‘Pure greed’ earns woman one year in jail

WAILUKU - A 38-year-old Makawao woman was ordered last week to serve a one-year jail term for stealing from an elderly couple's life savings, in a case that a deputy prosecutor said resulted from "pure greed."

Patricia Franco was working as a caregiver for the husband and wife, who are in their 80s, when she transferred more than $64,000 from their bank account to her's, said Deputy Prosecutor Robert Rivera. The thefts occurred during an eight-month period from June 30, 2006, to Feb. 28, 2007, according to court records.

"This defendant made the decision, without any provocation or need, to prey upon that couple," Rivera said.

"She seems to be motivated by pure greed," he said. "There's absolutely no reason for them to be betrayed by this defendant. They did treat her with kindness. In fact, they trusted her with everything."

Rivera said Franco used the stolen money to pay her mortgage for much of a year.

Franco and her husband have mortgages on a house as well as a condominium that they rent out, she said in court Wednesday.

"There's no way to minimize this crime," said Deputy Public Defender Greg Ball. "It's just shocking. She is truly sorry."

Ball asked that Franco be allowed to serve the jail term on weekends so she could continue working.

She said she had been employed since August by Aloha Akina Tours, driving a tour bus and Kamehameha Schools Maui students.

But Rivera said the victims, who were repaid by the bank, wanted to see Franco punished with a straight stretch of incarceration.

Franco had pleaded no contest to first-degree theft and a reduced charge of second-degree identity theft. Both are felony charges that carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

Second Circuit Judge Joel August ordered her to serve the one year in jail as part of being placed on five years' probation. The six month terms for each of the two charges were to be served consecutively with the defendant allowed to serve the second six months on weekends.

He also ordered her to write a letter apologizing to the victims.

Franco had asked for a chance to keep the identity theft conviction off her record.

August denied the request, referring to her prior record, including convictions for drunken driving, third-degree assault and six counts of contempt of court.

"Her prior contacts were not enough to deter her conduct," August said. "There is some risk of reoffense or recidivism."

He said the conviction would "give some type of warning to other potential employers of Ms. Franco of at least the possibilities for her untrustworthiness."

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.