DORNSIFE - Several charges against a former employee of Sterman Masser Inc. (SMI), the Sacramento potato farming operation, were dropped following a May 20 preliminary hearing, and, on June 5, the remaining charges were dismissed and the case closed.
Ty Rothermel, of Dornsife, also a wrestling coach at Tri-Valley High School, originally faced eight counts each of theft by unlawful taking/movable property; theft by deception/false impression; receiving stolen property; theft by failure to make required disbursement of funds, and deceptive business practice false/misstatement of credentials, and one count of misapplication of entrusted government/financial institution property.
Incidents were alleged to have occurred between 2006 and 2013 during which time Rothermel and Sterman Masser were in a verbal agreement on custom farming. Rothermel was arrested by Schuylkill Haven State Police Officer Mark W. Knock and arraigned Dec. 30. He had been fired in February of last year.
"We found accounting issues that we felt rose to the level that required us to report to the police," owner Keith Masser said at the time.
"I was notified by the assistant DA that all the charges were withdrawn," Frederick Fannelli, attorney for Rothermel, said earlier this week. "Obviously, Rothermel is a well-respected guy and these charges should have never been brought to criminal court, and once the prosecution realized that, they did the right thing and withdrew the charges."