High-profile area cases involving theft and gambling
There have been a number of court cases in the past few years involving money illegally taken and used for gambling. Here are some of them:
• Former Monongahela police officer David McClelland Jr., along with his stepmother and father, are in prison after being convicted in the July 2011 homicide of their 92-year-old California Borough neighbor, Evelyn Stepko. The McClellands stole more than $200,000 from Stepko and used it to gamble at The Meadows Casino and purchase vehicles and other gifts for themselves before she was stabbed to death by David McClelland Sr. while he was in her house during another robbery.
• Brian Lee Simon of Canton Township is awaiting trial in Washington County Court on charges he embezzled more than $500,000 from Nemacolin Country Club in Centerville while he worked there as a manager. Prosecutors accuse him of using the money for gambling unrelated to casinos.
• Stacy Lee Shipley of Charleroi was sentenced in September in Washington County Court to 3 years in the Intermediate Punishment Program, including the first six months on home monitoring, for stealing $93,000 in lunch money while employed as a cafeteria worker in Charleroi Area School District. She used the money to gamble at The Meadows Casino. Shipley’s coconspirator, Sheila Ann Cook of Charleroi, was sentenced in October in Washington County Court to spend 6 to 23 months in the county jail followed by 5 years of probation.
• John Tain of Lawrence was sentenced in federal court in 2011 to 33 months in prison for embezzling more than $900,000 from his employer, UBICS Inc. which does business in Southpointe, and using the money to pay bills and gamble.
• Cheri A. Logue of Claysville was sentenced in federal court in 2011 to 22 months in prison for embezzling more than $188,000 from Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Services Corp. while she worked at the government-funded agency as a bookkeeper/secretary. She made 56 unauthorized withdrawals to obtain more $12,000 with the agency’s debit card at or near gambling locations.
• Larry Dean Winckler of Indiana, Pa., is awaiting his May 30 sentencing in federal court after pleading guilty to embezzling $9 million from Falcon Drilling while he worked for the Marcellus Shale natural gas company as chief operating officer. He used much of the money to gamble at casinos in three states, including Pennsylvania.
• Benjamin Bartilson of McKeesport is awaiting trial in Allegheny County Court on charges he stole $30,000 from Primanti Bros. while he managed several of its restaurants and lost the money while gambling at a casino.
• Ella B. Jones was sentenced in January 2013 in Allegheny County Court to 6 to 12 months in alternative housing followed by 3 years probation for stealing $175,000 from Braddock Borough while she worked as its borough manager, and withdrawing some of the money at or near casinos in several states, including Pennsylvania.
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