Felasco convicted on all four counts

The treasurer is not allowed in his office.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU
FRANKLIN, Pa. -- Gary Felasco's personal piggy bank is essentially closed.
Felasco, Lawrence County's elected treasurer, was convicted Friday of theft, embezzlement, conflict of interest and misapplication of entrusted property of government or financial institutions.
He is no longer permitted to go to his office without his attorney or the county sheriff, as a condition of his bond. Felasco, 39, will remain free until his Aug. 1 sentencing in Venango County, where the trial was moved because of extensive pretrial publicity. He faces a sentence of up to five to 10 years in prison.
Senior Deputy Attorney General Anthony Krastek said the conviction means Felasco will lose his pension and his job -- something Krastek asked jurors to do with his closing remark.
"He's been removed as tax claim director, but he's still the elected treasurer. By these four counts, wrench his fingers off the cash in Lawrence County," Krastek said.
Jurors came back with the verdict in less than three hours.
Felasco's mother, Helen, who attended the trial daily, was not present when the verdict was read and refused to comment later.
Felasco also refused to comment.
'Big relief'
Lawrence County officials say there was a sense of relief at the county government center after the verdict was known.
"The cloud that has been hanging over our county for the last few years is finally beginning to lift," Commissioner Dan Vogler said.
Controller Mary Ann Reiter agreed.
"This is a big relief for the taxpayers of Lawrence County. I guess the criminal justice system has done its job," she said.
Commissioner Steve Craig said they will now begin the process of sorting out Felasco's office and how it will be run in his absence. It's unclear who takes over or how another treasurer is appointed. They have already notified the county's bonding agency to recover the funds Felasco took, he said.
District Attorney John Bongivengo said he intends to start court proceedings to have Felasco formally removed from office as soon as possible.
Bongivengo's mother, Susan, was Felasco's opponent in the last election, and she was the first to uncover the improper court stays on Felasco's New Castle home, on which the tax had not been paid. That information led to the subsequent criminal investigation.
"I have to give Gloria Conti a lot of credit for stepping up to the plate. I found the court stays, but without her testimony, it wouldn't have gone this far," Susan Bongivengo said.
At times during the trial, it appeared that Conti, Felasco's second deputy treasurer, was on trial instead of the defendant.
Defense side
Defense attorney Jim Ross focused on Conti throughout his closing statement.
"The evidence suggests that Gloria Conti was living beyond her means. She was living beyond her means buying cars and taking trips," Ross said.
Police contend that Felasco used Conti to remove cash payments made to his office. He then had her substitute mailed checks in the daily receipts for the cash to hide the theft.
Those who mailed checks, but were never credited, were later deleted from the system at the county tax claim bureau where Felasco was the appointed director.
Conti testified that she took money for Felasco and kept none for herself.
Krastek told jurors it was no surprise the defense went after Conti, who was given immunity from prosecution in exchange for her testimony.
But he reminded jurors that testimony showed Conti wasn't the only one spending money. Krastek said Felasco would tap into his own little piggy bank -- the taxpayers of Lawrence County -- for money to pay his bills, buy a van and pay rent on a storefront in West Middlesex, Pa.
Felasco and his wife also had weekly stays at the Radisson Hotel in West Middlesex, Pa., he said.
"This is 15 minutes from New Castle. Who gets all these hotel rooms 15 minutes from home and pays cash?" Krastek asked.
They even made cash advance payments on rooms, a clerk testified.
The unexplained flow of cash continued with about $20,000 worth of cash deposits into Felasco's personal bank account and cash used to cover 12 of 33 bank overdrafts.
"If you are the treasurer of Lawrence County, don't you think you would know the money is better off in the bank than in a shoe box in your office?" Krastek said. "I hope you don't think the defendant kept personal cash in a box in his office."