Apr 4, 2016 3 min read

A Hanover Township supervisor’s son is facing charges of writing more than $15,000 in checks from the township recreation board account, and officials say that when the father learned money was missing, he immediately let his fellow supervisors and the township solicitor know something was amiss.

Township Solicitor Dennis Makel said Monday that Supervisor Kevin Lemmi’s role was “crucial” in having state police investigate what has turned out to be multiple counts of forgery and one count of theft filed against James Daniel Lemmi, 34, of Burgettstown.

According to an affidavit by a state trooper assigned to the Moon Township/Pittsburgh office, James Lemmi lived last year with his grandmother, Betty Lemmi of the Burgettstown area, who was responsible for the Hanover Township Recreation Board checking account. She kept the checkbook at her home.

When a suspicious bank statement arrived, it was brought to the attention of Kevin Lemmi.

“We had an executive session, looked over the files and determined something was going on,” Makel said. “The same day, we called the Pennsylvania State Police, and they sent someone that night to go over the case with us.”

According to state police, the township reported 16 checks were “written and cashed or deposited into the possession of the defendant between June 1 and Aug. 7 last year.”

The first of the spate of checks in question was made out to another person, for $800, but the remainder were all made out to James Lemmi. State police said all the checks carried the signatures of Betty Lemmi or Patricia Rhoades, who, according to the township’s website, is a member of the appointed Hanover Township Recreation Board, which serves in an advisory capacity to the township board of supervisors. Both women were authorized to sign checks on behalf of the recreation board.

Both women told police they never signed the checks attributed to them or authorized them to be written or cashed.

State police obtained and served two search warrants in the case, and the state trooper’s affidavit states the warrants showed that all the checks except the first one were deposited into a bank account opened and controlled by James Lemmi. Police did not identify the bank, but said a surveillance photo showed an image of James Lemmi depositing one of the checks.

State police filed charges in November against James Lemmi, who was arraigned before District Judge Gary Havelka. The magistrate released him on $15,000 unsecured bond, and the defendant waived his right to a preliminary hearing.

James Lemmi’s case has been assigned to Washington County Judge Gary Gilman, but the case is not expected to be called during the April trial term, which began Monday.