Man to repay $38,000 on ex-wife's health care
CANTON — A retired St. Lawrence County corrections officer will repay about $38,000 for deceiving the county, claiming he was still married to allow his ex-wife to receive medical benefits.
Bernard J. Debien Jr., 63, Raymondville, was placed on interim probation for one year at his sentencing Monday in County Court. He pleaded guilty in June to felony fourth-degree insurance fraud.
If successful on interim probation, he can earn a misdemeanor fifth-degree insurance fraud conviction and three years' probation.
Mr. Debien will have to pay $38,694.07 in restitution, payable at $800 a month starting in August. He didn't say anything before his sentencing.
He admitted in June to submitting paperwork claiming he was still married to allow his ex-wife to receive medical benefits. He didn't inform the county from Oct. 10, 2003, to Oct. 10, 2006, that he had divorced his wife, Maxine F. The county spent $62,056.98 on her medical expenses during that period. If he had informed the county, the medical expenses would have been covered by the county had he paid $8,642.68 in premiums, which he didn't.
He also submitted an enrollment form March 20, 2006, to St. Lawrence County Health and Life Insurance claiming he was married to Maxine, with the county paying $89,669.46 in medical expenses for her between that time and her death in February 2008.
In other court proceedings:
Samuel J. Lanphear III, 19, of 1875 Route 420, Massena, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault. He admitted to putting a bar of soap in a sock and beating Mitchel A. Calkins with it March 11 at the county jail.
The plea agreement calls for him to receive a year in the county jail to be served consecutive to any sentence he's serving now when sentenced Aug. 17. Judge Jerome J. Richards warned him any more mistakes and he won't abide by the agreement.
Mr. Lanphear still faces arson charges in Franklin and St. Lawrence counties for allegedly torching houses in November in Hogansburg and Norfolk.
St. Lawrence County Chief Assistant District Attorney Alexander Lesyk said in court a possible plea agreement could be reached on the Norfolk fire. His office has extended a deal that would see Mr. Lanphear plead guilty to a reduced count of attempted third-degree arson. The deal includes that he wouldn't receive youthful offender status.
No plea agreement has been reached yet in the Hogansburg fire, Franklin County district attorney officials said Monday.
John B. Aspinwall, 26, Cortland, was placed on interim probation for one year at his sentencing. He pleaded guilty in May to third-degree criminal possession of marijuana.
He was accused of having about five pounds of marijuana in his possession when stopped Nov. 21 in the village of Canton. His probation supervision was transferred to Cortland County.
Timothy Scott, 22, of 27 Cedar St., Norwood, pleaded innocent to fourth-degree grand larceny in an unsealed indictment.
He and Nathan Bruce, 24, of 27 Cedar St., Norwood, were accused of stealing two copper wire rolls and a gas pressure washer on July 22, 2008, from Home Depot in Massena.
Carmon Kingsley, 35, Springfield, Ill., pleaded guilty to first-degree scheme to defraud. She is accused of writing 63 bad checks last summer from her NBT Bank account that contained no money to several businesses around the county. She will be sentenced Aug. 17.
