to November 2006, Delatorre used the other woman's debit card 15 times until Tatiner learned she had only $87 left in her account, Loo said.

"She should have had thousands and thousands," Loo said. "Somebody had basically pulled the rug out from under her.

"You're not a caregiver, you're one of the care-taketh-awayers."

When the judge asked if Delatorre wanted to say anything, she said, "Only that I apologize to the victims and that I'm looking forward to getting on with my life."

"I miss my parents very much," Delatorre said in court. "They miss me. They're getting up in age. I'm just afraid for them, what the next step in their life might be. They need me as much as I need them. They ask for me every day."

Deputy Public Defender Danielle Sears said Delatorre also has significant medical issues.

Judge Loo noted that in a letter to the court, Delatorre wrote about "how much you mean to your parents and the promises you made to your parents."

"What about the promises you made to Millicent Tatiner that you were going to be a good employee and help her and take care of her?" Loo said. "Your behavior is so heinous because you really depleted this trust.

"If there were a poster for an elder abuser, I think your picture would be on it."

Loo said prison was the only appropriate sentence for Delatorre.

"You took advantage of her friendship and her loneliness by stealing from her," Loo said. "For you to ask for probation, I don't think is appropriate for the tragedy you caused."

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.