Ely Claims Trip Expenses Were Allowed by District : Trial: In heated cross-examination, the college trustee testifies that he was only required to write a memo.

Accused embezzler James T. (Tom) Ely, in his second day of testimony Tuesday, continued to insist that his and his wife’s disputed travel expenses were permitted under Ventura County Community College District policy, which he helped establish.

During a heated cross-examination, Ely said the policy that he and other trustees set eight years ago allowed officials to exceed district spending limits in some cases, such as when they took an elected official to dinner.

According to the policy, Ely testified, he was simply required to write a memo stating that his expenditures were “actual and necessary,” which he said he did. He said his expense accounts were rarely questioned by district officials.

The trustee and his wife, Ingrid, are accused of bilking the district out of $15,000 by padding travel expenses, spending public money on personal items and inflating mileage reports.

Tom Ely is charged with 29 counts of conspiracy, embezzlement and fraud. His wife is charged with one count each of conspiracy, grand theft and embezzlement.

For six hours Tuesday, Ely sparred with Deputy Dist. Atty. Carol J. Nelson about the expenditures.

When asked why he didn’t write a memo outlining his wife’s travel expenses before they attended a conference in Las Vegas, Ely responded: “I’m not clairvoyant, Miss Nelson.”

When asked if he was familiar with a state law that governs the spending practices of public officials, Ely said: “I don’t have all the laws of the state of California committed to memory.”

Nelson said she plans to question Ely for much of today. The trial is scheduled to resume at 9:30 a.m. in Superior Court Judge Lawrence Storch’s courtroom.

Several times Tuesday, Ely testified that he made mistakes on his travel expense forms.

Responding to a question from his attorney, James M. Farley, Ely said he erroneously charged the district for mileage to Moorpark College while he was in Las Vegas.

“I apparently just wrote the wrong date,” Ely said.

Last week, an investigator for the district attorney’s office testified that Ely regularly exaggerated his mileage to Moorpark College and to other locations.