Opinion

EDWARD LEWIS

June 16, 2008

Justice stolen in how thieves are penalized EDWARD LEWIS OPINION

Former Red Cross volunteer Chris Panko and former Make-A-Wish executive director Jessica Hardy have something in common.

Both got shafted in their punishment.

Don’t get me wrong.

They deserved what they got, lengthy prison terms for stealing from the separate charities.

What I don’t understand is why others charged and convicted with similar thefts from a variety of youth organizations, memorial funds and taxpayers got their hand slapped by Luzerne County judges.

Take for instance Ruth Ann Lyons, the former Wilkes-Barre Township tax collector that Luzerne County detectives charged with stealing more than $48,000 from township funds within five months. Lyons repaid the township the money she stole, and was sentenced on June 5 to 12 months probation, according to court records.

Carl Salitis, a former clerk in the Luzerne County Recorder of Deeds Office, was sentenced in April to nine to 18 months plus five years probation, court records say. Salitis was charged by Luzerne County detectives, according to arrest records, with stealing in excess of $100,000 from January 1998 to January 2005.

His former co-worker in the deeds office, Robert Pritchard, was sentenced in May 2007 to six to 12 months house arrest with no probation in connection to stealing nearly $50,000 from the same office during the same seven-year span, arrest records indicate.

Francis Klemovitch was sentenced to five years probation in January 2006, according to court records, for stealing $156,619 from the Mountain Top Little League, Mountain Top Softball League, Mountain Top Baseball League and Mountain Top Basketball League. Investigators said in arrest records Klemovitch, as treasurer of the leagues, stole the money from 2002 to 2004 to support a gambling habit.

Amanda Robinson was sentenced, according to court records, to one year probation in May 2005 for stealing more than $3,400 from a memorial fund dedicated to her slain friend. Robinson set up the fund at a local bank, investigators said.

Former executive director for The ARC of Luzerne County, Diana Pfeiffer, was sentenced in September 2003, according to court records, to seven years probation for stealing more than $20,000 from the agency that helps the mentally challenged.

Investigators said in arrest records that Pfeiffer stole the money from April 1999 to December 1999.

Pfeiffer’s co-worker at The ARC, Arlene Kalinowski, was sentenced in November 2002 to two days in prison and nearly one year probation for stealing more than $13,000 from the agency. She was accused by investigators, according to arrest records, with stealing the money from January 2000 to March 2001.

Two more suspects to learn fates

The fate remains unknown for two more people charged with stealing money from the public.

Jennifer Masulis, a clerk in the Luzerne County Treasurer’s Office, was charged by county detectives earlier this year with stealing more than $13,600 from April 2006 to February 2007. She faces two theft charges in county court.

Recent testimony by Laura Beers, a supervisor in the treasurer’s office, indicated Masulis attempted to cover her tracks by voiding taxpayer receipts and placing the receipts in other co-workers’ cash drawers.

Carolyn Tirone, a former Pittston Township secretary, is facing a single theft charge in county court in connection to stealing more than $31,000 from the township’s garbage fund from 2005 through 2007, according to arrest records.

Obviously, there is a pattern going on with the sentences of those convicted of stealing money from charities or taxpayers.

Panko stole two truckloads of rakes, shovels, tarps and water from the Red Cross. Investigators said in arrest records the items were stolen during the June 2006 flood.

Panko took his chance with a jury trial.

He lost, and was sentenced to more than four years in state prison.

Hardy was ready for a jury trial, but opted to plead guilty to forgery and theft charges in January 2007, according to court records.

Her crime, investigators said in arrest records, was stealing more than $55,000 that was donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The money was earmarked to grant wishes for terminally ill children.

She ended up with a three-to-six-year state prison term.

Panko and Hardy got what they deserved.

The others, like I said, got their hands slapped.

Edward Lewis, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7196.

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