The Saga of John Flentie

Kansas City Star ^ | June 28, 2014 | Eric Adler

[yldstrk]

Sunken into the plaid couch of his cinder-block room, John Flentie spends nearly every waking hour obsessed with obtaining his freedom.

“I merely want to go home,” he says.

At 73, the once-affluent Parkville resident is not a criminal inmate, nor is he an enemy combatant. John Flentie, 73, has been under the guardianship and conservatorship of the Office of the Platte County Public Administrator since April 2012.. He has been committed to various nursing homes, including Cedars of Liberty, where he currently resides in a small, cluttered room. Frustrated by the loss of his freedom, Flentie spends his time listening to music, watching movies and trying to undo his guardianship.

John Flentie, 73, has been under the guardianship and conservatorship of the Office of the Platte County Public Administrator since April 2012.. He has been committed to various nursing homes, including Cedars of Liberty, where he currently resides in a small, cluttered room. Frustrated by the loss of his freedom, Flentie spends his time listening to music, watching movies and trying to undo his guardianship.

Instead — to the extreme frustration of Flentie, his lawyer and a cadre of former high school classmates who for two years have been advocating for the release of a friend they insist is as capable and highly intelligent as always — Flentie is a ward of the state of Missouri.

Since April 2012, he has been committed to various nursing homes under the guardianship and conservatorship of the office of the Platte County public administrator, which claims in court proceedings that taking charge of Flentie, his estate and his possessions was and continues to be for his own health and well-being.

[yldstrk]

doesn't sound right to me

[Farmer Dean]

What is in his estate and who wants it?

[Chickensoup]

Have seen this a couple of times. States go after affluent elderly and drain them dry.

[apocalypto]

I agree.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

“That old crackah has some money. Let’s take it from him.”

[terycarl]

and he has an attorney??????????????

[yldstrk]

He had about 660K it says in the article not counting his 300K house

[RetiredTexasVet]

Shades of Boston Children Hospital .... when the State owns people and knows how best to take care of them.

[yldstrk]

that’s what I thought of too

[Ace's Dad]

Listen up guys, I suspected vision problems and when I saw his eyeglasses, it confirmed it. Besides his other problems, he needs to dump the outmoded eyewear, maybe even have lasik, to bring his regular distance vision back to 20/20, change to reading glasses only used while sitting at the computer, and whatever else a competent eye doctor would set up. I've had three slip & fall accidents and finally we figured it out.

Now, he has other problems, surely, and maybe they are valid, it's hard to tell, but if anybody who is working with Flentie wants to contact me, I'll be glad to pitch in with what has worked for me. I now, at 73, work as a tour guide around large antique airplanes with no vision problems. I'm abloucks@aol.com, call sign "Squeak."

[B4Ranch]

At the end of the hearing, Judge James W. Van Amburg waived his option to put Flentie under temporary or limited guardianship and instead signed a paper judging Flentie to be “totally incapacitated and totally disabled.”

Flentie was placed under full guardianship, his assets under conservatorship, and never returned to his home.