Published: October 05, 2008 11:54 pm      

Man accused of bilking senior of $800G

The owner of Mousey’s Bar in Windber was jailed Friday after allegedly bilking an older woman out of more than $800,000, West Hills Regional police said.

Authorities are calling Frank Andrew Solensky Jr., 54, of Somerset Avenue, Windber, a “financial predator.”

Solensky, a former part-time police officer, is charged with a felony count of forgery and 18 felony counts of theft by deception.

In a court document, police said the scam began in the early 1990s when Solensky befriended the woman and became her caregiver and handyman.

Solensky allegedly billed the woman for home repairs that were never completed and inflated the cost of other items, including seven remote-control garage door openers for which he charged a total of $16,670.

“He financially molested this lady,” West Hills police Sgt. George Musulin III said.

“He took total unadulterated advantage of her.”

Solensky was taken into custody by Windber police at his business, Musulin said.

He was a part-time police officer for Paint and Windber boroughs in the early 1990s, Musulin said.

Solensky waived extradition to Cambria County and was arraigned by District Judge John Barron of Upper Yoder Township.

He was sent to Cambria County Prison on $50,000 bond.

The alleged scam came to light in April when a relative of the woman – now in her 90s – began questioning checks paid to the handyman.

The family then hired an attorney and a CPA firm, Wessel and Co. of Johnstown, to conduct a forensic audit. The report detailed financial transactions dating from Sept. 1, 1993, to March 31, showing payouts totaling $807,872.

Musulin said that because the statute of limitations on such cases is eight years, theft charges were filed on transactions dating from Oct. 1, 2000, to Sept. 30, 2008.

During that time the woman issued 268 checks to Solensky totaling $668,519, Musulin said.

Musulin did not mince words when describing Solensky’s actions.

“Predators wear a lot of different faces,” he said. “There’s sexual predators and there are financial predators. This man was a financial predator.”

Authorities warn residents to care for older family members and neighbors before they fall prey to financial schemes. It is sometimes easy for trusting seniors to become victims.

“She trusted him implicitly,” Musulin said. “That was her fatal error.”