Judge clears Wonder Lake attorney of theft

A McHenry County judge today exonerated Wonder Lake attorney Charmane Ruckoldt of charges she stole more than $40,000 from an elderly client, ending more than three years of criminal proceedings against the veteran lawyer.

In tossing out charges of theft and financial exploitation of an elderly person, Judge Sharon Prather ruled that county prosecutors failed to prove that Ruckoldt, 53, was unjustly compensated during her 13-year attorney-client relationship with Stella Amundsen.

Instead, Prather said, Ruckoldt did more than was required for Amundsen, who died in 2005.

"Miss Ruckoldt went above and beyond the call of duty in providing these services," Prather said. "Without Miss Ruckoldt, Miss Amundsen would have gone to a nursing home long before she did."

Ruckoldt fought back tears and hugged her attorneys, Thomas and Dane Loizzo, after Prather announced her decision.

"I'm thankful, especially for my attorneys, my friends and family and my clients who stood by me through this ordeal," she said later outside of court. "I'm just glad it's over."

The case against Ruckoldt centered around an agreement she made with Amundsen in 1997 laying out how she should be paid for watching over the woman's home, finances and other needs.

Authorities claimed that Amundsen, who at the time was about 84 years old, was suffering from dementia and perhaps the early stages of Alzheimer's disease when she signed the deal, paying Ruckoldt $1,300 a month.

The compensation, prosecutors alleged, was too much for the services Ruckoldt provided, particularly after Amundsen sold her home and moved into a nursing facility in 2002.

But Ruckoldt's defense argued that the agreement benefited Amundsen more than her lawyer. Ruckoldt, Thomas Loizzo said, did not even accept full payment from Amundsen until several years into the agreement.

"I believe if Stella Amundsen were alive today she would say this is outrageous," Loizzo said of the allegations. "All (Ruckoldt) did was help this woman."

Gary Johnson, a special prosecutor appointed to the case because of an assistant McHenry County state's attorney was a key witness against Ruckoldt, said he respectfully disagrees with Prather's decision.

"Obviously I have a different view of the case, but I respect Judge Prather and she gave us a fair trial," he said.