By Justin Strawser
The Newsitem.com
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Thea Tafner, former ambulance committee chairwoman of American Hose and Chemical Fire Company, pleaded guilty Friday to felony charges of embezzling more than $1 million intended for the Mount Carmel organization.
Tafner, who was elementary principal and a longtime teacher in the Line Mountain School District, resigned from her post Friday.
An indictment filed Dec. 23 in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg said Tafner, between October 2000 and March 2010, “knowingly and willfully embezzled, stole and otherwise without authority converted to her use and intentionally misapplied moneys, funds, securities, premiums, credits, property and other assets of a health care benefit program” and “converted to her use Medicare payments in excess of $1 million” and “less than $2.5 million.”
Tafner’s guilty plea Friday in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Martin C. Carlson, of Harrisburg sets in motion a pre-sentence investigation.
“We’ve reached an agreement to resolve the matter and she is taking responsibility,” her attorney, Laurence C. Kress, Duncannon, said Friday. “We are working to arrive at a fair and just resolution of the matter.”
Efforts to reach Tafner were unsuccessful.
The maximum penalty for her offense is 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a maximum term of supervised release of up to three years, to be determined by the court.
The prosecuting attorney was Christy H. Fawcett, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Harrisburg.
In the plea agreement, the government can use other assets or income belonging to Tafner to satisfy the restitution obligations. However, it was agreed that funds held in Tafner’s Public School Employees Retirement system account will not be used to pay restitution.
Letter submitted Friday
Tafner, the Line Mountain principal of the elementary schools in Trevorton, Dalmatia and Leck Kill, submitted her letter of resignation Friday, according to Superintendent Dave Campbell. The board will act upon the letter at Tuesday night’s meeting.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Tafner’s salary was $75,039 in 2009.
Both Campbell and board President Troy Laudenslager declined comment on the matter when asked Friday.
By pleading guilty, Tafner waived the right to federal indictment by a grand jury and her right to appeal.
The probation office was directed to conduct a pre-sentence investigation and prepare a pre-sentence report, which will be disclosed on or before March 3.
No one else has been charged, according to the U.S. Attorney office.
Controversial issues
Tafner was removed from her position as chairman of the American Hose ambulance committee in October 2009 by President James A. Reed, who had explained at the time that she was not always readily available. Reed did not return a phone call for comment Friday.
But there was other troubles. Prior to her removal, Tafner served as chairwoman during several controversial issues regarding the ambulance company division of the organization.
In 2008, Shamokin Area Community Hospital (SACH), which provided Advanced Life Support (ALS) services to American Hose, filed a lawsuit against the company for financial reasons. While Tafner was still chairwoman, she and American Hose faced public scrutiny for switching ALS providers three times in less than a year while slowly losing communities in which it was primary responder.
After Tafner’s departure, Special Event EMS (SEEMS) pulled all its services in March 2010, effectively ending the longtime company’s history as an ambulance service. While the medical portion of the company ceased to exist, the firefighting services remain intact.
“She lied to me. I tried sticking up for them,” Mount Carmel Board Vice President Leroy “Chico” Moser said Friday of American Hose ambulance.
For months, the council questioned Tafner and her practices at American Hose, among rumors that there were illegal actions taking place.
“She always denied all wrongdoings,” said Moser, “but we knew something was wrong.”
Moser and a majority of borough council members wanted to keep two ALS service provides in American Hose and its competition, AREA Services. When the ambulance company folded, the board approved AREA as the primary responder.
Republished with permission from Newsitem.com