BY KEITH LACEY
A Sudbury woman who wanted to become a police officer tearfully testified she Â?never stole a pennyÂ? from her sick grandmother during the six months she controlled her grandmotherÂ?s finances when she was hospitalized.
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Â?I loved her, I still do,Â? said Theresa Bellenie, 38, who is on trial for allegedly spending $26,000 of her grandmotherÂ?s money while Margaret Bellenie was hospitalized between January and July of 2001.
Â?SheÂ?s the only family IÂ?ve ever hadÂ?she was like a mother to me as well as my friend,Â? said the accused during a full day of testimony Wednesday.
During this six months, she was taking a police foundations course at Cambrian College and living on a very limited budget, said Bellenie.
When asked by defence counsel Terry Waltenbury if she used her grandmotherÂ?s credit cards or misused blank cheques for her own personal gain, Bellenie denied it.
Â?I never took a cent from her,Â? she testified. Â?I had her approval or authorization for everything I spent.Â?
Margaret Bellenie, who is fiercely independent despite her advanced age, testified she was shocked when she discovered thousands of dollars had disappeared during this time period.
Strapped to a stretcher, brought to court by ambulance and hooked up to an oxygen tank to assist with her breathing, the grandmother denied approving the vast majority of transactions made against three credit cards in her name while hospitalized.
After being granted power of attorney over her grandmotherÂ?s financial affairs, Bellenie admitted she made numerous purchases using her grandmotherÂ?s credit cards and cheques, but insisted she informed her grandmother of every transaction and had her approval.
She did make some purchases for herself, boyfriend and three children, but always on consent from her grandmother and with an agreement she would repay the money in the future, said Bellenie.
Â?We brought her stuff daily,Â? including snack food, clothing and personal grooming items, she testified.
Her grandmotherÂ?s house was empty during those six months, so she regularly visited to feed, visit and clean up after her four cats and clean her home, said Bellenie.
Â?I visited her house almost every day,Â? she said.
Whenever she purchased cat food and litter or items needed to keep her grandmotherÂ?s house clean, she would charge it with her grandmotherÂ?s approval, she said.
She was also Â?often given lists of things to pick upÂ? to bring her grandmother in hospital or for her home, she said.
Â?I always got everything she asked for,Â? she said.
She didnÂ?t agree with her grandmotherÂ?s testimony that she hid her credit cards bills and financial records during this time in hospital, she said.
Â?She never questioned anything that inappropriate was happening,Â? she said. Â?She never questioned the (credit) charges.Â?
Her grandmother also agreed to pay her boyfriendÂ?s outstanding $1,400 heating bill, regular meals and a weekend trip to North Bay for her and her boyfriend, said Bellenie.
Â?She said I looked wore outÂ?and it would be her treat,Â? she said in response to questions about the weekend trip.
Her grandmother also paid for numerous prescription drugs she needed to fight her allergy to cats, driving lessons for her son, and running shoes and a track outfit she needed to train to stay in shape to become a police officer, she said.
Â?She always said it was not a problem,Â? she testified.
Just before her grandmother got out of hospital, she hired some of her sonÂ?s friends and they cleaned her grandmotherÂ?s home Â?from top to bottomÂ? and her grandmother agreed to pay for all the cleaning items and pay for the hired help, she said.
BellenieÂ?s grandmother gave a much different version of events, stating she knew nothing about the vast majority of transactions.
When she was released from hospital, her bank manager told her she didnÂ?t have a penny left in her account, said the elderly woman.
Before she went into hospital, her credit rating was Â?100 per centÂ?when I got out, it was zero,Â? the grandmother testified.
When she first went into hospital, a neighbour, who was a close friend, was granted power of attorney and paid all of her bills without any problems, she said.
She decided to switch the power of attorney to her granddaughter because Â?she was family,Â? they had become close and she trusted her, she testified.
She worked for various federal government agencies during her career and received four different pensions to live on, she said.
Â?I always paid my own billsÂ? until the day she was hospitalized, she said.
When she signed over the power of attorney to her granddaughter, she believed her granddaughter would Â?look after my affairsÂ?and pay my bills,Â? she said.
When asked if she worried about her money being misused, the elderly woman responded Â?it never crossed my mindÂ?I felt all my financial affairs were being taken care of.Â?
The grandmother testified she offered to give her granddaughter a painting appraised at between $6,000 and $7,000 and also offered to give her car to her granddaughterÂ?s boyfriend as a gesture of thanks.
She also Â?made out a will in her favourÂ? and named her granddaughter as the sole beneficiary of her estate, she said.
When she got out of hospital, she tried to write a cheque for $250. ThatÂ?s when her bank contacted her and told her she had no more money, she said.
Â?Not even enough to purchase a loaf of bread,Â? she said.
She contacted a social worker, who contacted police, resulting in an investigation that led to charges against her granddaughter.
She never, at any time, gave permission to her granddaughter to use the money for her own purposes, she said.
Larsh took Bellenie through dozens of purchases made against her credit cards while she was in hospital and asked her if she knew about, consented to or approved them.
Bellenie continually responded she didnÂ?t know anything about them.
When she got out of hospital and took full control of her finances once again, she cut up all her credit cards but one, she said.
Â?After this fiascoÂ?I made sure all my accounts were paid for by my bank,Â? she said.
She also contacted her granddaughter and confronted her about spending her money.
Her granddaughter told her Â?she would pay me backÂ?.
Lawyers presented closing arguments Thursday and Justice Ian Gordon of the Ontario Superiour Court of Justice is scheduled to make a ruling or set a date for his decision this morning at the Sudbury Courthouse.
