High court declines to hear former deanā??s appeal

The state Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal of Peter Paul Moses, a former Luzerne County Community College associate dean who was convicted of stealing more than $17,000 and two laptop computers from the school.

The ruling, issued Tuesday, clears the way for prosecutors to petition the court to have Moses begin serving the four-to-23-month prison sentence that was imposed upon him in August 2010.

Moses, 61, of Wilkes-Barre, was charged in September 2008 with four counts of theft. He was convicted by a jury of all charges in July 2010.

He has remained free on bail pending resolution of his appeals of the conviction.

Moses served as the associate dean of administration and auxiliary services, overseeing the cafeteria and Educational Conference Center. Prosecutors said he repeatedly stole cash from the cafeteria, and also stole two computers.

Moses first appealed the conviction to the state Superior Court, arguing the trial judge had improperly permitted two witnesses to testify they saw Moses take money from the cafeteria cash register.

The court rejected that argument and upheld the conviction in March.

His attorney, William Ruzzo, then filed a petition with the state Supreme Court, asking it to hear the case.

The court, in a one-paragraph order, denied that request.