Ex-councilor’s trial on alleged larceny of former judge to resume Wednesday
Allard Kim HAS
Kim Allard. (Sun Chronicle file photo by Tom Maguire)
Posted: Monday, January 6, 2014 12:30 pm | Updated: 12:39 pm, Mon Jan 6, 2014.
FALL RIVER — The larceny trial of former City Councilor Kim Allard scheduled today in Fall River Superior Court will resume on Wednesday after her lawyer asked a judge to dismiss the charge against her. Allard is charged with larceny from a person over 65, stemming from her relationship with the late former Probate Court Judge Edward F. Casey, who purchased a house in Attleboro and placed it in Allard’s name.
Casey had been described in court documents as suffering from memory loss during his later years. He died last August.
Allard lost her bid for re-election after being indicted by a Bristol County grand jury in 2011. The trial was originally set to begin last year, but was bumped by other cases.
Allard’s lawyer, Seth Roman, asked the judge this morning to dismiss the charge, saying the statute in the grand jury indictment was not appropriate.
He said the charge, as stated, requires the accused to have physically taken something from the alleged victim’s person.
Plymouth County Assistant District Attorney Peter Maguire alleged Allard convinced Casey to sell his Newport condominium and to buy a house in Attleboro, which was later placed in her name.
Allard, who was a live-in caretaker for Casey, has denied the charges and maintained that she was acting in the retired judge’s interest.
Judge D. Lloyd Macdonald said he would rule on the motion to dismiss the charge on Wednesday.
Roman said today that Allard has waived a jury trial.
Another former city councilor, William Bowles, originally brought the charge to the attention of elder services investigators, who in turn took the allegations to the district attorney.
Bowles, who acted as conservator of the judge’s estate, denied any political motivation and said he was acting in the judge’s interest.
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