“Gambling Addiction Can Happen to Anyone. A Lawyer, A Policeman, Even a Postal Worker.”

“The holidays for many addicted gamblers can be a dangerous time while out “chasing” money they may need for holiday gifts or travel. I know I did it many, many Christmas’ past within my own past gambling addiction. So many wasted holidays due to my addiction. And you know what? I was only hurting myself and digging my family into a bigger financial hole…..

Gambling addiction is not a “poor persons” addiction as I have heard it be called many times. No, it happens to doctors, lawyers, policemen and even Postal Workers like this story shares by the publication Michigan Live .  It caught my attention because it happened to a Grand Rapids postal worker and my husband happened to be born and raised in Grand Rapids, MI. Why I am I sharing this guest article? To let others know that when we come into recovery wake learn and DO TAKE Accountability for the poor choices we had made.”   *Cat*

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Postal union official’s gambling led to theft of $9K intended for Muscular Dystrophy Associaton.

 

Guest Author: John Agar | jagar@mlive.com
on December 14, 2016, at 9:11 AM

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A former union official for letter carriers blamed a gambling addiction for his theft of $9,000 intended for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Brian Cisek embezzled proceeds of two charity golf outings he organized in 2013 and 2014, court records said. Cisek, 47, was sentenced this week to two years on probation and fined $3,000. He has already repaid the money he took. He has worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 28 years and wanted to avoid a prison sentence to hopefully keep his job, said his attorney, Donald Garthe.

He said his client is receiving treatment for a gambling addiction. Advisory sentencing guidelines called for zero to six months in prison for theft of union funds. U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker sentenced Cisek.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Clay Stiffler did not object to a probation officer’s recommendation that Cisek not be incarcerated to give him a chance at success in recovery. Stiffler said Cisek served as sergeant at arms and chairman of the National Association of Letter Carrier’s Branch 56 Muscular Dystrophy Association Committee from 2012 to 2015. Its major fundraisers were golf outings. Cisek was committee chairman of two golf events.

Instead of depositing proceeds into established union accounts, he opened a new account as sole signer.  He had obtained a $15,000 personal loan from Lending Club in November 2012.  The following February, the MDA fund held $1.03. He then tried to make a payment to Lending Tree from that account but there were insufficient funds.

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A few days later, he sought a $500 advance from the union to cover costs of the upcoming golf outing. The money, instead, was sent to Lending Club. Branch members became suspicious in early 2014 because the Postal Service newsletter did not say how much money had been raised in 2013 for MDA.

Questions were raised that fall, too, after the branch president contacted MDA, and found out it had not received any funds. When confronted, Cisek said the savings account had been compromised, and the bank would not allow access to it. Cisek provided a back-dated $9,100 personal check that ultimately bounced.

He then provided a $9,200 cashier’s check. Cisek apologized and resigned his union post. The federal prosecutor said it was unclear how Cisek obtained the money but his attorney said he borrowed it from his in-laws, court records show.

“Cisek has accepted responsibility for his actions, demonstrated that he is remorseful, guilt-ridden and sorry for his crime and repaid the money he owes,” Stiffler wrote.

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“I am a firm believer in two things…. “Hate the Addiction, Not the Addict”  and we all deserve a second chance in life as no one person is perfect. Even those who fall prey to Addictions.”

Author/Columnist, Catherine Townsend-Lyon

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Another Holiday Guest Article. The Meyer Family Support Him As Media Spins His Gambling Addiction & Prison.

Happy Holidays and Welcome Recovery Friends,

 

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So The Media Portrays a Father and Husband  Like THIS:

 

“Day of Reckoning for Crooked Accountant”

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“A Long Island accountant may spend up to 13 years in prison for stealing a total of nearly $800,000 from clients, including some victims who were ill or disabled.”

Scott Meyer, 48, of Seaford, is a former partner of the Johnson and Meyer accounting firm in Huntington. He was sentenced in Suffolk County court to serve four and one-third to 13 years in prison Tuesday. Meyer had pleaded guilty to 24 criminal counts, including grand larceny, in March.

“By carefully choosing his victims to prey on their vulnerabilities, he used his skill as an accountant to steal over $800 thousand dollars and kept the thefts undetected for over five years,” said Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota.” Following his conviction earlier this year, an attorney reportedly blamed Meyer’s behavior on a gambling addiction caused by a brain lesion.”

