Jefferson County Man Facing Hearing on Charges Related to Theft from Local Club

REYNOLDSVILLE, Pa. (EYT) – A Jefferson County man is facing charges following an investigation into money missing from a Reynoldsville club.

Court documents indicate 67-year-old Thomas G. Weaver, of Sykesville, is scheduled to stand for a preliminary hearing in front of Magisterial District Judge David B. Inzana at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 25, on the following charges:

  • Theft by Unlawful Taking – Moveable Property, Felony 3
  • Theft by Deception – False Impression, Felony 3
  • Tamper Records or ID – Writing, Misdemeanor 1

According to a criminal complaint, around 10:00 a.m. on June 21, 2018, Chief Troy Bell, of the Reynoldsville Borough Police Department, met with a known individual who reported that the American Legion had recently been audited and found there were several transactions determined to be questionable, as well as money found to be missing from the accounts.

The losses were reported to have occurred between February 1, 2014, and July 10, 2017.

The individual provided a three-page document from the organization’s accountant that briefly covered the transactions that took place over the approximate three-year period. The document covered the dates of the transactions, the check numbers, the names of the parties the checks were written out to, and the amount that was recorded in Quickbooks for each of the transactions, as well as the case notes.

On July 12, Chief Bell met with the accountant who stated that he and the American Legion members have either met or tried to meet on several occasions with Tom Weaver. According to the accountant, when confronted, Weaver either had trouble finding documentation to prove the transactions were legitimate or showed up too intoxicated to comprehend the situation.

On September 24, Chief Bell met with Weaver to speak about the investigation.

According to the complaint, Weaver stated he worked for the club in Reynoldsville between 2014 and 2017 and said the last he knew, the bank statements and receipts were on top of the display cases at the American Legion. When Chief Bell informed him they were not present in the building, Weaver stated he did not know where they were and said he did not have them.

According to the complaint, Weaver repeatedly stated he knew it was his responsibility to keep the records, but he had no way to prove any documentation regarding the transactions.

Chief Bell asked Weaver about several specific transactions, including a deposit made on February 16, 2017, where Quickbooks showed a deposit of $2,843.47, but the check deposited to the Post account was only for $2,000.00. Weaver stated there should be another deposit for the remaining $843.47, but the second deposit was not located in the banking information, according to the complaint.

In reference to some of the transactions, the complaint states that Weaver claimed he would use his personal debit card to pay for the liquor license because the American Legion would not get a debit card.

According to the complaint, during the latter part of the interview, Weaver made the statement “I might have taken some of that,” and then requested a break to have a cigarette. Chief Bell then accompanied Weaver out on a balcony, where they continued to talk, and Weaver related that he thought he may have taken around $2,000.00, but went on to claim he didn’t take all of the money appearing as missing. He then agreed to provide a written statement.

The complaint notes that in the first paragraph of Weaver’s written statement he wrote: “I used to take care of all the checkbooks, I used to make out some checks for more money than what was owed to me.” Weaver also stated he kept records for most of the money, writing “I did keep some for myself but not as much as is on the printout.” Weaver stated he used the extra money from his board comp checks to get things from stores for the Legion instead of writing up a lot of checks.

The complaint also notes Weaver does not have any evidence to support this statement.

According to the complaint, Weaver also slated, “the bottom line is I did use some of the money for myself I really don’t know how much, but it’s not as much as the print out shows after the second Thursday in June 2017.”

Chief Bell met with the American Legion Commander on January 24, 2019.

According to the complaint, the Commander stated the checks made out for petty cash were used by Weaver to pay some bills. The Commander then explained some of the suspect transactions included checks written out by Weaver to himself for Adjutant fees because Weaver was the Adjutant, in charge of collecting all dues, and was paid $50.00 per month. The Commander specified that none of the Adjutant payments should have been above $50.00, but according to the complaint, there were several checks written out as Adjutant fees totaling more than $50.00.

The complaint notes that after a review of the information, it was determined there was money taken from each of the three accounts involved, including the American Legion’s General Account, the Small Games of Chance Account, and the Post Account. The investigation also concluded Thomas Weaver was the sole person in charge of the accounts and the money coming in and going out of these accounts.

According to the complaint, between December 15, 2014, and June 16, 2017, Weaver was responsible for issuing checks and making deposits, and during this time a total of $5,760.79 was unaccounted for.

The complaint notes that Weaver is unable to provide any proof or receipts for these transactions and admitted he took money from the accounts of the American Legion for himself.

Based on the investigation, Weaver was arraigned in front of Magisterial District Judge David B. Inzana at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 20.

He remains free on $10,000.00 unsecured bail.


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