Caretaker accused of bilking Mission senior set for credit card abuse trial

A man and woman accused of charging $10,000 to an elderly Mission man's credit cards in December 2006 are scheduled to face trial next week for credit card abuse.

Florstella Martinez and Ricardo Garcia are scheduled for pre-trial hearings in the 206th district court today in Edinburg.

In February, The Monitor spoke to Walter Hochbaum, then 82, a Mission widower who claimed his state-assigned home caretaker, Garcia, had brought in Martinez to substitute for him. Statements for several of Hochbaum's credit cards showed large purchases at Academy Sports, Burlington Coat Factory and other stores where the partially disabled older man had never been.

Hochbaum said at the time that he had lent cards to Martinez to purchase a table and other items for his home.

Garcia was terminated by his home health care agency, En Mi Casa of Rio Grande City, which had been contracted by Texas Adult Protective Services to provide assistance to Hochbaum following an injury.