JOHNSONBURG — A Ridgway woman has been charged with taking more
than $36,000 from the county while working as office manager for
the Elk County Tax Claim Bureau.
Stephanie A. Kilhoffer, 49, of 609 W. Main St., Ridgway, is
accused of theft by unlawful taking or disposition, receiving
stolen property and theft by failure to make required disposition
of funds received.
According to the police criminal complaint, Kilhoffer failed to
make required payment or disposition of county funds between March
2007 and May 2009 in the amount of $36,788.18.
In the affidavit of probable cause, filed by Patrolman Shawn M.
Geci Sr. of the Ridgway Borough Police Department, the
investigation began on Aug. 10, when he met with Elk County Tax
Claim Director John Samick.
Kilhoffer had been employed for 20 years at the tax claim office
and was the office manager. She was in charge of the office and her
job was to collect money and coordinate tax sales. In early May of
this year, a resident claimed to have paid his delinquent taxes,
but still received a notice saying the taxes were not paid. Then on
May 12, Elk County Commissioner Dan Freeburg provided a paid
receipt from the taxpayer. This started an internal investigation,
according to court paperwork.
Samick said that only three people could have issued a receipt —
Kilhoffer, Vickie Spencer (a back-up worker) and himself. Samick
and Elk County Chief Clerk Peg Aharrah started printing daily
deposit slips and comparing this to receipts issued and the
comparison always balanced. However, the computer only shows what
was entered into the system. When it was proven the taxpayer did
pay and a receipt was issued, but the record was deleted, Kilhoffer
was suspended from her job with pay on May 29, according to court
documents.
The court paperwork said computer personnel from Stock, Garber
and Associated in Ebensburg assisted with obtaining deleted
information from the computers in the tax claim office and it
showed that the original taxpayer and many others were deleted from
the system and the money was never deposited in the bank
account.
All entries made by Kilhoffer and deleted by her carry her
initials for identification, according to court documents. When
Kilhoffer would arrive at work, she would log onto her computer at
her desk and the computer at the desk of the tax claim office. When
a receipt was issued or deleted at one of Kilhoffer’s computers it
would carry her initials; however, if she stepped out of the
office, Samick or Spencer could issue a receipt from Kilhoffer’s
computer.
On June 5, according to court documents, a second taxpayer
produced a handwritten receipt for payment of taxes with two
control numbers on it. The receipt was for cash of $4,310.41 and he
received notice of past due taxes. The receipt was signed by
Kilhoffer. A total of $542.35 was not posted to his account. On
June 17, Samick met with the three county commissioners, Aharrah
and Elk County solicitor Tom Wagner. They had Kilhoffer meet with
them, along with her legal counsel Tom Coppolo. Kilhoffer was fired
during that meeting.
In mid-August, Samick and Aharrah gave a list of people who came
to tax claim saying they had paid their past due taxes. As of
January of this year, no cash would be accepted for past due taxes.
Kilhoffer did continue to accept cash in violation of the new
policy. Some of the computer generated receipts issued did not
contain a signature of the person issuing the receipt, court
documents noted. Those receipts can only be obtained from the tax
claim program.
Court documents said another taxpayer received notice of due
taxes dated May 28. She explained she had paid them and her money
was returned by money order in the mount of $1,503.58 by mail. She
had made a cash payment and the two money orders are believed to
have been purchased at the Ridgway Uni-Mart. They do not contain a
signature, only Elk County Tax Claim Bureau, according to the
affidavit of probable cause.
Spencer was a back-up to Kilhoffer, but her primary duty was
occupations clerk. Spencer said that since Kilhoffer moved to the
main courthouse from the annex building, she had assisted Kilhoffer
with tax claim duties, especially when they were busy or Kilhoffer
was on vacation. She said she kept a log of dates that she spent
time working with tax claim duties and she only issued hand-written
receipts when the computers were down, according to court
documents. Spencer said she was told by Kilhoffer that is she
issued handwritten receipts, to not enter then into the computer,
that she, Kilhoffer, would enter then into the system.
In late August, Geci spoke with Tom Hanzely from the office of
Sharkey and Piccirillo CPA’s in DuBois. They are working with
Samick and Aharrah doing an audit of the Tax Claim Bureau.
According to court documents, Hanzely said that there is a receipt
book that is missing and another receipt book with several
handwritten receipts contained, but is missing some pages. That
also concerning some of the deleted receipts that were discovered,
the time stamp on some that were printed 0000 to 0100 were wrong.
They should be 12 noon.
According to court documents, on Oct. 1 a search warrant for
Kilhoffer’s financial records et al was completed and approved by
Magisterial District Judge George “Tony” King. A search warrant
was served at National City Bank to Leslie Timchak, office manager.
A search warrant was also served at CNB Bank to Francine Papa,
community office manager.
On Oct. 23, Geci met with Kilhoffer where she was advised of the
nature of the meeting and was given her Miranda Warnings. She said
she had been advised by Coppolo to not speak on the matter. She did
want it noted that she requested Coppolo try and work something out
with the commissioners back when this all started, but he advised
against it, according to court documents. She said she was going
through a rough period in her life, she was depressed and was being
medicated. Geci told her that charges were being filed.
