Woman held on multiple counts of perjury, forgery
Despite the testimony from former co-workers that some of the initials on copies of adding machine tapes appeared to be authentic, a Washington district judge held a local woman for trial on multiple counts of perjury and forgery.
Debra Meeks Wilson, 53, of Franklin Terrace, Washington, remains free on her own recognizance while facing trial Jan. 7 in Washington County Court.
District Judge Robert Redlinger declined to dismiss charges that Wilson used a “dummy” account for the deposit of co-payment receipts while she was employed by Advanced Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation of Southwestern Pennsylvania between December 2007 and January 2009.
Wilson was tried in 2011 on theft by deception counts totaling nearly $50,000, but jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict.
At her trial, Wilson presented adding machine tapes which she said her co-workers had initialed, claiming they showed she did not have the opportunity to commit the thefts.
Then-Assistant District Attorney Eugene Vittone immediately asserted that Wilson had fabricated exculpatory evidence at the trial, leading Chief County Detective Michael Aaron to conduct an investigation, collecting handwriting samples from Wilson’s former co-workers.
In testifying Tuesday before Redlinger, Aaron said he turned over the handwriting samples to the state police crime laboratory in Harrisburg, the sole facility in the state system that is able to evaluate them for forensic purposes.
Wilson’s former co-workers Linda Thomas, Tammi Scott and Melissa Shawley each paged through a sheaf of papers as they testified, but Wilson’s attorney, David DiCarlo, in asking to have counts dismissed, noted that they perceived some handwriting was legitimate.
“It’s clear these tapes were put together in some manner by this defendant,” argued Vittone, who defeated DiCarlo a year ago in a close race to become Washington County district attorney.
DiCarlo said he intends to challenge the authenticity of the evidence at a pre-trial hearing in Washington County Court.