Effort to drain man's savings alleged

92-year-old gave legal authority to pair accused

Rodolfo Bonilla faces seven counts of larceny.

A former Citizens Bank employee and a woman authorities describe as his girlfriend were accused yesterday of bilking a 92-year-old Jamaica Plain man out of $330,000 by manipulating him into giving them control over his finances.

Rodolfo Bonilla, 44, pleaded not guilty in West Roxbury Municipal Court to seven counts of larceny over $250 from an elderly person and was ordered held on $100,000 cash bail by Judge David Weingarten.

According to Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley's office and Boston police reports filed in court, Bonilla conspired with Tammy Lewis to get a mentally incompetent Michael Kostecki to sign a power of attorney designation in June and to then drain the elderly man's account at Citizens Bank.

The scheme unraveled, according to prosecutors, when Bonilla and Lewis went to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in August - where Kostecki had been hospitalized since May with unspecified illnesses - and demanded that the staff hand over $5,000 in cash Kostecki had on him when hospitalized.

Members of the hospital staff grew suspicious and alerted authorities and Citizens Bank, triggering an investigation that led to the charges against Bonilla and Lewis - and the return of a check for $304,806.59 made out to Lewis that she had not yet cashed.

"We were extremely fortunate to learn of this case when we did," Conley said in a statement that credited police, the bank, and the hospital with protecting Kostecki's finances. "But for their work, the suspects could have taken the victim's entire life savings. The greed at work here is absolutely unconscionable."

But prosecutors said $25,000 that was transferred into Lewis's account at another bank has not been accounted for. Lewis obtained the power of attorney while Bonilla handled the bank transactions, improperly accessing Kostecki's account 68 times during one six-week period, said Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Gerald B. Ogus.

Kostecki now has a guardian and is in a Boston nursing home, officials said.

Bonilla's defense lawyer, Sarah McClean, speaking during his arraignment, disputed the prosecution's contentions. She said Bonilla and Lewis were not romantically involved but merely neighbors in Jamaica Plain.

She also said that none of the checks drawn from Kostecki accounts were in Bonilla's name and that he did not benefit from any of the money. She said both Bonilla and Lewis believed they were acting to fulfill Kostecki's wishes.

"These are very serious allegations, but there are two sides to the story," McClean said. She noted that the level of mental impairment for the elderly can "wax and wane."

Bonilla's relatives were in court yesterday and said they were shocked by the allegations. His brother-in-law, Francisco Velez, said, "All I can tell you is that he is one of the best men I have ever met."

Lewis is being held on $100,000 cash bail in connection with a separate scheme. In September 2007, she worked for the Michael Page temporary employment agency at the downtown Boston office of Gartmore Global Partners, an institutional investment firm, according to officials from both companies.

According to a Boston police report filed in the West Roxbury court, Lewis convinced Michael Bellaria of Connecticut, apparently a Gartmore customer, that she would invest $150,000 of his money in a special stock fund open only to Gartmore employees.

The man sent the money to Lewis, who was fired by the temp agency after Gartmore complained about her poor work performance, according to company officials and the police report. In September, Lewis was arrested and charged with stealing the funds from Bellaria.

Lewis has pleaded not guilty to larceny charges in that case and is expected to be arraigned tomorrow on new charges stemming from the Kostecki case, prosecutors said.

"When the victim confronted the suspect about the money, the suspect said [too] bad, it's all gone," according to a police report filed in court in the Bellaria case. Lewis was arrested in September 2008 while driving a Mercedes-Benz ML sport utility vehicle, which was seized by authorities.

Her lawyer could not be reached for comment.

Citizens Bank declined to discuss the case or its own security arrangements, citing the ongoing criminal investigation. Through a spokeswoman, the bank said Bonilla had been an employee for more than 20 years. He was fired.

Investigators are trying to determine whether there may be other victims. Prosecutors urged anyone with concerns to contact the district attorney's Special Investigations Unit, 617-619-4013.

John Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe.com.