An agreement leading to a guilty plea from a prominent Leland business owner for taking money from an elderly lady he had befriended years ago has been accepted in District Court, but the case continues to send ripples through the community.

JOHN SISSON, who pleaded guilty to
embezzlement from a vulnerable adult,
is shown in a photo published in the
Enterprise in 2004.

While it may be difficult to avoid sides in such an emotional case — John Sisson is the popular former owner of the Leelanau Inn and present owner of Sisson’s Mainstreet Market in Leland — the two sides that negotiated the plea deal believe it represents the best solution to a bad situation.

The case had been under investigation for nearly two years, although no formal charges were filed while witnesses including neighbors of 88-year-old Berta Ann Steinkamp were quietly deposed and bank records requisitioned.

Leelanau County prosecutor Joe Hubbell, pointing to boxes of evidence, said a decision was reached not to seek a felony charge to avoid putting Steinkamp on the stand and because clear evidence that more money was taken has been difficult to ascertain. Bank records dating back that far are not available.

“You’re dealing with an elderly witness who might have to appear on the stand,” said Hubbell. “What we believe and what we can prove are two different things.”

Sisson appeared in District Court Friday to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail. As part of the agreement, he will pay Steinkamp $50,000 in restitution, and admitted to diverting $11,200 of Steinkamp’s money for his personal use.

The amount is important because District Judge Thomas J. Philips can levy a fine up to three times the amount embezzled — in Sisson’s case, up to $33,600, according to Hubbell.

Attorney Larry Nelson represented Sisson through the investigation, and stood beside him in court last week. Nelson said that while Sisson pleaded guilty to paying some of his bills from Steinkamp’s checking account, reports that he pursued a relationship with Steinkamp to take her money have been upsetting.

“From my knowledge of John and (his wife) Linda, they are pretty caring people,” said Nelson.

How much money was actually diverted may never be known. “(Sheriff’s Department detective) Clint Kerr feels there is in excess of $200,000, and on that amount there is vast disagreement,” said Nelson.

After months of being investigated, Nelson said his client was ready to reach a plea arrangement.

“I think all parties were ready for it to end,” he said.

While the plea agreement ended the legal pursuit of John Sisson, many questions about his relationship with Steinkamp will never be answered because a trial was avoided.

Friends of the Sissons — who through their involvement with Immanuel Lutheran Church are also close to Steinkamp — say they watched the couple assume more and more responsibility for the care of a person who was becoming less able to take care of her own needs.

Others listened while Steinkemp told a different story, one of lessened control over her own financial means after she gave Sisson power of attorney to sign her name to deeds and checks.

Surviving WWII

According to court records and friends, Berta Ann Steinkemp is a survivor. She scratched her way out of a shelter that had given way in the Allied bombings in Dresden, Germany, eventually emigrating to America, marrying and settling down in Indiana. She became good friends with the mother of Linda Sisson.

Steinkemp had no children, so when her husband died in the early 1990s she was left with no family in America. She bought and moved into a home on Oxford Dr. south of Leland.

The Sissons treated her like family, introducing her into the Lutheran church, taking her out to meals and caring for her as needed. As her memory started to fade — a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease was mentioned in District Court — the Sissons assumed the role that her children might have taken.

Eventually, Steinkemp began to question how her money was being spent. According to a deposition offered by a neighbor, in July 2004 she confided to her that the Leelanau Country Inn “was in so much trouble that it was going out of business, (The Sissons) had to sell their home, and they had no money for a new home.” The deposition went on to state that John Sisson planned to move he and his wife into Steinkamp’s home to “take care of her when she could no longer do so herself. In exchange, they would inherit her house when she died.”

The relationship between the Sissons and Steinkamp unraveled in 2006 after Steinkamp fell and broke her hip. While recovering in Leelanau Memorial Hospital, a caregiver reported to the county Sheriff’s Department of overhearing John Sisson tell her that she could not return to her house. Steinkamp was visibly upset. An investigation ensued.

Eventually, a court order took away power of attorney from John Sisson, and a Probate Court representative was named to handle Steinkamp’s affairs. She is living at home with professional assistance.

Healing difficult

The investigation and conviction of Sisson has been difficult for his friends to accept, largely because they have known him as a community giver and one who has stood by others as life was winding down with only the intent of providing solace and comfort. Sisson was once named business person of the year by a Leland School endowment organization.

“He’s taken care of numerous people,” said Ken Tietje, an elder at Immanual Lutheran Church. “He would donate whenever the church needed something, and he donated to the schools.”

All that without a hint of wrongdoing, Tietje said.

He and other church members say they are being supportive of John Sisson and Steinkamp, recognizing that forgiveness and love are needed within their church family.

“We still love them both,” said Tietje.

Bob Gregory is also an elder at Immanuel Lutheran. He said Rev. Lawrence Matro, who is out of town this week, provided the Sacraments to Steinkamp at her home last week.

“The church continues to attend to minister to both of their needs. I will respect judicial systems. I am also trusting that the Lord will use this process to bring about reconciliations,” said Gregory.

He added: “I look forward to giving apples to Berta in the fall.”