SHENANGO VALLEY Judge sentences ex-teacher

The sentence will be served at a halfway house followed by in-house detention.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
PITTSBURGH -- A former Sharon school teacher and Hermitage school director will spend eight months in federal custody as a result of his guilty plea to mail fraud.
Bernard J. Krispinsky, 54, was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Donetta W. Ambrosia to spend four months in a federal community confinement center, which is similar to a halfway house, followed by four months of in-house detention. He must then serve three years' probation.
The judge also ordered Krispinsky to pay $20,000 in restitution to settle a civil case filed against him in a related matter. That money has already been paid and will be distributed according to a settlement reached in Mercer County Common Pleas Court, said Dennis P. Kissane, the assistant U.S. attorney who handled the federal case.
Kissane said the judge recommended that Krispinsky's four months of confinement be served at a federal community confinement center in Youngstown, provided that space is available.
About the case: Krispinsky pleaded guilty Jan. 23 to one count of mail fraud, admitting that he sent false and misleading statements and written reports to members of the Thousand Dollar Club, an investment group he helped form.
He was an investment adviser certified by the National Association of Securities Dealers although his primary job at the time was teaching physical education in Sharon City School District. He has since retired. He also served on the Hermitage School Board from 1995 to 1999.
Kissane said Krispinsky was the investment adviser and fund director for the Thousand Dollar Club and had exclusive control of its investment account.
Between June 1996 and November 1997, Krispinsky falsely reported group holdings to the club members, misrepresenting the value of its investment account. He also formed two other investment groups in November 1996 and falsely represented the success of the Thousand Dollar Club to those groups, Kissane said.
Members of the three investment groups sued Krispinsky in common pleas court and the $20,000 penalty assessed by Judge Ambrosia is expected to settle that issue, Kissane said.