Saugus man charged with neglect of elderly mother admits to facts

LYNN – A Saugus man admitted to sufficient facts on a charge of neglecting his elderly mother who had advanced Alzheimer’s disease, and a judge ordered the case continued without a finding for three months.Jeffrey L. Azarva, 49, of 55 Saville St., Saugus, was charged in December 2011 with caretaker abuse by neglect on an elderly/disabled person after workers at a New Hampshire hospital contacted police after treating Azarva’s 86-year-old mother that October.Saugus Police had been looking for Azarva and his mother for several days prior to the hospital workers’ report. Greater Lynn Senior Services staff filed an emergency abuse protection order against Azarva on behalf of the victim. But a neighbor told police who went to deliver the order that Azarva had packed a large suitcase and taken his mother from the house within the past hour.A police investigation revealed three reports had been filed alleging neglect of the victim by Azarva. The reports alleged Azarva had admitted to leaving his mother – who was non-verbal and confined to a bed – home alone for periods of time; had to sometimes slap her in the face to get her attention; and refused to give her pain medication, according to court documents. One report also stated Azarva moved his mother around the bed as if she were “an object” or he was “flipping a steak.”Police had responded to the Saville Street home previously and sought a warrant charging Azarva with threats after he allegedly “threatened to get his gun if anyone tried to take his mother away from him and place her in a nursing home,” according to police.Azarva admitted to facts sufficient for a finding of guilty in the case on Aug. 7, according to court documents. Prosecutors recommended the case be continued without a finding for six months and the defendant not obtain employment in the eldercare field, assume a caretaking capacity/role for an elder, and continue counseling as deemed necessary by a therapist, according to court records.Judge Albert Conlon accepted Defense Attorney H. Drew Romanovitz’s recommendation that the case be continued without a finding for three months, according to court records.Azarva’s mother, Rosalyn Azarva, died in November 2011.