Son allegedly stole from estate
PITTSBURGH — An Adams Township man is accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from his mother's estate.
James M. Porro, 43, is facing charges of theft by deception and theft by failure to make required disposition of funds.
He turned himself in Thursday at Pittsburgh Municipal Court, according to Mike Manko, a spokesman for the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office.
“Porro is charged with misusing his position as an executor of a family estate to steal from the estate,” Manko said in an e-mailed statement.
Porro was named the executor of his mother's estate after she died in 2009, court documents said.
The more than $400,000 estate was supposed to be divided equally among Kathleen Porro's three children, according to her last will and testament.
The district attorney's office said bank records show that while James Porro was executor there were $432,500 in deposits and $402,000 in withdrawals from the estate account.
James Porro had transferred $108,000 from the estate to his personal bank account and withdrew $87,000 that was used by his future business partner to purchase a house, which was later sold for $167,000, according to the criminal complaint.
There also was $135,000 in unexplained cash withdrawals from the estate, according to court papers.
Porro has allegedly not provided to Allegheny County Orphans Court copies of checks or other supporting documents that justify the withdraw and transfer of the more than $330,000 worth of miscellaneous disbursements, court documents said.
To date, his siblings, Daniel Porro and Pamela Green, have each received $31,000 from the estate.
Manko said the DA's office believes Porro stole at least $30,000 more than his entitlement from the estate.
“As this case moves to trial we expect the theft to exceed $100,000,” he said in an e-mail.
Manko said the office expects to receive additional legal opinions on the number of transactions from the estate as the case develops.
When the estate account was closed on April 23, 2014, there was only about $30,000 remaining in the account, according to court papers.
Porro's attorney is Dan Konieczka. He could not be reached this morning.
