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Tom Sigea, who entered an Alford plea to charges that he squandered his parents’ money, appears in Cowlitz County Superior Court for sentencing Thursday afternoon. Greg Ebersole / The Daily News

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Man gets 28 months in elder abuse case

Thursday, September 18, 2008 11:30 PM PDT

By Leslie Slape

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At his sentencing Thursday in Cowlitz County Superior Court, Tom Sigea told Judge Jill Johanson he was in over his head when he took charge of his elderly parents’ finances and care.

“I am almost completely inept when it comes to finances or numbers,” Sigea, 53, said softly. “I’m a simple man, and I don’t understand a lot of things in this world, and for that lack of knowledge ... I have placed myself in this position.”

He said he was “grateful for this valuable lesson in life.”

Investigators said Tom Sigea lived the high life for three years at his parents’ $400,000 Kalama home while neglecting the care of Albert and Lila Sigea, who were in their 80s and suffered from dementia. Using his power of attorney, Tom Sigea squandered his parents’ money while the elderly couple with $1 million in assets lived downstairs in filth and poverty.

Lila Sigea has since died, and Albert Sigea now lives with a grandson in California.

Earlier this month, Tom Sigea entered an Alford plea to four charges of first-degree theft, in which he did not admit guilt but agreed that the state could find him guilty based on the evidence. As part of the plea agreement, his wife, Deby Sigea, will not be charged.

Johanson followed the

recommendation of the prosecution and defense and gave Tom Sigea an exceptional sentence of 28 months in prison. The standard range is nine to 12 months.

Albert Sigea’s health prevented him from attending Thursday’s hearing, said deputy prosecutor James Smith.

“He expressed a desire his son receive a very severe penalty,” Smith told the judge.

Tom Sigea’s daughter, Jolene Sigea, asked the judge for

leniency.

“My dad is a very caring and loving person,” she said. “He’s not the same man he was two years ago. He has six children, the youngest is 7, and two grandchildren, and they need him tremendously.”

Johanson asked her if drugs or alcohol were a factor in her father’s life two years ago.

“Yes, your honor,” Jolene Sigea said.

Johanson, who heads Drug Court, urged Tom Sigea to get substance abuse treatment in or out of custody.

She set a restitution hearing for Oct. 23 to give attorneys time to settle on a sum.

Defense attorney Dan Morgan said the lack of receipts makes accounting difficult, and there are some expenses, such as installing a well, that were made at Albert Sigea’s request.

“We plan to fight for the highest level of restitution, said Sarah Flohr, the Cowlitz Bank Trust Officer handling the Sigea estate. “The original (loss estimate) was around half a million. We were able to recover $250,000 on the home equity loan that was taken out by Mr. Sigea without his brother’s knowledge.” (His brother, Doug Sigea, shared power of attorney over his parents’ affairs before Tom Sigea convinced Doug to give him full power of attorney.)

Flohr, who attended Thursday’s hearing along with Sheriff’s Detective Marc Gilchrist, said she was disappointed in Tom Sigea’s statement.

“We wanted to give Mr. Sigea the chance to give his own version,” she said.

Her estimate is that the stolen cash, legal costs and fiduciary costs come to about $850,000.

“The sad thing is, the attorneys and the bank made out great, but Mr. (Albert) Sigea and his wife did not,” she said. “And the family’s broken now, and I hope they are able to heal.”

 

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roudy russ wrote on Sep 19, 2008 5:17 AM:

" Should have gotton alot more time! "

1980mustang wrote on Sep 19, 2008 6:54 AM:

" They caused that family more than 28 months of pain.... He should have gotten more than that, after all they were his PARENTS. "

woodchuck wrote on Sep 19, 2008 7:14 AM:

" Well if the "Bank" and the "Attorney's" made out great with regards to this terrible situation, wouldn't you think that since "they" were fighting for these peoples rights, that they would give back? Oh wait, maybe in the end, it wasn't about the people who were taken advantage of... "

sadstate wrote on Sep 19, 2008 7:39 AM:

" This mas should never have had any control of the finances if he wasn't sure how to handle them. Parents should never suffer at the hands of their children. What a sad story. I hope the elder Mr. Sigea can live out the rest of his life happy and well cared for. "

Mrs. Pellwerds wrote on Sep 19, 2008 8:06 AM:

" This guy deserves more time if he thinks this whole thing is about inept accounting. He flat out defrauded his elderly parents with no regard for their well being. Sounds like he can't tell the difference between right and wrong. "

SPARROW wrote on Sep 19, 2008 9:04 AM:

" It's upsetting that Deby Siega was able to escape charges for her role in this fiasco. Now all they have to do is get a divorce and put any future assets in her name, and he won't be paying any resistution either. As for the daughter who asked for leniency because his 6 kids and 2 grandkids need him to badly, hogwash! His parents needed him too, and look what happened. What they need is someone to show them the value of hard work and decent living can result in security, not how to scam off others financially to survive. "

Past Chinook wrote on Sep 19, 2008 9:43 AM:

