Thief Reimburses Defunct Pa. Fire Co. $30K
Source The Citizens' Voice, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (TNS)
The former executive secretary for the now defunct Independence Fire & Rescue Company No. 1 in Rice Township has been paroled after serving just more than a month in jail.
A Luzerne County judge on Friday approved a parole request made by Gina Tombasco, according to court documents filed Monday.
Last month, a judge ordered Tombasco to serve one to 18 months in county jail for stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the fire company.
Tombasco, 31, was immediately jailed in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility.
An attorney for Tombasco recently filed a petition for parole.
Luzerne County Judge Michael Vough on Friday approved Tombasco’s request, according to court documents filed Monday.
According to Tombasco’s parole application, she will perform 30 hours of community service, undergo drug and alcohol treatment, and attend gambling addiction treatment,
When she pleaded guilty in September, a judge ordered Tombasco to pay $30,863.95 in restitution. Court documents filed last month indicate Tombasco had repaid all the money she stole — a condition of her plea agreement
Tombasco previously pleaded guilty to two counts of theft.
Investigators said Tombasco used a fire department debit card and wrote checks to herself, then took out loans for the fire department to keep the bank account in the positive. Police say Tombasco admitted during questioning to using department funds so she could shop for herself, her family and friends and go to the casino.
Tombasco was first charged in December 2013, months after the department — then known as Rice Township Volunteer Fire Department — was stripped by the township of its annual subsidy and also lost its certification to cover calls in the municipality.
570-821-2055, @cvbobkal
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