justins5256
08-16-2006, 11:52 AM
Paper: The Tampa Tribune
Title: Detective sued in disappearance case
Author: ORVAL JACKSON
Date: June 15, 1991
Section: FLORIDA/METRO
Page: 8
An investigative and security company and one of its private detectives have been accused of helping a woman spirit her children away from her husband and out of the country. Jimmy V. Aprile filed suit Friday in Hillsborough County Circuit against Gerry Oglesby and Intelligence Group Inc., a Hillsborough County firm doing business as Dark Invaders Investigations.
The suit, which seeks unspecified damages, contends Oglesby was hired in 1988 by Melvine Aprile to take action to change the names, Social Security numbers and birth certificates of the couple's two minor children, forge and change their school records, and witness the forgery of Jimmy Aprile's signature on deeds conveying his property to his wife.
The suit also contends Oglesby received $24,000 for the work, which allowed Melvine Aprile to take the children from the area.
Melvine Aprile was sentenced in January to five years in prison for skimming an estimated $2.4 million from Jimmy Aprile's real estate holdings and financial investments. She also was placed on 20 years of probation and ordered to pay restitution of $302,077.43 to Jimmy Aprile.
She was convicted in September of 20 charges including grand theft, forgery and uttering forged instruments.
The Aprile case was featured on the ""Unsolved Mysteries'' television series. But prosecutors said authorities developed their own leads that led to the arrest last year of Melvine Aprile in Costa Rica, where she had fled with her two children in January 1989.
Author: ORVAL JACKSON
Section: FLORIDA/METRO
Page: 8
Dateline: TAMPA
Copyright 1991 The Tribune Co.
****************************************************
Paper: St. Petersburg Times
Title: Woman sentenced for taking from husband
Author: RACHEL L. SWARNS
Date: January 5, 1991
Section: BRANDON TIMESTAMPA
Page: 3; 3
A 40-year-old woman convicted of stealing thousands of dollars from her husband and fleeing to Costa Rica with their children was sentenced Friday to five years in prison to be followed by 20 years' probation.Melvine Aprile also was ordered to pay $302,077 in restitution to her husband, Jimmy, after her release from prison.
Aprile plans to appeal the judge's decision, her attorney said.
Taking property that is jointly owned can't be classified as stealing, contends Assistant Public Defender Stuart Sheres, who argued during the trial that the money was shared by the couple.
""I think it was a plan to liquidate the assets and run,'' said prosecu-tor Chip Purcell, who applauded the judge's sentence. ""She didn't want to split it in half. She wanted it all.''
Purcell said Mrs. Aprile sold her husband's real estate, altered deeds and mortgages and forged checks for three years after two heart attacks kept her husband from overseeing the couple's business. She even got a friend to pose as her husband during a real estate deal, the prosecutor said.
The defense said Mrs. Aprile copied her husband's signatures at his request. The money passed through her hands, but it wasn't stolen, her lawyer said.
The property, which included apartment complexes and undeveloped land in Hillsborough County, was jointly owned.
When Jimmy V. Aprile Jr. came home after church one day in January 1989, he found his home and bank accounts empty. FBI and Interpol agents found his family in Costa Rica a year later.
Mrs. Aprile was working at the Costa Rican school her 13-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son attended. She was arrested in March after being featured on the television show Unsolved Mysteries.
In September, Mrs. Aprile was found guilty of 20 counts, including charges of forgery, cashing forged checks and grand theft.
She was found innocent of seven similar counts, which seems to indicate that jurors believed Mrs. Aprile when she testified she didn't steal $9,000 from a mortgage. She said she reinvested it in the couple's real estate business.
""All in all, I think it's fair,'' defense attorney Sheres said of the judge's sentence. But he said he didn't know how she could everafford to pay the restitution.
""She used to be a school teacher and now she's a convicted felon,'' Sheres said. ""I don't know how much money she'll be able to make once she's out of prison.''
Caption:
Melvine Aprile
Caption:
BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO, Times files
Author: RACHEL L. SWARNS
Section: BRANDON TIMESTAMPA
Page: 3; 3
Dateline: TAMPA
****************************************************
Paper: St. Petersburg Times
Title: Plane lands on interstate
Author: JAY PITTS
Date: January 5, 1991
Section: TAMPA BAY AND STATE
Page: 3B
A single-engine plane landed in the northbound lanes of Interstate 275 about four or five miles from the Pasco County line Friday night, slowing traffic but causing no injuries, Hillsborough County sheriff's officials said. The Navaho aircraft, which landed about 11:30 p.m., had fuel in its tank, officials said. Sheriff's officials said late Friday they did not know how many people were in the plane or why it was landed on the interstate.Wounded boy improves
TAMPA A 14-year-old boy who was injured as he and his stepfather fired a shotgun into the air to celebrate the new year improved from critical to serious condition Friday at Tampa General Hospital, officials said. Jason Milian was shot in the face and scalp shortly after midnight Monday with a 12-gauge shotgun he got for Christmas. Witnesses said Jason went outside his house North Lakes and shot one or two rounds into the air, then gave the gun to his stepfather, Joseph Diez, 37, who was holding it when the boy was shot. Authorities said Friday no charges had been filed against Diez. The state attorney's office is reviewing the case.
Boy's condition unchanged
TAMPA A 2-year-old boy who lost his arm when he was hit by a garbage truck remained in critical condition at Tampa General Hospital on Friday night, hospital officials said. Aubrey Hadley of 2804 E Durham St. was playing at Durham and 28th streets Monday when he ran in front of a truck, witnesses said. He lost both his leg and arm in the accident. Surgeons reattached Aubrey's leg, but hospital officials said Friday they still would have to wait several more days to see whether the surg ery was successful. The driver of the truck was not charged.
