Pa. football coach, wife charged

Staff report

new castle, pa.

A New Castle football coach and his wife are charged in connection with stealing money from a youth football program they managed.

Frank Bongivengo, 47, who is also head football coach at New Castle High School, and his wife, Karen, 46, are charged with stealing more than $3,600 from the New Castle Youth Football Program, said Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly’s office.

Kelly said the two were charged Friday before Ellwood City District Magistrate Jerry Cartwright.

They are each charged with one count of criminal conspiracy, one count of theft by unlawful taking or disposition of funds, one count of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received, and one count of forgery.

The case will be prosecuted in Lawrence County by Deputy Attorney General Anthony Krastek.

After an open-records request because of suspicions into how the Bongivengos were handling the program finances, the case was turned over to the state police, Kelly’s office said.

According to the criminal complaint, there were five transactions between March 31, 2009, to June 17, 2009, totaling $2,350 from the program’s account to the Bongivengos’ personal account, which otherwise would have been overdrawn the next business day.

Kelly said that in one instance, Frank Bongivengo listed a transaction of $585 as “Sam’s Club — minicamp purchase, water, Gatorade, VHS converter.”

However, investigators determined that the same transaction in records obtained in a search warrant showed the money was spent for a shuttle service called Elite Transportation of Orlando, Fla., Kelly’s office said.

George Gabriel, superintendent of New Castle City Schools, could not be reached Friday to comment on the situation.

The Bongivengos also could not be reached.

A message was left at their home on Euclid Avenue.