People v. Laport

Opinion

GILBERT, J.

—Defendant Jeanette Dee Laport was found guilty by a jury of grand theft, Penal Code section 487.1, subdivision (1). The single count in the information alleged that Laport committed the crime of grand theft between April 1983 and June 1984.

The evidence showed that during her tenure as a business manager for an art gallery, Laport embezzled approximately $18,000 by writing checks to herself. She also stole some paintings worth over $5,000.

Laport’s defense was that she believed she was authorized to take the money because of her intimate relationship with the owner of the art…