The state Supreme Court has refused to hear the appeal of a Bridgeport gospel singer, who along with a Stratford pastor, was convicted of conspiring to separate an elderly Trumbull man from his children and then fleece him of more than $200,000.
The state’s highest court let stand without comment an earlier decision by the state Appellate Court to uphold the conviction of Doraine Reed.
Reed had claimed that the Bridgeport jury that convicted her in 2018 of first-degree larceny, attempted first-degree larceny, second-degree larceny and conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny, was not properly instructed by the judge that they first had to find there was an intent to commit “wrongfulness” in her conduct.
However, the appeals court ruled: “We are convinced that the jury properly was apprised of the elements of larceny and the bar that the state had to meet with respect to the specific intent requirement in order to convict the defendant.”
The 60-year-old Reed was sentenced in December 2018 to nine years in prison for fleecing 88-year-old Arthur Devack of Trumbull.
Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Howard Stein, who prosecuted Reed, declined comment on the decision.
“The Devack family is relieved to be able to finally close this painful chapter in their lives after more than ten years,” said their lawyer, Charles Kurmay on Monday. “They are grateful to everyone involved in seeing that Doraine Reed and Robert Genevicz were brought to justice so they can be prevented from ever doing this again to any other elderly person.”
Devack died in June 2010 but not before Reed, with the help of Robert Genevicz, then a Baptist minister, convinced him to turn over all his money and property to her and to buy her a Hummer sport utility vehicle, according to testimony during the trial.
Devack’s daughter, Cathy, had hired Reed as a caregiver for her father in 2010 through an agency, but Reed managed to convince the victim to hire her away from the agency to be his full-time caregiver, witnesses testified. Reed then brought in Genevicz, who took Devack to a local attorney, who made the minister Devack’s power of attorney. The lawyer also drafted two wills making Reed Devack’s sole heir and leaving his family with nothing.
Reed and Genevicz then took out a reverse mortgage on the Devack family home, taking out $225,000 in equity on the home, according to testimony, which Reed used for her own benefit.
After Devack’s death, the Sikorsky Credit Union notified police that Genevicz was cashing checks from Devack’s account there. Cathy Devack testified that after her father died, Reed, at her request, turned over Devack’s wallet to her.
Trumbull Probate Judge John Chiota later invalidated the two wills, ruling that Reed had exerted undue influence on Devack.
Genevicz, 67, who was also charged with stealing nearly $400,000 from a 71-year-old retired Stratford school teacher, later pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree larceny and one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny. He was sentenced in February 2019 to two years in prison followed by five years of probation.
