Published: February 09, 2007 10:38 am            

Price to be paid for seeking personal gain

When the main building at the Deer Ridge Apartments burned to the ground in early December, the days and weeks that followed were filled with stories of people coming to the aid of residents, offering food, money, clothing and shelter to more than 60 people who lost everything in a matter of hours.

Yet in the midst of all of that good will was one act of pure selfishness and greed. Robert King, a resident of the apartments at the time of the fire, lied to a disaster response team from the Gateway Area Chapter of the American Red Cross about the number of people who lived in his apartment — using his sisters and their children — in order to obtain more disaster assistance.

Fortunately, the scam was quickly caught and King’s case entered the legal system. Just last week he was sentenced to serve 360 days in jail on charges of third-degree fraudulent practices and third-degree theft. Of that sentence, 180 days were suspended, and King was placed on unsupervised probation for two years. A charge of identity theft was dismissed pursuant to a plea agreement. In addition, King was ordered to pay restitution to the American Red Cross in the amount of $895.

As we said in the days following the fire, it’s easy to see how such a situation could take place. Immediate disaster response to such a large fire has to be a harrowing mix of sights, sounds and emotions. Relief agency officials are focused on getting people shelter and food as soon as possible.

We’re sure no one who just watched their home and possessions burn to the ground wants to be messing around with a bunch of paperwork. But operating in that mode does open up the process to people who seek personal gain.

In this case, such a person has been outed and convicted. We don’t like to rejoice in seeing someone sentenced to jail, especially someone who already has lost their home. But we believe it was important for Clinton County Associate District Judge Arlen Van Zee to take this matter very seriously, and we’re glad to see he did.

We have spent a lot of ink in the past year calling on people to contribute to the Red Cross. With two more serious fires this week, it’s obvious the need for disaster assistance isn’t going away any time soon. That makes it more important than ever to keep the Red Cross in good financial standing, which is why it is important that everyone realize the consequences of taking advantage of such a horrible situation.

        

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