Complaint: Man Gambles With Elderly Father's Life at Casino

A 53-year-old Delafield man is accused of leaving his dying father in a locked car in the parking lot of Potawatomi Casino while he went inside and gambled for 4-½ hours.

Thomas S. Frodermann was charged in Milwaukee County Circuit Court Thursday with one count of negligently subjecting someone at risk to abuse. If convicted, he faces up to 90 days in jail and $1,000 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint:

On Sept. 26, Frodermann picked up his 88-year-old father Robert Frodermann from a nursing home and took him to a get a haircut. Robert Frodermann suffered from kidney failure, renal failure and heart failure, with only about 15 percent of his heart operational, but instead of taking him for the haircut, his son went to Potawatomi and left his dad in the locked car.

During the course of the day, the Milwaukee Fire Department and Milwaukee Police Department were called to the parking lot of the casino after Robert Frodermann was found inside a vehicle with the doors and windows locked. Fire department officials pounded on the window in order to get Robert to open the door, but he at first didn’t understand how to do so.

When the door was opened, Robert Frodermann was slumped over and said he was tired and wanted to go home. Rescue workers noticed he was wearing a diaper and smelled of urine and feces.

Officials searched the casino for 45 minutes trying to find Frodermann, but they were unable to. Eventually, the son came outside and asked “what’s wrong with my father?”

Frodermann told officials he picked his dad up and went to the casino at 1 p.m. and he wasn’t contacted until 5:30 p.m. Frodermann said he heard his name paged several times, but ignored it.

Robert Frodermann was picked up by another one of his sons and driven home. He died Sept. 30 from renal failure.

According to online court records, no court date has been set yet in the case.