Friday, January 23, 2015
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The former chief operating officer of a western Pennsylvania drilling company has been sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison.
Authorities say 54-year-old Larry Dean Winckler embezzled more than $9 million from Falcon Drilling LLC to feed his casino gambling habit.
At his sentencing today, Winckler was ordered to pay $9 million in restitution plus another $1.2 million in taxes, interest and penalties.
Winckler acknowledged he had checks written to himself from the Indiana County company’s bank accounts. He and another company official sent bogus letters to auditors claiming to not know anything about the missing money.
Winckler pleaded guilty to conspiracy, mail fraud and income tax fraud in February 2014.
Defense attorney Martin Dietz says “every penny” of the thefts was driven by Winckler’s casino gambling addiction.