Published: May 29, 2009 12:26 am      

Stanek, wife plead guilty

EBENSBURG — Former Northern Cambria police Chief Kevin Stanek pleaded guilty Thursday in county court to driving drunk while off-duty.

He also pleaded guilty to unrelated felony charges of forging doctor’s slips for sick leave pay and of making a false insurance claim for $1,700 in damage to a family car.

His wife, Debra, also pleaded guilty to a theft charge in the false insurance claim incident and a second unrelated theft charge for embezzling more than $47,000 from a family auto business.

Stanek, who is a Susquehanna Township supervisor, declined to comment after the plea hearing on whether he would resign from the elected position because of the criminal charges, which, under law, become a conviction at the time of sentencing.

“We’re still looking into (whether he can continue as a supervisor),” defense attorney Tom Dickey said. “We’re still digging into all that.”

During the plea hearing, the former chief - who has been a law enforcement officer for 30 years - told Judge Gerard Long that he probably will lose his police pension.

And because of a felony criminal record, he apparently will be prohibited from working again as a police officer in Pennsylvania.

Stanek, 49, and his wife, 51, who live in the 1900 block of Empire Avenue in the township, will be sentenced Aug. 21 by Long. Prosecutors did not make any sentencing recommendations in exchange for the pleas.

The pleas culminate more than a year of controversy since the former chief was involved in a confrontation with a Susquehanna Township police officer April 13, 2008. Stanek drove Northern Cambria’s unmarked police car to Moss Creek Road, where the township officer had stopped Stanek’s stepson.

Stanek initially was charged with DUI, aggravated assault and terroristic threats, but prosecutors dropped the latter two counts.

After the incident, there were calls for either Stanek’s resignation or ouster from the borough police force. Borough Council suspended him in May 2008, though he allegedly was told by the borough that he could collect 100 paid sick days if he had a doctor’s slip.

Assistant District Attorney Mike Carbonara said Stanek submitted eight doctor’s slips – two legitimate and six fake.

In the insurance fraud case, Stanek and his wife received $1,700 from their insurance company after claiming that their vehicle had been damaged in a hit-and-run accident. Police eventually determined that the damage had been caused by Debra Stanek’s father, who had paid for the repair work, Carbonara said. Stanek had directed an officer to do a hit-an-run accident report with incorrect information, it was alleged.

In October, Stanek submitted his intention to retire, four days before he was charged by state police in the insurance and forgery cases. Council rejected the retirement-resignation, saying he wasn’t eligible at that time.

He was fired by council in early April.

Debra Stanek stole $47,651 from the family business beginning in 2004 and continuing until October 2005, Carbonara said.

She had worked at her late father’s auto business for years, and her mother and brother sought an audit after her father’s death, it previously was reported.

Under the plea bargain, she must repay the $47,651 plus the cost of a forensic audit, estimated at $10,000 to $15,000, the prosecutor said.