THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 6, 1996 TAG: 9601060242
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
In a ``sad, sad day'' in Circuit Court, a retired judge ordered former lawyer Dennis L. Montgomery to jail Friday for embezzling more than $100,000.
Several spectators wiped away tears as Montgomery, who admitted having stolen the money to pay bills, was sentenced to 12 months in Western Tidewater Regional Jail in Suffolk.
Montgomery, 49, testified that, about four years ago, he owed the Internal Revenue Service and local creditors but that he could not borrow money because of a bad credit rating. To maintain his practice, he wrote himself a check from an estate he administered, intending to repay the money when he could.
``I knew, as a lawyer, I was going to have to account for it, that the day of reckoning was coming,'' he said.
It came Friday. Retired Judge James M. Lumpkin, called from Richmond to hear the three embezzlement charges to avoid possible conflict of interest among local judges, sentenced Montgomery on one charge to 10 years in the state penitentiary, suspending that sentence on the condition that Montgomery serve 12 months in the local jail. On the second and third charges, the judge suspended a sentence of 10 years in the state penitentiary, provided the money is repaid within 10 years. If Montgomery does not repay the money within that period, he will have to serve the time.
``This is so serious, so severe, that only the good in the background report keeps the sentencing from being more severe than it is,'' he said.
The judge said Montgomery had violated public trust as a lawyer and as an administrator of accounts.
``Over and over again, you had an opportunity, but didn't take advantage of it, to right wrongs,'' he said.
Montgomery admitted diverting funds from the estates of Lillie S. Jones and Sadie D. Wyche since 1991. Recently, he had repaid nearly $5,000, said his lawyer, Richard G. Brydges of Virginia Beach.
Montgomery will be eligible for parole after serving half the jail sentence, Brydges said.
After the hearing, Mary Jones, an heir to one of the estates, sobbed when approached by Montgomery's mother, who told her, ``Everything will be all right.''
Three people - Assistant City Attorney Wendell Waller; Ruby Walden, a civic leader; and Sheriff Raleigh Isaacs - testified on Montgomery's behalf.
Montgomery apologized for the embarrassment he had caused his family and friends.
``It's painful to have to have them come and stand up for me,'' he said. ``It's like nothing I've ever experienced before.''
About 30 people had written letters of support. Judge Alfreda Talton-Harris, one of Montgomery's former law partners, was in the courtroom and acknowledged her support but did not testify.
Special Prosecutor Cathleen Pritchard of Virginia Beach asked the judge to impose jail time, despite pleas from Brydges for other types of punishment, such as house arrest or community service.
``It's not easy for one lawyer to ask for incarceration for another lawyer,'' she said.
But, she said, the court should find it appropriate in this case because of the amount of money and time involved, the repeated acts and the fact that Montgomery continued to divert money after the court started investigating.
``Perhaps most important is the betrayal of trust,'' said Pritchard, an assistant prosecutor in Virginia Beach.
From 1990 to 1994, Montgomery was a member of the Clients' Protection Fund board for the State Bar Association, Pritchard said.
``That is the crowning hypocrisy in this case,'' she said.
Montgomery, who was in private law practice in Suffolk for more than 10 years, surrendered his law license last fall and pleaded guilty without a plea agreement.
``It's a bad thing that I've done,'' he said Friday from the stand. ``In spite of that, I am not persuaded that I'm a bad person. And I'll get through it.''
KEYWORDS: EMBEZZLEMENT LAWYER by CNB