I woke up so ill at 5 am this morning that I would have preferred the entire day go away. Throughout the night I went from one nightmare to another, stressing so much about my mother, work, a home . Just trying to do the impossible in my sleep, falling into a quagmire of terror in the process. In the midst of the nightmares it came to me that I don't even know if the water well is functional, because it has never been used.
I have been discussing the courts, homelessness, this level of unadulterated cruelty and abuse that we see happen over and over again towards older women. I thought we had a judicial system in place that would prevent situations as I have gone through, and a level of moral fortitude that prevails in our society towards female victims of crime.
In one conversation someone asked why other women had not continued to pursue this. Why everyone was so silent. And I thought about it before responding. Perhaps they realized that no-one cares?
The more we discussed the details of this case the more unbelievable it became.
In 2008 Robert Huckins was arrested days after he withdrew $110,000 from the Wells Fargo bank and h
ide it. At a bail hearing in Ruidoso Downs a minister from the Ruidoso Episcopal Church accompanied Patricia Ogilvie-Huckins to that hearing.
I wasn't even told of the hearing by the DA's office. I was cleaning horse stalls when Nancy Canning phoned me and told me that I had to get to the court asap. I arrived filthy dirty, and met with Officer John Barnes, white collar crime investigator for the State Police, and the assistant DA outside the court.There was a victims advocate waiting for me. And I will have to admit that even when the victims advocate took me into a room and explained the process I didn't think I needed a victims advocate. In my mind there was right, there was wrong, and no "right" society would allow a criminal to steal women's homes and throw an entire family into despair and permanent homeless.
I thought this hearing was the end of the nightmare and our building fund would be returned. I had THAT much faith not only in the courts, but in society - in the believe that Christians stand for everything led by Christ. And Lincoln County is a Christian society with well over 45 churches, and almost all judges are members of a local church.
But before the court hearing, with my oldest daughter and grand-children playing outside the glass door to the court house, I overheard this Episcopal minister telling Patricia Ogilvi-Huckins about his new home. Clearly he was new to the Ruidoso area. So I politely turned to him and somewhat jokingly asked him if he had spare bedrooms, because my mother and I had our building fund stolen, and we had been left with no resources.
There was an absolute earth shattering silence, and the minister turned red. It wasn't long before he departed, but the fact that he was faced with a woman who was the victim of a heinous felony crime that would destroy a family either didn't register or wasn't a consideration. Yet I thought nothing of it..
Until I saw the outcome of over three years of hell. A restitution not worth the paper it is written on, and no financial ability to get a home.
Robert Huckins was absolutely right when he said that no-one would do anything about his stealing so much money. It may have been the only time that man was even capable of speaking truth. But how did he know what the outcome would be? What gave him this level of confidence to keep committing crimes even when under indictment for prior crimes? Where did immunity derive from?
Our building fund is but one case. What happened about the $30-$40k he stole from t
he domestic violence shelter, HEAL.
Nothing.
What about the civil judgements: $30-40k taken from Francis McKinney. $89-100k taken from Dorothy McKeever. Dana Dildene, Nancy Canning .. and so many more women.
All wiped clean by a bankruptcy judge, or not even filed at all. For there was only 3 cases filed at felony level, that was myself, Sally Canning and Dr. Brown.
And where did all the hot checks go to? Why were they never filed as criminal charges? Several were in the thousands of dollars, all were in the hundreds of dollars.
In the spring of 2008 Robert Huckins walked into a real estate office. He told the real estate agent that he had power of attorney for an absentee client who owned land locally, and he had the power of attorney to sell the land WITH the plans for a 2000 or 3000 sq foot home on it. The real estate agent never asked to see the power of attorney. A power of attorney that simply didn't exist.
I had no idea what was going on until I opened the Ruidoso News and saw MY land for sale with plans for a large home on it.
I phoned the real estate agent literally trembling. The State Police white collar crime division eventually, after months of begging legislators and government officials for help, came in and investigated the fraudulent power of attorney claim. At which time Huckins admitted that he had our building fund, had never intended to build a home, and would return the money without any further delay.
