Federal prosecutors are objecting to a request for the withdrawal of a guilty plea for a former county detective awaiting sentencing in connection with the embezzlement of $1.3 million from Butler Health System.

In April 2019, Scott Roskovski and his wife, Stephanie, of Center Township, were accused of defrauding the health care system between 2011 and 2017, while Stephanie Roskovski was employed as chief operating officer for the system.

On May 28, 2020, the couple pleaded guilty in federal court in Pittsburgh.

On Jan. 12, Scott Roskovski asked U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV of the Western District of Pennsylvania to have his plea withdrawn.Prosecutors filed an objection to the change of plea request Jan. 28.They describe as “completely without merit” the request by Scott Roskovski to withdraw his guilty plea to federal charges of filing a false loan application and false income tax return.As part of Scott Roskovski's plea agreement, he faces 24 to 30 months in prison, and restitution to the IRS of at least $250,001 and no more than $500,000.Stickman has yet to rule on the prosecution's request.The Roskovskis were charged following an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and Federal Bureau of Investigation.Leading up to the guilty pleas, Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Bloch, who prosecuted the case, said she would have showed that Roskovski and her husband used BHS money to invest in their motocross business, SwitchbackMX, which they bought in 2015 along with 78 acres. This alone, according to Bloch, amounted to hundreds of thousands in fraudulently obtained funds.Additionally, Bloch said, the Roskovskis used BHS funds to remodel their kitchen and for travel expenses. The couple also bought 105 transponders for motorbikes to track racing times and bought jackets, jeans and other clothing for her husband.Stephanie Roskovski is scheduled to be sentenced March 11 after making a number of rescheduling requests since pleading guilty.But in Scott's request to withdraw the guilty plea, he writes, through his attorney, “Mr. Roskovski asks to withdraw his plea, assert his right to a jury trial and challenge the evidence on which the government's indictment is grounded because he does not believe that the facts he is prepared to admit constitute the offense(s) charged,” according to a motion by his attorney, Michael Comber of the Pittsburgh firm of Reisinger Comber & Miller.The government in its recent response noted that during the plea hearing, Scott Roskovski was under oath to tell the truth when he pleaded guilty to two counts. One count charged Scott and Stephanie Roskovski with lying that Stephanie was employed and had a salary, even though she was already fired from her position at BHS, to get a bank loan request. The second count charges the couple with hiding their full amount of taxable income on their tax return in 2016.In the government's objection, signed by Bloch, prosecutors note that during the court hearing when Scott Roskovski pleaded guilty, the court examined his competency to ensure he was entering the guilty plea knowingly and voluntarily. Bloch also notes the court took the time to make sure Roskovski knew he was giving up certain rights.During the hearing, Stickman asked Scott Roskovski if he committed the acts contained in the two counts, and Scott responded that he did.In Bloch's objection, she notes that a judge can allow a defendant to withdraw his guilty plea before sentencing if “the defendant can show a fair and just reason for requesting a withdrawal.” She also notes that this is a “substantial burden,” as the U.S. Supreme Court found the withdrawal cannot be made “on a lark.”Bloch argues that Scott “wholly failed to meet his burden” to have the guilty plea withdrawn.Bloch also cites Scott Roskovski's experience in law enforcement, finding him to be “uniquely informed and educated in the workings of the criminal justice system.“It is of particular significance here that the defendant worked as a law enforcement officer from 1994 through 2018, first with the Butler County Sheriff's Department and then for 20 years as a detective with the Butler County District Attorney's Office,” she said. “He conducted criminal investigations and participated in criminal trials and guilty pleas.”

Scott Roskovski