Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Pennsylvania Municipal Employee & Cop Husband Charged With Embezzling More Than $850K; Gambling Blamed

From LehighValleyLife.com on 5.21.13:

An Emmaus couple used an elaborate scheme involving South Whitehall Township residents' utility payments to embezzle $854,497, according to the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office.

Nancy A. Tonkin, 66, and William J. Tonkin IV, 69, both of Little Lehigh Drive South in Emmaus, face several theft-related charges, which came as the result of a grand jury, officials announced today.

Nancy Tonkin was a clerk at South Whitehall Township, where she collected payments from residents, officials said, and William Tonkin was a township police officer. Residents have since been reimbursed, while the township continues to seek ways to make up the money, according to township Manager Jon Hammer. In the meantime, internal controls have been put in place to prevent a similar scheme, according to authorities.

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The stolen funds, taken between 1999 and June 2012, were used to pay for the Tonkins' daily needs and a gambling addiction, according to the grand jury report. Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said the Tonkins were "certainly living above their means."

The couple frequented three Pennsylvania casinos and five New Jersey casinos, including the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, according to the report. Gaming records showed Nancy Tonkin lost $94,785 from slot machines and William Tonkin lost $21,452 from 2003 to 2012 alone.

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