Theft from employer topped $250,000; woman sentenced to jail, must pay restitution
A woman who admitted to committing theft and theft by deception while she was an office manager at a Peters Township dental practice is to report to the Washington County jail on March 1.
Heather N. Smith, 44, of North Strabane Township, pleaded guilty before Judge Valarie Costanzo, who sentenced her to 6 to 23 months confinement, followed by eight years of probation.
The judge also ordered Smith to pay $251,843 restitution to Dr. Leonard Radnor, with minimum monthly payments of $500 to begin 30 days after her release from the jail.
“If the defendant pays the restitution in full, she may petition for early termination of her probation,” Costanzo said when she imposed the sentence in late January.
The judge also ordered Smith to submit to a mental health evaluation and complete recommended treatment, and to have no contact with Leonard or Brooke Radnor, their family members or their business.
After being notified by the dentist and his wife, Peters Township police charged Smith with falsifying payroll records by inflating her hours over a period of years and claiming holiday, overtime and sick pay to which she was not entitled.
Smith had been responsible for recording her own hours on a time sheet, as well as consolidating hours of all employees on a worksheet. She then reported the hours to the office’s payroll company, police said.
Charges of receiving stolen property and tampering with records were dismissed.