MERCER COUNTY Judge orders woman to pay back $20,000

Ten lawbreakers were either jailed or put on probation.
By MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MERCER, Pa. -- A West Middlesex woman was placed on five years' probation and ordered to make restitution for writing more than $20,000 worth of checks on another woman's account.
Cynthia Schwartz, 43, of New Castle Road, was sentenced Wednesday by Judge John Reed of Mercer County Common Pleas Court for access device fraud, a felony.
Court documents say that in October 2003, Schwartz conspired with two other people to steal the checks from a Shenango Township woman.
Another woman also was placed on probation for theft from a restaurant she managed.
Paula Blough, 40, of Butler, was ordered to serve three years' probation and to make $3,424 restitution to Perkins Restaurant, 915 W. Main St., Grove City, for theft by unlawful taking, a misdemeanor. She was given two days' credit for time served.
Court documents say that in September 2003, Blough, who was general manager, took that amount in gift certificates, a bank deposit and unauthorized discounts and voids.
Other cases
Several others also were sentenced. They are:
UBrian Cesario, 30, of Seneca, placed on two years' probation for access device fraud. During August 2003, Cesario, charged $2,568 worth of merchandise at a Sharon lumber company using the charge account of a former employer when he was not authorized to do so, court documents say.
UMark Domascieno, 38, of West Middlesex-Mercer Road, Mercer, placed on two years' probation and ordered to make restitution for theft by unlawful taking, a misdemeanor. On Nov. 11, 2003, he took a weed trimmer and battery charger worth $325 from Reasonable and Dependable Contractors, 485 Crawford Drive, Hermitage.
UBilly Flory, 38, of East Long Avenue, New Castle, sentenced to three to 12 months in jail and placed on two years' probation for escape, a felony. On July 8, 2003, he failed to return to the Mercer County jail after being granted leave for work release after a conviction for driving under the influence.
UMalaika Graham, 28, of Spearman Avenue, Farrell, placed on one year's probation for retail theft. Last Nov. 11, she stole $243 worth of clothes from Wal-Mart, 3300 Shenango Valley Freeway, Hermitage, court documents say.
UDaniel Osborne, 29, no hometown available, placed on one year's probation for simple assault and two counts of harassment. He was convicted after a trial in February for his actions June 22, 2003, in Quillen's Pub, Stoneboro. Osborne smashed a beer bottle over one man's head and kicked him in the groin, then struck another man in the mouth. The first victim required hospital treatment.
UAnita Scheller, 35, of Malleable Street, Sharon, placed on two years' probation for retail theft for stealing 11 packs of cigarettes worth $38 from Giant Eagle, 2357 E. State St., Hermitage. The offense is a felony because it was her third or subsequent shoplifting episode.
UTimothy Surrena, 26, of Harrisville, placed on two years' probation for simple assault and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. On Oct. 15, 2003, he threw one woman off a deck, knocked another woman to the floor and struck a man with a belt buckle, all at a Branch Street, Stoneboro, residence. He then took a motor vehicle belonging to one of the women without her consent, court documents say.
UGeorge Woods, 58, of West Main Street, Greenville, placed on two years' probation for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver for selling marijuana to an undercover agent Aug. 23, 2003, at a Sharon residence.