
Five things to know about Gabriel House owner Dennis Etzkorn
:
'Our thoughts are with every one of our residents, their families, our staff, and the brave first responders,' the statement said. 'I am grateful for the support the city of Fall River has shown to everyone affected by this tragedy.'
Here's what we know about Etzkorn:
Advertisement
Etzkorn has owned Gabriel House for over 20 years
Gabriel House opened in 1999 on the site of a former motel, according to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Aging and Independence. State filings show that Etzkorn has been president and sole director of the house's operator, a company called Gabriel Care, since at least 2000.
Eztkorn owns and operates other facilities, according to state filings and
Related
:
Three months ago, he said in a LinkedIn post that he was searching for a mental health care professional to 'start a new mental healthcare clinic' in Fall River.
Advertisement
Etzkorn is a native of Oklahoma and a graduate of Oklahoma State University, according to his LinkedIn. He currently lives in Medfield, town records show.
He has a history of political contributions
Etzkorn has made campaign contributions to several candidates and groups, according to state filings. His donation history includes Republican governors Mitt Romney and Charlie Baker, as well as several Democratic state lawmakers. Most recently, he made a $100 contribution to the Republican State Committee in 2021.
His political contributions drew public attention in 2014, when then-candidate Baker attended a fundraiser hosted by Etzkorn's wife,
Baker said at the time that his campaign would not deposit a check collected from the Etzkorns, per the report, after it emerged that Dennis Etzkorn had previously been indicted for Medicaid fraud.
Etzkorn was charged with illegally paying for MassHealth client referrals
In 2012,
Prosecutors said the alleged scheme generated 'in excess of $2 million improperly procured,' according to court records.
However, Superior Court judges ruled on two separate occasions that Attorney General Martha Coakley's office had obtained some financial records improperly.
After prosecutors were barred from using those documents in their case, the kickback charges against Etzkorn were dropped.
A court ruled he wrongfully fired a Gabriel House employee after a workplace dispute
In another court case, Etzkorn was found to have wrongly fired a female worker at Gabriel House in 2010 when she spoke up in support of a co-worker who was facing disciplinary action, records show.
Advertisement
According to Bristol Superior Court records, Etzkorn and the managers of Gabriel House wanted health care professionals to sign noncompete agreements. The employee told co-workers that such agreements were illegal and was fired after she vowed to testify on behalf of a co-worker if necessary, according to the records.
The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination ruled in 2019 that Etzkorn had retaliated against the employee, records show. Etzkorn challenged the decision in Bristol Superior Court, but the judgment against him was affirmed. He was ordered to pay the woman $17,500 in lost income, $20,000 in damages, and $25,552 in attorney's fees at 12 percent interest.
Etzkorn's communication with Fall River mayor has been intermittent, according to mayor
Etzkorn did not return calls from Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan on Monday or Tuesday, the first two days after the fire, according to the mayor. But Etzkorn came to Coogan's City Hall office on Wednesday, Coogan said.
Coogan said he
'This was two days out, and he's the owner of that property,' Coogan said Friday. 'He should have been in constant contact with us.'
Since Wednesday, Coogan said he has been exchanging messages with Etzkorn.
Material from previous Globe coverage was used.
Camilo Fonseca can be reached at
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


San Francisco Chronicle
12 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Disgraced former US Rep. George Santos to begin serving his 7-year fraud sentence
NEW YORK (AP) — Disgraced former U.S. Rep. George Santos is expected to begin serving a seven-year prison sentence on Friday for the fraud charges that got him ousted from Congress. The New York Republican pleaded guilty last summer to federal wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges for deceiving donors and stealing people's identities in order to fund his congressional campaign. He must report to federal prison before 2 p.m. It's unclear where he'll serve his time, though a federal judge has recommended that Santos be housed in a facility in the Northeast. Santos and his lawyers repeatedly declined to comment to The Associated Press, and the federal Bureau of Prisons said it doesn't discuss the status of inmates until they're officially in custody. In a Thursday interview with Al Arabiya, a Saudi state-owned news organization, Santos said he'll serve his sentence in a minimum-security prison 'camp' that he described as a 'big upgrade' from the medium-security lockup he was initially assigned to. The ever-online Santos, who turned 37 on Tuesday, also hosted a farewell party for himself on the social media platform X on Thursday night. 'Well, darlings…The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed,' he wrote in a post afterwards. 'From the halls of Congress to the chaos of cable news what a ride it's been! Was it messy? Always. Glamorous? Occasionally. Honest? I tried… most days.' In April, a federal judge declined to give Santos a lighter two-year sentence that he sought, saying she was unconvinced he was truly remorseful. In the weeks before his sentencing, Santos said he was 'profoundly sorry' for his crimes, but he also complained frequently that he was a victim of a political witch hunt and prosecutorial overreach. Santos was elected in 2022, flipping a wealthy district representing parts of Queens and Long Island for the GOP. But he served for less than a year and became just the sixth member of the House to be ousted by colleagues after it was revealed he had fabricated much of his life story. During his winning campaign, Santos painted himself as a successful business owner who worked at prestigious Wall Street firms when, in reality, he was struggling financially. He also falsely claimed to have been a volleyball star at a college he never attended and referred to himself as 'a proud American Jew' before insisting he meant that he was 'Jew-ish' because his Brazilian mother's family had a Jewish background. The cascade of lies eventually led to congressional and criminal inquiries into how Santos funded his campaign and, ultimately, his political downfall. Since his ouster from Congress, Santos has been making a living hosting a podcast called 'Pants on Fire with George Santos' and hawking personalized video messages on Cameo. He has also been holding out hope that his unwavering support for President Donald Trump might help him win a last-minute reprieve. The White House said this week that it 'will not comment on the existence or nonexistence' of any clemency request. In media appearances this month, the former lawmaker wasn't shy about sharing his morbid fears about life behind bars. 'I'm not trying to be overdramatic here. I'm just being honest with you. I look at this as practically a death sentence,' Santos told Tucker Carlson during an interview. 'I'm not built for this.' 'I'm heading to prison, folks and I need you to hear this loud and clear: I'm not suicidal. I'm not depressed. I have no intentions of harming myself, and I will not willingly engage in any sexual activity while I'm in there,' he said on X. 'If anything comes out suggesting otherwise, consider it a lie … full stop.'


