Heirlooms among items stolen from nursing home residents

ZANESVILLE – Many of Patricia L. Thomas' victims did not realize their jewelry was missing until they saw a photo of the stolen property.

Though the victim impact stories documented by county and state prosecutors nearly reach double digits, each documents a tale of anger, sadness and betrayal by a person put in a position of trust:

A 94-year-old woman's gold nugget necklace that was her and her deceased husband's wedding bands melted together was replaced by a fake.

A gold wedding band was taken off the finger of a 97-year-old woman around the time she passed away.

Two class rings dated "Findlay class of 124 and 1949" were sold unbeknownst to their 81-year-old owner.

Most of the jewelry was never recovered since it was immediately melted down and re-sold, investigators reported. An investigation by the Attorney General's Office revealed Thomas made $26,398 after selling the items at a pawn shop between 2012 and 2014.

She'll have to pay most of that back, a judge ruled on Monday, and she'll also spend time in prison.

Thomas, of 4 Van Buren St., appeared in Muskingum County Common Pleas Court on Monday, where Judge Mark Fleegle sentenced her to 17 months in prison. She received two days of jail credit.

She pleaded guilty in March to 16 counts of theft, fourth and fifth-degree felonies. The 46-year-old was indicted this year on more than 20 counts for stealing at least 52 pieces of jewelry from patients at a local nursing home where she worked as a resident care assistant for six years, according to prosecutors.

As she stood before Fleegle on Monday, she held back tears, and her voice wavered as she apologized for what she did.

"If I could take back everything I did, and how I hurt those people, I would," Thomas said in court.

Her attorney Adam Grosshandler asked Fleegle to "balance justice with mercy" before sentencing. Thomas, who had been free on bond, was then handcuffed and remanded to the custody of the Muskingum County Sheriff's Office.

Three other women were also sentenced Monday for related crimes that cost nursing home residents thousands of dollars in stolen cash and jewelry, including Thomas' 22-year-old daughter Karly.

Karly Thomas admitted to pawning a $2,000 bracelet for cash after her mother had stolen it from a resident. She was sentenced to two years' community control and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution after she pleaded guilty to one felony count of receiving stolen property.

Carla Norman, 52, of Nashport, and Teresa Alfman, 54, of Zanesville, were also sentenced. Along with Patricia Thomas, Norman and Alfman were resident care assistant at the nursing home, where many of the patients suffer from Alzheimer's and dementia.

Norman and Alfman each received two years of community control and were ordered to pay restitution and court costs.

Norman pleaded guilty in April to 11 felony counts of theft from the elderly for stealing over $400 from various Emeritus residents between 2013 and 2014.

Alfman pleaded guilty to one felony count each of theft from an elderly person and safecracking. Alfman admitted to stealing $100 from the locked safe of a resident.

The women are no longer employees the nursing home, which has since come under new ownership.

The sentencings are the conclusion of an investigation by Attorney General DeWine's Health Care Fraud Section.

The investigation identified 17 elderly victims, and determined $28,000 worth of cash and jewelry was stolen. Investigators obtained photocopies of the jewelry from the pawn shop and had it identified by the victims.

"All people should be able to feel safe where they live, but these individuals made that impossible for the elderly residents of this assisted living facility," according to a written statement from DeWine. "Theft from the elderly is a serious crime, and we are pleased that these individuals are being held accountable for their intentional acts."

The investigation found no evidence that the women were working together, but investigators concluded they knew of each other's actions.

Norman was arrested after a surveillance camera placed in two residents' rooms caught her stealing bait money placed in a desk drawer. Norman was also recorded taking money from a resident's wallet and wall safe.

"We must always be vigilant to protect our elderly citizens from opportunistic criminals who are more than willing to prey on the vulnerable of our society," said Muskingum County Prosecutor Mike Haddox in a written statement.

Individuals who suspect theft or abuse of the elderly should contact the Ohio Attorney General's Office at www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov or 800-282-0515.

elagatta@zanesvilletimesrecorder.com

740-450-6753

Twitter: @EricLagatta