Inmates at group home
accused of beating worker
SEFFNER Three teen-age inmates at a group home for mentally handicapped children with criminal records have been charged with aggravated battery in the beating of an employee, authorities said.
The attack with fists and a telephone receiver follows several other incidents at the Hillsborough Alternative Residential Program (HARP) in Seffner, operated by the state Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services (HRS).
Two 17-year-olds and a 14-year-old were arrested Thursday and taken to a detention center in Tampa. Their names were not released because they are juveniles.
Sabrina Polite, 30, a detention care worker at HARP, told officers she was attacked in her work area about 7:15 p.m. Wednesday. She suffered a cut on her finger and bumps and bruises on her head.
Several weeks ago, Larry E. Barton, 22, a HARP child-care worker, was charged with having sex with two teen-age boys at the home.
Also, HARP was investigated by state officials last spring after a 17-year-old inmate was charged with raping another inmate. He was sent back to HARP after sentencing and raped the same boy again. He is now in prison.
And, seven HARP employees have been fired since spring for reasons including using drugs on the job and falsifying applications.
Caption:
Sevell Brown; Melvine Aprile (ran C, S); Elio Cerezo (ran C, S); Jessie Sansing stands in front of the pole where his flag once flew (ran C, T); Sandy Dewberry walking her dogs, Sabby, Bump, Char, Bear and Beast in St. Petersburg (ran S, T)
Caption:
BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO, (3)<p></p>BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO, Bob Moreland<p></p>BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO, Joe Walles
Author: JAY PITTS
Section: TAMPA BAY AND STATE
Page: 3B
Dateline: TAMPASEFFNER
****************************************************
Paper: The Tampa Tribune
Title: Wife sentenced for bilking husband
Author: ORVAL JACKSON
Date: January 5, 1991
Section: FLORIDA/METRO
Page: 2
The former wife of a once-wealthy Tampa businessman was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for skimming an estimated $2.4 million from his real estate holdings and financial investments. Melvine Matthews Aprile, 40, also was placed on 20 years' probation and ordered to pay restitution of $302,077.43 to Jimmy Aprile.
Hillsborough Circuit Judge Susan C. Bucklew ordered Melvine Aprile to begin making monthly payments of $1,258.66 within 60 days of her release from prison.
""The practical matter is that you will spend very little prison time,'' Bucklew said. ""If there is no money, if it is not hidden away somewhere, you're going to have to pay it off in monthly payments.''
Melvine Aprile gets credit for being in jail since her arrest last March, and with prison gain time she will earn, attorneys said she probably will spend one year in state prison.
She was convicted in September of 20 charges including grand theft, forgery and uttering forged instruments. Sentencing was delayed until court-ordered appraisals were made on property Melvine Aprile either disposed of or which was foreclosed upon.
The Aprile case was featured on the ""Unsolved Mysteries'' television series, but prosecutors said law enforcement authorities developed their own leads that led to her arrest in Costa Rica, where she had fled with her two children in January 1989.
Prosecutors said Jimmy Aprile turned over the day-to-day business affairs to his wife after suffering a heart attack almost nine years ago. They said she switched the couple's properties into her name and began liquidating portfolios.
Assistant State Attorney Chip Purcell said Jimmy Aprile lost $1.4 million in real estate and $1 million in cash and said he believes the woman has the money stashed.
Assistant Public Defender Stuart Sheres argued most of the refinancing by the woman was done to keep the business afloat.
Author: ORVAL JACKSON
Section: FLORIDA/METRO
Page: 2
Dateline: TAMPA
Copyright 1991 The Tribune Co.
****************************************************
Paper: The Tampa Tribune
Title: Ex-wife expected to get 5-year sentence
Author: ORVAL JACKSON
Date: October 27, 1990
Section: METRO
Page: 8B
TAMPA -- The former wife of a once-wealthy real estate business owner will be sentenced to five years in prison for skimming hundreds of thousands of dollars from his holdings and financial investments. Melvine Matthews Aprile, 40, was convicted Sept. 20 of 20 charges including grand theft, forgery and uttering forged instruments.
Hillsborough Circuit Judge Susan C. Bucklew told the woman Friday she had decided upon a five-year sentence, but was grappling with the length of probation and amount of restitution.
Bucklew said she will formally sentence Aprile on Friday.
The woman has been in the county jail since March, when she was returned to Tampa after being captured in Costa Rica. Prosecutors claimed she fled to Costa Rica with her two children in January 1989.
The case was featured on the "Unsolved Mysteries" television series, but prosecutors said law enforcement authorities developed their own leads that led to Aprile.
Prosecutors said Jimmy Aprile turned over the day-to-day business affairs to his wife after he suffered a heart attack about eight years ago. They said she switched the couple's properties into her name and began liquidating portfolios.
Assistant State Attorney Chip Purcell said during the trial Jimmy Aprile's business is now a bust, and he and his two children live on Social Security payments and share a house with his parents.
Purcell told Bucklew Friday large amounts of money still are unaccounted. "I suspect it is in Costa Rica or in banking institutions in our own country awaiting the trip to Costa Rica," Purcell said.
Assistant Public Defender Stuart Sheres said most of the refinancing the woman carried out was done to keep the business afloat, and said the family's lifestyle did not suffer during the time. "I just don't believe she is an embezzler or a thief," he said.
