Maumee man sent to prison for stealing from disabled

3/29/2012

Gregory Henry’s job was to help those who had trouble helping themselves — a job that he instead used to take advantage of the community’s most vulnerable, a Lucas County Common Pleas Court judge said.

The former Anne Grady Center supervisor was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison for stealing thousands of dollars from four developmentally disabled victims. Henry, 50, of Maumee, pleaded no contest and was found guilty Jan. 26 to four counts of theft from an elderly person or disabled adult.

“These were independent, purposeful thefts over a period of years,” Judge Frederick McDonald said. “More significant than the monetary loss is the emotional impact on the victims.”

The judge sentenced Henry to two years in prison for two of the counts that were third-degree felonies and ordered them to run consecutively. He ordered five years of community control for the remaining fourth-degree felonies including $38,159.73 in restitution.

While working as a supervisor in the agency’s supported living section, Henry was supposed to be helping those he worked with pay their expenses, authorities said. Instead, he took money from four separate individuals to pay his own bills.

Over a two-year period — from January, 2009, to February, 2011 — Henry took thousands of dollars from the four victims, including $21,580.51 from one individual.

In a tearful statement to Judge McDonald, Henry apologized for his actions and asked for a second chance.

“I’m a good man who made a terrible mistake,” he said.

Henry was the second Anne Grady employee recently sent to prison for the stealing from the agency’s clients.

In December, Judge Ruth Ann Franks sentenced Gary Smotherman, 39, of Toledo to 17 months in prison and ordered him to pay $6,500 in restitution. Once assigned to help those living in a supported-living home with their finances, Smotherman pleaded guilty in October to one count of theft from the elderly or disabled adult.

The convictions were the result of an investigation by the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities and the Senior Protection Unit of the county prosecutor’s office. Authorities said the victims were all people the men were supposed to help live as independently as possible.

Contact Erica Blake at: eblake@theblade.com or 419-213-2134.