Auditors will dig deeper into tax payments

The treasurer's request to dismiss a lawsuit is denied.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA STAFF
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Auditors are going to take a further look at the tax payments made to Lawrence County Treasurer Gary Felasco's office.
Lawrence County Commissioner Dan Vogler said commissioners will hire auditing firm Packer Thomas at Tuesday's meeting to look at cash payments made to the treasurer's office from March 1, 2000, to Sept. 30, 2003.
Previous audit
A previous audit by Packer Thomas looking taxes paid from October 2003 to December 2003 revealed that more than $40,000 was missing. That audit is the basis for criminal charge of theft and embezzlement filed Sept. 7 against Felasco.
Vogler said during a caucus meeting Thursday that Packer Thomas estimates the audit will cost $18,000 to $22,000. Auditors intend to reconcile cash payments with bank deposits during those months. Vogler noted the auditors will not look at the first three months of 2000 because few tax payments are made early in the year.
"There is no question in my mind that we need to do this. Certainly the price is something we can manage," Commissioner Ed Fosnaught said.
Money offered
Lawrence County District Attorney Matt Mangino has offered $2,500 from his office budget to help with the audit. Commissioner Steve Craig said he has also contacted the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office to see if it will provide any money. The attorney general's office is handling Felasco's prosecution.
Prosecutors contend that Felasco was taking cash payments made to his office and then using checks sent by mail to make the daily receipts balance. Taxpayers whose checks were used were not marked paid and their taxes were sent to the county tax claim office as delinquent. Felasco was also head of the county tax claim bureau until early 2004 when commissioners removed him after learning he had not paid his own property taxes for four years.
Craig said the county bought a copy of the transcript from Felasco's preliminary hearing and will have auditors check specific dates that were mentioned in testimony.
It's unclear how long it will take to complete the audit.
Request denied
In addition to Felasco's criminal legal woes, a visiting judge denied the treasurer's request to dismiss that a civil lawsuit attempting to remove him from office.
On Wednesday, Judge Michael Wherry ruled against preliminary objections filed by Felasco's attorney.
The county district attorney filed the civil lawsuit in August contending that Felasco abandoned his office. He asked the court to declare Felasco's seat vacant. Mangino also asked that Felasco be removed as a board member of the Lawrence County Housing Authority.
The district attorney contends that Felasco is living with his wife and children in Ashtabula, Ohio, where he is receiving mail and is driving a car registered in Ohio.
Mangino said the law requires that an elected official reside in the county.
cioffi@vindy.com