Charles “Chuck” Cerillo leads a double life devoted to helping those unable to help themselves.
Since 1997 the Goshen resident, as president of Guardian 81 Inc., is appointed to assist mentally and/or physically incapacitated individuals with financial affairs, medical care and even funeral arrangements. He is appointed by the Supreme Court to serve some 20 clients. Additionally, with the assistance of his wife, Barbara, he has been appointed as federal fiduciary by the Department of Veterans Affairs to marshal the assets of some 90 veterans incapable of managing their finances on their own.
Cerillo has been engaged by the Adult Protective Services unit of the Orange County Department of Social Services as a senior case worker since 1991, handling guardianship matters for the commissioner.
Trained by Brookdale Center on Aging and the State Bar Association, he is certified through the Office of Court Administration and is a National Certified Guardian through the Center for Guardianship Certification.
A professional legal guardian must be part financial expert, part psychologist, part errand runner ”“ and that just scratches the surface, he said.
Speaking of his work with the court, Cerillo commented, “The judge looks for family to take care of family. When they are unable or unwilling to do so responsibly, an independent professional is assigned to the individual”™s care.
“We are not looking to strip people of their civil rights. We take on the least restrictive role, so that individuals can make as many decisions as possible.”
Most clients are senior citizens, although there are some younger individuals.
“The toughest part of the work is dealing with family members not appointed by the court,” he said. “I have to look out for the client”™s interests and answer to the court.”
He recalled being brought in to represent a wealthy male client, now deceased, who suffered from Alzheimer”™s and Parkinson”™s. “The siblings were at one another”™s throats. There was one sibling who was rendering inferior care to the father. Ultimately, I had to place their father in a nursing home and protect his assets.”
Then there was the elderly woman who rarely went out, suffered from malnutrition and lacked medical care. “You wouldn”™t put an animal in that house,” he said. “She wanted nothing to do with me. I placed her in a nursing home, and now when I see her, she enjoys chatting. She looks healthy, gets proper nutrition and is in a good state of mind.”
Christmas season finds the Cerillo household a flurry of activities as 16-year-old daughter Chelsea and son Charles Anthony, who turns 13 this month, join their parents in wrapping and delivering gifts for the clients.
Raised in Maybrook, Cerillo planned to be a teacher. After graduation from Valley Central High School in Montgomery, he attended Mount St. Mary College, earning a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York at New Paltz.
In l990 he took a test to become a case worker with the Department of Social Services. That was three years before the state of New York enacted Article 81 of the Mental Hygiene Law, the guardianship statute.
Cerillo has been a musician since childhood, starting with piano. “I was trained classically and got into rock,” he said. “I also play guitar, drums and played the trumpet and French horn in school. My daughter plays the trumpet, and my son plays the drums.”
He is also into martial arts. “I was a black belt at age 15, now my daughter and I practice kung fu,” he added.
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Challenging Careers focuses on the exciting and unusual business lives of Hudson Valley residents. Comments or suggestions may be e-mailed to Catherine Portman-Laux at cplaux@optonline.net.
