Attorney General Tom Corbett today announced that Lawrence County Treasurer Gary Felasco has been charged with the theft of more than $47,000 of taxpayers' money. He is also charged with embezzlement, violations of the state Ethics Act and other charges.

Corbett said Felasco, 38, of New Castle, was charged today after a lengthy investigation by the Attorney General's Office and the State Police into allegations that he used his position to use taxpayer dollars for his own use.

		Previous story Lawrence County Tempest: Treasurer's public, private life investigated

Corbett said if a taxpayer paid in cash at the treasurer's office, the tax bill would be logged in as being paid and the taxpayer was given a receipt. However, if a taxpayer mailed a check into the treasurer's office, no receipt was issued and the check paying taxpayer was not logged in as having paid. Felasco would then add up the total of the checks that came in that day and steal a comparable amount of cash so that the receipts would match, Corbett said.

Corbett said that because those taxpayers paying with a check were not logged in as having paid their taxes, at the end of the year their names were submitted to the Tax Claims Bureau as being unpaid.

Corbett said as part of his scheme, Felasco was appointed in a non-paid position as the director of the Tax Claims Bureau. In this position he allegedly removed the names of taxpayers who paid by check from the Tax Claim Bureau. The person would then be cleared from the delinquent list and would receive the next year's tax bill on schedule.

Corbett said that in March of 2004, officials became aware that Felasco had not paid his own tax bill and was removed as the director of the Tax Claims Bureau.

Corbett said that after Felasco was removed from the Tax Claims Bureau he was unable to remove all of the people who were fraudulently sent to the Tax Claims Bureau and many of those people began receiving delinquency notices. The charges reflect that the total amount of fraudulent tax dollars was $49,731 for those who received delinquent notices.

The charges also state that Felasco fraudulently used the treasurer's office cash to purchase a van for $2,690 and for numerous hotel rooms.

Corbett said Felasco is charged with one count each of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, embezzlement, misapplication of entrusted property and two counts of violating the state Ethics Act. He was to be arraigned today before District Judge Samuel Battaglia.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.