Upper Gwynedd man conspired with wife to steal from disabled man

NORRISTOWN – An Upper Gwynedd man faces court supervision for allegedly conspiring with his wife to receive some of the proceeds of her scam to steal from a disabled Hatfield man for whom she was power of attorney.

Anthony Allan Gitney, 38, of the 700 block of Brian Way, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court on Thursday to three years’ probation after he pleaded no contest to a charge of conspiracy to engage in receiving stolen property in connection with incidents that occurred between 2009 and 2011. Judge Joseph A. Smyth imposed the punishment as part of a plea agreement.

A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is an admission that prosecutors had sufficient evidence to convict on the charge.

‘His wife, Janet Gitney, who is the main culprit in this crime, provided some of the stolen money to her husband, Anthony. Anthony used that to purchase some equipment for his landscaping business,’ alleged Deputy District Attorney Steven Latzer. ‘By entering a plea, Anthony Gitney acknowledged that the commonwealth could prove that he was in receipt of stolen property, specifically, that he had received some money from his wife who had stolen that money out of the victim’s bank account.’

Gitney, who was represented by defense lawyer Gregory R. Gifford, was ordered to pay more than $4,400 in restitution to the victim. Gitney paid $2,100 of that on Thursday, and still owes about $2,396.

Prosecutors previously rejected Gitney’s request to be admitted to the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program, a special probationary program that would have allowed him to clear his record after successfully completing probation. As a result, Gitney will have a permanent criminal record.

Gitney is the husband of Janet M. Gitney, who is awaiting sentencing after she previously pleaded guilty to charges she stole more than $300,000 in property and cash from the disabled Hatfield man for whom she was power of attorney.

The judge, as a condition of Anthony’s plea agreement, said Anthony must ‘testify truthfully’ against his wife if called upon to do so at her sentencing hearing.

With the charges against Janet Gitney, 58, prosecutors alleged she utilized her power of attorney over the 57-year-old Hatfield man for whom she was a caregiver to unlawfully take control of the man’s bank accounts and even the residence he owned by having it transferred to her name. Janet Gitney stole about $135,576 in retirement funds and $222,334 in property from the Hatfield man, who was a stroke victim, prosecutors alleged.

Prosecutors said Anthony Gitney used some of the money belonging to the victim to advance his landscape business.

In court papers, Anthony Gitney previously downplayed his role in the crimes committed by his wife, claiming he had ‘no role, or a minor role’ in the crimes. According to court documents, Anthony Gitney ‘explained that his wife is very controlling’ and that it was her idea to purchase landscaping equipment, vehicle repairs and other items with checks from the victim’s account.

‘You can look at Anthony Gitney’s participation in this case in two ways. On one level, he clearly committed a crime and needs to be held responsible for that crime but on another level he was victimized as well by his wife and was used in part by her to help facilitate her crimes,’ Latzer alleged.

Prosecutors alleged that after taking advantage of the man, who had suffered a series of strokes, the Gitneys ‘fled to the Philippines to avoid prosecution,’ leading to an investigation involving the FBI and Philippine National Police.

Anthony Gitney re-entered the U.S. and turned himself in to authorities, according to prosecutors. The affidavit of probable cause states that Anthony Gitney told police: ‘I want to fix what I did wrong and square things up.’

In November 2011, Janet Gitney was apprehended at JFK International Airport when she returned on a flight from the Philippines.

Follow Carl Hessler Jr. on Twitter @MontcoCourtNews