Woman Accused Over Board and Care Homes

Cracking down on a secretive and lucrative commerce that authorities say preys on the infirm and the elderly, a 56-year-old Los Angeles woman was charged Thursday with operating a chain of unlicensed board and care homes.

Investigators say Gloria L. Cohen and co-defendant Rudolph Walcott, 55, charged people living on government assistance checks about $500 a month to share a room with up to three roommates.

Although the charges come just days after a strange episode in which operators of a competitive board and care home allegedly kidnapped three of Cohen’s boarders, authorities say the current charges date back to an investigation that began last fall.

A spokesman for Cohen acknowledged that she does not have a license to run a board and care home, but said she provides only shelter and food and so, by law, does not need a license.

Authorities, however, said many of the boarders they observed needed significant care and supervision. They said one man was a double amputee. Another had full-blown AIDS. Another was a schizophrenic who needed regular medication.

“If you’re going to argue that a double amputee does not need care and supervision, I’d like to see how,” said Deputy City Atty. P. Greg Parham.

At one of the homes, Parham said, investigators found nine men, one of whom identified himself as being in charge. He told authorities that he had been recruited at the L.A. Rescue Mission and was being paid $150 every two weeks to cook for his fellow residents, clean the house and provide security. The man also said that he was responsible for ordering medication for the residents and administering medication to some of them.

In addition, authorities said, while Cohen pocketed thousands of dollars a month, the conditions of some of the homes were hazardous and inadequate to meet the needs of residents. At one home, investigators said, the toilet emptied into the yard.

“One of the primary purposes of requiring board and care facilities to be licensed is to enable state inspectors to monitor them and ensure that proper care is being provided to residents,” said City Atty. James K. Hahn.

“When facilities are operating illegally without licenses, they are evading this kind of monitoring.”

Speaking on Cohen’s behalf, administrative law consultants George Mason and Francine B. McDermott said Cohen has followed the letter of the law.

They said she fills a significant need--cheap shelter--for people who, until they met her, were consigned to living on the streets.

“These individuals have chosen to live at these facilities,” Mason said.

Cohen is charged with four counts of running an unlicensed board and care facility, a violation of the Health and Safety Code. Walcott is charged with three counts.

They are scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 24. Each count carries a maximum penalty of up to a year in jail and $1,000 fine, but most violators receive probation.