Common sense dictates that if you have commit so many felony crimes that are destroying people, and you admit to having the stolen money in your possession, you give it back to prevent criminal charges being filed. But Robert Huckins didn't do that because somehow he knew that no-one had power to make him. He had immunity from one source or another.
Today Robert Huckins has his own home...
He also has OUR home.....
He also has a lot of people's money...
And his freedom.
Dr.Kenneth Ogilvie, Patricia Ogilvie-Huckins, Malcolm Huckins. Your brother, cousin, son stole our building fund. I contact you because I am desperate enough to try and locate anyone who would help me retrieve the building fund your cousin, brother, son stole.
Liam Griffin, I sat in your law office with two witnesses as you gave me your promise, your guarantee, that our money would be returned before harm came to us.
Patricia Ogilvie-Huckins you were present the day I signed contract with your son. You walked out of the kitchen with Sylvi Huckins and your son introduced me to you. He told you that I was the British horse trainer he had told you about, the one he was going to build the home and barn for. Why didn't you say something? There may be a rational and reasonable explanation but I have spent over 3 years, homeless, not understanding it. I understand it even less knowing that though I was a total stranger, both Dorothy McKeever and Sally Canning you KNEW.
Dr. Kenneth Ogilvie, I contacted you and simply asked for a reference, not knowing that Robert Huckins was your cousin. Robert Huckins had just stolen over $30,000 from the domestic violence shelter, HEAL, yet everyone was trying to hide it. There was a history of stealing large amounts of money. $65,000 PLUS from Nancy Canning. $89,000 PLUS from Dorothy McKeever. The list just goes on and on and on.
I don't understand how this family stood by and watched so many women being victimized. I honestly and truly try to understand.. but I don't.
How could anyone sit and watch this happen to women who didn't have other resources? The level of cruelty is incomprehensible.
Liam Griffin, I sat in your law office with two witnesses as you gave me your promise, your guarantee, that Robert Huckins was not going to steal our money and leave me homeless. You personally guaranteed that it would be returned before harm came to us.
I had to investigate myself. I had to stop work and do all of the leg work myself because no-one was going to help me. It cost an absolute small fortune to get any type of justice. But the justice was not going to give myself and my mother a home. Yet the only thing I want is what we bought and paid for.
I am simply begging you to make Robert Huckins return our stolen building fund in one lump sum so we can try to recover our lives,see my mother, and live in a home like you all do. Like Robert and Sylve Huckins does. Nothing more. Nothing less. Physically and emotionally I simply cannot withstand any more of this abuse. I am too ill and the stress of being homeless is killing me. I pray you will have mercy upon us. You are my only hope. I am begging, literally on my knee's begging.
Religion is to do right. It is to love, it is to serve, it is to think, it is to be humble. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Yesterday morning I woke up at 5 am with a wicked migraine. After numbing myself with medication it stayed as a dull throb behind my right eye, but I had already started to feel nauseous. The weather was so beautiful and so cool I wished I felt better physically. But I didn't and I found myself too ill to try to do anything until almost 3 pm. By that time dark angry clouds were coming over the Sierra Blanca, but they brought no rain.
My trip to TR's to get a racing program for my boss had me sitting outside the store so physically ill I didn't know how to get into that store or out again without vomiting. There are times gagging is so bad my throat feels like razor blades have been playing skip rope right behind my tongue and down my throat.
As a woman being left homeless by a convicted felon is perhaps the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced for many reasons. It's not the silent crashing of your life around you. A career in shambles. It's not the fractured family, loved ones you can't see. It's not health problems or financial problems. It's not the loss of self esteem and self worth as you beg for someone, anyone, to stop this madness. It's not the gossip and lying borne from bored people who want to embroider stories that are not true. It's not any one of those particular things.. it's the whole package. It's everything compounded. It's being told that I am right behind the eight ball, with thieves holding the money they stole from us, and not one person cares.
Criminal: A person with predatory instincts who has not sufficient capital to form a corporation. ~ Howard Scott.
