Mantia was fired from her state job in December, after her employers said it was a conflict of interest to serve as both a guardian and a government watchdog. At one point, someone called Mantia's state-financed office to complain about Adult Guardianship Inc. -- only to find that Mantia, the woman answering the phone, ran the company, state officials said.

Mantia, who serves as a guardian in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, denies there was any conflict. She appealed her firing, and the state has since agreed to let her resign retroactively.

"I can look back now and say, gee, I made mistakes," Mantia said.

"The funny thing is, there are many other guardians who charge the same things I do for the same things I charge for." For old or otherwise frail people who can no longer manage their lives on their own, the state has established a solution. A friend, relative, lawyer, accountant or even a perfect stranger can petition a court to become their guardian and have them declared incompetent to handle all or some of their personal affairs.

Guardians have the right, with court approval, to pay themselves and their lawyers from their wards' assets. State law does not specify how much guardians can charge. That leaves judges in each county to establish and enforce billing guidelines.

Private guardianships are a fast-growing industry in South Florida, because the region has a large elderly population and the government social service agencies that are supposed to help them are overwhelmed. A growing number of people take on multiple guardianships as a full-time job.

They provide a desperately needed service, helping their wards pay bills, arrange government benefits and receive needed medical care, supporters say.

"What do you do when the family is up north and they say, 'To hell with Daddy. Wait 'til he croaks, and then I'll come down and get the money then,' " Judge Johnson said. "A lot of these people have been abandoned by their families."

Under state law, guardians are not required to have a state license, or even a high school degree. They just have to attend eight hours of training within one year of starting their first guardianship.

"Almost anyone can be a guardian and have enormous power over someone else's life," said Emilio Maicas, HRS program administrator of Aging and Adult Services in Broward. "There is no licensing requirement, little monitoring or oversight. The potential for abuse is tremendous."

Mantia came to the job of guardian with one impressive credential. She was the only paid staff member of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Council in Broward, a patient-rights group that investigates complaints of mistreatment in facilities like nursing homes.

Mantia's company, Adult Guardianship Inc., was founded in July 1992, according to state records. Mantia asked an elderly neighbor, Dorothy Collins of Coconut Creek, to work for her, Collins said.

Less than a year later, Collins quit the company because she was concerned that Mantia was billing wards for more hours of service than they had received -- an allegation Mantia denied.

"I like the concept of guardianships," Collins, 71, said last week. "It's beautiful. It's when you put in for time you don't deserve to get paid for, that's bad. I didn't want any part of it, so I left."