$1 million bail for man accused of wheeling dying mother into bank

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - A Plymouth, Minnesota man who wheeled his dying mother into a bank just hours before her death to make one final withdrawal appeared in Hennepin County court Wednesday afternoon after being extradited from California. David Vanzo's bail has been set at $1 million.

Vanzo, 57, was charged in March with two counts of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult and one count each of criminal neglect and attempted theft by swindle. Vanzo’s next court appearance will be June 29.

Vanzo was arrested in Pomona, California, where he was still living off his mother's money. According to the charges, he bilked his 90-year old mother out of $250,000 and let her die of dehydration, malnutrition and neglect. When police found Caryl Vanzo 14 months ago in the Plymouth home they shared, she was covered in urine and feces. Her son had allegedly been busy watching porn on his computer. 

Just six hours before he reported her dead, Vanzo took his mother to the bank and withdrew $850 in her name. Bank employees said her feet were dragging under the wheelchair, she "did not move" and they "couldn't tell if she was breathing."

Vanzo had previously been investigated for neglect. According to the warrant unsealed Thursday afternoon, he took out a reverse mortgage on the home, going through $100,000 in two months, as well as draining bank accounts and retirement funds.

Prosecutors say he spent it on sports gambling and getting women to perform sex acts on Skype, calling himself a "sugar daddy."

The big mystery in this case is whether she was already dead when he brought her to the bank. The medical examiner says she had been dead between 4 to 6 hours before police arrived, and Vanzo was at the bank six hours earlier.