LeLAND -- Berta Anna Steinkamp plans to move on.
Steinkamp, 88, said she's eager to take walks around Leland as the weather warms. She believes justice was served when a judge handed a jail sentence to John Sisson, a prominent Leland businessman who stole thousands of dollars from her over a period of several years.
"I'm relieved," Steinkamp said Monday. "I'm glad that it's out in the open."
District Judge Thomas J. Phillips sentenced Sisson, 54, to one year in jail and two years probation on a charge of embezzling from a vulnerable adult. Sisson already paid $50,000 in restitution to Steinkamp as part of a plea agreement.
Sisson owns Sisson's Main Street Specialties in Leland and used to own the Leelanau Country Inn on M-22 south of Leland.
Steinkamp, a German immigrant, moved to Leland in 1993. Sisson befriended her in the mid-1990s and eventually gained complete control of her finances.
During sentencing, Phillips said he received about 70 to 80 letters about the case, most in defense of Sisson. The letters reflected a divide in the community, Phillips said.
"Some of them are concerned that this has kind of torn the community apart," Phillips said.
Phillips blamed Sisson for the strife, citing his decision to victimize Steinkamp.
"That's all your fault," he told Sisson. "You were placed in a position of trust, and you violated that trust."
Leelanau County Sheriff's Detective Clint Kerr believes Sisson may have taken as much as $203,000 from Steinkamp between 1999 and 2006, based on money that should have been in her accounts, but officials contend they couldn't prove that beyond a reasonable doubt.
Sisson admitted to the theft of only about $11,000 when he pleaded guilty to the charge last month.
Sisson might have thought he was entitled to Steinkamp's money, Phillips said.
"People steal for a lot of different reasons ... a lot of times people just feel like they deserve it," he said. "I think that's where this falls."
Phillips gave Sisson a chance to back out of his plea, but he declined. He apologized to his friends, family and Steinkamp before Phillips sentenced him.
"I just want to apologize to Mrs. Steinkamp for the sorrow, the anguish, the pain she's gone through based on what I've done," he said.
Sisson said his business would fail if he wasn't able to tend to it, and he said he had to borrow money from family and friends to make the restitution payment.
His attorney asked Phillips to grant work release for his jail sentence, but Phillips said he wouldn't consider a work release request until June 1. Steinkamp now has a court-appointed conservator, chief assistant Leelanau County Prosecutor Doug Donaldson said.
Donaldson said he's glad Steinkamp can move on.
"I'm pleased that Berta is pleased and she's had some finality," he said.
Steinkamp said the community "avoided" her as police investigated Sisson's activity, and her friends said the community treated her poorly. Steinkamp hopes Sisson's acts are no longer in doubt.
"I believe everybody understands it now," Steinkamp said.
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