Countywide : Elys Get OK to Move to San Diego County

A judge Wednesday granted former community college district Trustee James T. (Tom) Ely permission to move to San Diego County while he is on probation for embezzling school funds.

Ely, 56, who has undergone surgery for facial cancer, plans to move to Vista, where he can rent cheaper housing in a gated community close to his sister.

Superior Court Judge Lawrence Storch approved the move without any objection from Deputy Dist. Atty. Carol Nelson. Last week, Nelson had reservations about the move, saying: “When you’re on probation, there are some sacrifices that you make, and the cost of living in Ventura County is part of that.”

However, Nelson said Tuesday that after receiving more information about the move, “we decided this is the right thing to do.” One factor in the decision was the assurance that Ely’s probation will continue to be supervised by Ventura County officials.

Ely 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 in December by the state Court of Appeal, but prosecutors are appealing that decision to the California Supreme Court. The appellate court upheld Tom Ely’s conviction.

Storch has delayed imposing Tom Ely’s one-year jail term because of Ely’s poor health, and last month the judge said he is considering giving Ely a reprieve from the sentence. Storch has postponed that decision until January, 1994, after he receives an updated health report.

Tom Ely’s attorney, James M. Farley, said doctors are “cautiously optimistic” that the cancer has been arrested. Four surgeries have removed much of the right side of Ely’s face, and more reconstructive surgeries are scheduled.

Farley said Tom and Ingrid Ely plan to be out their Simi Valley home this week because it is being sold in the wake of their bankruptcy filing.