Feb. 17--As he passed sentence on a theft case Tuesday, DuPage County Judge Robert Miller said he believed a person could steal something and still not be considered a thief.
But, he said, there was no way he could call Le Anna Kelty -- who stole $1 million from a Naperville law firm and $100,000 from a flooring company -- anything but a thief.
"This is who you are," Miller said minutes before sentencing Kelty to eight years in prison for theft from the law firm. He also ordered her to repay $1,029,000.
Just before sentencing, the former Wilmington resident had quietly told the judge she was sorry for all the people she had hurt.
Kelty, 55, had entered a guilty plea to the theft charge in January. Authorities say that Kelty stole more than $1 million from the firm of Freedman, Anselmo, Lindberg and Rappe, where she worked in accounting, over a six-year period beginning in 2007.
She left the company in 2013 and her thefts -- 218 forged checks -- remained undetected until a year later. Kelty was able to cover up her thefts by altering the firm's electronic records to mask checks she wrote to a dummy corporation she had created.
The stolen money financed the purchase of an expensive boat, motorcycles and cars, Assistant State's Attorney Ken Tatarelis told the judge.
Naperville police Detective Elena Deuchler testified that she investigated Kelty after the law firm alerted authorities. Her investigation led to Kelty's arrest in Will County on charges that she embezzled $100,000 from a flooring company where she worked after leaving the law firm.
She was eventually convicted and served a prison sentence on the Will case.
Tatarelis said federal records indicated that in the late 1980s Kelty also had been charged with embezzling $40,000 from a bank, though it was unknown how that case was resolved.
Attorney Thomas Anselmo, a managing partner of the firm, which is now called Anselmo, Lindberg and Oliver, testified that the law office performed a background check on Kelty when she was hired, but there were no red flags.
Kelty tried to mitigate her thefts by saying she had a sick mother, a disabled husband and a gambling problem, Tatarelis said, but there was no evidence to support those assertions.
"If her husband truly was in dire medical condition, how could he drive a Harley motorcycle? How would he pilot a boat?" Tatarelis asked.
Kelty's husband was not charged. He said his wife handled the finances and said she had money from a previous divorce settlement and the sale of property, authorities said.
Kelty was arrested in October 2014. With day-for-day credit and credit for time served in the DuPage County jail before and after the Will County case, Kelty will be eligible for parole in about 2 1/2 years.
Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter.
