HARBOR SPRINGS — Bars of sunshine escaped the December clouds the day police reports say a local woman, Elise Page, drove to Traverse City for an impromptu shopping spree.
First stop was Francesca’s, a women’s clothing store at the Grand Traverse Mall, and bank statements show on Dec. 10 Page then swiped a debit card for purchases at Victoria’s Secret, Carter’s, Old Navy and Target, with an end-of-day stop at Costco.
Court documents and bank statements show, however, none of the money she spent in those stores was hers.
The money, according to investigators, belonged to George Pappas, a 95-year-old World War II veteran who a judge had assigned to Page just weeks before, naming her the legal conservator over his finances.
“I needed a bookkeeper and I got a good recommendation about this lady, that she was someone who could help me out,” Pappas said. “But I didn’t really know what a conservator was. What am I supposed to do with whatever she bought at Victoria’s Secret?”
In December Pappas had gone to City Hall to pay his electric bill, police documents Pappas provided the Record-Eagle show. When his check was returned with a note that said it had been written on a closed account, a utilities clerk grew suspicious and called law enforcement.
Page has since been charged with several…
