Pair plead guilty to fleecing WWII vet
Couple may avoid prison time if they repay $120K
A Santa Fe couple accused of fleecing a decorated World War II veteran out of $340,000 while acting as his caretakers pleaded guilty Thursday as part of an agreement that will allow them to avoid prison time if they do well on probation and make efforts to pay $120,496 in restitution.
Dian Zeemin and Joseph Rosko each faced 26 criminal counts — 25 of them felonies — in connection to allegations that they stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from former Army Staff Sgt. Dennis Ferk by obtaining about a dozen credit cards in the veteran’s name and in that of his late wife, cashing in some of his insurance polices and attempting to take out a loan on his home while working as his caretakers from 2010-15.
Under the terms of the deal, each defendant admitted guilt on six of the 26 counts — including one count of exploitation of a resident’s property, a second-degree felony, and five counts of tax evasion, a fourth-degree felony. The remaining charges were dismissed.
Zeemin and Rosko were sentenced by Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer to nine years in prison, but prison time was suspended on the condition they enter supervised probation and pay restitution. They’re also prohibited from being caretakers.
Assistant District Attorney John Osborn said during the hearing that the deal was in the best interests of justice because it allowed the state to get convictions in the case while sparing Ferk — now 97 and in deteriorating health— the stress of having to go through a jury trial.
Osborn said the state’s “biggest con-
cern” was making sure Rosko, 64, and Zeemin, 70, would be classified as convicted felons “for the rest of their lives.”
Ferk — who used to live in a home with a casita, where he allowed Rosko and Zeemin to reside — now shares a onebedroom apartment in public housing with his disabled adult daughter.
Ferk did not attend Thursday’s hearing. But his new guardian and longtime friend, Gilbert Martinez, said he was not happy with the outcome of the case.
“I wanted jail time,” Martinez said, “but judges make those decisions.”
District Attorney Marco Serna said he didn’t seek prison time for Zeemin and Rosko because neither had a criminal history and “neither showed they were violent or a danger to the public.”
Serna said his office generally does not seek incarceration when it comes to “white-collar crime.”
“We don’t believe that is going to rehabilitate anyone who is not a violent criminal,” he said. “I don’t want to send these people to prison if they are able to work and can pay restitution.”
Serna said it also would have been difficult to prove all the charges against Zeemin and Rosko because of the multiple transactions involved and Ferk’s failing memory.
“Given the circumstances,” Serna said, “I believe this is the most just outcome. These two individuals are guilty of seconddegree felonies. That will be on their records, and they will pay restitution.”
Zeemin’s defense attorney, Public Defender Hans Erikson, told the court the defendants have been “essentially homeless” since being charged two years ago.
They had been living in an RV purchased with Ferk’s money, but since that was seized, they’ve been living in their truck and homeless shelters. Zeemin and Rosko “aren’t just indigent but are essentially destitute,” Erikson said.
Erikson said he just wanted to make sure “everyone is aware the amount of restitution they are on the hook for is pretty piein-the-sky.”
Sommer responded that the plea agreement requires Zeemin and Rosko to make payments toward restitution in order to stay out of prison. If they fail to pay, she added, they will be incarcerated.
Sommer did not scold the defendants as judges sometimes do at sentencing — nor did Rosko or Zeemin offer any words of remorse or apology.
Sommer did thank Martinez for taking over as Ferk’s champion and said she hoped resolving the case would provide some closure for a man who, Martinez said, received three Purple Hearts and two Bronze Stars during his military service.
Contact Phaedra Haywood at 505-986-3068 or phaywood@ sfnewmexican.com. Follow her on Twitter @phaedraann.