All posts by Linda Case

POINT PLEASANT (WV) & GALLIPOLIS (OH) NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

Author turns life into ‘The Fugitive’s Sister’

First Posted: 7:10 pm – September 18th, 2015 – 812 Views
Jessica Patterson – For the Register

HENDERSON — True crime, America’s Most Wanted, and family ties are wrapped up in one story as a Mason County native is sharing her own story through a memoir, “The Fugitive’s Sister,” which is set to be published by Argus Publishing.

Linda Case, born in Henderson, the daughter of Mayes and Nellie (Casto) Mayes, said her story began in 2002 shortly after her brother’s death. Her sister Rebecca “Becky” Parrett’s company was shut down by the FBI and her sister was arrested.

In March 2008, Parrett was tried, convicted of several white-collar crimes, and placed under house arrest. However, Parrett was permitted to board the plane to take her home unaccompanied by law enforcement. During this trip, Parrett disappeared and became one of America’s Most Wanted. Case said she still finds it strange her sister was allowed to travel without an escort.

“They let her get on a plane unaccompanied by any law enforcement to go to her home in Arizona and she was supposed to show up several days later to be put under house arrest,” Case said. “I’d never heard of such a thing and it’s one of the things that is so unusual about my story.”

Parrett contacted her sister with information to give to a “trusted” lawyer, insisting it would prove her innocence. However, the lawyer turned Case in for lying to U.S. marshals about having been in contact with Parrett.

Case was arrested in 2010 for lying to federal authorities about communicating with her sister. Case said to add to the unusualness of the situation, she was brought before the same judge that had accidentally allowed Parrett to escape authorities.

“They gave me the same judge that let her get away, and he was so vindictive toward me and called me by her name a couple times,” Case said. “They ended up using me as jail bait thinking Becky would give herself up, but they didn’t know Becky.”

Case said jail had turned her life upside down. Her home was foreclosed and she moved in with her daughter.

“When I got out of jail, I was an emotional wreck and, complements of the federal government, I was given counseling,” Case said.

Case was given three years probation after she was released from jail. She said losing her freedom was a real wake-up call about how easily it is for people to take their freedom for granted while they still have it.

“All I wanted to do was enjoy my freedom and breathe free air,” Case said. “I have learned to really, really appreciate my freedom and the ability to wake up in the morning and decide what you want to do with the day and be free. It’s unbelievable how you don’t think about it until you lose it. You feel so helpless and hopeless. There’s nothing you can do about anything.

“Freedom in this country is so important. I had dreamed about moving to Mexico and enjoying retirement, and that dream is gone with the wind. We are so lucky here to be in this country and have our freedom and I have learned to appreciate every little detail of my freedom and be so grateful every day.”

Case said counseling gave her the idea to write down her story and create a memoir.

“I just decided I’m going to start writing this down,” she said. “It’s a very unusual story. I’m an avid reader, and I’ve never read anything like my story. It was very therapeutic, too.”

Case said she had no idea trying to help Parrett could land her in jail for six months followed by three years of probation. She said she only wanted to help her sister and did not realize the position she would be in because of her actions.

“Action has consequences,” Case said. “Although my intentions were good, my actions were not. I don’t blame anyone for what happened to me. I made a bad choice in telling a lie to the U.S. marshals. You need to really think before you do something like that and just remember your actions will have consequences. At 66 years of age, I never thought I could go to jail. I wasn’t finished trying to help her and I didn’t think I hurt their case any.”

Case said she has learned lessons about consequences and freedom through her experience and actions as a fugitive’s sister, and is glad to have had the opportunity to share her story through her memoir.

Case said she hopes the memoir will be published by the end of the year.

Jessica Patterson is a freelance writer for Ohio Valley Publishing and lives in Mason County.

 

 

Book Launch – Michael K. Brown

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Attended Michael K. Brown’s book launch in Loganville last Sunday. Promise of the Hills is a sequel to Michael’s first novel, Promise of Silver. I love Mikes’ books. He’s a great writer.  Mike presently serves as President of the Atlanta Writers Club.  He was named 2015 Georgia Author of the Year for his novel, Somewhere a River. Also had a great lunch with my cousin Gloria (Mayes) Craw who lives in Loganville. Hadn’t seen Gloria since the Mayes Family Reunion in Point Pleasant, WV, several years ago. It was a magnificent day in sunny Georgia. Great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. A book launch party for The Fugitive’s Sister will be coming soon.

Book Deal for Linda Case’s ‘The Fugitive’s Sister’

 

Book deal for Linda Case’s ‘The Fugitive’s Sister’

SEPTEMBER 08, 2015 12:00 AM  •  MARY ANN NORBOM [email protected]

Argus Publishing has acquired Linda Case’s memoir, “The Fugitive’s Sister.”

Former Santa Ynez Valley resident Linda Case’s sister, Becky Parrett, was convicted in 2008 of securities fraud, money laundering and other charges tied to the collapse of Ohio-based National Century Financial Enterprises. It was nothing more than a $2 billion Ponzi Scheme, the government had successfully argued.

Allowed to fly from Ohio to Arizona unaccompanied by federal marshals after the trial (ostensibly to close up a ranch she had there before beginning her sentence), Parrett fled the country. Months later, she contacted Case, claiming she had proof of her innocence. Linda took the information to an attorney she trusted. He, in turn, informed the FBI.

Confronted by the FBI about contact with her fugitive sister, Case made the mistake of lying. For that she was sent to jail.

“I was being held as bait,” said Case. “They obviously thought that Becky would learn I was behind bars and would return. They didn’t know Becky,” Case said in an April 2015 interview with the Santa Ynez Valley News. Case ultimately spent six months in the Delaware County (Ohio) jail.

