The Turn To Tara team dug deeper into the background of an aide accused of abusing an injured Gulf War veteran - and what was found is raising serious questions about whether warning signs were missed before he was hired to care for some of the state's most vulnerable veterans.

Senior reporter Tara Rosenblum exposed the alleged assault that was caught on hidden camera video inside the state-run veterans home in Montrose - and shared first on News 12 last month.

The aide, Matthew Cox, was arrested after the video appeared to show him assaulting Gulf War veteran Albert O'Toole.

The Turn To Tara team has since obtained a federal statement of deficiencies, which describes the incident in even greater detail.

Investigators found that Cox hit O'Toole, who was living with a traumatic brain injury, with a broom on the head, grabbed him by the neck, roughly placed him into his wheelchair and then struck him.

The war hero is then heard screaming in pain.

While the video appeared to show what happened, Rosenblum wanted to find out who was responsible. The Turn To Tara team spent the last two weeks filing public records requests and scouring through court records in multiple states.

Records indicate that Cox has been involved in both civil and criminal court proceedings - spanning nearly three decades, including:

News 12 spoke to Bennett L Gershman, one of the tri-state's leading criminal scholars, to review the findings.

"When you see somebody getting diversion or the victim doesn't want to testify - to me -that raises a red flag. That doesn't do away with the charge, and maybe they are too scared to testify. You don't just sit back and say, 'Well, there was one conviction, and that's the end of it," said Gershman. "When you look at the background, you get a sense that this person hadn't had a very good, clean...blameless life. He's been in trouble a lot."

Gershman's opinion raised an even bigger question: Were any of these records identified before Cox was hired to care for New York's most vulnerable veterans?

So the Turn To Tara team tried to get in touch with the agencies that are responsible.

The federal DA hasn't responded yet, and the state Department of Health says it is "outraged" by Cox's alleged conduct, that he was removed from duty, later terminated and that required background checks found no prior record of negative conduct.

Gershman says that explanation doesn't hold up.

"To me, this facility - terribly dropped the ball - either they didn't do a thorough background check, or they did a very minimal background check. They seriously engaged in - to me - gross negligence in what happened here," he says.

The scrutiny is only intensifying, with Cox set to return to court next month.

News 12 also reached out to Cox and his attorney multiple times but has not heard back.

If you or your loved one has a story to share about the facility, share your story with the Turn To Tara Team.

ADDITIONAL STORY: Turn To Tara investigation into alleged abuse at NY veterans home sparks federal action