Elys Seek Public Defender’s Help : Court: The couple have filed for bankruptcy protection and say they are too poor to afford to pay their lawyers.

Saying they cannot afford to pay their lawyers, James T. (Tom) and Ingrid Ely have filed for bankruptcy and applied for the services of the public defender in their upcoming trial on conspiracy and embezzlement charges.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Lawrence Storch on Tuesday ordered the county public defender’s office to review the Elys’ finances and determine whether the Ventura Community College District trustee and his wife are poor enough to deserve court-appointed attorneys.

The Elys filed for personal bankruptcy in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles about two weeks ago, said James M. Farley, the attorney who represents Tom Ely. The couple has obtained a court order forbidding creditors from collecting on the Elys’ debts, Farley said.

Tom Ely refused Tuesday to discuss how much he and his wife owe their creditors and would not say how much of the money is owed to casinos for gambling debts.

His troubles began in March when it was revealed that he owed one Nevada casino $3,000 and that he had been sued by another for $8,000 in gambling debts. He later said he owed a total of less than $20,000 to various casinos, but on Tuesday he refused to discuss the debts.

After disclosure of Tom Ely’s gambling debts, an audit by the Ventura Community College District showed that there was a discrepancy between the couple’s expense reports and the receipts they submitted for travel expenses.

After a five-month investigation, the Ventura County district attorney’s office filed a 31-count criminal complaint against the couple alleging that they padded their expense reports with more than $15,000 in improper claims for travel, room and board between July, 1988 and January, 1990. The Elys were arrested Aug. 14.

Tuesday, the couple applied for the public defender’s services, but Deputy Dist. Atty. Carol J. Nelson said they might not be poor enough to qualify.

Nelson said in court Tuesday that she has reviewed reports that the Elys own a house in Hawaii in addition to their house in Simi Valley, which could make them ineligible for court-appointed counsel.

On hearing of Nelson’s comment, Tom Ely yelled, “She’s a liar. Is that clear, certain, unambiguous? Carol Nelson is a liar.”

Farley said the Elys do not have a house in Hawaii. He added, “Whether he has property or not is unimportant. It has to be liquid cash to hire an attorney.”

And Ingrid Ely’s attorney, Willard P. Wiksell, said, “It’s very difficult for any individual to get the assets necessary to hire an attorney.”

Farley said he charges $1,000 per day during a trial and estimates that it would cost Tom Ely alone up to $25,000 for his services through the entire case.

Tom Ely said he and his wife have spent more than $11,000 so far defending this case.

“They can’t afford any lawyers. I’m surprised they could afford to put meat on the table,” Farley said. Ingrid Ely does not earn a salary, and Tom Ely, who cannot work because of a back injury, earns only a monthly $400 stipend from the college district.

Tom Ely said he has other income but refused to describe it or give any other details on his financial status. He said only that the couple is still $50,000 in debt for medical expenses from a January auto accident that he says occurred while he was driving on district business in his own car, a Jaguar. The district has refused to pay the $17,000 repair bill or the $27,000 replacement cost of the car and won’t pay his workers’ compensation claim, Tom Ely said.

Public Defender Kenneth I. Clayman said a defendant who lacks liquid funds to hire a private attorney does not automatically qualify for a court-appointed lawyer.

On the other hand, sometimes assets such as land or houses are not enough to disqualify a defendant because they may be so heavily encumbered with liens or mortgages that they are nearly worthless, he said.

“Indigency is not an eating-out-of-garbage-cans kind of thing,” Clayman said Tuesday.

Even those who cannot afford private attorneys must reimburse the county for the services of the public defender after a trial, based on their ability to pay, Clayman said.

Clayman said he has assigned Assistant Public Defender Jean L. Farley, who is not related to Tom Ely’s current lawyer, to study the Elys’ finances and make a recommendation to the court.

While James Farley and Wiksell have been retained so far by the Elys, they also work for a group of court-appointed defense lawyers called Conflict Defense Associates, which handles cases when the public defender has a conflict of interest.

James Farley asked that the court appoint him to continue representing Tom Ely because of his familiarity with the case, if Ingrid Ely is represented by the public defender’s office.

Meanwhile, Nelson has filed an additional charge against Ingrid Ely, accusing her of grand theft by embezzlement.

On Sept. 25, Municipal Judge Thomas J. Hutchins held the couple to answer to a 31-count criminal complaint in a Superior Court trial. Tom and Ingrid Ely were charged with two counts each of conspiracy to commit grand theft and Tom Ely was also charged with eight counts of embezzlement and 19 counts of making fraudulent claims.

But Hutchins also said he believed that enough evidence was presented at the preliminary hearing to charge Ingrid Ely with embezzlement.

The Elys remain free on their own recognizance and are scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Superior Court.

Also Tuesday, Wiksell filed a peremptory motion to disqualify Kenneth R. Yegan, the judge assigned to the case. Yegan granted the motion and assigned the case to Storch. Wiksell declined to comment on the move.