Woman gets probation for trying to defraud State Farm Insurance

STAFF REPORT

WARREN — A Liberty woman has been placed on two years of probation for attempting to defraud State Farm Insurance Co. by reporting damage to four tires and the theft of four car rims from a car that was parked at Akron-Canton Regional Airport in 2007.

Judge Peter Kontos of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court issued the sentence Monday to Gina Pascale, 53, of Logan Gate Road. Pascale pleaded no contest in April to one count of attempted telecommunications fraud, a misdemeanor, in the case. Judge Kontos found her guilty.

Deena DeVico, an assistant county prosecutor, said prosecutors were willing to reduce the charges down to one misdemeanor from the felony charges of insurance fraud, telecommunications fraud and theft she was indicted on because a witness to the crime has medical problems that affected her memory of the offenses.

That same witness problem caused prosecutors to drop all charges against Pascale’s husband, Tony L. Pascale, 56, also of Logan Gate, DeVico said.

Tony Pascale had been indicted on charges related to a different insurance claim to State Farm in which the Pascales reported nearly $5,000 worth of lawn mowers and other lawn equipment had been stolen from the garage of their home in September 2006, DeVico said.

When the insurance company checked into Gina Pascale’s story about the slashed tires and stolen rims, it discovered that there was no police report of the incident and discovered that the story didn’t add up, DeVico said.

The company then went back and checked into the homeowner’s claim regarding the lawn equipment, DeVico said.