Ronald Behagen: Former Hawks Big Man Takes Advantage of Alzheimer's Victim
There is low, and we can deal with that. Then there is lower than low, and that is where former NBA journeyman Ronald Behagen went recently.
Carla Caldwell of The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that Behagen was arrested and pleaded guilty to stealing money from a 68-year-old woman.
The 60-year-old Behagen played professional basketball from 1973, when he started with the Kansas City Kings, and ended in 1980 with the Washington Bullets. He also played with the Atlanta Hawks during the 1977 season.
It's not just that Behagen stole from a 68-year-old woman, it's that she was defenseless considering her ailments. The victim, who lives in Sandy Springs, suffers from Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's and dementia.
That is a cocktail of illnesses that mandates she be surrounded by kind-hearted folk who are not going to take advantage of her distress.
Instead, Behagen fed on the helpless woman when he and his partner, Valla Rider, used her bank card to withdraw $7,140 from her account between April and June 2011. Both have since pleaded guilty to financial transaction card fraud.
This may not be the only horrible thing Behagen has ever done. There is a story about the center in college, coming off the bench during a brawl against Ohio State to stomp on a downed man's head. Behagen was suspended for the rest of the season.
It is very clear that Behagen has no regard for fellow human beings. After a guilty plea, we can find comfort knowing that he will be off the streets for at least a while.
You would be hard-pressed to find worse than someone that feeds off the helpless. Behagen is some kind of awful.
