Retired Police Officer Forging Checks To Steal Money From Elder Woman

Elizabeth B. Lacey died in 2007 with $66,000 in her bank account. Within seven months of her death, the bank account was down to $53. Retired police officer and son of a man Lacey was once married to, William Hale is suspected to be the one who drained the bank account to that amount. The court has also ordered Hale topay $81,000 to Lacey’s estate. At the beginning of April, Judge Timothy Feeley placed an attachment worth $70,000 on Hale’s house.

At the recent probate and civil trials, Hale has continued to plead the fifth when asked about cashing and depositing checks that belonged to Lacey. After Lacey’s death, family members were also shocked to find out that her will named Hale as the sole beneficiary of her estate. That will, however, was written eight months after another will that left everything to James Wareing, his mother,and his two twin sisters, who are all natives of Lawrence. Both of the wills were prepared by a friend of Hale’s. Ultimately, Wareing and his family contested the wills in Probate Court and on July 7, 2011,the judge threw out the Hale will and approved the will that gave everything to Wareing and family. The probate judge had doubts about the Hale will because of the six known pension checks that Hale forged Lacey’s name to and cashed after her death. At the probate trial, Hale also plead the fifth when asked about the forged checks. Lacey’s surrogate family members applaud the probate court’s decision and the attachment that Judge Feeley decided on.

See Jill Harmacinski, Hale Ordered to Pay ‘Aunt Betty’ Estate $81K, Eagle-Tribune, Apr. 8, 2012.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.