Nevada: Helen Natko convicted in guardianship abuse case
KTNV: Guardianship-under-fire - Jury finds Helen Natko guilty of exploitation and theft
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) – A jury has convicted a Las Vegas woman who was the subject of a Contact 13 Investigation for crimes in a guardianship case.
Helen Natko was found guilty of theft and exploitation of a vulnerable person. The victim was her long-time companion Del Mencarelli who passed away in July 2015.
Contact 13 Chief Investigator Darcy Spears started looking into guardianship corruption nearly 3 years ago with Del’s case.
Natko was appointed Del’s guardian. But Del’s daughter says the family plan was for her to take care of her father. The daughter says Clark County’s Family Court ignored evidence that Natko, who the court appointed, was taking her father’s money, using tens of thousands for gambling while isolating Del from his family.
We reached out to Helen Natko’s lawyer who for comment about the guilty verdict and we are still waiting for a response.
In response to the verdict, District Attorney Steve Wolfson said via email, “Justice was served.”
Contact 13 will keep you posted when we learn about Natko’s sentencing.
