Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 18, 1993 TAG: 9306180113
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LON WAGNER, DOUGLAS PARDUE and RON BROWN STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Susan Stone, an officer with Piedmont Trust Bank in Martinsville, is alleged to have taken the money from the trust of Lucy Pannill Sale, the officials said. The Pannill family made its fortune in the knitting business, which later was sold and is now Sara Lee Knit Products.
Stone, 43, was a trusted friend of Sale, who sent Stone out to bestow anonymous gifts, not unlike the old television show "The Millionaire."
"When Susan Stone knocked on the door it was like heaven shining on you," according to a person familiar with the case.
The amount believed to have been embezzled could be in excess of $2 million, making it one of the three largest bank embezzlements in modern Virginia history. One of the two others that occured came to light in 1990 when Cheryl Benson Perry, a teller at Charter Federal Bank in Roanoke, was indicted on charges of embezzling nearly $2.4 million.
Attorneys for the federal government, Sale and Stone urged U.S. Magistrate Judge Glen Conrad to keep the documents secret because the case is still under investigation. Roanoke Times & World-News lawyer Jonathan Rogers asked that the documents be opened because search warrants already had been served, and it was in the public interest to reveal what happened. A hearing is scheduled for today.
Phil Gardner, an attorney for the heiress, refused to reveal her name, except to characterize her as an "85-year-old widow lady." He said she is physically and mentally distressed by the case.
Gardner said for the last 30 to 40 years the woman "has been an extremely generous individual who has preferred to remain anonymous."
He also said the bank has worked closely with the trust, and "I don't think there will be any financial loss" for the widow.
Stone was officially notified of her dismissal Wednesday evening, according to Leon Lackey Jr., a vice president with Piedmont Trust Bank.
Harry V. Stone, Stone's husband, answered the door of the couple's house in the Horsepasture area of Henry County on Thursday morning. Stone said his wife was at home, but had no comment.
"No, we have a lawyer and he advised nothing but `no comment' until it gets a little further along," he said.
The Stones live about 10 miles from downtown Martinsville in a large, brick ranch home with an adjoining swimming pool and garage. Their mailbox is decorated with the Washington Redskins insignia and colors.
Houston Campbell, a neighbor of the Stones, said they are "visible but private also." Campbell said he doesn't socialize frequently with the Stones, but he considers himself a family friend.
"If these allegations are true, I'm shocked," he said. "I wouldn't have thought that was true. I'm very disappointed."
Stone is a respected member of the Henry County-Martinsville community. She graduated from Drewry Mason High School in 1967 and has served on several nonprofit agencies. In 1985, she made an unsuccessful run for clerk of court in Henry County.
Piedmont Trust Bank is a landmark in downtown Martinsville, where it is one of the city's largest buildings.
The bank's commercial operation has $743 million in assets, which are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. It was in the bank's $519 million trust division - corporate retirement plans, living trusts, estate plans and the like - that an internal audit turned up problems.
Bank executives have indicated that all their trust accounts were audited, and only one account showed evidence of a problem. Bank President Irving M. Groves Jr. issued a statement Thursday afternoon saying that the bank had already talked to its bonding company about the possibility it might have to file a loss claim over the missing money.
"While the present situation in the bank's trust department is both unfortunate and unprecedented, the fact that it has come to light through audit procedures already in place gives the bank and its customers reason to believe that this is an isolated incident," Groves said.
by CNB