Sep 12, 2007 7:00 pm US/Eastern
Abusing The System? NYC Paid Leekin For Years
EXCLUSIVE: ACS Finally Speaks, Does Damage Control
by Scott Weinberger
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Not only is Judith Leekin accused of abusing 11 adopted children, she's now being called a scam artist and ACS is under fire for paying her for years while the alleged abuse was going on.
CBS
It is being called one of the worst child abuse cases in New York City's history.
How could a woman allegedly abuse her children for years and continue to receive money from the agency that's supposed to be protecting them?
For months CBS 2 HD has been trying to get answers from the city about how 62-year-old Judith Leekin was allegedly able to pull off a mind-boggling adoption and abuse scam.
This week CBS 2 HD finally caught up with John Mattingly, the commissioner of New York City's Administration for Children's Services or ACS.
"We will continue our effort with DOI and with the FBI until we do get to the bottom of it," Mattingly said.
So how was Leekin able to pull this off? CBS 2 HD traveled to Florida to get answers.
Bonnie Weber says she saw first-hand the effects of living under Leekin's care. Her ex-boyfriend Jamel, now an adult, was one of Leekin's 11 adopted children.
"You can tell he was abused, very abused," Weber said. "The marks on his skin. The tooth, his chipped tooth."
When asked how Jamel described Leekin to her, Weber said, "The devil. The devil. She was very mean. He couldn't go nowhere or do nothing with me."
CBS 2 HD has obtained transcripts of police interviews with Leekin's adopted kids. One boy told investigators that all adoptees were made to sleep on a sheet on the floor and that Leekin would use handcuffs and zipties to restrain them. Another child told police Leekin threatened her life on several occasions, telling her that she would shoot or cut off her head.
There's more. When police arrested Leekin in July they located only nine of the 11 children. Days later, Jamel came forward to say he left Leekin's care two years ago, and the remaining child, a teen called "Mo" or "Moo," is missing and now feared dead.
Despite all that, CBS 2 HD has learned that up until the time of her arrest, Leekin was still receiving money from New York City to care for all 11 children, a dollar figure in the millions.
This has been confirmed by the documents obtained by CBS 2 HD.
"In all my years, this is the biggest fraud ever seen," said Capt. Scott Barta of the Port St. Lucie, Fla. Police Department.
According to police records, a former friend told police Leekin bragged about paying someone in New York $1,000 to facilitate the adoption of the kids.
When asked how he can ensure New Yorkers that tax money isn't being paid to other types of people like Leekin, Mattingly said, "We're looking into every possible case to see that is not happening."
Meanwhile, Leekin remains behind bars, unable to make her $4 million bail.
ACS tells CBS 2 HD that while New York State law only requires social service districts to confirm that adoptive parents are still providing support every two years, the city goes beyond that by requesting documentation from the parents annually.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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