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Woman draws 5 years in prison

Conservator bilked her client of wealth
Torres

A Bloomfield woman who betrayed a trust as a court-appointed conservator for an incapacitated Durango man was sentenced Monday to five years in state prison.

The sentence was meted by 6th Judicial District Judge Suzanne Carlson to Maria Alice Torres after five people connected to the case gave damning testimony about her handling of the finances of Tony Simon Archuleta from 2007 through 2012.

“I’m sentencing you to five years in the Department of Corrections,” Carlson told Torres. “The community needs to know that this conduct isn’t acceptable, and that it’s devastating to the justice system.”

Carlson came down hard, given that the state Probation Department had recommended probation.

Speaking for the prosecution were current conservator Sidny Zink, Pat Hall and Heather Raymo, who served as guardians at one time or another, attorney Michael Wanger and live-in housekeeper Betty Schwartz-Bozeman.

All had extensive contact with Archuleta, whom they described him as kind and too trusting.

Torres, 64, clad in an off-white dress with a V-neck, looked straight during the time the prosecution witnesses spoke.

Minutes before Carlson sentenced her, Torres addressed the court.

“I’m remorseful for the pain I caused,” Torres said. “It’s hard to hear that I wasn’t doing most of my job properly.”

The $6,000 a month she received as conservator was earned, Torres said. She worked hard to manage his property, and a third party was present when she discussed finances with him, Torres said.

Carlson was having none of it. She said Torres blamed everyone else, but took no responsibility for actions that reduced Archuleta’s fortune from around $4 million to $247,000 in the bank and $5,000 a month in royalty payments.

After Torres had tearful embraces with three family members, a La Plata County Sheriff’s deputy took her into custody.

Justin Fay prosecuted the case. Arlon L. Stoker represented Torres.

The witnesses said Torres helped herself to Archuleta’s wealth, left to him by his father, Solomon, now deceased, who was an astute investor in gas and oil, land and businesses.

Tony Archuleta needed help, the witnesses said. He suffered paranoia and had run-ins with the law and bouts with alcohol, drugs and mental illness, they said.

He had two guardians, a caretaker, an attorney and a housekeeper.

Torres was heartless in bilking Archuleta for her own gain, witnesses said. She was contemptuous of the justice system that appointed her, falsified reports and lied to everyone, they said.

Torres created Apima LLC as a vehicle to conduct Archuleta business, they said. The cynicism she exhibited was evident in the acronym Apima – a pain in my ass – revealed by a former associate.

Torres cheated him on his real estate and used his credit cards to support a gambling habit in Albuquerque, they said.

Much of the wealth Archuleta lost can’t be accounted for, the witnesses said. Investigators initially thought Torres stripped Archuleta of more than $800,000.

Sidny Zink, a Durango CPA, who was appointed Archuleta’s conservator in December 2012, said his finances were in shambles when she took over after the removal of Torres.

Archuleta was paying 12 percent interest on a $610,000 debt, Zink said. She sold property to avoid foreclosure, Zink said.

“We struggled to keep our heads above water,” she said. “There still is a lot to do.”

Torres, who must do three years of parole when she is released, is on the hook for $173,000 of restitution – if or when she can pay.

Torres was arrested Jan. 25, 2013.

daler@durangoherald.com



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