By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — An elderly businessman who swindled his 98-year-old pal out of more than $300,000 will spend weekends in jail for a year.
Harry Abrams, 76, admitted to scamming his wheelchair-bound friend, who was in the hospital receiving treatment for a hip surgery at the time of Abrams' arrest in November.
The victim, Emanuel Baetich, is a semi-retired attorney who was using a room in Abrams' office space at 230 Park Avenue. Prosecutors said Abrams claimed he could never accept rent money from him because they were such good friends, but that "when the opportunity arose [Abrams] stole from him."
The District Attorney's office said he used the money to pay for a trip to Puerto Rico, and to make payments to Jenny Craig, Costco and Lands' End. He transferred money from Baetich's accounts to his own and wrote checks for himself using financial information he took from the older man's personal files.
Prior to the sentencing in Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday, Abrams paid back almost the full amount in restitution, Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Loewy said.
Abrams pleaded guilty to grand larceny and fraud charges on Jan. 27 in exchange for the weekends-only jail deal.
At his sentencing Thursday, his attorney said his theft was driven by desperation and that Abrams "deeply regrets" what he did.
Abrams was taken into Department of Corrections custody immediately after the proceeding for procedural reasons. He had been free on $175,000 bail since his arraignment late last year.
Baetich, who's the oldest living St. John's graduate, currently resides in a nursing home and requested not to have an order of protection prohibiting contact from Abrams.
The case was prosecuted by the Manhattan District Attorney's elder abuse unit. The DA's office handle's about 500 elder abuse cases annually, most of which are economic crimes.