Bucklew and the attorneys went through the financial transactions line by line Friday. Purcell contends Jimmy Aprile should be reimbursed for his losses at today's prices. Sheres argued the value should be what the property was worth at the time, with restitution only half of that because the property belonged to both.
State sentencing guidelines call for a 3 1/2- to 5 1/2-year prison term. The probation office's pre-sentence investigation report recommended five years with 30 years' probation. Purcell asked for 10 years, while Sheres asked for a suspended sentence so Aprile could go to work and begin restitution.
Caption:
MELVINE APRILE
Caption:
PHOTO
Author: ORVAL JACKSON
Section: METRO
Page: 8B
Copyright 1990 The Tribune Co.
****************************************************
Paper: The Tampa Tribune
Title: Cameras roll for update - Gathering staged for TV program
Author: SALATHEIA BRYANT
Date: October 13, 1990
Section: SOUTH BAY
Page: 5
TEMPLE TERRACE -- Sheri and Tony Aprile had trouble keeping their eyes from sneaking a peek at the camera. The lights, microphone, camera and crew seemed to interfere with the fun the siblings were having, but the children were making the best of the situation.
They tried to focus on rolling the bowling ball properly so they would not leave any pins standing.
"I'm getting better. This time I only left two pins," Sheri said to her father, Jimmy Aprile.
But Thursday's outing at Imperial Lanes bowling alley in Temple Terrace wasn't a normal family get-together for the Aprile family.
It was a special gathering staged for the NBC television show "Unsolved Mysteries."
The family hopes the taping will conclude their 14-month ordeal that began when the Sheri and Tony were taken to Costa Rica by their mother.
Jimmy and Melvine Aprile had been married 20 years when in January 1989 Melvine Aprile disappeared with their two children and $2 million in assets belonging to her husband.
The case was first aired on the television program, that highlights unsolved crimes, in January 1990.
In March, Melvine Aprile was returned to the United States and was convicted on grand theft and uttering forged instrument charges. She will be sentenced Oct. 26, officials said.
Jimmy Aprile said Thursday he is just glad to have his children back and the incident behind them.
"I don't think we'll ever really be the same again," Aprile said. "They are the real victims in this case. They went through a tremendous experience.
"It was a horrible time. I was constantly in the state of terror," he said.
Aprile said he is grateful to the television show because it played a role in intensifying the search for the children.
Laura Patterson, the segment's director, said the update is scheduled to run sometime this fall.
She said they will emphasize the family's reunion.
"We felt we had a part in it," Patterson said. "We wanted to celebrate the homecoming of the kids. We wanted to show the family reunited as a family."
The children were reunited with their father in March at Miami International Airport.
Aprile said the children's lives have slowly returned to normal. He said they are in school and are receiving counseling.
As for him, he is writing a book about the incident. He also said he has been approached for movie rights to the story.
Caption:
(BR)A crew from NBC's "Unsolved Mysteries" films the Aprile family in action at Imperial Lanes Thursday. Sheri and Tony Aprile were reunited with their father in March. Tribune photograph by CANDACE C. MUNDY<p></p>A crew from NBC's "Unsolved Mysteries" films the Aprile family at Imperial Lanes Thursday. Sheri and Tony Aprile were reunited with their father in March. Tribune photograph by CANDACE C. MUNDY
Caption:
PHOTO
Author: SALATHEIA BRYANT
Section: SOUTH BAY
Page: 5
Copyright 1990 The Tribune Co.
****************************************************
Paper: The Tampa Tribune
Title: Woman convicted of fleecing husband
Author: A Tribune Staff Report
Date: September 21, 1990
Section: METRO
Page: 4B
TAMPA -- The ex-wife of a once-wealthy real estate business owner was found guilty Thursday of 20 charges including grand theft, forgery and uttering forged instruments. Melvine Matthews Aprile must remain in jail until she is sentenced next month by Hillsborough Circuit Judge Susan C. Bucklew. State sentencing guidelines call for a 3 1/2- to 5 1/2-year prison term.
The state had filed 27 charges against Aprile, but the six-member jury found her not guilty on seven counts after deliberating for 3 1/2 hours.
Aprile, 40, has been in jail since March, when she was returned to Hillsborough County after being captured in Costa Rica.
Prosecutors claimed she had skimmed hundreds of thousands of dollars from her husband's real estate holdings and financial investments before fleeing the county in January 1989 with their two children.
The case was featured on the "Unsolved Mysteries" television series, but prosecutors said law enforcement authorities developed their own leads that lead to Aprile.
About eight years ago, prosecutors said Jimmy Aprile had turned over the day-to-day business affairs to his wife after he suffered a heart attack. Prosecutors said that's when Melvine Aprile began switching the couple's properties into her name and liquidating portfolios.
Her attorney, Assistant Public Defender Stuart Sheres argued that Aprile was simply trying to take care of the family and keep the businesses operating through refinancing loans and selling properties.
Jimmy Aprile's business is now a bust, and he and his two children live on Social Security payments and have to share a house with his parents, said Assistant Hillsborough State Attorney Chip Purcell.
After the verdict, Jimmy Aprile said he was trying to forgive his ex-wife.
"We have no great anger or bitterness," he said. "I feel we got excellent justice."
Author: A Tribune Staff Report
Section: METRO
Page: 4B
Copyright 1990 The Tribune Co.
