Police Add 9 Charges, Allege Nursing Home Employee Conned Over $100K from Resident
The admissions director of a Fair Lawn nursing home has been charged with theft, forgery and impersonation of another in connection with alleged looting of an 82-year-old man's bank account.
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Credit card purchases allegedly made by a Maple Glen Center nursing home employee whom Maywood Police say conned an elderly nursing home resident after gaining access to his bank account now exceed $100,000, authorities announced Friday.
Kye Giacalone, 31, the nursing home’s admissions director, was charged June 15 with theft of entrusted funds, theft by deception and four counts of theft by credit card. Originally estimated at $29,000, the total amount allegedly stolen by Giacalone grew as the investigation proceeded and, as a result, police have tacked on nine additional charges. The new charges, added Friday, include four counts of forgery, four counts of impersonating another and one count of second degree theft.
Giacalone, of Lodi, allegedly befriended the 82-year-old former Maywood resident and gained power of attorney in Sept. 2010, which she used to open credit cards in the man’s name, police said. She then took money from the victim’s account to purchase personal items with the credit cards, even after the man moved out of Maple Glen Center and into another nursing home, police said.
A family friend of the victim tipped off police after noticing money had been taken from the man’s bank account, Gillies said.
Maple Glen Center’s acting administrator, Lauraine Harrison, said she had not suspected any wrongdoing before police came to the center Friday to arrest Giacalone.
“We weren’t aware of any of this,” Harrison said. “When we found out, we suspended her immediately and launched our own investigation.”
Citing privacy laws, Harrison declined to release the length of time Giacalone had worked at Maple Glen Center, but said she did not have regular direct contact with nursing home residents.
All Maple Glen Center employees are subject to a background check, Harrison said.
Maywood Detective Sgt. Mark Gillies said he did not know whether the bank accounts of any other Maple Glen Center residents had been compromised, but noted that as residents who had regular contact with Giacalone look into their own finances, additional abnormalities may come to light.
Giacalone is currently being held at Bergen County Jail, with bail for the nine new charges set at $75,000 with no 10 percent option.
Her case has been referred to the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office.
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Putyouinyourplace
12:44 pm on Friday, June 22, 2012
Its disgusting how greedy people can be. Hard work and dedication can get you where you want to be. Be lazy and stealing from innocent people who trust you, is absolutely unexceptionable she should be punished to the full extent. She sure does look sad in her picture.
Robert Vonhundle
6:00 pm on Friday, June 22, 2012
She will get probation, slap on the wrist, the system is broken.
JDBlackhawk
8:50 am on Saturday, June 23, 2012
Yeah she's sad, she got caught. I'm pretty sure she wasn't sad spending all this poor man's money. Talk about a new low, the bar just keeps dropping and the police investigation will once again probably be handcuffed by a clever lawyer. She'll probably be working in another place within the year, stealing someone else's identity, money and anything else she can get her grubby hands on. The system is broken, especially it seems in businesses entrusted with the care of the elderly, the disadvantaged and others who can't help themselves. I have personal experience and know of at least two businesses where employees stayed on the payroll, even though they were caught clocking in and weren't there, or were asleep on the job, or had physically abused clients. Maple Glen is not one of these places but this entire industry needs to be constantly monitored and some of these places need to be turned inside out. If I blew the whistle, I'd probably get sued and get the wrong people to take the blame. Nothing seems to change until the abuse is so blatant or obvious that no-one can shovel it under the rug!
Kenny
2:10 pm on Sunday, September 2, 2012
I worked with this woman at Maple Glen. I can personally tell u she was a deceptive, heartless and cruel mannered person. Her only motivation was to serve her own selfish needs. So sorry u got nailed Kye! HaHaHa...rot in ur orange jumper
Kenny
5:21 pm on Sunday, September 2, 2012
Kye, where ever you are, where ever you go, you will always be an embarrassment to good Philipinas everywhere. Shame on you el diabla