THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 27, 1995 TAG: 9504270346
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
Nearly 2 1/2 years after Celia Stern died - an elderly spinster in an Oceanfront condominium - the man who cared for her in her final months has been charged with forging her $5 million will.
A grand jury has indicted William A. Stafford II, a 49-year-old insurance agent, on two counts of forgery and one count of uttering a forged document. He faces up to 10 years in prison on each count.
Stafford, of the Arrowhead section of Kempsville, was arrested last week and released on $3,000 bond.
The indictment, returned earlier this month, says Stafford forged Stern's will ``with intent to defraud'' sometime just before or after her death at age 93 on Dec. 21, 1992.
It also accuses Stafford of forging a deed that gave him her $350,000 condominium. The final count accuses Stafford of uttering, or trying to pass off as genuine, the deed.
Stern lived alone in The Oceans condominium. She had no husband, no children and no close relatives.
When she died, Stern had $4.5 million in a Merrill Lynch account, plus real estate in Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Washington worth about $800,000. She and her brother ran a restaurant-supply company in Norfolk years ago.
Stafford declined to comment on the indictment Wednesday. He has always said the will was genuine, even after two ``witnesses'' who signed the document admitted in court that it was phony.
In a 1993 interview, Stafford said he met Stern about six years before her death and he cared for her when no one else would. That, he said, is why she changed her will and named him executor.
``If she had a reason to trust me or believe in me, it's because I never took anything from her,'' Stafford said in November 1993. ``Nobody's going to accuse Bill Stafford of stealing 5 cents from an old lady. . . It would not have been necessary to steal anything. She would have given me anything I needed.''
Stern's death just before Christmas 1992 set off a huge mystery and a two-year police investigation.
Almost immediately, two wills emerged. Both left all of Stern's money to charity, but they differed in one significant way.
One will was held by Norfolk lawyer Peter G. Decker Jr. It was dated Feb. 17, 1992, about 10 months before Stern died. It named Decker as executor and did not specify which charities should get her money.
Stafford held a will dated Dec. 1, three weeks before Stern died. It named Stafford executor, and it listed 12 charities that should get Stern's money. Eleven were well-known groups. The 12th was The AIDS Council, a tax-exempt corporation led by Stafford that had no money and had not done any charitable work.
A nasty court fight ensued. Decker and Stafford sued each other.
In a sworn deposition, Stafford described in great detail how Stern signed the later will, sitting on the edge of her bed, leaning on a coffee table. Two witnesses who also signed the will corroborated the story.
But in October 1993, almost a year after Stern died, the witnesses changed their story. The two men - Richard M. Whitt, a former Norfolk police officer, and John R. Arrington, a local bar owner - admitted in court that they signed the will and the condo deed hours after Stern died, in Stafford's home.
Arrington testified that Stafford bribed them both by promising college scholarships for their daughters.
Later, Stafford said he thought the two men lied to protect themselves. ``I think they were threatened,'' he said in 1993. ``I think Mr. Decker threatened me through them and they were scared. I think they're scared right now. I know I am.''
A judge ruled Decker's will valid, and Decker immediately started giving away Stern's millions. By late last year, he had given nearly $3 million to more than 130 local charities and civic organizations.
Now, nearly all the money is gone or committed.
Meanwhile, the state police were called to investigate because the alleged crime took place in two cities: Virginia Beach, where Stern lived, and Norfolk, where she kept most of her money. The Virginia Beach grand jury indicted Stafford on April 3.
Earlier this year, the Internal Revenue Service revoked The AIDS Council's tax-exempt status.
Neither the police investigator nor the prosecutor handling the case could be reached Wednesday to discuss details of the case.
Upon learning of the indictments Wednesday, Decker said, ``I'm delighted that the wheels of justice continue to churn.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Celia Stern
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CHRONOLOGY:
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
KEYWORDS: FORGERY ARREST WILLS LAWSUITS by CNB