GARY, Ind. – A veteran Gary police officer was sentenced to three years in work release on Tuesday after he admitted he drained the credit union account of an elderly Alzheimer’s disease sufferer account of $117,000.
The neighbor, 89-year-old Helen Chentnik, whom the officer had committed to a nursing home, died in December 2006 after suffering from dementia and Alzheimer's for several years.
Prosecutors said Officer Joshua Wiley, 52, knew Chentnik was an endangered adult and not competent to make financial decisions on her own.
Between December 2002 and September 2005, Wiley reportedly exerted unauthorized control over money in the woman's accounts at U.S. FCU, using a debit card to withdraw cash or buy goods and services for his personal use.
Wiley also deposited Chentnik's Social Security and pension checks at a separate bank, where he had opened a joint account and transferred money from the credit union.
In January 2005, Wiley obtained a fraudulent quitclaim deed to the woman's home, valued at $40,600, in the 3500 block of West 12th Avenue in Gary.
Wiley had claimed the victim's son, who was in prison, gave him power of attorney, court documents show. Investigators, however, discovered the victim's son died while in federal custody Oct. 13, 2004, never having met Wiley.
A 21-year veteran of the force, Wiley pleaded guilty to two counts of felony theft in September. He has paid $55,000 in restitution to the victim's estate. His plea bargain requires him to pay monthly installments of $1,000 toward the remaining balance and also to serve five years probation.
Wiley is expected to resign from the department because a convicted felon cannot carry a gun.
