Pottstown man admits to $300K theft from grandmother, radio host’s savings

NORRISTOWN » A Pottstown man has probation, a hefty restitution bill and community service helping the elderly in his future after he admitted to stealing more than $300,000 from his grandmother, well-known Philadelphia radio personality Mary Mason.

Calvin Steven Turner IV, 34, of the 800 block of South Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 10 years of probation after he pleaded guilty to two felony theft-related charges in connection with the theft that prosecutors claim left Mason, a former WHAT radio host of “Mornings with Mary,” destitute.

“Mr. Turner pled guilty to theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received and admitted that he took multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars that was for the benefit of his grandmother, Mary Mason, the former radio host, and used it for his own benefit rather than for hers,” said Assistant District Attorney Christopher Daniels, explaining the nature of Turner’s guilty plea.

“He spent it on various and sundry things, from trips to the west coast and Las Vegas, to evenings out around town, to his ordinary daily living expenses,” Daniels alleged. “He admitted and he will be ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $331,000.”

Judge Wendy G. Rothstein imposed the punishment as part of a plea agreement. Rothstein said Turner also must complete 100 hours of community service “to be served assisting the elderly.”

At the time of the thefts, Turner, who was represented by defense lawyer Martin P. Mullaney, had a power of attorney signed by Mason that made him the guardian of her finances. At the same time, Turner was settling his late father’s estate.

“What he tried to do was to do the right thing and to turn that money into more money. He was immature and ill-equipped as a business person to be successful at that,” Mullaney said on Turner’s behalf. “The one thing that’s clear in this entire case is that he did not intend to hurt anybody. He’s unbelievably loyal to his grandmother and loves the woman to death. He’s flat out heartbroken by the whole turn of events.

“There was no true intent to steal money here. He mismanaged money. He didn’t mean to hurt anybody,” Mullaney added. “He was put in a unique situation and he failed.”

Prosecutors alleged Turner used the money for his own benefit and made poor investments.

“I think he loves his grandmother. I think he wanted to be able to provide for her but I think at the end of the day his own greed was what drove him to spend those funds on his own personal expenses,” Daniels alleged. “I don’t think he intended the result that occurred. But due to his direct actions of taking this money and spending it on himself, those monies were depleted.”

Originally, Turner was accused of misappropriating more than $800,000 from Mason’s accounts. But the amount was whittled down, Mullaney explained, after officials determined Turner had used some of the money to pay for two caregivers for Mason, to pay Mason’s taxes and to pay for Mason’s housing at a senior living facility.

Mason now has a new court-appointed guardian who acts as the custodian for her finances. The restitution Turner must pay will be used for caring for Mason, who is in an assisted living facility.

An investigation of Turner began in February 2016 after Whitemarsh Township police received information that Mason’s bills were not being paid at Sunrise of Lafayette Hill, an assisted living facility in the township where Mason, now 87, had resided at the time. Mason, whose real name is Beatrice Turner, “has been diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease,” according to the criminal complaint.

In May 2016, Mason’s account was $55,700 in arrears and no payments had been made on her behalf

since August 2015, according to court documents.

“Administration at Sunrise informed me that (Mason’s) grandson was responsible for the payments and numerous messages and letters were sent to Steven Turner about the past due bills of his grandmother,” Whitemarsh Detective Craig Cubbin alleged in the arrest affidavit.

Turner, according to court papers, is Mason’s only living relative and when he placed Mason in Sunrise he gave the facility a copy of his power of attorney for Mason, dated September 2012. The power of attorney stated that Turner “must use due care to act for the benefit” of Mason and that he was to keep Mason’s assets separate from his, according to the arrest affidavit.

When detectives confronted Turner in June 2016, he allegedly told them he knew his grandmother’s bills at Sunrise were in arrears and that he was trying to get them up to date.

“Steven Turner stated that his grandmother’s money ran out in 2015 and he was trying to pay the bills with his money,” Cubbin alleged.

The investigation revealed Mason at one time had cash and assets valued at more than $1 million, including multiple bank accounts and two condominiums and should have had enough funds to support her care at Sunrise, detectives said.

But authorities alleged Turner used Mason’s funds for his personal gain, making cash withdrawals from her accounts, transferring some of her funds to a real estate company he created and selling Mason’s condominiums for profit. Detectives alleged Turner then bought three other homes in Philadelphia and Pottstown.

“Steven Turner used these funds for his own benefit and lifestyle,” Cubbin alleged.

Turner allegedly used a debit card associated with Mason’s accounts for cash withdrawals and purchases in the amount of $73,282, including food and liquor purchases and “$15,556 of the total charges were to a strip club in Las Vegas.”

In April 2016, a court-appointed lawyer was named guardian for Mason’s estate. That lawyer was able to recover about $62,000 by selling two of the Philadelphia parcels that Turner allegedly purchased with Mason’s funds, according to court documents. At the time of Turner’s arrest, that lawyer feared Mason would have to be moved from Sunrise into a facility “where Medicare will take over,” according to court papers.