Here’s something funny: Former lieutenant governor Betsy McCaughey, who was one of the primary “death panel” fearmongerers during the 2009 health-care debate, is now wrestling over who gets to control the fate of an aging woman suffering from severe dementia. The woman is the current wife of the wealthy older gentleman McCaughey is dating. (McCaughey is 62, for what it’s worth. The boyfriend, still-married Oppenheimer Capital founder Charles Brunie, is 80.) Brunie’s wife, Jean Yankus, is living in a nursing home, and her children are fighting for control of her and access to some of Brunie’s money in order to make sure she’s taken care of. “The lawsuit is coming from unemployed, greedy stepchildren who are trying to get money out of him,” McCaughey told “Page Six.” “They fear that if Mr. Brunie moves on with his life, [and] divorces, they will not inherit his wealth.” Oh, and meanwhile, McCaughey has been polling around to see if she should launch an expensive run for office. Guess she’s right — whoever controls the fate of an old person in their twilight years really does matter.
