Gloucestershire coroners are a bunch of crooks

[Whitehall_Bin_Men]

Gloucestershire coroner Alan Crickmore 'preyed on vulnerable people'
28 November 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-25101038

Alan Crickmore pleaded guilty to a £2m fraud last month
As a coroner and solicitor, Alan Crickmore was trusted with the lives and deaths of many of Gloucestershire's most vulnerable.
But, he betrayed that trust in a £2m fraud to fund his lavish lifestyle, including £45,000 spent in restaurants and £33,000 on holidays.
Crickmore also withdrew almost £100,000 in cash from credit card accounts.
"He was holidaying and dining at restaurants in a way that most people couldn't imagine," said Det Ch Insp David Selwood from Gloucestershire Constabulary.
Much of the money was taken from living clients but some was also taken from the estates of dead people - including one who suffered as a World War Two prisoner of war.
Champagne reception
Jozef Dziuma, who settled in Cheltenham after the war, used Crickmore as the sole executor of his estate.
When he died aged 77 in 1998 with no family in the UK, he left an estate of almost £57,000,
He wanted £30,000 to go charity, £5,000 to his GP and the remainder to his brother in Poland.
The charities eventually received the money more than two years after Mr Dziuma died, but his brother and the GP received nothing, with Crickmore taking more than £25,000 in costs.
Jozef Dziuma
Image caption
Crickmore stole more than £25,000 from Jozef Dziuma's estate
At the 2007 Cheltenham Gold Cup, he spent more than £5,000 on a champagne reception and four-course meal for 12 guests to celebrate his 25th wedding anniversary.
It was paid for through a loan from one of his clients, and a personal friend, Judith Lorman. In total more than £100,000 was stolen from her in loans and in costs.
On another occasion Crickmore spent £26,000 on deposit for a house for his son.
"He was preying on vulnerable people who put their complete trust in him. He built personal relationships with some of his victims," Det Ch Insp Selwood said.
"They exchanged Christmas cards and birthday cards and gifts. When he went on holidays he would bring them back gifts.
"Little did they know that they had paid for it, because they had paid for his holidays from money he'd stolen from them."
Crickmore continued to be paid a £60,000 salary for his role as Gloucestershire coroner for almost three years, even though he had been suspended from duty at the start of the police investigation.
'Double life'
Will Windsor-Clive, cabinet member with responsibility for the coroner's service at Gloucestershire County Council, said he was "horrified" by what Crickmore had done.
He said he had wanted to sack him, but it would have been against the law to do so.
"We didn't actually employ him, he was employed by the Ministry of Justice.
"We only paid him and the Ministry of Justice would not allow us to stop his payment," he said.
"It was very frustrating. It doesn't help my budget to pay somebody for three years not to work."
Mr Windsor-Clive said Crickmore had been leading a "double life", but the councillor had great respect for the work he carried out as coroner.
"The people who worked with him have no doubt that he did a very good job for us.
"What he did in his private practice is outrageous. I'm very, very angry.
"We paid a criminal a lot of money to live the life of riley when actually he should have been in jail."

[Whitehall_Bin_Men]

What a joke!
Nothing whatever revealed about the tragic deaths of Keith & Pat Bannister.
Pliable coroner obediently covering up council neglect

Is coroner Katy Skerrett the world's worst coroner?
Double death tragedy cause revealed by coroner
http://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/causes-of-death-in-double-tragedy -revealed-by-coroner/story-29609802-detail/story.html
By Ben_Falconer | Posted: August 11, 2016

The elderly couple found dead at the same time in their home died of natural causes, it has emerged.

When Keith and Pat Bannister, both 85, were discovered in their Nortonwood, Nailsworth home in January, police sealed off the area and launched an investigation.

The couple's bodies were discovered by officers after being called by worried neighbours on Saturday, January 16 at their home in Hawthorn Ridge.

At the time, neighbours said Mr Bannister had dementia and his frail wife was acting as his carer.

They said they were “private but lovely people" who both appeared to be battling ill-health.

Criminal involvement was subsequently ruled out by police and the matter transferred to the coroner, who asked for a post mortem examination to be conducted.

Read: Police hunt 'erratic' driver in chase from Gloucester through village

A spokesman for the Gloucestershire Coroners office said today that following a post mortem examination it had been established that both died of natural causes.

“The family has been informed of the outcome and there are no further inquiries being undertaken," he said. “Police are aware."

He could not say how much time had elapsed between their deaths.

The result of the post mortem was returned to the coroner within the past two weeks.

Gloucestershire Constabulary confirmed they are no longer involved.

Town and district Steve Robinson councillor Steve Robinson said many people in the Nortonwood area and across the town were affected by their deaths."It was very said and of course our thought go out to their family," he said.

"There was some speculation around at the time and at least it's known now what happened."It was so sad because people living in the area did not know what had happened and could not do anything about it."