\u201cI\u2019m asking for some sense of humanity,\u201d Jaye said. \u201cI just don\u2019t see a person like Robin being sent to prison. Prisons weren\u2019t built for people like Robin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reid Stuart, a prosecutor with the District Attorney\u2019s Office, said he\u2019s seen quite a few embezzlement cases in his career, but none of this magnitude. He did not give a sentencing recommendation to Norvell: \u201cI just don\u2019t know,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The prosecution called two witnesses \u2013 the owners of Dental Associates of the Southwest. Chris Wenburg said the fallout from being robbed of more than half a million dollars has been difficult for his business and his family. He said his trust in humanity has faltered as a result of being lied to for years.<\/p>\n
Courtney Heinicke, another doctor and owner with Dental Associates of the Southwest, said it was hard for him to even speak to the judge.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t even look at Robin\u2019s family, and they\u2019re like family to me,\u201d he told Norvell.<\/p>\n
In her remarks, Bernazzani fought through tears to express remorse and admit responsibility for stealing from the dentist office. She recognized the damage done to the people she once worked for, both financially and emotionally.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no words to express the remorse for hurting the people I cared about,\u201d Bernazzani said.<\/p>\n
Norvell didn\u2019t quite buy the notion that Bernazzani came clean about her behavior because of some sudden awareness of the impacts of her actions, as her lawyer suggested. The employees at the dentist office became suspicious of Bernazzani, Norvell said, and that was likely the reason she confessed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve undoubtedly affected their ability to trust people for the rest of their lives,\u201d Norvell said. \u201cThis has hurt your kids, your husband, all because you chose a path to steal. I don\u2019t know if you had a monetary amount in mind, but you certainly showed no restraint.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bernazzani was arrested in July after she confessed to her former employers in a written statement admitting to stealing from them for almost a decade. Bernazzani wrote checks to herself or one of her business accounts by using a signature stamp or forging a dentist\u2019s signature. She would then enter the amount in QuickBooks as an expense to a dental lab or supply company. Bernazzani also used a dentist\u2019s credit card to pay for personal bills or online shopping, entering her charges as a bulk payment to a dental supply company, according to an arrest affidavit.<\/p>\n
Bernazzani\u2019s conviction also unsealed another case from 2008 in which she received a deferred sentence, a conviction without jail time, for stealing about $10,000 from First National Bank of Durango. The conviction was erased from her record after she successfully completed terms of her probation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know that this won\u2019t happen again,\u201d Norvell said. \u201cI don\u2019t know how I promote respect for the law by imposing probation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bernazzani, who was free on bail, was remanded into the custody of the La Plata County Sheriff\u2019s Office as soon as Novell imposed his sentence. She hugged and kissed her husband, John, who declined to comment, before being led away by deputies.<\/p>\n