Court order keeps Teslovich free, despite denial of appeal
In the wake of a denied appeal to the state Superior Court, former Fayette County Commissioner and convicted madam Susanne B. Teslovich was ordered to report to jail this morning to begin serving her six-month to three-year sentence for prostitution. However, an order handed down late in the day Monday by Judge John F. Wagner Jr. will allow her to stay free while she pursues an appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Teslovich, 56 of 190 Rutter Lane, Smock, was convicted of five counts of prostitution and related offenses in December 2001. She was ordered to spend six months to three years in a state prison.
Prosecutors alleged her business, First Class Entertainment Service, was a front for a prostitution ring. While Teslovich was not charged with prostitution herself, she was convicted of knowingly sending out employees to have sex with clients.
Teslovich has maintained her innocence.
After her sentencing, Teslovich was freed on bond so she could pursue an appeal to the Superior Court. That appeal was denied last week.
Teslovich, through attorney Jack W. Connor, claimed in her appeal that police did not have cause to use a wiretap, the trial Judge John F. Wagner Jr. improperly admitted hearsay testimony, that District Attorney Nancy D. Vernon made improper statements in her closing remarks and that there was not enough evidence to convict her.
The Superior Court ruled that there was reason for the wiretap and that there was enough evidence to convict, in accordance with one of Wagner’s prior opinions.
Additionally, the justices ruled that hearsay evidence offered by a state police trooper was a “harmless error” that was supported by other testimony at trial.
Finally, the court ruled that it was Wagner’s place to decide if Vernon went too far when she intimated in her closing remarks that Teslovich had tampered with a witness. The man, a “john” in the case, testified he met with Teslovich prior to her trial.
The Superior Court ruled that “absent an abuse of discretion” by Wagner the remark was not grounds for a new trial.