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Caregiver's crime was as callous as could be She robbed disabled man of savings By CHRIS BRISTOL Marie Fuller was so extravagant with her money, while vacationing at the coast once she got lonely for her dog and had it driven over from Medford -- by taxi. The only problem: It wasn't her money to spend. She stole it from a nearly blind and mostly deaf 82-year-old man who was a resident of the adult foster care home on South Stage Road that she managed for an absentee owner upstate. Authorities estimate Fuller, 56, pilfered more than $111,000 from the victim's bank account. She cashed his checks and then bought herself two cars and office equipment and who knows what else. She spent it all. In a Jackson County courtroom Tuesday, Fuller pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal mistreatment and one count of aggravated theft. The judge sentenced her to six months in jail and three years' probation. "You should go to prison," Judge Ray White told her. The sentence was the stiffest he could give under state sentencing guidelines. Through her attorney, Fuller claimed she spent most of the money on the residents of the foster home. She complained that the owner of the home wasn't spending enough on the residents, including food. "If I had the money, I'd give it back," she told the court. Prosecutor Terry Smith described the case as one of the most "aggravated and heartbreaking" examples of elder abuse she had ever seen. Aside from the cars, all the money is gone, and Fuller has no means to make restitution. The victim, who is confined to a wheelchair, was unable to attend the hearing Tuesday. Smith spoke on his behalf. "He felt very betrayed by this woman," she told the court, "because he trusted her. He had no idea she was robbing him blind." The case was brought to the attention of Jackson County sheriff's detectives by Pat Rodermund, a volunteer ombudsman who began investigating after she received a complaint that Fuller was not allowing visitors. Rodermund said that abuse of the elderly at the hands of care-providers is rampant. She said the state always needs more volunteer ombudsmen, who are authorized to inspect long-term care facilities and investigate complaints. "We want people to know this sort of thing is happening all over," she said. "They're not all bad, but it takes just one bad apple." Rodermund also criticized the owner of the home. She said the owner lives out of town and rarely visited the home to check up on Fuller. "If there was something wrong with the foster home, it was that," she said. "The owner was never there." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA