Scandale plea, sentencing postponed until next week
A former elected official’s guilty plea to theft of cash and checks from the Washington County clerk of courts office has been postponed for a third time.
As part of a plea agreement, former clerk of courts Frank Scandale was to pay on Monday, the time of his plea and sentencing, $10,000 worth of restitution totaling $101,876.
Scandale’s attorney, Michael DeRiso, said when informed of the plea offer last week, he was unsure if Scandale would be able to raise that much money in a short amount of time.
Checks came in, but DeRiso on Monday afternoon told Senior Judge Gerald Solomon, “I’m not in a position to clear third-party checks,” and asked for a postponement.
After the hearing, DeRiso declined to identify anyone who contributed to the $10,000 pool of funds.
Solomon, who rejected a plea agreement in June, said he would be granting his final continuance and set Scandale’s next court date for Thursday, Oct. 15.
At a previous plea hearing, Solomon asked if Washington County officials were aware of the terms. DeRiso said other elected officials did not have standing to either object or agree because Scandale was an independent officeholder.
However, several of them – including Commissioners Diana Irey Vaughan and Larry Maggi and County Controller Michael Namie – who held office when Scandale was investigated by state police and charged, were in court Monday.
Irey Vaughan said Monday afternoon that she did not think it would be appropriate to comment because the hearing was continued.
“We thought it was finally going to be done today, that this chapter would be ended,” Maggi said after the brief hearing. “Apparently that’s going to happen next week. Being a trooper, I know these things can change on a dime. We were there just in case we were needed.”
Maggi retired as a state trooper who was then elected Washington County sheriff.
The previous amount of restitution was set at about $97,000. Maggi said it increased to include the amount of the forensic audit of the clerk of courts office.
DeRiso, who was unavailable at a second court date in August, said after Monday’s proceeding, “Given the lateness the plea offer that was tendered, Mr. Scandale has been jumping through hoops to obtain that money.”
The defense attorney said he received confirmation of the $10,000 figure last week.
If checks that brought the total to $10,000 did not clear, Scandale would not be eligible to hold up his end of the bargain with the prosecution.
Of the charges against his client, DeRiso said, “Nothing’s being dismissed.”
In June, Deputy Attorney General Evan Lowry said Scandale had agreed to plead guilty to charges of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, seven counts of theft and one count of misappropriating entrusted government property.
The penalty was to have been seven years’ probation, with the first two years spent on electronic home monitoring, and performing 150 hours of community service.
Scandale, 52, of Canonsburg, again said nothing during his time in front of the judge. He remains free on $100,000 unsecured bond.
More than a year has passed since Namie informed the county commissioners of an audit of the clerk of courts office that uncovered financial irregularities. Money was missing from the row office, which handles payments in criminal cases and for various criminal cases and other miscellaneous matters.
The county commissioners turned Namie’s findings over to state police.
Scandale, a Democrat, lost the election to Republican Brenda Davis and state police afterward filed charges.
Under the Fourth-Class County Code, the clerk of courts, like other county row offices, is independently elected and not under the jurisdiction of the county commissioners.