Court Watching: Thomas White pleads guilty to 20 felonies

By Rosemary K. Otzman
Independent Editor
On Monday, Nov. 3, disbarred Belleville attorney Thomas A. White pled guilty to 20 felony charges on the first day of his bench trial before Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Dalton Arnold Roberson.
[His plea was recorded on the court website as “nolo contendere” (no contest), which is sentenced the same as a guilty plea, but is preferred by defendants who are also facing civil charges.] Roberson, a retired judge, is filling in for Judge Margaret Van Houton who is off the bench for three months recovering from knee and foot surgery.
White is scheduled to be sentenced at 9 a.m., Feb. 4, and how much time he will serve will depend on how much money he can come up with to pay off the people he embezzled, according to sources.
A sentence of 8 to 20 years is expected if he does not come up with the just under $1 million proposed. If he comes in with the money, he could do no serious jail time, sources say.
Victims were told it would take officials four to six months to determine how to divide up the money among them.
Whatever he brings in would be accepted and he could be given probation for five years to pay the remaining balance of the restitution. He could spend one or two years in local jails, victims were told after the court session.
“No one can say what Judge Roberson will do,” Prosecutor Dan Williams said, when the Independent asked about the proposed payback. Williams refused to talk about the proposal discussed with the victims.
One victim is dubious about the agreement and said, White is a smart man and he knows “a number of ways to skin a cat.”
Charges against White include 15 charges of embezzlement, four of those over $100,000 each. He also was charged with forging a check and two counts of identity theft, along with larceny by conversion.
White, 46, a lifelong Belleville resident, also was charged with conducting a criminal enterprise while embezzling millions of dollars from trusting clients and their families.
The victims from Belleville and the surrounding area had been lined up by the prosecutor’s office to testify over the next few days for the bench trial before Judge Roberson.
The witnesses were tense about testifying and when Michigan State Police Detective/Sergeant Joe White passed on the news to them that they didn’t have to get up on the witness stand in court, they were greatly relieved.
One tentative witness who lives out of state responded: “Her happy heart sings.”
Prosecutor Williams previously told Judge Van Houten that 50-60 witnesses would be called if the case went to trial.
The 20 felony charges cover five charges from Sept. 14, 2007 and 15 from Jan. 1, 2009 to Dec. 18, 2013. The two sets of charges were combined into one case by Judge Van Houton last spring.
One victim told the Independent that that they were told to be in the courtroom at 9 a.m. sharp on Monday and then had to wait for Judge Roberson, who showed up around 10:30 a.m. They were told he had to “come from another area.”
She said there were a lot of conferences and Judge Roberson wasn’t very kind in his statements to White. White told the judge he lived on Harris Road.
Another victim, who was due to testify on Wednesday, said she wonders how White can have the money to pay his high-priced attorney, Michael Vincent, when he couldn’t pay his house and car payments.
Vincent has been defending White for more than a year, with many delays and postponements. White is out on $50,000 personal recognizance bond.
A series of civil cases are awaiting the end of the criminal case so they can begin, including two victims who have reportedly linked up with the Geoff Fieger law firm.
Witnesses said the prosecutor had promised them they could make statements at White’s sentencing, so several indicated they will be happy to talk at that time.