" I lived in the town this man is from the entire time this was going on. It was VERY aparent that he was "living the high life".. Nice car, spending money left and right, flashing around all this rediculous jewelery... Meanwhile, besides his parents, his own son went to school on a daily basis with not a new item of clothing to his name. VERY sad in all aspects and he deserved MUCH more punishment!! "

Blogger Jogger wrote on Sep 19, 2008 9:53 AM:

" What the (Bleed) is wrong with our society that the attorneys and bank made out well on this fiasco but the family is now broken? Hey, Bank and Attorney, maybe you wouldn't mind just making out a little and you both kick back a tad to the elderly gentleman that was taken advantage of. I probably shouldn't start holding my breath waiting for that to happen. "

cahuita wrote on Sep 19, 2008 10:51 AM:

" Way to go Judge Johanson. It is notoriously difficult to bring charges against those who commit elder abuse and I am heartened to hear that the system actually did something about it. Kudos to Judge Johanson for giving out an "exceptional sentence" this gives me hope in our judicial system! "

berryjewels wrote on Sep 19, 2008 10:52 AM:

" I can not believe how people can be! This is just to sad! I bet his parents never treated him like that when they took care of him. If he knew that he would not be able to take on the position why did he not give it up? That would have been the honest thing to do, oh wait guess it is because there aren't many honest ones around anymore. How could he do that to everyone especially his own flesh and blood that you are supposed to in turn take care of when they need you most as they did you when you needed them most? just makes me sick :( should have been given more time yes I agree with that!! "

l-town mom wrote on Sep 19, 2008 1:10 PM:

" I think it's crap that his wife didn't receive any penalty. You know good and well that she benefited from all of the theft and embezzlement as well. They should have both gotten 'exceptional sentences'. "

El Gabilon wrote on Sep 19, 2008 3:32 PM:

" His statements indicate that he is very capable of tossing out horsepucky. His sentence should have been life in prison in order to send a message to the thousands of others who are depleting their parents bank accounts and not repaying "loans" they have asked for and received. Parents should learn the following if nothing else. Never sign over your bank accounts or give your children acesss. Never loan your children money without an iron clad contract. If you loan money for them to purchase a home, put a lein on the home so that they cannot sell it without you getting your money back. Name an heir to the lein so that someone else will collect in the event you die. If your children are in debt up to their ears....let them get out of it without your help. When someone makes bad judgements they should expect to pay the consequences. We have loaned money to our children, but always with a CONTRACT. Had they not paid the loans we would have sent the loan to a collection agency and the credit report agency. It's called TOUGH LOVE. We have seen too many parents go down the financial drain because of their children. "

InTheStix wrote on Sep 19, 2008 5:11 PM:

" He is not "almost" completely inept.Prison would be too good for this man.It doesn't matter how many kids he has or grandkids.He knew exactly what he was doing while he was spending all that money and squandering his parents assets away,while neglecting their care.All that spending and taking out loans against his parents home,and having his wits about him enough to get his brother to give up his half of the power of attorney ,giving him full control;there was quite a bit of number crunching going on there.His wife should be charged the same way he was,even though it will never be enough.If he is actually that inept,she was leading him through it.There should never be an opening for a plea agreement such as that,she was clearly involved,and is likewise guilty of the same crimes against her in-laws.She lived in the house too,and knew exactly what was happening as her inept husband became a man with money.This is sick! "

A. Friend wrote on Sep 20, 2008 3:12 PM:

" After all the abuse Albert Segea had to endure at the hands of his son Tom,I thought some of you might like to know how he's doing here in California with his grandson Eddie and wife Robin. They give him excellent care, tending to his needs and getting him out of the house on a near daily basis: whether it be to breakfast, the beach, or where they may be going.
"Grandpa Al" loves it and is happily enjoying his life now, and gives lots of 'smiles' to everone.
We're neighbors and I can see plenty of love and attention is given him......
He's in a good place now. "

joshsmom1020 wrote on Sep 22, 2008 8:45 PM:

" I'm Albert Sigea's grandaughter. I am very glad that Tom was finally sentenced; although the 28 months includes time already served which I think to be a load of BS. What's even more a load of BS is Tom's ineptness to cotton on what he was doing. Granted, I am sure drugs / alcohol, etc. played a large roll in his inability to feel remorse for what he did to Papa...but he did know what he was doing. He may not be as educated as most but knows the difference between right and wrong.

To "El Gabilon": The "loans" that Tom took out from my Papa's accounts and property were exactly NOT that. It was money that Papa had entrusted to Tom to take care of his bills, etc. At no point, to my understanding, was any of the money knowingly "loaned" to him. Papa is a very sharp and intelligent man. The only reason he was taken advantage of so easily is because the care that was delegated into the hands of Tom and Deby was highly neglected which caused Papa's judgement to be less than the run of the mill.

I am glad that Papa is now in California with my Dad. I've asked Papa if he would move back up North (where I am now), and do you know what his response was? "Hell no!". He very much loves where he is at now. "

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