WILKES-BARRE �?? Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis said she expects to know before the end of the year whether charges will be filed in connection with fuel that�??s missing from Wilkes-Barre city tanks.
Two detectives assigned to investigate the case are interviewing employees in the Department of Public Works and several departments, Salavantis said.
They�??re also reviewing documents from the state Department of Revenue, which recently fined the city $25,918 after a review showed it could not account for nearly 67,000 gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel dispensed from July 2010 to July 2012.
The criminal investigation and Department of Revenue probes were prompted by a Times Leader investigation published in July that showed the city could not account for nearly 18,000 gallons of fuel that had been dispensed from Dec. 1, 2011 to June 22, 2012.
Salavantis said detectives have put in an extensive amount of time reviewing documents and questioning employees. She said she hopes to sit down with detectives in the next two weeks to review what they�??ve found so far.
�??We are still conducting interviews,�?� Salavantis said. �??We want to look at all the statements we have and the evidence we have and decide what the next step should be.�?�
The criminal probe has been time consuming because it goes further than the Revenue Departments probe, she said.
�??They were looking at whether taxes were not paid. We are looking at was there theft,�?� she said.
Whether or not charges are filed, Salavantis said she will make the results of the investigation public.
�??I want people to know what this investigation entailed,�?� she said.