BROOKVILLE BOROUGH, Pa. (EYT) — Senior Judge Richard Masson, from Elk and Cameron counties, noted “He’s no threat to the community,” during the sentencing for former Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff Kyle Pisarcik.
Kyle Pisarcik entered a negotiated plea of nolo contendere (no contest) to one first degree misdemeanor count of forgery at a combined plea and sentencing hearing at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Brookville on Thursday, November 21.
A plea of nolo contendere is a plea by which a defendant in a criminal case accepts conviction as though a guilty plea had been entered but does not admit guilt.
As a result of the plea agreement, one third-degree felony count of theft by deception was dismissed.
Following the entry of Pisarcik’s plea, Pisarcik’s attorney, Christopher Mohney, and the commonwealth, represented by Evan Lowry, of the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office, agreed to proceed to immediate sentencing while waiving the presentation of facts.
Judge Masson noted that Pisarcik had no prior criminal history, and said he believed probation would be appropriate, stating, “He’s no threat to the community.”
Pisarcik was ordered to 24 months of probation and a fine in the amount of $500.
It was also noted that restitution, in the amount of $5,978.44, had already been paid in full.
“I understand full well the collateral consequences,” Judge Masson stated, referring to Pisarcik’s former law enforcement position.
“This will give you the opportunity to show you can be accountable and trustworthy.”
The initial charges stemed from an investigation into alleged theft from the Jefferson County K-9 Program.
Details of the case
According to a criminal complaint, Special Agent Seefeld, of the Bureau of Criminal Investigations, was assigned to investigate allegations of theft and forgery against Kyle Pisarcik, a former Deputy Sheriff with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO).
The complaint notes that in 2017, Pisarcik wanted to become a K-9 handler, so he and the JCSO raised the necessary funds to buy K-9, Iron, and establish a checking account at a local bank for a K-9 program. As part of Pisarcik’s responsibilities as a K-9 handler, he was in charge of purchasing the necessary supplies for care and training.
Pisarcik was made a signatory on the checking account and was required to obtain approval from either Sheriff Carl Gotwald Sr., Chief Deputy Sandra Means, or James Vansteenberg, Treasurer of Jefferson County, before making any purchases related to the K-9 program.
According to the complaint, on August 2, 2018, while preparing the checking account for audit, Sheriff Gotwald discovered that some of the supporting documents provided by Pisarcik for his purchases from Leerburg Enterprises, Inc. were not sufficient to reconcile the account. As a result, on October 18, 2018, Sheriff Gotwald contacted Leerburg who stated that Pisarcik did have an account with the company, but neither he nor the JCSO made any of the purchases that Pisarcik is claiming.
Sheriff Gotwald then called Pisarcik into his office along with Means and Sergeant Samuel Bartley.
According to the complaint, Pisarcik said he did not understand why there was no record of his purchases from Leerburg. Sheriff Gotwald instructed Pisarcik to obtain his receipts and credit card statements for proof of purchase.
The complaint notes that on October 19, 2018, Pisarcik informed Sheriff Gotwald that he had written the checks to himself without making any purchases from Leerburg and said that he had some financial problems and wrote the checks to himself because he needed the money. Pisarcik then resigned and repaid the money for the two fraudulent Leerburg purchases and other purchases that he made via the bank checking account, which totaled $4,865.75.
According to the complaint, initially, the $4,865.75 was thought to be all of the money that Pisarcik owed to the JCSO; however, Nicholas Scaife, Accountant for the JCSO, audited the checking account and discovered some additional issues: Pisarcik submitted two fraudulent invoices from Haag’s Feed Store & Milling LLC (Haag’s), totaling $660.00.
The complaint notes that Haag’s provided Sheriff Gotwald and Scaife with a sample invoice, which did not resemble the invoices submitted by Pisarcik. Pisarcik also submitted a fraudulent invoice from Shallow Creek Kennels, Inc. (Shallow Creek) for $5,100.78. Sheriff Gotwald called Shallow Creek and requested a copy of all invoices from the JCSO. There was no transaction from Shallow Creek for $5,100.78. All of Shallow Creek’s invoice numbers begin with a “17”; however, Pisarcik’s invoice began with an “82”. Lastly, Scaife discovered an invoice from Shallow Creek for $350.00 that appears to be fraudulent because the invoice number, 172496, is not on Shallow Creek’s “all transactions list,” which includes everything purchased by the JCSO.
Based on Special Agent Seefeld’s investigation, it was determined that Pisarcik currently owes $5,978.44 to the JCSO.
Pisarcik was arraigned in front of Magisterial District Judge Gregory M. Bazylak at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 24.
