Michele A. Case who, in her last court appearance, invited Judge Charles Zambito to put her in jail will get her wish.
Zambito issued a warrant for her this morning after she failed to appear in court on further proceedings regarding restitution she owes for stealing more than $14,000 from her former employer, HomeCare & Hospice.
District Attorney Lawrence Friedman requested the warrant after being informed that she also did not provide her attorney, Public Defender Jerry Ader, a financial statement nor did she make a restitution payment on Jan. 2, which Zambito previously ordered.
"(Considering the other factors and) her rant when she was in court last time where she invited the court to send her to jail because she's not going to make any more restitution payments, I request a warrant," Friedman said.
Ader didn't oppose the warrant but indicated he planned to file an appeal challenging the Genesee County Court's jurisdiction in the restitution case.
The PD has maintained that because Case's probation was served in other counties -- first Erie County than Niagara County, where she presently lives -- Ader maintains that now that she's off probation the local court doesn't have the authority to compel restitution and that the matter should be referred to Niagara County.
Zambito has ruled previously that he does have jurisdiction and he said the Genesee County Probation Department has indicated it will accept restitution payments from Case under these circumstances.
Case was employed by HomeCare & Hospice when she falsified documents about her patient visits that enabled her to collect more than $14,000 in unearned income. She was convicted at trial twice by a jury (her first conviction was overturned on appeal because of how some evidence was presented at that trial).
