William Dilley Found Guilty of Stealing From Dying Solon Woman's Estate

A Mentor man was found guilty Thursday of altering a dying Solon woman's will so he could steal her $750,000 estate.

, 66, was found guilty of tampering with records, perjury and attempted theft, all third-degree felonies. He was sentenced by Judge Michael P. Donnelly in a brief hearing at Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas.

After Donnelly read his verdict, the judge ordered Dilley handcuffed and taken to county jail. He will be sentenced on Feb. 21.

Each of Dilley's three convictions carries a possible prison sentence of nine to 36 months.

Dilley was the financial adviser of Betty Montgomery, who lived in the Stratford Commons nursing home in Glenwillow and, before that, in Solon.

Montgomery had no family and planned to divide her considerable estate between three friends, Save-A-Pet and the Holy Cancer Family Home.

However, Dilley doctored her will in 2008 making himself Montgomery's sole beneficiary and executor of her estate. Then he had Montgomery sign the new will.

When Montgomery died in 2009, Dilley filed the altered will in probate court and Montgomery's original beneficiaries challenged it, prosecutors said.

During a deposition, Dilley claimed that requisite witnesses saw Montgomery sign the new will. Prosecutors say that Dilley lied and nobody else was there. That is why he was charged with perjury. Dilley received $75,000 from Montgomery's estate after the will was contested.

After reading his verdict, Donnelly told Dilley he will give him an opportunity to speak at his sentencing, and he wants him to show remorse for what he did.

Donnelly referenced the "memory fog" that Dilley claimed about what he did to Montgomery. Dilley was dealing with the death of his sister, an ongoing divorce and the cratering of the financial markets.

"I believe you are trying to rationalize what you did," the judge said. "I hope I'm right about that."