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Man gets probation in 'unsettling' forgery

He lived with dead roommate to use his checks.

By CHRIS TISCH
Published January 31, 2007

CLEARWATER - A man who used his dead roommate's checks while living for weeks with his decomposing corpse has been sentenced to probation for forgery charges.

Police arrested James Meitner, 38, in October after a manager at Glen Ellen Mobile Home Park in Clearwater told them a bad odor came from one of the units.

Officers discovered the body of Edward J. Dewyea, 62, beneath a blanket in the living room. The smell in the home was overpowering and there were flies buzzing around, police reported.

"It was really quite unsettling," Clearwater police spokesman Wayne Shelor said.

Meitner was charged with 19 counts of forgery because police said he used Dewyea's checks to pay rent. Shelor said police are still awaiting a final autopsy report to determine how Dewyea died.

Shelor said officers don't suspect foul play now.

Police said neighbors hadn't seen Dewyea for more than two months when they found the body. Neighbors had smelled a foul odor at the home for weeks, but Meitner told them it was from an opossum that died under the home.

Meitner told them Dewyea was in New York and he was watching the home while he was away.

Meitner pleaded no contest to the forgery charges Monday and was sentenced to serve three years of probation.

[Last modified January 30, 2007, 23:01:57]