If you’re wondering why Whistleblower has been silent all day, part of my excuse is my work on this story about a lawsuit filed last week by Peggy Greer. Back in February, I wrote about Greer (beautifully photographed by my colleague Jim Gehrz) and her unhappy experience with a court-appointed guardian and conservator. Meanwhile, a state House bill that would tighten oversight of guardians and conservators is scheduled for a hearing before the Finance Committee on April 30.

Sunday readers of the Star Tribune have already seen the story of Eileen and Scott Nelson, among the “print exclusives” that have popped up of late. Now you can read it online. I can assure you it’s just as fresh as it was on Sunday. More importantly, check out the video my colleague Brett Akagi produced. Watching his interview with the Nelsons brings home for me, a word guy, the power of video to convey personality and relationships.

Also in the “print exclusive” category, today marks the online debut of the first installment of “The Informant,” the powerful four-part narrative of a corruption probe of the Minneapolis police. Reported and written by my colleagues Tony Kennedy and Paul McEnroe, it’s an example of the larger scale, time-intensive newspaper investigations that are an essential part of our watchdog role.

Sanford Morris, 67 and retired in Minneapolis, called Whistleblower back in the fall to question why he couldn’t be a member of the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club. A Walgreens pharmacist told him the cheap generic drug program wasn’t open to Medicare recipients. I turned the story over to my colleague David Shaffer, who reported today that Walgreens stands out among pharmacy chains for charging more to the government than it does to individuals. It’s legal, but according to the head of Minnesota’s Medical Assistance agency, it’s not fair.

There are two messages here. First, once again, Whistleblower readers are the most important sources of knowledge about what we should be investigating and exposing. If Sanford Morris hadn’t called, we likely never would have known about this. Second, it sometimes takes a while, in this case five months, for us to follow up on tips and get them into the newspaper. Even those tips that never lead directly to stories help us understand what’s on your minds and where we should be looking. So keep those calls, emails and letters coming. We need your help.

The 89-year-old woman had dementia and lived in a Northfield nursing home. Her daughter, who was her legal guardian, needed a lot of money. So she stole $1.1 million she was holding in trust by selling her mother’s land, according to Attorney General Lori Swanson, whose office filed charges against Connie Ruth Rott, 56, of Lakeville, my colleague Warren Wolfe reports. Rott used the money for the legal defense of her son, who was charged with manufacturing methamphetamine, as well as snow plowing and other expenses. The Rott case is a similar scenario that investigators say happened to Anna Sitte, the Alzheimer’s patient whose son was accused of forging his mother’s name on checks and liquidating the family farm in North Dakota. That story was reported by my colleague Paul Levy last month after another of Anna Sitte’s sons, Jimmy, contacted Whistleblower.

I’m hearing these stories over and over again from Whistleblower readers. Many have accused greedy family members of exploiting vulnerable elders by getting themselves appointed guardians and conservators in probate court. It’s truly the crime of our time. With people losing their jobs, their investments tanking and debts growing, retired folks who have accumulated assets over a lifetime are increasingly the targets of the desperate.

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