A 54-year-old Pen Argyl man was convicted on Thursday of depleting the life savings of his uncle, who is now 95, by using a power of attorney and converting property and funds for his personal use.

A Lehigh County jury deliberated a little more than an hour before finding Scott Lee Bartholomew of 115 Acker St., Pen Argyl, guilty of theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, receiving stolen property and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities.After the verdict, Judge Robert L. Steinberg revoked bail for Bartholomew, who had been free on bail. The sentencing has been scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 2.During the trial, which started on Monday, Chief Deputy District Attorney Charles F. Gallagher III told the jury that the victim, Wilbur B. Stiles, who was 93 when the charges were filed in August 2013, had accumulated substantial savings during his lifetime and had owned a home in Allentown. Stiles was a wildlife biologist with the Department of the Interior and was a World War II Air Force veteran.After Bartholomew was appointed as Stiles' power of attorney in 2003, Stiles' savings dwindled, his residence went into foreclosure and Stiles was placed in a nursing facility.Stiles is now in a veterans center in Scranton.Gallagher said that a report prepared by the Institute on Protective Services, which is a collaborative effort between the Department of Aging and Temple University, disclosed that after Bartholomew was appointed power of attorney, he used a vast amount of Stiles' funds for his own benefit. Bartholomew did not pay for the care of Stiles at a veterans home even though funds were available for that, Gallagher said. Instead, Bartholomew converted about $351,000 in funds for his own use.Bartholomew was removed as power of attorney in February 2012.The investigation was conducted by Sgt. Michael Sorrentino of the South Whitehall Township Police Department, who is a member of the Lehigh County District Attorney's Elder Abuse Task Force, with the assistance of the Institute for Protective Services.