TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Stolen house returned to widow

ADVERTISEMENT

By GEOFF FOX

gfox@tampatrib.com

Published: October 23, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - Eloise Mudway is getting the deed to her house back.

Joseph and Cynthia Clancy, the couple recently convicted of stealing the 2,900-square-foot home from the 92-year-old woman, got sentences of 10 years each in state prison.
Circuit Judge Shawn Crane imposed the ruling and sentences Thursday afternoon after denying a motion for a retrial by the Clancys' attorneys, who also argued for sentences of community control and probation.

Convicted last month of grand theft from a person older than 65, the couple faced up to 30 years in prison.

In May 2004, the couple duped Mudway into signing a document that transferred her house on Hilltop Drive to Cynthia Clancy, according to evidence presented at trial. The house is valued at more than $350,000.

Mudway had known Cynthia Clancy for more than 10 years when Mudway asked the couple to move in to her house in 2001. Mudway's husband died in 1989, and a family friend who had lived with her had just died, too.

She agreed to pay the bills if the Clancys would care for her and keep her company. She agreed to give the Clancys her house after she died and also signed documents giving Cynthia Clancy power of attorney.

At the hearing Thursday, Assistant State Attorney Mike Halkitis said inviting the Clancys into her life was the worst mistake Mudway ever made.

At the sentencing hearing, Crane heard from several witnesses who offered kind words about the Clancys. Addressing the court later, Joseph Clancy said he had suffered three heart attacks and a mild stroke and that in jail he doesn't get all the medication he requires.

Although the friends and Cynthia Clancy's mother characterized the couple as friendly and upstanding, Mudway offered a much different portrayal.

"At first, Joe and Cynthia were very nice to me," said the woman, who uses a wheelchair. "But Joe drank every day and was very nasty when he did. He said, 'I could kill you.'

"

Mudway said the Clancys did not allow her to have company and that she often stayed in her room. "I felt like a prisoner in my own home."

The house fell into default in 2004. That's when Cynthia Clancy took Mudway to the bank and had her sign the quitclaim deed.

The Clancys held hands as they stood before Crane. After their sentence was read, several supporters immediately left the courtroom, some in tears. The couple kissed before being led away.

Besides the trial, Mudway filed a civil lawsuit against the Clancys in 2005. A hearing in that case is scheduled for November.

Mudway has moved in with another local couple, Jeff and Debra Kores.

"The Kores have been very good to me," she said Thursday. "They've taken me to ballgames and Disney World, and they make sure my clothes are nice and clean."

Reporter Todd Leskanic contributed to this report. Geoff Fox can be reached at (813) 731-1239.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT