LAWRENCE COUNTY Audit confirms $50K missing in property tax payments

County officials say they have no knowledge about the status of the investigation.
By VIRGINIA ROSS
VINDICATOR CORESPONDENT
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- A forensic audit of the county tax claim and treasurer's offices confirms a previous audit that showed nearly $50,000 in property tax payments made to Lawrence county in 2003 cannot be accounted for.
Officials have said those payments were never deposited into the county's general checking account.
Findings of the final audit, conducted by Packer Thomas of New Castle regarding practices of the two offices in 2003 and early 2004, are similar to those in a single audit completed by Maher Deussel of Pittsburgh that was released to the county earlier this year.
The report is available for review by the public at the Lawrence County Government Center.
Basically, the county hired Packer Thomas to take an in-depth look at the financial practices of the two offices after the commissioners ousted Treasurer Gary F. Felasco from the tax claim director's post in March 2004.
Commissioners removed Felasco from the appointed post after it was discovered he had not paid his own county taxes in the four years he was tax claim director.
But by law, county officials have explained, they cannot remove an elected official from public office, meaning they cannot oust Felasco from the treasurer's position because it is an elected seat. That move could only be made by the court system, for example, when an elected official is convicted of a crime.
Felasco has not been charged with any crimes, although he is being investigated by the state police and the state attorney general's office. Commissioners says the state hasn't communicated to them about the status of the investigation.
Other questionable actions
Additionally, officials have said that someone improperly placed stays on Felasco's properties and properties of others so taxes would not have to be paid.
Commissioners also questioned whether some properties marked in bankruptcy or listed for partial tax payments were legitimate.
The county also has alleged Felasco used a county-assigned cell phone, and furnished the cell phone number in an e-mail, to provide directions to adult-oriented parties that had been set up through the Internet.
Felasco has since returned county-assigned cell phones to the county.
County residents have continued attending commissioners' meetings, asking commissioners to remove Felasco from office. They also have requested that Felasco, whose presence at the treasurer's office has been sporadic, be ordered back to work.
Commissioners have acknowledged Felasco, who has two years remaining in his term, is seldom at work in the courthouse, but they cannot force him to go to work. They said they have repeatedly asked him to resign. They said he also continues to be unavailable to the public by telephone.
Felasco could not be reached to comment Monday.