4
as well as certain “recognitions” and “awards” during part of the time that he was the
guardian of Gary Wayne Thompson, is Attachment 2.¹
1.11
At the time Mark Andrew Gomez was appointed as guardian, there was nothing
publicly known about his background and professional reputation that would indicate
anything except that he would honorably fulfill the task of this guardianship. This is not
to say that Mark Andrew Gomez had not engaged in illegal conduct before his
appointment as guardian of Gary Wayne Thompson. It is only to say that the illegal
conduct that Mark Andrew Gomez engaged in before being appointed guardian was not
publicly known.
1.12
The position of guardian of the property creates a fiduciary relationship and the
position of guardian of the person creates an enormous personal responsibility. Both of
these guardianships are positions of trust, created by the laws of Georgia and bestowed
by the Probate Court upon a qualified individual thought to be trustworthy, skillful and
knowledgeable enough to fulfill the responsibilities of these roles.
1.13
Once a guardian is appointed by the Probate Court, because of the workload of
overseeing thousands of probate matters, it is not practical for the Probate Court to
monitor the day-to-day activities of the guardian. To insure that guardians and other
fiduciaries appointed do not steal, the Probate Court relies, to a large degree, upon the
integrity of the persons whom it appoints, together with the financial bonds that these
persons post.
1
As later identified in paragraph 8.3.5, Mark Andrew Gomez, in marshalling some of the
information unethically used in his advertisement in the Yellow Pages, used money that
derived from the funds of Gary Wayne Thompson.
