I first reported a "welfare concern" to the Natchitoches police on June 22, 2002, in explicit reprisal for which I was notified that I would thereafter be regarded as a trespasser should I attempt to see my father. The last desperate plea was made about two and one half years later by my paternal uncle, a retired physician, in his letter to the director of the state's Elderly [sic] Protective Services a month before my father’s death but which was ignored except that my uncle’s letter was used in an effort to discredit him and further trivialize our concerns. In the interim, I had communicated with the parish Sheriff's office, our minister, the D.A., state district court, federal district court, legislators, the governor, both U.S. senators, the Advocacy Center, the La. Attorney Disciplinary Board, the La. Board of Social Work Examiners, the La. Inspector General, the La. Attorney General, the National Association of Adult Protective Services Administrators, the U.S. Administration on Aging, the FBI and the USDOJ among others.

I had warned that my father's life was in grave danger. In some cases I had specifically said he would most likely die by a "gun cleaning accident" or an "accidental" drowning if his situation were not addressed. When my father was reported missing, my family directed the police to search for his body in the lake behind his home, where it was eventually found. Even this request was met with contempt and was ignored for about eight hours.

Of the investigative or deliberative bodies mentioned above, not one obeyed its most basic published rules or precedents. Instead, we were subjected to appalling reprisals for making reports, particularly for cooperating with the state's mandatory elder abuse reporting law [La. RS. 14§403.2], though those reports are statutorily confidential.

My father was a kind and generous man and a highly decorated veteran of three wars. His awards included the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star and the Silver Star.