It will be decades before the 13-acres of woodlands Lynn Belluscio and her late husband once enjoyed together return to their former "park-like" nature, but the man responsible for the removal of more than 100 of her trees will be out of jail in six months and off probation in five years.
David Henry Isabell, 43, of Liverpool, entered a guilty plea in January to scheme to defraud 1st and timber trespass. He was sentenced today in County Court.
The $36,000 Belluscio received in restitution is small compensation for what she lost, she told Judge Robert C. Noonan prior to Noonan handing down his sentence.
"I have only been able to walk in the woods once, and that was at the request of Deputy John Duyssen," Belluscio said. "What I saw that day made me sick to my stomach. If I ever have a chance to explain to my husband what happened, I would be at a total loss for words. ... I will not see the recovery of my woods in my lifetime."
Belluscio hired Isabell's company, Icon Timber Marketing, to cut down about 35 trees that were aging, diseased, or needed removal as a matter of good forest management. Workers took about 140 trees, left stumps and limbs on the property, big ruts in the ground and an area that once included a scenic horse trail is now unusable, covered by thorny vines and overgrowth, Belluscio said outside of court.
As part of the criminal complaint against Isabell, the DA's office alleged six land owners were defrauded out of more than $72,000 in hardwood timber by Isabell.
For the trees from Belluscio's land, Isabell received $60,000, according to bank records obtained during the investigation.
Attorney Robert Durr said his client's family stepped forward to pay the restitution, and Isabell said he's lost everything trying to repay his debts, which allegedly includes money owed to customers not part of the criminal complaint.
"Mr. Isabell is a terrible businessman," Durr said. "As a result of being a terrible businessman, he has placed himself in a situation of criminal liability."
Durr also described Isabell as a changed man who has quit drinking and recognizes that what he did was wrong.
"I truly believe that Mr. Isabell is a different man today than he was two years ago," Durr said. "I truly believe Mr. Isabell has great remorse and sorrow for what he did. I truly believe he feels remorse not for himself, but for these victims, and I truly believe that if he is given an opportunity, he will prove to the court and to the victims he is worthy of that opportunity."
Isabell told Noonan that he is "very remorseful" and that he is working day and night to earn enough money to repay his debts.
"These are all very good people and they trusted me," Isabell said. "I had done work for these people five or six years ago and based on that relationship, they trusted me. I broke that trust.
"I wasn't there," he added, "to oversee things and make sure things were done right and make sure they were paid. I'm very sorry. I feel terrible that they now feel this way about me because I worked very hard to gain their trust."
The case came to the attention the Sheriff's Office when Le Roy businessman and Oakta Trails property owner John Morrill agreed to let Isabell remove some trees from his land.
In an interview outside of court, Morrill said Isabell identified himself as "Isabella" and said the trees might fetch Morrill about $1,500.
After months of not hearing from "Isabella" and not getting his calls returned, Morrill spotted some of the same trucks that had been on his property and stopped and talked to the crew.
One of the men, according to Morrill, was Donnie Hendrickson, who was later charged as a co-defendant in the case.
Morrill said Hendrickson provided the correct identity for Isabell and said about Isabell using a different name, "he does that all the time."
When Isabell got wind that Morrill was going to talk with local law enforcement, he said Isabell offered him a payment of $50 toward the timber.
Because Morrill didn't take the payment, the Sheriff's Office was able to open a criminal investigation (if a potential fraud victim takes such a payment, it creates a contract, making the dispute a civil matter, not a criminal matter).
Duyssen was assigned to the case and located Belluscio as a potential victim.
By this time, Isabell was apparently in the Niagara County Jail for violating his probation from a prior DWI conviction.
According to Duyssen, Isabell apparently heard about the criminal investigation and allegedly sent an employee to Belluscio house at 11 o'clock at night with an offer of $5,600 for the wood. Belluscio turned down the offer.
Outside of court, she described the late-night appearance of Isabell's employee at her house as frightening.
Eventually, Isabell was indicted on charges of two counts of grand larceny, 4th, three counts of grand larceny, 3rd, issuing a bad check, 22 counts of timber trespass, petit larceny, theft of services and scheme to defraud 1st.
Hendrickson was indicted on charges of grand larceny, 4th, 23 counts of timber trespass, grand larceny, 3rd, and scheme to defraud, 1st.
In January, Hendrickson entered a guilty plea to a misdemeanor and has not yet been sentenced.
According to Durr's statements in court, Hendrickson cut a plea deal with prosecutors in exchange for his testimony against Isabell if the case went to trial.
Durr said the only reason his client was in court, and not Hendrickson, having entered a guilty plea to a felony was because Isabell's criminal past. If the circumstances were different, Durr said, it would be Hendrickson facing a possible prison sentence.
He said Hendrickson received most of the money from the timber sales and was the person Belluscio dealt with the most on her property.
Assistant District Attorney Kevin Finnell said that when he and the victims read some of the letters sent to the court in support of Isabell, from friends, family and employees, they couldn't believe some of the statements in the letters blaming circumstances rather than Isabell for the crimes.
"These letters seem to suggest there is an excuse 100 times over for why he didn't pay these people, and why these events occurred the way they did" Finnell said. "No where is there any acceptance of responsibility."
Noonan said he had to balance a number of factors in his sentence of Isabell -- from the unrecoverable loss to Belluscio to the damage Isabell has done to his family.
"I have to fashion a sentence that makes a point to you and does not unduly burden society at this point," Noonan said. "I do recognize the fact that you did step up and figure out a way, with the help of people close to you, to financially compensate many of the people, if not all of the people, you involved in this scheme.
"There is a very good argument that I should lock you up and throw away the key," Noonan added. "There is also an argument that if not for the people close to you, who have paid a very huge debt, will only face a heavier burden with a long sentence."
After sentence was pronounced, Durr asked if it could be modified to nine months intermittent incarceration in the jail, giving Isabell an opportunity to work, earn money, and take care of his family as well as pay back debts he still owes.
Finnell opposed the request.
Noonan said, "I had the alternative of sending Mr. Isabell to state prison, but I elected not to do so. I fashioned a sentence for punishment as well as rehabilitation and my decision stands."
The mug shot above of Isabell was taken today after he arrived to begin his stint in the Genesee County Jail.
