Former Uniontown notary sentenced
A former Uniontown notary accused of theft and writing bad checks was sentenced in Fayette County Court Wednesday to one to two years in prison. Patricia Marie Lint, 63, of New Salem pleaded no contest to charges she failed to pay the state Department of Transportation more than $80,000 in unpaid taxes from 2003 and 2004.
Lint had reached a plea agreement with District Attorney Nancy D. Vernon that would have allowed her to be placed on house arrest rather than serve time in a state correctional institution, but Lint failed to make the required restitution in the case. The repayment was a stipulation of the house arrest deal.
According to state police, Lint’s commission as a notary expired in June 2005 and her stamp and seal were seized by the state Department of State.
But upon further investigation, police found four stamps and seals that were not authorized for her use and uncovered forged documents throughout her paperwork.
After tallying unpaid taxes and other fees, the court determined Lint owed PennDOT more than $80,000 and Shelley Auto Sales $1,900.
Lint’s bond company, Washington International, paid more than half the amount she owed the state in fees, but Lint still owes more than $34,000 to the state and the auto dealership.
Lint told Judge Steve P. Leskinen Wednesday that she was not able to get the money to pay the remainder of the restitution because her credit was bad because of the charges.
“I don’t have any income,” Lint told the court. “I might be able to pay $500 a month, but I don’t have anything coming in.”
A new set of criminal charges were filed against Lint last month.
In the latest allegations, police claim Lint still was operating her business, Pat Lint Notary, even though her ability to act as a notary expired June 14, 2005.
Among the new charges are 34 counts of impersonating a notary public, 16 counts of forgery, eight counts of possession instruments of a crime and 40 summary counts of application of certificate of title by agent.
Lint was remanded to the State Correctional Institution at Muncie.