I have not seen or spoken to my elder brother for 15 years. My brother and his wife live 3,000 miles away, in Florida. This has NOT stopped my brother and his wife from sending me harassing letters AND making harassing phone calls. Five years ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I started to get horrid letters and calls from my brother and his wife, wishing me death from cancer. All in all, it was a few letters and a few calls, but it was extremely distressing, to say the least. I live alone and most of my money goes towards my medical expenses. My brother knows this, and he knows I cannot afford to hire a lawyer. I feel so vulnerable, because I have no one to defend me. I did tell my parents about the harassment. Unfortunately, my dad has a terrible history of domestic violence and emotional abuse, so my dad couldn't have cared less about my plight. My mom claimed to be sympathetic. She told me to just "let it go" and not to make a big deal out of it. My mom is always telling me to "forgive and forget" no matter how horrid the actions of my father or my brother. I was so caught up in my cancer treatment that I decided to just tear up the letters, which is basically what my mom advised me to do. Personally, I considered the contents of the letters to be "bad karma". I didn't want to KEEP letters that were wishing me death from my illness! I don't have caller ID, so I was never able to record any of the phone calls. So now I have no "evidence" of my brother's harassment, but I NEVER thought I'd need it for anything. 5 years and cancer free, I decided to take control of my life. I sent my brother a letter telling him to LEAVE ME ALONE. I told him that I think he and his wife are both despicable individuals to harass me, his own sister, who is so ill. That's it, though. I absolutely did not write any threats. I just said I loathe him and PLEASE DON'T CONTACT ME EVER AGAIN. Imagine my SHOCK to get a voicemail from a Florida COP shortly after I'd sent the letter to my brother! I could NOT believe what I was hearing. The officer gave her name and stated: "This call is strictly to tell you that IF you have any further contact with your brother---via mail, phone, email, Facebook---you WILL face 'criminal charges'". I was indignant! How dare my brother flip the 'harassment' onto ME?! In 15 years, I've NEVER contacted him, except for the ONE letter that I recently sent telling him to leave me alone. There were NO threats in my letter. It's NOT illegal to tell someone to leave you alone! The cop did NOT even want to hear MY side of the story, which really made me mad. Like I have no rights?! I found out that my FATHER (who lives near me) actually got involved and that my dad's name is also on the police report! This was chilling, both because there is no logical reason for it AND given my dad's history of "abuse via police". My dad WORKED with the POLICE and would call in the cops whenever there was a disagreement in out house. My dad would punch HOLES in the walls, but he always got away with it. My dad's clever tactic was to LIE to the cops and tell them that *I* had "mental problems". I've never had any mental disorders and I now have a degree in Psychology. My dad used his money and influence to get the local cops and a couple of local shrinks to do his bidding. Dad also had a team of high-powered lawyers who helped him do terrible things to me. When I was 22 and living at home, my DAD managed to have me 5150'd twice in one month. It was the worst nightmare I've ever endured. I woke up one morning to find COPS in the house. I was in such a state of shock that I was calm. Still, the cop told me he'd "made up his mind" about me, based solely on my dad's LIES. I was then handcuffed and put into a squad car like a common criminal. The cops then took me to a Psych Ward, where my DAD had made sure to make "connections" with the head shrink. I was NOT suicidal or homicidal and I suffered from no mental illness. My dad's threats to sue got the cops and the shrinks to comply with his wishes. I still cannot believe that my Constitutional Rights were violated so egregiously. There was NOTHING I could do to defend myself. It's hard to trust cops or shrinks after that experience. I saw how they can be bought and bribed. I left home immediately after the second 5150. (I technically left home after the first 5150, but when I went back home to pick up my belongings my DAD called the cops and instituted the second 5150). My dad often claims: "No one will ever believe YOU over ME. They'll look at your 'history'. You have NO credibility". I fear this may be true? My dad especially says this in terms of POLICE. When I lived at home, my dad said he could get me sent to prison, even though I've never broken the law. I don't doubt it, because the Psych Ward was as bad as any prison could be. My dad gloated about his "accomplishment" of getting me locked up in the Psych Ward, even as a perfectly innocent and sane individual. I've learned to FEAR my dad, which is exactly what he wants. I'm very troubled that my jerk BROTHER appears to be taking some of my father's tips for making my life HELL. Besides cancer, I also suffer from chronic severe migraines. The pain is hellish. It's all more than I can deal with even WITHOUT a call from the COPS threatening me with "criminal charges"! I still can't believe my brother is that EVIL! There aren't any "criminal charges" for the letter, but it's horrid to live with the POLICE THREAT that I WILL face criminal charges if I ever contact him again! It's crazy! I certainly DON'T want to have contact with my brother. But there ARE a few things coming up where there may have to be some contact. My dad is getting old and might be dying, which would throw my mom's finances into a mess. (My dad did NOT plan well for the future). My brother is a financial analyst. I don't know if there is a will, but there might be a funeral. The WORST part of this whole ordeal with my brother is the fact that the police report is PUBLIC knowledge, for all to see! In my letter to my brother, I wrote a few insulting things, just because I was mad and wanted to defend myself. My brother also "added" some racial epithets to the letter, because his wife is Asian. This really upsets me! I would NEVER write stuff like that. About half of the letter consists of weird stuff that my BROTHER WROTE in the margins! It's NOT my writing, but just try to "prove" it! This will be released to ANYONE who asks for it. I don't ever want to get accused of being a "racist" down the line, because that is completely UNTRUE. IF I could go to the Florida COPS in person, I think I would. I'd try to explain MY SIDE of the story, particularly since my brother FALSIFIED much of the letter! But I can't travel 3,000 miles. I can't afford to hire a lawyer, either. I don't want to speak to the COP over the phone, because with my constant migraine I can get confused sometimes. Also, she sounded very hostile and prejudicial towards me on the voicemail. The only thing left would be to write a LETTER to the COP explaining MY SIDE of the story. I know I could compose a well-written letter. I would like to defend my reputation, but I'm also pretty scared to contact the cop in any form. Thanks so much for any advice. Between my chronic pain and the fear that my brother has put me through, it's all almost too much to handle. 15 years ago, my dad tarnished my reputation with LIES. Now something similar is happening from my brother.

Last edited by Eva 14; 02/23/14 07:04 PM.