USA Today
12 minutes ago
- USA Today
After accusing Obama of treason, Trump now says the former president 'owes me big'
Donald Trump has been intensely focused on Barack Obama in recent days, accusing his Democratic predecessor of "treason." Now the current president is saying the former president "owes" him. "He owes me, Obama owes me big," Trump said July 25 while speaking to reporters outside the White House before departing on a trip to Scotland. Obama's debt to Trump in the current president's mind? The fact that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that presidents have immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts in office. The ruling came in a case involving Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Struggling to shake off questions about his administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, Trump has focused lately on leveling allegations against Obama. National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard alleged in a press briefing that the Obama administration promoted a 'contrived narrative' that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump. Gabbard released declassified documents she said support her claims of Obama's "treasonous conspiracy" to undermine Trump. The Justice Department also announced the formation of a 'Strike Force' that would 'investigate potential next legal steps' stemming from Gabbard's disclosures. Russia attempted to interfere in the 2016 presidential election in favor of Trump, according to former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's 2019 final report and a 2020 bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee assessment. Obama's office pointed to the Senate report in responding to Gabbard's claims. 'Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes," Obama's office said in a statement on July 22. 'These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio.' Trump had long said the investigations into his first White House campaign and its connections with Moscow are a hoax. Before departing for Scotland, Trump claimed Obama committed "criminal acts" but "he has immunity" from prosecution. 'It probably helps him a lot, probably helps him a lot the immunity ruling," Trump said. Trump has faced intense backlash since the Department of Justice released a memo July 7 attempting to close the book on the Epstein case. Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking minors. The memo supported the idea that Epstein died by suicide and said investigators did not find a "client list," dispelling conspiracy theories about the case. Obama's office said Trump's focus on the former president is a "weak attempt at distraction." 'Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response," Obama's office said in the July 22 statement. "But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one." Contributing: Sudiksha Kochi

Los Angeles Times
12 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Disgraced former U.S. Rep. George Santos to begin serving his 7-year fraud sentence
NEW YORK — Disgraced former U.S. Rep. George Santos is expected to begin serving a seven-year prison sentence on Friday for the fraud charges that got him ousted from Congress. The New York Republican pleaded guilty last summer to federal wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges for deceiving donors and stealing people's identities in order to fund his congressional campaign. He must report to federal prison before 2 p.m. It's unclear where he'll serve his time, though a federal judge has recommended that Santos be housed in a facility in the Northeast. Santos and his lawyers repeatedly declined to comment to The Associated Press, and the federal Bureau of Prisons said it doesn't discuss the status of inmates until they're officially in custody. In a Thursday interview with Al Arabiya, a Saudi state-owned news organization, Santos said he'll serve his sentence in a minimum-security prison 'camp' that he described as a 'big upgrade' from the medium-security lockup he was initially assigned to. The ever-online Santos, who turned 37 on Tuesday, also hosted a farewell party for himself on the social media platform X on Thursday night. 'Well, darlings…The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed,' he wrote in a post afterwards. 'From the halls of Congress to the chaos of cable news what a ride it's been! Was it messy? Always. Glamorous? Occasionally. Honest? I tried… most days.' In April, a federal judge declined to give Santos a lighter two-year sentence that he sought, saying she was unconvinced he was truly remorseful. In the weeks before his sentencing, Santos said he was 'profoundly sorry' for his crimes, but he also complained frequently that he was a victim of a political witch hunt and prosecutorial overreach. Santos was elected in 2022, flipping a wealthy district representing parts of Queens and Long Island for the GOP. But he served for less than a year and became just the sixth member of the House to be ousted by colleagues after it was revealed he had fabricated much of his life story. During his winning campaign, Santos painted himself as a successful business owner who worked at prestigious Wall Street firms when, in reality, he was struggling financially. He also falsely claimed to have been a volleyball star at a college he never attended and referred to himself as 'a proud American Jew' before insisting he meant that he was 'Jew-ish' because his Brazilian mother's family had a Jewish background. The cascade of lies eventually led to congressional and criminal inquiries into how Santos funded his campaign and, ultimately, his political downfall. Since his ouster from Congress, Santos has been making a living hosting a podcast called 'Pants on Fire with George Santos' and hawking personalized video messages on Cameo. He has also been holding out hope that his unwavering support for President Trump might help him win a last-minute reprieve. The White House said this week that it 'will not comment on the existence or nonexistence' of any clemency request. In media appearances this month, the former lawmaker wasn't shy about sharing his morbid fears about life behind bars. 'I'm not trying to be overdramatic here. I'm just being honest with you. I look at this as practically a death sentence,' Santos told Tucker Carlson during an interview. 'I'm not built for this.' Other posts took a darker tone. 'I'm heading to prison, folks and I need you to hear this loud and clear: I'm not suicidal. I'm not depressed. I have no intentions of harming myself, and I will not willingly engage in any sexual activity while I'm in there,' he said on X. 'If anything comes out suggesting otherwise, consider it a lie … full stop.' Marcelo writes for the Associated Press.