In September 2007, a drunken driver T-boned Anthony Cato Jr.’s sport utility vehicle at 52nd Street and Ames Avenue and left Cato paralyzed.
Since then, intensive physical therapy has allowed Cato, now 45, to regain the use of his legs and left arm.
But Cato, who couldn’t return to his job as a courthouse bailiff, said he still hasn’t collected any of the $5,000 in restitution the court ordered the car’s owner to pay. In addition, he was denied victim reparations from the state, partly because its victim assistance fund lacked money.
Cato and victims’ rights advocates spoke out Wednesday in Omaha in support of Legislative Bill 510, which would add to the pool of money available for victim reparations.
Under the bill, introduced last year by State Sen. Pete Pirsch of Omaha, a $1 surcharge would be added to all criminal and traffic fines and 5 percent of work-release inmates’ wages would be tapped. The money would go to a fund to cover expenses of crime victims, including medical expenses and lost wages.
The changes would generate an estimated $300,000 to $400,000 per year.
The Nebraska Crime Victims Reparation program used to get $210,000 per year from the state’s general fund, but that was cut to $20,000 in 2002. The cut also significantly reduced federal matching funds.
The result? In 2008, the fund paid claims totaling only $120,000. Iowa, meanwhile, paid out $4.8 million.
The most a victim could get from the Nebraska fund would be $10,000, according to information provided by Pirsch’s office.
Cato said it’s good that people who break the law pay their debts to society, “but they also need to pay for the victims and secondary victims who are financially strapped. ... That’s just common sense.”
Contact the writer:
444-1109, bob.glissmann@owh.com
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