In 1974, Morantz uncovered a criminal conspiracy to kidnap homeless alcoholics and place them in nursing homes where they were kept sedated with Thorazine while the state was billed through Medical/Medicare and their social security checks taken. Los Angeles County supervisors called for a four-point probe on January 23, 1975 after hearing testimony that patients were often sedated, their ability to communicate with anyone outside the institution restricted, and were detained in facilities behind locked gates and barbed wire if they tried to leave. Morantz filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of the former patients, testified on nursing home abuses during the public hearings and aided in the creation of a district attorney task force on nursing home crimes.
