Given a tentative parole date of Sept. 15, Rick Bergesen is looking forward to a fresh start.Bergesen, who was disbarred in late 2011 after he was sent to prison earlier that year on a charge of felony grand theft, plans to stay temporarily at the Boise Rescue Mission when he’s released, he told the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole on Monday.
The 50-year-old divorced father of two said he is hoping to get a job at the YMCA or selling cars. He owes more than $153,000 in restitution to two former clients.
“You’re going to repay every dime,” Commissioner Janie Dressen said. She pressed him on when he could begin paying.
“I will be budgeting as much money as I can to pay back restitution,” he said.
He told the parole commission that he has “a lot of remorse” for bilking an elderly client, Joy Cassidy. She was vulnerable because she was terrified of going to prison, prosecutors said. She gave Bergesen $152,000 — nearly her entire life savings. Cassidy, 77, died at a local care center last June.
That doesn’t relieve Bergesen of the responsibility to pay restitution to her heirs.
As part of a deal with prosecutors, Bergesen pleaded guilty to grand theft — admitting to taking a $1,100 retainer from the second client after his license was suspended — and a felony charge of exploitation of an adult was dropped. The name of the second client was not available.
Bergesen was sentenced in 2011 to 10 years in prison, including three fixed (with credit for 182 days). He was up for parole Dec. 29 but was denied; a mental health evaluation was ordered.
NOT A MODEL PRISONER
Bergesen had numerous disciplinary issues last year, landing him in the Idaho Maximum Security Institution, a facility ringed by razor wire that houses the state’s most disruptive offenders.
“People are housed based upon their behavior, not their crime,” said Olivia Craven, executive director of the parole commission. “Our goal is to get people to the lowest custody level we can.”
Craven said Bergesen had eight disciplinary offense reports, including seven last year. His infractions involved a variety of forms of belligerence, including raising his voice to a staff member, disobeying orders, refusing to allow himself to be transported to another facility, wearing excess clothing (a safety issue) and throwing a tray (which hit an officer).
“Why are you such a pain in the neck?” Parole Commissioner Gary Scheihing asked Bergesen on Monday. Bergesen, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, said he was on the wrong medication then. He said the drug Haldol was giving him uncomfortable side effects.
His mother, Jan Bergesen, told the Statesman that those side effects included feeling as if he had ants crawling under his skin. He couldn’t sleep and was irritated all the time. His mother said she pressed prison officials to switch his medication.
Bergesen has been on Zyprexa for the past five months.
“My attitude is much better now ... I’m in a much more stable place,” he said.
He hasn’t had any disciplinary writeups since late September.
Commissioner Lisa Bostaph raised concerns about Bergesen’s compliance in taking his medication.
If released on parole, Bergesen promised that he would be “taking his medications religiously” and “attending Gamblers Anonymous religiously.”
“It’s make or break for me. I need to stay on this medication so I can stay clear-headed,” he said. Bergesen has completed a six-month program on anger management, and he’ll be required to finish up moral reconation therapy before his release. Moral reconation therapy is a cognitive behavioral program that aims to improve social behaviors and moral judgment.
No specific programming for gambling addiction is available at the prison. However, the other available programs cover “addictions of all kinds,” Idaho Department of Correction spokesman Jeff Ray said.
Bergesen’s mother said she doesn’t recall her son ever talking about going through addiction therapy.
GAMBLING ADDICTION
Bergesen’s family and friends knew about his gambling addiction because he hit them all up for money. He asked a childhood running coach and friend, Tim Severa, for $7,000, Severa said.
“He was borrowing money from a lot of people,” said Severa, who has made regular visits to the prison. Severa, a youth programs director at the Treasure Valley YMCA, was Bergesen’s running coach at West Junior High. Bergesen was a top runner — he still holds the record for the mile at Borah High, and he was inducted into the University of Oregon’s Athletic Hall of Fame with teammates on Oregon’s 1984 national champion Track & Field Team, according to Severa and Bergesen’s parents.
“He’d never miss a day of running,” said his dad, Bergy Bergesen. “He was like Forrest Gump.”Jan Bergesen said her son attended Gamblers Anonymous meetings before he ended up in prison.
“We went too,” his dad said.
The couple, who have three other grown children, are looking forward to a new beginning for their son.
“I think it’s time for him to get on with the rest of his life,” Jan Bergesen told the parole commission. “We’re looking forward to having him home again.”
Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/04/16/3136451/ex-lawyer-granted-parole-after.html#storylink=cpy
Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/04/16/3136451/ex-lawyer-granted-parole-after.html#storylink=cpy
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Many Americans use Sept. 11 as a reminder to be thankful, to remember loved ones and to honor the fallen, but some businesses are also using the day to offer 9/11-themed discounts.
This year, the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel in Worley, Idaho, is offering special rates and deals as a "Thank you to our heroes." The deal includes hotel rooms for $91.11 and a food voucher for $9.11.
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The offer is valid for ID-carrying members of the active military, military veterans, doctors, nurses, first responders, EMTs, firefights, police, sheriff, state patrol, US Marshals, air traffic controllers, FBI, 911 dispatchers, volunteer firefighters and EMTs.
"On special days we always try to do something in special recognition of men and women in public service," Bob Bostwick, head of the hotel's public relations department, told The Huffington Post.
"It's disturbing to think that this would be taken differently. Make no mistake, this is not a money maker. if anything, it would probably lose money."
These kinds of offers can be risky from a public relations standpoint, however. Bostwick acknowledged that his office had received a couple of negative emails and phone calls since the promotion was published, but he stressed that the motivations for the promotion were "heartfelt" and were never meant to offend.
Last year, a 9/11 anniversary coupon offered by New York Sports Club, offered certain active first responders discounted gym memberships. But the deal drew the ire of many of the first responders the ad was supposedly meant to honor.
The debate over how to best honor the occasion, especially when potential profit is involved, is probably not going away any time soon. Last August, a massive Village Voice feature investigated reports that various individuals and organizations were using the attacks for personal gain.
Photo courtesy of The Consumerist