Ex-law firm bookkeeper gets prison for tax evasion

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The former secretary-bookkeeper of a western Pennsylvania law firm must spend two years in federal prison for evading federal taxes on more than $150,000 she embezzled.

U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab told 64-year-old Debra Feather her sentence reflects the trust she violated after working 41 years for McDonald Snyder & Lightcap.

The Latrobe woman was fired in 2010 after she broke her leg and was unable to work. That’s when one of the law partners did the firm’s payroll and noticed discrepancies.

Federal prosecutors say more than $300,000 was found missing back to 1998, but Feather was charged and previously pleaded guilty only to evading taxes on more than $150,000 missing from 2007 to 2010.

She spent the money on credit card bills, season tickets for Pitt and Pittsburgh Pirates games, among other things.