****************************************************
Paper: St. Petersburg Times
Title: Prosecutors say wife stole money and fled
Author: RACHEL L. SWARNS
Date: September 19, 1990
Section: BRANDON TIMESTAMPALARGO-SEMINOLE TIMES
Page: 1; 1; 3
They were college sweethearts, married for 20 years. So when two heart attacks shattered Jimmy V. Aprile Jr.'s health, he trusted his wife, Melvine, to care for his millions.Instead, prosecutors said, she stole nearly $2-million and fled to Costa Rica with their two children.
""Mrs. Aprile violated the trust of her husband, friends and business associates,'' prosecutor Chip Purcell said during opening arguments Tuesday in Mrs. Aprile's trial.
Prosecutors said the 40-year-old woman sold off his real estate and altered deeds, mortgage notes and checks. She even got a friend to pose as her husband during a real estate deal, they said.
But Mrs. Aprile has denied any wrongdoing.
""I didn't steal any money,'' she said. ""I don't think I should pay restitution.''
The state has it all wrong, her lawyer told jurors. Mrs. Aprile copied her husband's signature on checks, but only at his request, he said. The money passed through her hands, but it wasn't stolen. All the property was jointly owned, he said.
Mrs. Aprile reinvested the money in their business and lost it when the local market grew sluggish, her attorney Stuart Sheres said.
""She did the best she could trying to run the business,'' he said.
Mrs. Aprile ran the business from the couple's California home for several years. They owned apartment complexes and undeveloped land throughout Hillsborough County.
In January 1989, Mr. Aprile came home from church to find his house empty. His wife and children had disappeared.
In a note, his wife urged him not to worry. She just wanted to get reacquainted with her youngsters.
But when police found her car abandoned at an airport, Mr. Aprile called his bank worried that kidnappers had abducted his family. Most of his money was gone.
Mrs. Aprile is accused of stealing about $300,000 in property and altering more than $200,000 in mortgages, $873,000 in notes and $345,000 in checks between 1985 and 1988.
She was arrested in March shortly after being featured on the television show Unsolved Mysteries.
Interpol and FBI agents found her working at the Costa Rican school her 13-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son were attending. She was charged with 27 counts of grand theft, cashing forged checks and grand theft.
The defense argues that Mrs. Aprile went to Costa Rica because she was tired of her marriage, not because she was a thief.
""She walked out on him,'' Sheres said. ""She'd had enough.''
Caption:
Melvine Aprile (ran in BT and TP only)
Caption:
BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO, ROBIN DONINA
Author: RACHEL L. SWARNS
Section: BRANDON TIMESTAMPALARGO-SEMINOLE TIMES
Page: 1; 1; 3
Dateline: TAMPA
****************************************************
Paper: St. Petersburg Times
Title: Missing woman found, held in theft of husband's fortune
Author: RICHARD BOCKMAN
Date: March 20, 1990
Section: TAMPA BAY AND STATE
Page: 1B
When Jimmy V. Aprile Jr. returned from church, his wife and children had vanished. Figuring they had been abducted, he called his banks to freeze his assets. He didn't want the kidnappers raiding his millions.It was then he discovered the cupboard was bare. Virtually everything was gone.
Aprile told prosecutors that his wife had taken him for about $6-million. Hillsborough Assistant State Attorney Judy Hoyer said she told her investigator to stop looking after he had identified nearly $2-million that she says Melvine Matthews Aprile took by using false documents.
Last summer, Hoyer filed 27 charges against the 40-year-old woman. That's where the case sat until last week. The FBI and Interpol found Mrs. Aprile in Costa Rica. She was working at a school, the same school that the couple's 13-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son were attending.
She was arrested, and Monday she was flown to Miami. She is expected to be returned to Tampa today.
Hoyer provided this account:
Aprile, 41, met Melvine when both were students at the University of South Florida. They were married 20 years ago.
Aprile's father and brother were dairy farmers, but Aprile had a knack for real estate. He bought apartment complexes and undeveloped land throughout Hillsborough County.
He suffered a heart attack about eight years ago and took his doctor's advice to take it easy. That included turning over his business affairs to his wife.
""Then she begins a pattern of conduct, forging documents and taking all the cash and equity out of the properties,'' Hoyer said.
Mrs. Aprile persuaded her husband to sell their home in Carrollwood and move to California, where their son could better live with his asthma. She stayed behind in Tampa to tend to the real estate, commuting on weekends to their new home in Palo Alto, south of San Francisco.
In January 1989, Aprile attended church with the children's nanny and came home to a note from his wife. She wrote that he needn't worry, that she had taken the children for a while because she needed to get ""reacquainted'' with them.
Police found her car at the airport. Aprile assumed the worst, that his wife and children had been abducted. He feared that the kidnappers would use his wife to get access to his accounts, so he called Tampa to freeze them. That's when he discovered there was nothing left to freeze.
On Aug. 30, 1989, prosecutors filed the 27 counts against Melvine Aprile: six counts of grand theft, 20 counts of uttering a forged instrument and one count of forgery. According to the charges, she stole property and altered deeds, mortgage notes and checks.
She is accused of stealing nearly $300,000 in property and altering more than $200,000 in mortgages, $873,000 in notes and $354,000 in checks.
In January, the television show Unsolved Mysteries broadcast a segment on the case. The show called it, ""Life After Wife.''
The show produced many tips, Hoyer said, but not the one that led investigators to Costa Rica. She wouldn't elaborate.
Aprile said he didn't want to comment for fear of jeopardizing any chances of recovering any of his money. He also said his children have been returned to his custody, and he doesn't want to put them in the middle.
He did say his parents are keeping him afloat: ""All the money is gone.''
