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Masontown councilwoman charged in theft from non-profit

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A Masontown councilwoman has been charged with theft and tampering with records after she allegedly stole $1,610 from Masontown Matters, a non-profit group in the borough.

Kim Essig, 54, of Masontown, who was treasurer of the group, allegedly altered bank statements and balances to try and hide the thefts, according to a criminal complaint filed by Fayette County Task Force Det. Steven Kontaxes.

Essig declined comment on the allegations, referring a reporter to her attorney, Simon John. John was not immediately available for comment.

In January, the president of Masontown Matters, Kay Rendina, “raised concerns to law enforcement that the defendant may have altered some bank statements to hide a $500 check that was unlawfully ‘borrowed’ from the organization,” Kontaxes wrote.

Rendina also indicated that other money may be missing from the organization.

The new treasurer, John Stoffa, conducted an audit of the books, Kontaxes said. Stoffa, he noted, is a certified public accountant.

Kontaxes said police examined bank statements from November 2013 through January 2014, and compared them to the statements that Essig provided to the organization.

“This comparison identified that the bank statements provided by the defendant had altered ending dates, altered beginning and altered ending cash balances,” he wrote in the affidavit of probable cause.

Police, in June, interviewed Essig.

“During that interview she reportedly told police that she “sent the November 2013 through January 2014 PNC Masontown Matters bank statements to a friend in New York City who performed the alterations for her. Ms. Essig said she did this because she did not want the president of the organization to know that there was money missing from the bank account. Essig said that she returned the $500 to the bank account, and did not take any other money from the account. Essig knows that what she did is unlawful,” Kontaxes wrote.

Essig faces three charges each of tampering with records and tampering with public records, and two counts of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds.

She faces preliminary hearing in September before Magisterial District Judge Randy Abraham.

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