Ex-Judge Pleads Guilty to Theft

By Phillip Piña
Originally published in the Pioneer Press, April 2, 2002

Saying his crimes were an act of self-destruction, a former Minnesota Court of Appeals judge pleaded guilty Monday to charges he swindled the trust fund of a mentally disabled woman of more than $400,000.

In a soft-spoken voice interrupted by a slight stutter, Roland Amundson, 52, pleaded guilty to five felony counts of theft in Hennepin County District Court. He is scheduled to be sentenced May 22.

Amundson, of Eden Prairie, has been hospitalized for depression in recent months, and since the investigation began he has developed a stutter, a tremor in his right hand and can no longer read. Medical tests indicate he might have suffered two strokes, his lawyer, Ron Meshbesher said.

The former judge, who resigned from his post after the investigation into the thefts began, still is undergoing treatment for his ailments, Meshbesher said. Amundson told court officials that his doctors believe his crimes were "an act of self-destruction."

"I didn't need the money. I had the money. I honestly don't know," Amundson said after Judge Richard Hopper asked him why he stole from the trust.

Because of Amundson's ailments, Hopper required proof he was competent. Amundson's doctors wrote the judge a letter indicating Amundson knew the implications of pleading guilty.

Amundson was appointed to manage the trust fund benefiting Amy Day of Golden Valley after the death of her father, Robert Day, a beer distributor. Amundson had done work for his father as a lawyer. When it was funded in 1994, the trust had assets of $623,000.

By that time, Amundson had been appointed to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

The problems with the trust fund began when a secretary of Amundson inadvertently paid his bills through the trust, Amundson said. He corrected that problem, but soon began using the method himself.

Prosecutors say he used the money to remodel his homes and buy antiques and art. When reporting the transactions to the trust's accountant, he often made up names of fictitious companies or misidentified their work.

Prosecutors originally charged Amundson with taking $313,000, but they filed papers Monday indicating another $101,000 had been taken from the trust. In all, prosecutors say he stole from the trust 88 times, taking more than $414,000.

Meanwhile, Amy Day's home was in need of significant repairs and caretakers began to question the fund's management.

Amundson has repaid $302,465 and intends to repay the rest with interest by his sentencing date, Meshbesher said. The repayments were all made after Amundson was questioned about the fund. With interest and the possibility of accounting fees, Amundson might have to pay more than $180,000 more, Meshbesher said.

Meshbesher said repaying the rest might require dipping into noncash assets. Amundson purchased his Eden Prairie house for about $1 million.

Because of Amundson's stature in the community, prosecutors examined similar thefts to make sure they were treating the former judge as they would any other defendant, said Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar. Minnesota sentencing guidelines suggest three years and nine months in prison, she added. But the vulnerability of the victim and the large amount of money stolen has prosecutors considering asking the judge to impose a longer sentence. There was no plea agreement.

Dagmar Koch, a caretaker of Amy Day who first noticed irregularities with the trust fund, said she has not told Amy Day about the controversy surrounding her care. The 31-year-old woman has the mental capabilities of a 3-year-old and Koch doesn't want Amy's reaction to threaten her well-being.

Koch, who attended Monday's plea, questions the severity of Amundson's illnesses and hopes for a stiff sentence. She called Amundson's systematic thefts a "betrayal of Amy's parents" without any regard for the "consequences to Amy's life."

"That money was for Amy," Koch said afterward. If investigators had not pursued the case, she wonders aloud, "What would have happened to her?"

HOW JUDGE MISSPENT MONEY

A few of the dozens of ways former Minnesota Court of Appeals Judge Roland Amundson misspent money from the trust fund of a mentally disabled woman, according to prosecutors:

Dec. 15, 1995. $3,354 to Minnegasco. Invoice confirms this was for a fireplace inset at Amundson's home.
April 18, 1996. $682.85 to Sherman Electric. Invoice shows outdoor lights were installed at Amundson's home.
June 3, 1996. $2,500 to the Internal Revenue Service. Checks show payment for Amundson's social security number.
July 1, 1996. $2,185 to Century Construction. No cement work done at victim's residence.
Nov. 8, 1996. $1,700 to Sterling Arbor. Trees were dug up and removed at Amundson's home.
June 16, 1997. $8,714 to Noble Landscape. Work done at Amundson's home.
May 15, 2000. $176.39 to McFarland. Repair to spa at Amundson's home.