Author: RICHARD BOCKMAN
Section: TAMPA BAY AND STATE
Page: 1B
Dateline: TAMPA
****************************************************
Title: Detective sued in disappearance case
Author: ORVAL JACKSON
Date: June 15, 1991
Section: FLORIDA/METRO
Page: 8
An investigative and security company and one of its private detectives have been accused of helping a woman spirit her children away from her husband and out of the country. Jimmy V. Aprile filed suit Friday in Hillsborough County Circuit against Gerry Oglesby and Intelligence Group Inc., a Hillsborough County firm doing business as Dark Invaders Investigations.
The suit, which seeks unspecified damages, contends Oglesby was hired in 1988 by Melvine Aprile to take action to change the names, Social Security numbers and birth certificates of the couple's two minor children, forge and change their school records, and witness the forgery of Jimmy Aprile's signature on deeds conveying his property to his wife.
The suit also contends Oglesby received $24,000 for the work, which allowed Melvine Aprile to take the children from the area.
Melvine Aprile was sentenced in January to five years in prison for skimming an estimated $2.4 million from Jimmy Aprile's real estate holdings and financial investments. She also was placed on 20 years of probation and ordered to pay restitution of $302,077.43 to Jimmy Aprile.
She was convicted in September of 20 charges including grand theft, forgery and uttering forged instruments.
The Aprile case was featured on the ""Unsolved Mysteries'' television series. But prosecutors said authorities developed their own leads that led to the arrest last year of Melvine Aprile in Costa Rica, where she had fled with her two children in January 1989.
Author: ORVAL JACKSON
Section: FLORIDA/METRO
Page: 8
Dateline: TAMPA
Copyright 1991 The Tribune Co.
****************************************************
Paper: St. Petersburg Times
Title: Woman sentenced for taking from husband
Author: RACHEL L. SWARNS
Date: January 5, 1991
Section: BRANDON TIMESTAMPA
Page: 3; 3
A 40-year-old woman convicted of stealing thousands of dollars from her husband and fleeing to Costa Rica with their children was sentenced Friday to five years in prison to be followed by 20 years' probation.Melvine Aprile also was ordered to pay $302,077 in restitution to her husband, Jimmy, after her release from prison.
Aprile plans to appeal the judge's decision, her attorney said.
Taking property that is jointly owned can't be classified as stealing, contends Assistant Public Defender Stuart Sheres, who argued during the trial that the money was shared by the couple.
""I think it was a plan to liquidate the assets and run,'' said prosecu-tor Chip Purcell, who applauded the judge's sentence. ""She didn't want to split it in half. She wanted it all.''
Purcell said Mrs. Aprile sold her husband's real estate, altered deeds and mortgages and forged checks for three years after two heart attacks kept her husband from overseeing the couple's business. She even got a friend to pose as her husband during a real estate deal, the prosecutor said.
The defense said Mrs. Aprile copied her husband's signatures at his request. The money passed through her hands, but it wasn't stolen, her lawyer said.
The property, which included apartment complexes and undeveloped land in Hillsborough County, was jointly owned.
When Jimmy V. Aprile Jr. came home after church one day in January 1989, he found his home and bank accounts empty. FBI and Interpol agents found his family in Costa Rica a year later.
Mrs. Aprile was working at the Costa Rican school her 13-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son attended. She was arrested in March after being featured on the television show Unsolved Mysteries.
In September, Mrs. Aprile was found guilty of 20 counts, including charges of forgery, cashing forged checks and grand theft.
She was found innocent of seven similar counts, which seems to indicate that jurors believed Mrs. Aprile when she testified she didn't steal $9,000 from a mortgage. She said she reinvested it in the couple's real estate business.
""All in all, I think it's fair,'' defense attorney Sheres said of the judge's sentence. But he said he didn't know how she could everafford to pay the restitution.
""She used to be a school teacher and now she's a convicted felon,'' Sheres said. ""I don't know how much money she'll be able to make once she's out of prison.''
Caption:
Melvine Aprile
Caption:
BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO, Times files
Author: RACHEL L. SWARNS
Section: BRANDON TIMESTAMPA
Page: 3; 3
Dateline: TAMPA
****************************************************
Paper: St. Petersburg Times
Title: Plane lands on interstate
Author: JAY PITTS
Date: January 5, 1991
Section: TAMPA BAY AND STATE
Page: 3B
A single-engine plane landed in the northbound lanes of Interstate 275 about four or five miles from the Pasco County line Friday night, slowing traffic but causing no injuries, Hillsborough County sheriff's officials said. The Navaho aircraft, which landed about 11:30 p.m., had fuel in its tank, officials said. Sheriff's officials said late Friday they did not know how many people were in the plane or why it was landed on the interstate.Wounded boy improves
TAMPA A 14-year-old boy who was injured as he and his stepfather fired a shotgun into the air to celebrate the new year improved from critical to serious condition Friday at Tampa General Hospital, officials said. Jason Milian was shot in the face and scalp shortly after midnight Monday with a 12-gauge shotgun he got for Christmas. Witnesses said Jason went outside his house North Lakes and shot one or two rounds into the air, then gave the gun to his stepfather, Joseph Diez, 37, who was holding it when the boy was shot. Authorities said Friday no charges had been filed against Diez. The state attorney's office is reviewing the case.
Boy's condition unchanged
TAMPA A 2-year-old boy who lost his arm when he was hit by a garbage truck remained in critical condition at Tampa General Hospital on Friday night, hospital officials said. Aubrey Hadley of 2804 E Durham St. was playing at Durham and 28th streets Monday when he ran in front of a truck, witnesses said. He lost both his leg and arm in the accident. Surgeons reattached Aubrey's leg, but hospital officials said Friday they still would have to wait several more days to see whether the surg ery was successful. The driver of the truck was not charged.
