Winnebago County States Attorney Hides White Collar Crime by Prosecuting Senior Citizen Victim.

September 23, 2004 -- In October 2001, Clarence L. Vance was on a tractor preparing a field for planting. The field had soybeans growing on it. He was working for the Trustee of Thousand Hills Trust, who held title to the property. Thousand Hills Trust wanted to plant wheat. At the same time, Alan Miller had a bankruptcy trustee's deed to the property, which he purchased in or about September 2000 through the bankruptcy trustee as property of Clarence L. Vance's bankruptcy estate. Alan Miller called Illinois State Police, who arrested Clarence for criminal damage to property.

Clarence L. Vance filed for bankruptcy in 1997. During the bankruptcy proceedings, Thousand Hills Trust filed complaints with Winnebago County State's Attorney Paul Logli, and the Department of Justice. The Department of Justice replied that it was a judicial matter. Paul Logli was silent. Meanwhile, the bankruptcy trustee sold land titled to Thousand Hills Trust, as property owned by Clarence L. Vance.

On December 5, 2001, the Grand Jury entered a Bill of Indictment against Clarence L. Vance for criminal damage to property, the property being soybeans. Clarence was not called to testify. There was one witness, Illinois State Trooper Mark Nytko. The Grand Jury received one piece of evidence, which was the bankruptcy trustee's deed on behalf of the bankruptcy estate of Clarence L. Vance, issued to Alan Miller in September 2000.

Clarence is not represented by legal counsel. Along with denying Clarence to testify before the Grand Jury, the court has also denied Clarence's request to conduct discovery. That is only part of the problem.

It appears that the state's defense is to set forth that Clarence did not own the land and therefore, is guilty of damaging the soybeans that were growing on it. The state fails to consider that Clarence was working on the land as directed by Thousand Hills Trust. In a court hearing held April 28, 2004, state prosecutor Wendy Larson presented the state's defense that Miller owns the property. The state's evidence is the bankruptcy trustee's deed issued to Miller. On the record, she agreed that Clarence has not owned the property since 1983. This is the same property that the bankruptcy trustee sold to Alan Miller in September 2000 as property owned by Clarence.

This opened a can or worms for the state prosecutor. Shortly after Wendy Larson's agreement with Clarence that he has not owned the property since 1983, for reasons unknown, Larson was replaced by state prosecutor Charles Prorok.

The Grand Jury knows that Miller has a bankruptcy trustee's deed "on behalf of the bankruptcy estate of Clarence L. Vance." They know that Miller purchased the property from the bankruptcy trustee in Clarence's bankruptcy case in 2000. The Grand Jury does not know that the property sold by the bankruptcy trustee in 2000 was titled to Thousand Hills Trust in 1993 -- four (4) years before Clarence filed for bankruptcy. Clarence is not a member neither a beneficiary in Thousand Hills Trust. The Grand Jury does not know that the state recognizes that Clarence has not owned the property since 1983 -- fourteen (14) years before he filed for bankruptcy. If state prosecutor Charles Prorok has his way, the jury in Clarence's trial will not be provided with these facts either.

Prorok has filed a "Motion In Limine." The Motion specifically requests the court to enter an order "preventing the Defendant, Clarence L. Vance from presenting any evidence, by any means, regarding his belief that the land that is the subject of this case was acquired by the landowner improperly and preventing the Defendant from making any reference to that subject in the presence of the jury."

The Grand Jury entered indictment based on Miller's claim of ownership by way of the bankruptcy trustee's deed. If Prorok's Motion is granted, the trial jury will be deprived of the fact that Prorok has full knowledge that someone other than Clarence owned the property in 2000 when the bankruptcy trustee sold it as property owned by Clarence. If Prorok's Motion is granted, the trial jury will not be fully informed to determine Clarence's guilt or innocence surrounding his work for Thousand Hills Trust. If Prorok's Motion is granted, the trial jury will be deprived of information that Thousand Hills Trust has title to the property, which the bankruptcy trustee sold to Miller as property owned by Clarence.

On or about September 13, 2004, Charles Prorok also filed a "Motion For The Judge To Conduct Voir Dire." He has asked that the judge conduct the examination of prospective jurors submitting their questions to the Judge. Hence, Clarence will not be allowed to participate in selecting prospective jurors.

The jury might be interested in knowing that the trustee assigned to Clarence's bankruptcy case also represented the only creditor in the case that filed a claim. Daniel Donahue, representing the State Bank of Davis, obtained a court order relieving them from the automatic stay. He then resigned as trustee in the bankruptcy case due to conflict of interest in that he represented the Bank. In his letter of resignation, Donahue did not reveal that he had already represented the Bank in the bankruptcy proceeding while at the same time, serving as bankruptcy trustee. The replacement trustee, Thomas J. Lester, then hired Daniel Donahue as his attorney.

The jury might also be interested in knowing that after selling property in 2000 that the state admits that Clarence has not owned since 1983, bankruptcy trustee Thomas J. Lester diverted the sale proceeds to his enrichment and that of his team of hired professionals, which included Daniel Donahue.

As reported in the Rock River Times and Rockford Register Star newspapers, Winnebago County receives a special sales tax to build a new, larger, jail. How the State's Attorney gained public support for the new jail is under much controversy. Clarence, who will be 65 years old in February, is of the opinion that the larger jail will have a section for victims of white-collar crime. His opinion is that the state prosecutor is working the case to protect the bankruptcy trustee's action from being exposed.

Trial in the Clarence L. Vance case alleging criminal damage to property was scheduled for September 20, 2004. Judge Richard W. Vidal has given Clarence until October 1, 2004 to file responses to Prorok's Motion In Limine and Motion For The Judge To Conduct Voir Dire. If the jury is denied all the facts and evidence and convicts Clarence, he stands to be imprisoned up to six (6) years.

OTHER CONTACTS:

Charles Prorok, State Prosecutor 815-987-3160
Alan Miller 815-633-8683
Thomas J. Lester 815-963-8488
Judge Richard W. Vidal 815-961-3242





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