 

 

So, the Meyer Family have come together to support Scott and his recovery from gambling addiction this holiday season with the fine folks and excellent resources of the National Council on Problem Gambling. It is why I chose them as my guest article. It’s important to know “the other side” of this story, not just what the news media spins.

They want to advocate that this can happen to anyone. That includes myself as I shared my criminal and consequences of my of my own “stupid thinking and choices” in my book. And yes, I paid high consequences like Scott but didn’t go to prison as he did. Here is what The Meyer Family want you to know about Scott, how many are supporting Scott in prison, and the folks of the national council are helping him and the family through this loss from addicted gambling and giving to them support through Holidays .  .  .  .

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THE MEYER FAMILY SHARES THEIR STORY TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT GAMBLING ADDICTION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES.
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Kim Meyer and her five children live in a small Long Island community, in the home where she and her high school sweetheart/husband Scott built a full and happy life together over the last 27 years. They co-funded a business, Scott coached the kids’ sports teams, and both were involved in their community, schools, and church. Scott is now serving a 4½ – 13-year prison sentence for grand larceny and forgery, for using clients’ funds to chase more than $500,000 in gambling losses.

With New York state recently legalizing online gambling and preparing to build several new casinos in 2017, Kim has decided to go public with their private nightmare, to help raise awareness about gambling addiction and reduce the stigma that persists – lessons she and her family learned through painful personal experience.

Kim’s daughters created this video to raise awareness and let their dad know how much they love and support him.

As Kim tells it, Scott began gambling many years ago for fun, as the vast majority of people do without any negative consequences. For Scott, the fun quickly escalated to a problem. He exhibited symptoms of pathological gambling – symptoms that often go unnoticed by family and friends.

 

“Unfortunately, gambling is rarely viewed as a disease in society, as drug and alcohol are,” says Kim. “Instead it is seen as a moral issue and a choice. The criminal justice system is ill informed and prosecutors refused to consider gambling addiction as the explanation for how a smart, loving, hard-working man could sabotage his life and that of his family.”

After Scott was arrested, his doctor recommended a neurological workup, complete with MRI’s. He was found to have bilateral white matter brain tumors, which cause behavioral and cognitive changes such as poor insight, lack of impulse control and poor judgment.

“Further proof that addiction is not a choice, not a character flaw, and not a moral issue,” Kim notes. “In spite of an addiction and underlying brain impairment, Scott went to jail. We are lost without him.”  Scott primarily gambled at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT, and from 2008 to 2013, he lost in excess of $300,000 on slot machines there alone. No casino staff discussed his high losses and other behaviors with him or contacted his family. Instead, they continue to send him promotional mailings with special offers to draw him back.

“To be clear: I am in no way suggesting that Mohegan Sun is responsible for my husband’s gambling disorder, or his physical disability,” says Kim. “What I would like to see, however, is for casinos to use a very small amount of their profits to help raise awareness and to protect others by instituting some simple safeguards, such as:

• Use casino reward card tracking systems, not just to make offers to entice gamblers to continue gambling, but to identify problem gamblers and reach out to them and their families;
• Work with gaming industry leaders and state and national gambling prevention groups to create state certification programs that train casino employees to recognize problem gamblers, to identify people who are obviously in trouble, and to offer assistance. As a bartender is required to stop serving a problem drinker, so too should casino employees know when to intervene;
• Take identified problem gamblers like Scott off their promotional mailing lists;
  Provide 1% – 2% of their profits to support organizations that offer treatment and other assistance for problem gamblers and their families.

  

  In spite of extensive evidence of his medical problems and his addiction; being in treatment and rehabilitation for two years; having a new job with a boss willing to testify on his behalf; another judge who was an expert on gambling addiction willing to testify for him; and his steady paying off of bills and beginning to make restitution to his victims; the judge believed that Scott “should have simply stopped when he realized his gambling was a problem” and found him guilty. Kim continues to work with attorneys to get Scott released as soon as possible so he can continue his treatment and recovery, and continue paying back his debts.

  “Our family made the decision to share our story and to work side by side with the National Council on Problem Gambling, as well as the New York and Connecticut state councils in an effort to change things for the better. I have faith that together we can encourage gaming executives to increase their commitment to helping families like ours, and save others from this destruction. It’s a promise I’ve made to my children – that something good can come from this.”

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  Happy Holidays All ~ Catherine Townsend-Lyon, Author/Columnist.