Inmates at group home
accused of beating worker
SEFFNER Three teen-age inmates at a group home for mentally handicapped children with criminal records have been charged with aggravated battery in the beating of an employee, authorities said.
The attack with fists and a telephone receiver follows several other incidents at the Hillsborough Alternative Residential Program (HARP) in Seffner, operated by the state Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services (HRS).
Two 17-year-olds and a 14-year-old were arrested Thursday and taken to a detention center in Tampa. Their names were not released because they are juveniles.
Sabrina Polite, 30, a detention care worker at HARP, told officers she was attacked in her work area about 7:15 p.m. Wednesday. She suffered a cut on her finger and bumps and bruises on her head.
Several weeks ago, Larry E. Barton, 22, a HARP child-care worker, was charged with having sex with two teen-age boys at the home.
Also, HARP was investigated by state officials last spring after a 17-year-old inmate was charged with raping another inmate. He was sent back to HARP after sentencing and raped the same boy again. He is now in prison.
And, seven HARP employees have been fired since spring for reasons including using drugs on the job and falsifying applications.
Caption:
Sevell Brown; Melvine Aprile (ran C, S); Elio Cerezo (ran C, S); Jessie Sansing stands in front of the pole where his flag once flew (ran C, T); Sandy Dewberry walking her dogs, Sabby, Bump, Char, Bear and Beast in St. Petersburg (ran S, T)
Caption:
BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO, (3)<p></p>BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO, Bob Moreland<p></p>BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO, Joe Walles
Author: JAY PITTS
Section: TAMPA BAY AND STATE
Page: 3B
Dateline: TAMPASEFFNER
****************************************************
Paper: The Tampa Tribune
Title: Wife sentenced for bilking husband
Author: ORVAL JACKSON
Date: January 5, 1991
Section: FLORIDA/METRO
Page: 2
The former wife of a once-wealthy Tampa businessman was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for skimming an estimated $2.4 million from his real estate holdings and financial investments. Melvine Matthews Aprile, 40, also was placed on 20 years' probation and ordered to pay restitution of $302,077.43 to Jimmy Aprile.
Hillsborough Circuit Judge Susan C. Bucklew ordered Melvine Aprile to begin making monthly payments of $1,258.66 within 60 days of her release from prison.
""The practical matter is that you will spend very little prison time,'' Bucklew said. ""If there is no money, if it is not hidden away somewhere, you're going to have to pay it off in monthly payments.''
Melvine Aprile gets credit for being in jail since her arrest last March, and with prison gain time she will earn, attorneys said she probably will spend one year in state prison.
She was convicted in September of 20 charges including grand theft, forgery and uttering forged instruments. Sentencing was delayed until court-ordered appraisals were made on property Melvine Aprile either disposed of or which was foreclosed upon.
The Aprile case was featured on the ""Unsolved Mysteries'' television series, but prosecutors said law enforcement authorities developed their own leads that led to her arrest in Costa Rica, where she had fled with her two children in January 1989.
Prosecutors said Jimmy Aprile turned over the day-to-day business affairs to his wife after suffering a heart attack almost nine years ago. They said she switched the couple's properties into her name and began liquidating portfolios.
Assistant State Attorney Chip Purcell said Jimmy Aprile lost $1.4 million in real estate and $1 million in cash and said he believes the woman has the money stashed.
Assistant Public Defender Stuart Sheres argued most of the refinancing by the woman was done to keep the business afloat.
Author: ORVAL JACKSON
Section: FLORIDA/METRO
Page: 2
Dateline: TAMPA
Copyright 1991 The Tribune Co.
****************************************************
Paper: The Tampa Tribune
Title: Ex-wife expected to get 5-year sentence
Author: ORVAL JACKSON
Date: October 27, 1990
Section: METRO
Page: 8B
TAMPA -- The former wife of a once-wealthy real estate business owner will be sentenced to five years in prison for skimming hundreds of thousands of dollars from his holdings and financial investments. Melvine Matthews Aprile, 40, was convicted Sept. 20 of 20 charges including grand theft, forgery and uttering forged instruments.
Hillsborough Circuit Judge Susan C. Bucklew told the woman Friday she had decided upon a five-year sentence, but was grappling with the length of probation and amount of restitution.
Bucklew said she will formally sentence Aprile on Friday.
The woman has been in the county jail since March, when she was returned to Tampa after being captured in Costa Rica. Prosecutors claimed she fled to Costa Rica with her two children in January 1989.
The case was featured on the "Unsolved Mysteries" television series, but prosecutors said law enforcement authorities developed their own leads that led to Aprile.
Prosecutors said Jimmy Aprile turned over the day-to-day business affairs to his wife after he suffered a heart attack about eight years ago. They said she switched the couple's properties into her name and began liquidating portfolios.
Assistant State Attorney Chip Purcell said during the trial Jimmy Aprile's business is now a bust, and he and his two children live on Social Security payments and share a house with his parents.
Purcell told Bucklew Friday large amounts of money still are unaccounted. "I suspect it is in Costa Rica or in banking institutions in our own country awaiting the trip to Costa Rica," Purcell said.
Assistant Public Defender Stuart Sheres said most of the refinancing the woman carried out was done to keep the business afloat, and said the family's lifestyle did not suffer during the time. "I just don't believe she is an embezzler or a thief," he said.
