MOUNT CARMEL - Thea Tafner, the former American Hose and Chemical Fire Company ambulance committee chairwoman, pleaded guilty in January to felony charges of embezzling more than $1 million.
During the 14 years in which Tafner was American Hose ambulance chairwoman, she opened a fraudulent bank account where she directed $3,712,203 in Medicare payments between Oct. 23, 2000, and Nov. 2, 2009, and used $1,816,045.13 for personal gain, federal prosecutors said when they charged her with embezzlement. Her actions eventually resulted in the closing of the ambulance portion of American Hose.
She was sentenced May 16 to 30 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution to American Hose, which included $124,869 within 60 days of her sentencing.
However, in a move that appalled borough council members, Tafner and her lawyer filed an appeal to halt the initial lump sum, despite signing a plea agreement not to appeal. They requested the lump sum be eliminated and she continue restitution on the schedule of no less than $250 a month once she is released from the Federal Prison Camp in Alderson, W.Va. - which would take more than 500 years to pay back at that rate.
As part of the plea agreement, the government agreed not to force Tafner to use money from her Pennsylvania Public School Employee Retirement System account in exchange for her waiver of any appeal rights. Tafner and her lawyer argue the court's order violates the agreement and does what the government agreed not to do.
American Hose filed a "writ of summons" Oct. 14 against Tafner's brother, Carter Tafner, which informed him that the fire company planned to take legal action against him and his business, Creations by Carter. His flower nursery and gift shop business and home, which is owned by Thea Tafner since 2000, had a lien placed on it by the federal government in July.
Carter Tafner maintains he had no knowledge of his sister's crimes and said he was cleared of any wrongdoing by a federal investigation.