Kristin King Stapleton
As I healed, Minnesota attorney John Flanagan explained
that the court appointed him to make wise investments with
my personal injury settlement because I was still a minor
at the time of the grim car crash. “This money is
being held for your future, so that no guy will ‘piss
it away'." I was shocked at this coarse remark that
came from a respected businessman and father. But I didn’t
really get the gist of it yet, that there was potential
of a seducer squandering my money. In the end, no young
scoundrel appeared. Instead, the very man who spoke those
words, the man who was my trustee and my friend, vanished
with my money.
The mystery of my lawyer/friend’s disappearance ended
with his arrest six weeks later. Certainly, though, the story
did not conclude at that point. As personal injury clients,
none of us were the high rollers or big-time investors. Instead,
we depended on compensatory money that was rightfully ours.
By the time his embezzlements totaled $1 million, I suffered
the greatest financial loss. John Flanagan stole my entire
trust fund.
My Art of Recovery entry (created 2005) is taken from a series
of short stories. All stories relate to the same crime. Instead
of a big-business Enron report, these stories are told from
the human interest perspective of the victim of a
white collar crime. My story began with my traumatic brain
injury, and the large insurance settlement that was stolen
by prominent St. Paul attorney John Flanagan, during the major
Twin Cities white collar crime scandal that he caused. In
the end, trust, too, was stolen.
“The jovial John Flanagan is a respected family man.
By the 1980s he is a well-known St. Paul personal injury attorney
who works with disabled and vulnerable clients. They place
their trust in the system, and in their lawyer/friend. The
courts entrust John with too much money. He cannot say ‘no’
to temptation, or to his family—this story is told by
one of his victims.”
I am that victim of embezzlement. This is my factual story.
John Flanagan’s actions have reduced my life to one
of endless financial hardships—I am not living the lifestyle
that was intended for me after my impairment. America’s
criminal justice system failed me. I have taken on the role
of community leader among the poor, though I no longer trust
most authority figures.
Embezzled is written from my own memories and experiences.
It contains my private observations of what actually happened,
beyond the time when John Flanagan became a disbarred felon.
He mounted devastation on top of the problems caused by my
permanent injuries.
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