Bucklew and the attorneys went through the financial transactions line by line Friday. Purcell contends Jimmy Aprile should be reimbursed for his losses at today's prices. Sheres argued the value should be what the property was worth at the time, with restitution only half of that because the property belonged to both.
State sentencing guidelines call for a 3 1/2- to 5 1/2-year prison term. The probation office's pre-sentence investigation report recommended five years with 30 years' probation. Purcell asked for 10 years, while Sheres asked for a suspended sentence so Aprile could go to work and begin restitution.
Caption:
MELVINE APRILE
Caption:
PHOTO
Author: ORVAL JACKSON
Section: METRO
Page: 8B
Copyright 1990 The Tribune Co.
****************************************************
Paper: The Tampa Tribune
Title: Cameras roll for update - Gathering staged for TV program
Author: SALATHEIA BRYANT
Date: October 13, 1990
Section: SOUTH BAY
Page: 5
TEMPLE TERRACE -- Sheri and Tony Aprile had trouble keeping their eyes from sneaking a peek at the camera. The lights, microphone, camera and crew seemed to interfere with the fun the siblings were having, but the children were making the best of the situation.
They tried to focus on rolling the bowling ball properly so they would not leave any pins standing.
"I'm getting better. This time I only left two pins," Sheri said to her father, Jimmy Aprile.
But Thursday's outing at Imperial Lanes bowling alley in Temple Terrace wasn't a normal family get-together for the Aprile family.
It was a special gathering staged for the NBC television show "Unsolved Mysteries."
The family hopes the taping will conclude their 14-month ordeal that began when the Sheri and Tony were taken to Costa Rica by their mother.
Jimmy and Melvine Aprile had been married 20 years when in January 1989 Melvine Aprile disappeared with their two children and $2 million in assets belonging to her husband.
The case was first aired on the television program, that highlights unsolved crimes, in January 1990.
In March, Melvine Aprile was returned to the United States and was convicted on grand theft and uttering forged instrument charges. She will be sentenced Oct. 26, officials said.
Jimmy Aprile said Thursday he is just glad to have his children back and the incident behind them.
"I don't think we'll ever really be the same again," Aprile said. "They are the real victims in this case. They went through a tremendous experience.
"It was a horrible time. I was constantly in the state of terror," he said.
Aprile said he is grateful to the television show because it played a role in intensifying the search for the children.
Laura Patterson, the segment's director, said the update is scheduled to run sometime this fall.
She said they will emphasize the family's reunion.
"We felt we had a part in it," Patterson said. "We wanted to celebrate the homecoming of the kids. We wanted to show the family reunited as a family."
The children were reunited with their father in March at Miami International Airport.
Aprile said the children's lives have slowly returned to normal. He said they are in school and are receiving counseling.
As for him, he is writing a book about the incident. He also said he has been approached for movie rights to the story.
Caption:
(BR)A crew from NBC's "Unsolved Mysteries" films the Aprile family in action at Imperial Lanes Thursday. Sheri and Tony Aprile were reunited with their father in March. Tribune photograph by CANDACE C. MUNDY<p></p>A crew from NBC's "Unsolved Mysteries" films the Aprile family at Imperial Lanes Thursday. Sheri and Tony Aprile were reunited with their father in March. Tribune photograph by CANDACE C. MUNDY
Caption:
PHOTO
Author: SALATHEIA BRYANT
Section: SOUTH BAY
Page: 5
Copyright 1990 The Tribune Co.
****************************************************
Paper: The Tampa Tribune
Title: Woman convicted of fleecing husband
Author: A Tribune Staff Report
Date: September 21, 1990
Section: METRO
Page: 4B
TAMPA -- The ex-wife of a once-wealthy real estate business owner was found guilty Thursday of 20 charges including grand theft, forgery and uttering forged instruments. Melvine Matthews Aprile must remain in jail until she is sentenced next month by Hillsborough Circuit Judge Susan C. Bucklew. State sentencing guidelines call for a 3 1/2- to 5 1/2-year prison term.
The state had filed 27 charges against Aprile, but the six-member jury found her not guilty on seven counts after deliberating for 3 1/2 hours.
Aprile, 40, has been in jail since March, when she was returned to Hillsborough County after being captured in Costa Rica.
Prosecutors claimed she had skimmed hundreds of thousands of dollars from her husband's real estate holdings and financial investments before fleeing the county in January 1989 with their two children.
The case was featured on the "Unsolved Mysteries" television series, but prosecutors said law enforcement authorities developed their own leads that lead to Aprile.
About eight years ago, prosecutors said Jimmy Aprile had turned over the day-to-day business affairs to his wife after he suffered a heart attack. Prosecutors said that's when Melvine Aprile began switching the couple's properties into her name and liquidating portfolios.
Her attorney, Assistant Public Defender Stuart Sheres argued that Aprile was simply trying to take care of the family and keep the businesses operating through refinancing loans and selling properties.
Jimmy Aprile's business is now a bust, and he and his two children live on Social Security payments and have to share a house with his parents, said Assistant Hillsborough State Attorney Chip Purcell.
After the verdict, Jimmy Aprile said he was trying to forgive his ex-wife.
"We have no great anger or bitterness," he said. "I feel we got excellent justice."
Author: A Tribune Staff Report
Section: METRO
Page: 4B
Copyright 1990 The Tribune Co.
****************************************************
Paper: St. Petersburg Times
Title: Prosecutors say wife stole money and fled
Author: RACHEL L. SWARNS
Date: September 19, 1990
Section: BRANDON TIMESTAMPALARGO-SEMINOLE TIMES
Page: 1; 1; 3
They were college sweethearts, married for 20 years. So when two heart attacks shattered Jimmy V. Aprile Jr.'s health, he trusted his wife, Melvine, to care for his millions.Instead, prosecutors said, she stole nearly $2-million and fled to Costa Rica with their two children.