Weeks after Case’s release, her sister was found in Mexico, extradited back to the U.S., and sent to prison for 25 years. The sisters haven’t spoken since then.

Case has been residing with one of her daughters in Georgia since her almost unimaginable legal nightmare. Another daughter lives in the Santa Ynez Valley, and Case’s goal in getting her story published, she said, was to give her the financial means to move back to the Valley herself.

“Looks like I will be able to return to the Valley in the near future and I’m ecstatic,” she said.

Case’s memoir, “The Fugitive’s Sister,” is set for December publication.

 

DECATUR BOOK FESTIVAL

What a great Labor Day holiday!! Attended the Decatur Book Festival, met Erica Jong and purchased her new book, “Fear of Dying“. Loved “Fear of Flying” so can’t wait to read her latest. Also met Cat Cora and her new book, “I’m Cooking as Fast as I Can“. She has quite a story to tell in her book. Had lunch with my friend, Suzanne Van Atten, a very special person and special features editor at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Suzanne moderated a panel of journalists on the topic, “Truth vs. Fact in Memoir and Narrative Nonfiction”. Panelists were incredibly familiar with the subject. I learned a few things too. Can’t wait until next year when I’ll be there promoting my new book, The Fugitive’s Sister, a true crime memoir.  Books Rule!! Great Week-end!

Argus Publishing acquires Linda Case’s Memoir

Argus Publishing acquires Linda Case’s memoir, The Fugitive’s Sister, a story of judicial corruption and illegal incarceration.

Linda Case’s sister, Becky, is convicted of a $2.4 billion ‘Ponzi Scheme’ fraud scandal. Allowed to fly to Arizona unaccompanied by federal marshals after the trial, she escapes to another country, contacting Linda, saying she has proof of her innocence. Linda takes the information to a “trusted” attorney who immediately turns her into the FBI, resulting in arrest for communicating with a felon.

What happens next is a warning to all…

An intense read, The Fugitive’s Sister is a poignant reminder of how “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” This is the hell Linda Case lived through.

Links to Federal Case  www.TheFugitivesSister.com

Published by Argus Publishing .  Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com

Thou Shall Not Tell A Lie

I recently read Author Bryan Stevenson’s incredible acceptance speech he wrote after winning a Carnegie Medal for his book, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. Several statements brought tears to my eyes. One paragraph in particular really resonated with my own story about the phenomenon of injustice in America today. Bryan stated,

“I believe in really simple things. I believe that each person is more than the worst thing that they’ve ever done. I think that for you. I think that for my clients. I think that for everybody. Even the people jailed and in prison. I think if you tell a lie, you’re not just a liar. I think if you take something that doesn’t belong to you, you’re not just a thief. I think even if you kill somebody, you’re not just a killer. And the other things you are have to be recognized, and addressed, and discussed.”

In my memoir, The Fugitive’s Sister, a vindictive judge used me as jail bait and sentenced me to six months in prison, eight months of house arrest and three years probation for telling a lie. Bryan’s statistics about the increase in prison population in the U.S., women in particular, was shocking but not surprising. I was included in that statistic at age sixty-six with no prior criminal record of any kind. Excessive punishment? Justice? The emotional scars from this injustice will remain with me for the rest of my life. I put my grief into words by writing about it in The Fugitive’s Sister, available for acquisition through Johnnie Bernhard with Loiacono Literary Agency, [email protected]  www.llallc.net

What do you think? Do leave a comment.

PRESS RELEASE

Johnnie Bernhard, agent with Loiacono Literary Agency, takes on Linda Case’s unforgettable memoir The Fugitive’s Sister, a true story of judicial corruption and illegal incarceration. https://www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com/johnnie-bernhard-agent-with-loiacono-literary-agency-takes-on-linda-cases-unforgettable-memoir-the-fugitives-sister-a-story-of-judicial-corruption-and-illegal-incarceration

 

Linda Case’s sister, Becky, is convicted of a $2.4 billion fraud scandal, then is allowed to fly to Arizona unaccompanied by federal marshals after the trial and escapes to another country. She contacts Linda saying she has proof of her innocence, which Linda takes to a “trusted” attorney who immediately turns her into the FBI, resulting in arrest for communicating with a felon.

 

The upcoming ABC mini-series Madoff!, with Richard Dreyfuss and Blythe Danner as Bernie and Ruth Madoff, emphasizes Madoff’s Ponzi scheme and depicts a similar situation as Case’s sister’s. The only difference is that Madoff’s was the “largest case in U.S. history of “public-sector fraud” whereas Case’s sister’s was the largest case in U.S. history of “private-sector fraud.”

 

Even after fifty years, loyal fans of the 1960s television series, The Fugitive, still get together once a year to pay tribute to Richard Kimble, the Fugitive. And after more than twenty years, the 1993 movie remake starring Harrison Ford is still viewed constantly on television, Netflix, etc. The Fugitive’s Sister could easily garner just as much publicity.

 

Linda Case’s professional experience as the former President/Owner of Case Accounting and Tax Service provided the skills to painstakingly document court room proceedings, legal documents, personal letters and media coverage, including coverage by the Wall Street Journal and America’s Most Wanted in the appendix, epilogue and text of The Fugitive’s Sister, www.TheFugitivesSister.com

 

Case is a graduate of Ohio State University, life member of the Ohio State Alumni Association, and a member of the Atlanta Writers Club and the Toast Mistress Club. She is a past treasurer of the Public Accountants Society of Ohio.

 

An intense read, The Fugitive’s Sister is a poignant reminder of how “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” This is the hell Linda Case lived through.

 

Represented by Johnnie Bernhard, Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com

[email protected]