Woman found guilty of stealing money from elderly farmer

A WOMAN was found guilty at the Circuit Court in Waterford yesterday of stealing tens of thousands of euro from an elderly farmer in Co Cork over a number of months in 2006 and 2007.

Kathy Lewis (55) of Blackwater Heights, Youghal, Co Cork, was accused of stealing the money from George Berry (88).

Prosecuting counsel Noel Whelan told the jury Lewis could have stolen “something between €40,000 to €70,000”.

The charges arose out of an incident in a car park at a Centra store in Killeagh, Co Cork, where Mr Berry’s car was claimed to have damaged a car belonging to Lewis.

Mr Berry, of Ballylusky, Ballynoe, Co Cork, said in evidence that in March 2006 Lewis had accused him of hitting her car. Mr Berry, a single man who was living alone at the time, said Lewis had told him that two of her grandcildren were in the back of the car and that they had been thrown into the front of the vehicle, such was the impact.

He told the court that Lewis would contact him by phone at regular intervals, often fortnightly, regarding money.

The retired farmer said he went regularly to the AIB bank at Tallow and the Bank of Ireland branch at Fermoy to take out cash for her.

“I was afraid of her – she was threatening all the time with courts and solicitors,” he said during the trial.

“I was feeling bad . . . worried.Whatever money I had, she got it. She got it all.” Mr Berry admitted to defence counsel David Humphreys that there may have been a “tip” between the cars.

Some weeks later, on April 24th, Mr Berry gave Lewis a brown envelope with some €10,000 in it and another €5,000 on May 17th, with a further €5,000 on May 24th, the court heard.

On other occasions in 2006, Mr Berry gave Lewis €100 and €3,000, with other payments including another €3,000, €1,000 and €500 sums in January and February 2007, it emerged.

Lewis was found guilty by a jury of six men and six women on 22 of 23 counts of theft.

Det Micheál O’Donovan, a Garda vehicle inspector based in north Cork, said he was “100 per cent happy” that Mr Berry’s vehicle had suffered no front impact.

“That vehicle certainly suffered no impact damage to the front of it. If it was in an incident, it would have just been a nudge,” said Det O’Donovan.

Mr Whelan described Mr Berry as a “fine, upstanding man” and said he went from having an “uncomplicated financial life” to being the subject of a “financial nightmare”.

Mr Humphreys yesterday told Judge Rory MacCabe that he had been instructed by his client to offer “bail monies” to Mr Berry as compensation. The offer was made prior to the jury’s deliberations, he said.

“She has reason to believe she could raise more money,” said Mr Humphreys, who added that she was “looking for a small amount of time”. Through her counsel, Lewis handed over €10,300 to Mr Berry at the courthouse yesterday.

Lewis was granted bail and will appear at the court again on February 24th for sentencing.