Published: September 24, 2009 11:23 pm      

Jackson Township man pocketed proceeds from sales, cops allege

EBENSBURG — A Jackson Township man has been charged with stealing $22,935 while working at Uni-First Corp. in Cambria Township over two years.

Samuel Thomas LaRose, 38, of the 100 block of Anderson Drive, was charged by Cambria Township with theft and receiving stolen property.

LaRose was arraigned before District Judge Fred Creany and released on recognizance bond.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Nov. 10 before Creany.

Cambria Township police alleged that LaRose sold scrap 22 times to a customer between Jan. 1, 2007, and Dec. 21, 2008, and pocketed the money instead of putting it in the company coffers.

In 18 of the purchases, the woman said she gave cash to him, while in the other four transactions, she gave him money orders, payable to LaRose, it’s alleged.

The township police said that LaRose prepared handwritten invoices for the customer, but no copies or other documentation of the sales were found at the company’s offices, 357 Industrial Park Road. A forensic audit by Wessel & Co. showed that the amount of money stolen totaled $22,935.

In other police-related news:

• State police in Somerset are looking for whoever stole checks from a truck in Salisbury and tried to cash them at First National Bank in the borough.

Police said the checks were stolen from the truck of Donald Oester, 52, of 654 Shade Hollow Road. The theft occurred between Sept. 1 and Tuesday.

• State police in Greensburg said someone stole 11 solar garden lamps that lined a Beaufort Road driveway and yard in New Florence.

The lamps were taken between 6 and 8 p.m. Wednesday.

• State police and officers from more than 15 municipal departments statewide conducted 1,886 commercial motor vehicle roadside inspections and placed 86 vehicles and

73 drivers out of service for violations during Operation Seatbelt And Fatigue Enforcement on Sept. 9, Commissioner Frank Pawlowski said.

He said 665 citations, including 28 for drivers not wearing seat belts, were issued during the daylong operation.

State police inspections included:

• Troop A – Cambria, Indiana, Somerset and Westmoreland counties – 139 inspections and 17 citations.

• Troop G – Bedford, Blair, Centre, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata and Mifflin counties

– 133 inspections and 44 citations.

• Troop T, which covers the Pennsylvania Turnpike, 190 inspections and 112 citations.