""Mrs. Aprile violated the trust of her husband, friends and business associates,'' prosecutor Chip Purcell said during opening arguments Tuesday in Mrs. Aprile's trial.
Prosecutors said the 40-year-old woman sold off his real estate and altered deeds, mortgage notes and checks. She even got a friend to pose as her husband during a real estate deal, they said.
But Mrs. Aprile has denied any wrongdoing.
""I didn't steal any money,'' she said. ""I don't think I should pay restitution.''
The state has it all wrong, her lawyer told jurors. Mrs. Aprile copied her husband's signature on checks, but only at his request, he said. The money passed through her hands, but it wasn't stolen. All the property was jointly owned, he said.
Mrs. Aprile reinvested the money in their business and lost it when the local market grew sluggish, her attorney Stuart Sheres said.
""She did the best she could trying to run the business,'' he said.
Mrs. Aprile ran the business from the couple's California home for several years. They owned apartment complexes and undeveloped land throughout Hillsborough County.
In January 1989, Mr. Aprile came home from church to find his house empty. His wife and children had disappeared.
In a note, his wife urged him not to worry. She just wanted to get reacquainted with her youngsters.
But when police found her car abandoned at an airport, Mr. Aprile called his bank worried that kidnappers had abducted his family. Most of his money was gone.
Mrs. Aprile is accused of stealing about $300,000 in property and altering more than $200,000 in mortgages, $873,000 in notes and $345,000 in checks between 1985 and 1988.
She was arrested in March shortly after being featured on the television show Unsolved Mysteries.
Interpol and FBI agents found her working at the Costa Rican school her 13-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son were attending. She was charged with 27 counts of grand theft, cashing forged checks and grand theft.
The defense argues that Mrs. Aprile went to Costa Rica because she was tired of her marriage, not because she was a thief.
""She walked out on him,'' Sheres said. ""She'd had enough.''
Caption:
Melvine Aprile (ran in BT and TP only)
Caption:
BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO, ROBIN DONINA
Author: RACHEL L. SWARNS
Section: BRANDON TIMESTAMPALARGO-SEMINOLE TIMES
Page: 1; 1; 3
Dateline: TAMPA
****************************************************
Paper: St. Petersburg Times
Title: Missing woman found, held in theft of husband's fortune
Author: RICHARD BOCKMAN
Date: March 20, 1990
Section: TAMPA BAY AND STATE
Page: 1B
When Jimmy V. Aprile Jr. returned from church, his wife and children had vanished. Figuring they had been abducted, he called his banks to freeze his assets. He didn't want the kidnappers raiding his millions.It was then he discovered the cupboard was bare. Virtually everything was gone.
Aprile told prosecutors that his wife had taken him for about $6-million. Hillsborough Assistant State Attorney Judy Hoyer said she told her investigator to stop looking after he had identified nearly $2-million that she says Melvine Matthews Aprile took by using false documents.
Last summer, Hoyer filed 27 charges against the 40-year-old woman. That's where the case sat until last week. The FBI and Interpol found Mrs. Aprile in Costa Rica. She was working at a school, the same school that the couple's 13-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son were attending.
She was arrested, and Monday she was flown to Miami. She is expected to be returned to Tampa today.
Hoyer provided this account:
Aprile, 41, met Melvine when both were students at the University of South Florida. They were married 20 years ago.
Aprile's father and brother were dairy farmers, but Aprile had a knack for real estate. He bought apartment complexes and undeveloped land throughout Hillsborough County.
He suffered a heart attack about eight years ago and took his doctor's advice to take it easy. That included turning over his business affairs to his wife.
""Then she begins a pattern of conduct, forging documents and taking all the cash and equity out of the properties,'' Hoyer said.
Mrs. Aprile persuaded her husband to sell their home in Carrollwood and move to California, where their son could better live with his asthma. She stayed behind in Tampa to tend to the real estate, commuting on weekends to their new home in Palo Alto, south of San Francisco.
In January 1989, Aprile attended church with the children's nanny and came home to a note from his wife. She wrote that he needn't worry, that she had taken the children for a while because she needed to get ""reacquainted'' with them.
Police found her car at the airport. Aprile assumed the worst, that his wife and children had been abducted. He feared that the kidnappers would use his wife to get access to his accounts, so he called Tampa to freeze them. That's when he discovered there was nothing left to freeze.
On Aug. 30, 1989, prosecutors filed the 27 counts against Melvine Aprile: six counts of grand theft, 20 counts of uttering a forged instrument and one count of forgery. According to the charges, she stole property and altered deeds, mortgage notes and checks.
She is accused of stealing nearly $300,000 in property and altering more than $200,000 in mortgages, $873,000 in notes and $354,000 in checks.
In January, the television show Unsolved Mysteries broadcast a segment on the case. The show called it, ""Life After Wife.''
The show produced many tips, Hoyer said, but not the one that led investigators to Costa Rica. She wouldn't elaborate.
Aprile said he didn't want to comment for fear of jeopardizing any chances of recovering any of his money. He also said his children have been returned to his custody, and he doesn't want to put them in the middle.
He did say his parents are keeping him afloat: ""All the money is gone.''
Author: RICHARD BOCKMAN
Section: TAMPA BAY AND STATE
Page: 1B
Dateline: TAMPA
****************************************************