Case Name: Lou Ann ANDREASEN, Appellant, v. The STATE of Florida, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1983-06-14
Citations: 439 So. 2d 226
Docket Number: No. 81-955
Parties: Lou Ann ANDREASEN, Appellant, v. The STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Judges: Before HENDRY, NESBITT and FERGUSON, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 439
Pages: 226–232

Head Matter:
Lou Ann ANDREASEN, Appellant, v. The STATE of Florida, Appellee.
No. 81-955.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.
June 14, 1983.
Rehearing Denied Nov. 9, 1983.
Highsmith & Strauss and Philip Glatzer, Miami, for appellant.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., for appellee.
Before HENDRY, NESBITT and FERGUSON, JJ.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
This appeal is from a conviction after trial by jury on charges of grand theft.
The information alleges that defendant, in her capacity as Finance Director for the City of Opa Locka, between May 4, 1979 and October 19,1979, permanently deprived the city of cash, having a value of at least $100 but less than $20,000, in violation of Section 812.014, Florida Statutes (1981).
Procedurally, appellant was given a flawless trial. The challenges in this appeal go only to the sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury verdict. The issue as framed by appellant is whether the court erred by denying her motions for judgment of acquittal and for a new trial. The grounds for the motions, as further stated, were (1) the evidence at trial was insufficient to establish the corpus delicti of grand theft, and (2) the state's case, based entirely on circumstantial evidence, failed to exclude every reasonable hypothesis consistent with innocence.
A detailed recitation of the facts is unnecessary; suffice it to say that the evidence of guilt pointed to the defendant to the exclusion of any other city employee. The state proved that the defendant had access to certain cash which was sent to her as Finance Director from the Department of Utilities; that instead of depositing the cash into appropriate accounts at Coral Gables Federal Savings and Loan Association, she diverted it elsewhere and then attempted to "cover-up" the missing cash by depositing into the Coral Gables Federal account four checks totalling $16,000 from the Clerk of the Circuit and County Courts of Dade County, which should have been deposited into an account at Florida National Bank; that she then improperly deposited seven other checks totalling approximately $16,-000 into the account at Florida National Bank to cover the $16,000 in circuit and county court checks. Appellant's statements that she did not make certain improper deposits, was not present at work on the date of another questioned deposit, and had acted on the instructions of the city manager with reference to the handling of other receipts, were shown to be false testimony. The task of making bank deposits had formerly been that of the Opa Locka Police Department, but this practice was discontinued by appellant who then undertook to make the deposits herself.
The testimony came from a certified public accountant who audited the city's financial records for the period in question, a state investigative accountant, and defendant's co-workers. The investigative accountant testified that, based on defendant's financial records which had been made available to him, her bank deposits and expenditures exceeded her salary earned during the same period by over $7,000. What proved to be the most damaging testimony to defendant was her own explanation of how she came to spend, during the period of the offense, more than she had earned. On direct examination she testified that she had received a $15,000 insurance settlement during the year. On cross-examination it was established that the proceeds from the insurance award were not paid until after the dates of her ostentatious cash expenditures.
The argument made here is similar to one rejected by the supreme court in Tibbits v. State, 146 Fla. 69, 200 So. 373, 374 (1941) where it was held:
[Defendant's] explanation . . was evidently not believed by the jury. They chose to believe that he appropriated . money belonging to the City and sought to veil his criminal conduct behind an alleged . . situation . which allowed unknown persons an opportunity to steal the money without his knowledge, [cite omitted]. Circumstantial evidence is relied on by the state to prove that the appellant converted the allegedly embezzled funds to his own use...
The evidence submitted to the jury in regard to the financial condition of the appellant, his salary or income and his financial obligations, together with the testimony of all the witnesses, was sufficient, if the jury believed it, to sustain the verdict.
The court properly denied appellant's motion for acquittal made at the conclusion of the state's case. A defendant in a criminal prosecution, moving for a directed verdict of acquittal, admits facts in evidence adduced and every conclusion favorable to the state fairly and reasonably in-ferable therefrom. Victor v. State, 141 Fla. 508, 193 So. 762 (1939); Weldon v. State, 287 So.2d 133 (Fla. 3d DCA 1973), appeal dismissed, 298 So.2d 419 (Fla.1974); Dancy v. State, 284 So.2d 452 (Fla. 3d DCA 1973); Dixon v. State, 180 So.2d 681 (Fla. 2d DCA 1965), cert. dismissed, 188 So.2d 318 (Fla.), appeal dismissed, 188 So.2d 810 (Fla.1966). The test to be applied in reviewing the denial of a motion for acquittal is whether the jury might reasonably conclude that the evidence, assuming all of it to be true, fails to exclude every reasonable hypothesis but that of guilt. Amato v. State, 296 So.2d 609 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974). The trial court's determination that there was sufficient evidence upon which a jury could find the defendant guilty is supported by the record. See Adams v. State, 138 Fla. 206, 189 So. 392 (1939). Further, the defendant's false exculpatory statements, when considered as substantive evidence, as is permitted, see, e.g., United States ex rel. Royster v. McMann, 292 F.Supp. 116 (E.D.N.Y.1968), aff'd, 433 F.2d 1013 (2d Cir.1970); Spinkellink v. State, 313 So.2d 666 (Fla.1975), cert. denied, 428 U.S. 911, 96 S.Ct. 3227, 49 L.Ed.2d 1221 (1976); Mackiewicz v. State, 114 So.2d 684 (Fla.1959), cert. denied, 362 U.S. 965, 80 S.Ct. 883, 4 L.Ed.2d 879 (1960); Brown v. State, 391 So.2d 729 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980), established guilt by overwhelming evidence.
The contention that the evidence at trial was insufficient to establish the corpus de-licti of grand theft is without merit.
Affirmed.