A Cranberry Township man is in Butler County Prison on charges he pilfered more than $30,000 from a Zelienople business.

Kevin Robert Totterdale, 39, is charged with third-degree felonies theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property after police said he used his position at Fisher's Bar and Grill to write fraudulent business checks to himself and pocketed money from the restaurant's poker machines.

Totterdale worked as a subcontractor for the business after discussing a possible future purchase of the restaurant from its owner, Patrick Boylan, according to police. Part of his duties there included writing checks to vendors and suppliers after Boylan signed the checks.

But Boylan became suspicious of Totterdale's efforts there.

“Patrick stated that over time, he noticed the numbers were not adding up and employees of Fisher's began approaching him about Totterdale and his management skills,” a police affidavit states.

An employee tasked with reviewing the restaurant's banking records found that Totterdale wrote more than 50 checks to himself, totalling more than $14,000, according to police. The employee also discovered that Totterdale was “pocketing the profits” from the restaurant's poker machines in the amount of $18,373.95, the affidavit states.

When Boylan approached Totterdale with a sales agreement for the establishment, police said, Totterdale declined to sign the agreement and talked around the subject, according to the affidavit. The owner told police that, after that, Totterdale did not answer or return his calls and had not been seen at Fisher's for about a month afterward.

Totterdale remains in Butler County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail. Fredrick Marc Cohen, a Pittsburgh attorney representing Totterdale, said he thinks the bail amount was set too high, and added he's concerned about his client's health in the jail during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The allegations are a lot less than the bond,” he said. “I don't think he's any risk of leaving or anything.”