Judge Considers Giving Ely Reprieve on Jail Term

The judge who sentenced former community college trustee James T. (Tom) Ely for embezzling college funds said Friday he is considering granting Ely a reprieve from the one-year jail term due to his poor health.

But Superior Court Judge Lawrence Storch postponed any decision for at least a year, ordering the case back for review next January. At that time, the judge will receive an updated report on the status of Ely’s recovery from radical cancer surgery.

Ely appeared in court Friday for the first time since four surgeries removed much of the right side of his face. Leaning on a cane that he has used since back surgery two years ago, the thin, frail-looking Ely wore a hat and had a bowl-shaped plastic mask covering his right cheek and jaw. He did not speak during the brief hearing.

Ely, 56, and his wife Ingrid, 48, were convicted in June, 1991, of conspiring to steal more than $15,000 from the Ventura County Community College District by filing false claims and double-billing for expenses. Ingrid Ely’s conviction was overturned last month by the state Court of Appeal, but prosecutors are seeking a rehearing in the case.

The appellate court upheld Tom Ely’s conviction.

Storch placed both Elys on probation following their convictions, and ordered Ely to spend a year in jail. The jail sentence was postponed, however, because Tom Ely’s cancer had just been discovered.

James M. Farley, the attorney for Tom Ely, made an impassioned plea in court Friday for the jail sentence to be dropped entirely.

“Mr. Ely’s health, clearly with the surgery and everything else, is broken,” Farley told the judge. “I don’t know how much more Mr. Ely has to go through. He’s lost everything, all status . . . he’s lost it all. It’s all gone.”

Storch replied that he already has considered reversing himself on Ely’s jail sentence.

“That thought crossed my mind when I read that most recent (probation) report,” Storch said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Carol Nelson, who has been adamant in pressing for Ely to serve his sentence, did not press that argument in the courtroom. After the hearing, she called Storch’s comment “understandable.”

She said she agreed with the judge that any final decision should wait a year.

“Our position is, if he recovers, he should serve his jail sentence,” Nelson said. “If he is having to have care all the time, as opposed to checkups . . . then of course he doesn’t belong in jail.”

Farley said Ely is scheduled for at least four more surgeries to reconstruct his mouth, teeth, eye socket and nose. Initial surgery has removed his right eye, and half of Ely’s tongue will remain numb permanently, Farley said. Nothing can be done about the half of Ely’s upper lip that was removed, he said.

Meanwhile, Ingrid Ely recently suffered a broken arm while cleaning the swimming pool at the couple’s Simi Valley home, which is in foreclosure, Farley said.

The Elys filed for bankruptcy while they were awaiting trial, blocking the auction sale of their house. Farley said the couple have made arrangements to move soon to a friend’s condominium in Long Beach.