Mahoning Twp. official faces charges over use of credit card

By Mary Grzebieniak

He has been charged with five felony counts, including two counts of theft.

HILLSVILE, Pa. — Longtime Mahoning Township supervisor, fire chief and roadmaster Francis “Poncho” Exposito apparently wanted to be a good father and buy things for his adult daughter, but it is alleged he bought them with money that wasn’t his.

Exposito has been charged with five felony counts in connection with the use of a fire department credit card to make approximately $3,000 worth of personal purchases.

Exposito, 58, of 421 Jackson St., Edinburg, is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at 11 a.m. Aug. 18 at Central Court in New Castle.

Special Agent Robert Gift of the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office charged Exposito on July 17 with two counts of access device fraud, two counts of theft by deception and conflict of interest.

Exposito is charged with using a Mahoning Township Volunteer Fire Department credit card to purchase personal items, including carpeting, appliances and other items from Lowe’s and a leaf blower, children’s diapers, cookies and other personal items from Sam’s Club.

Exposito faces re-election as supervisor in November. Although he was narrowly defeated in the Democratic primary, he won enough write-in votes on the Republican side to qualify him for a place on the general election ballot.

According to an affidavit filed by the state Attorney General’s office, Cathy Stokes, who served as treasurer of the Mahoning Township Volunteer Fire Department from 2002 to 2008, said she confronted Exposito at the October 2008 monthly meeting of the fire department.

Stokes, who is Exposito’s cousin, told investigators that Exposito at that time admitted misusing the credit card, and she stated that the fire department membership voted to allow Exposito to make the monthly payments. Stokes told investigators that before the meeting, Exposito had directed her to pay monthly bills on several of the credit cards he had used for personal purchases.

Stokes said the main funding sources for the volunteer fire department are state grants, donations from letter drives, fundraisers and proceeds from filling swimming pools of local residents.

Exposito’s daughter, Jessica Kosciuszko, who is the secretary of the fire department board, told investigators that in May 2007 she went to Lowe’s with her father and he purchased $2,100 worth of items for her with the fire department credit card, including carpeting, a refrigerator and stove. The affidavit states Exposito was the only department member to have a key to the department’s post office box and that he picked up the department mail.

Exposito told investigators he always intended to pay the money back to the fire department and said he still intends to pay the money back with interest. Exposito told investigators that he had made some payments on the debt, but as of July 2009, he still had not paid back all the money owed.

Vito Yeropoli, who sits on the board of township supervisors along with Exposito, said Friday that the township supervisors have little to do with the matter because the fire department is a separate entity from the township. Yeropoli said that Exposito’s appointment as chief is also a function of the fire department, not the township.

The township has a fire tax, but Yeropoli explained that the township uses the proceeds to make direct payments to the bank on the outstanding balance on a firetruck and to pay the department’s insurance.

“We haven’t given any other money to the fire department,” he said.

Yeropoli said Exposito continues in his position as township roadmaster and, in that capacity, makes approximately $19.05 hourly.

Exposito did not return a voice message asking to comment. His attorney, David Acker, said he had not seen the paperwork yet and could not comment further about the case.