Physicians cautioned me about my safety because of Dad's Alzheimer's, his violent propensities and anger because I took his car keys. Reluctantly, I left Dad in the care of an aide whom Mom had hired before her death. Despite my having shown this woman a doctor's letter forbidding Dad to drive, a witness reported that the aide was Dad's passenger with him behind the wheel.

She, neighbors and the couple joined in a conspiracy to "enable" Dad, while blaming me for hospitalizing him (despite being made aware that Dad's health mandated hospitalization).

Under the guise of helping Dad, they took over his home, finances and health-care decisions.

Guardianship proceedings were delayed when my Walterboro attorney repeatedly made procedural errors. I struggled to remain calm until January 2000 when an application to probate my mother's will containing fraudulent information was filed in Colleton County Probate Court in Walterboro.

An address appearing on legal documents for family was not connected to us. Court notifications had been sent to a phony address. I investigated and obtained official deeds to houses on that block dating back 50 years. The bogus address still belonged to the longtime neighbor of the business owner in Walterboro whom my mother warned us about.

An attorney my parents never dealt with drew up, notarized and filed legal documents bearing Dad's signature. This man, called "a dirty son-of-a-bitch" by a colleague in South Carolina, might have failed to recognize that Dad was exploitable despite having access to medical records.

However, it was clear that Dad was nearly deaf despite his two hearing aids, didn't know what day it was, couldn't remember family members' names, didn't know his home address or phone number and wasn't able to make change of a dollar.

Panicked, I immediately overnighted letters to attorneys and the Probate Court in Walterboro stating that the legal documents contained fraudulent information and that possible exploitation and postal fraud were suspected. Official county records and a page of the phonebook validating the improprieties were included but apparently ignored.

I then requested a referral to an attorney specializing in elder care issues from the Alzheimer's Association in Columbia, SC.

That attorney refused this case saying, "The county Walterboro is located in is too corrupt; I don't need that aggravation in my life."

Walterboro is situated in Colleton County, just off of Interstate 95, in southern South Carolina. No stranger to national media, this town made news when it was discovered that there were peepholes in the walls of the local Holiday Inn. It was reported that employees of the hotel were peering into the rooms of unsuspecting guests.

CBS' 60 Minutes II also covered a Waterboro story in "Home Invaders." A man had been killed in Walterboro after a domestic dispute.

Then-State Attorney General Charles Condon defended this incident, stating: "The law of the state of South Carolina, very clearly, is on the side of the homeowner."

The law wasn't on Dad's side when his home was invaded and I was denied legal representation. I called the Bar Association and an attorney who contributes to the same magazine I do in New York City, an officer in the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. He referred me to his colleague in Mount Pleasant, S.C., but wouldn't touch this case.

One South Carolina attorney finally told me, "You will never attain justice in South Carolina because you're not a good old boy."

Another lawyer whose family history dates back a century in Goose Creek in Berkley County, echoed that, explaining, "South Carolina is a renegade state and such things are commonplace."

Finally, I went to the sheriff's office and protective services for help but nothing could be done to save Dad. Colleton County social workers in Walterboro witnessing this tragedy unfold could do nothing more than implore me to carry this message to the nation.

According to legal documents in my possession, a neighbor, named as Dad's new heir, knew this "dirty SOB" attorney for four years prior to my Dad's involvement.

While this attorney had a fiduciary duty to my father as his client, his loyalties appear to have been to the "good old boy" neighbor. I allege that he, a culpable officer of the court, aided and abetted exploitation of a helpless senior citizen.

That same attorney who submitted fraudulent information to the court changed Dad's will. I'm further outraged that these vultures even own the soil my brother, parents and grandparents are buried in.

I, and my family, have been victims of bigotry and hate in a corrupt and ineffectual system.

Northerners, do not expect justice in South Carolina. Lawyers, judges, agencies and elected officials may not protect you when you require essential services.
Apathy proved lethal for my father. The governor and the attorney general of South Carolina might be unconcerned as well. Certified letters and phone calls from me more than 90 days ago that remain unanswered.

Not surprisingly, a few years ago, a national controversy erupted when officials refused to remove the Confederate flag flying over the Capitol building in Columbia, S.C. Professional athletes and the NAACP boycotted, exerting economic pressure that eventually compelled officials to remove it, though they did so reluctantly.

That flag represents deep division, discrimination and hatred in our country. Take heed, retirees, baby boomers and others, it's not a welcome mat to paradise but rather a symbolic swastika-like warning. It's a flagrant reminder that your rights as Americans could be meaningless in South Carolina.