Couple held for court in alleged thefts
Lawyers for a Butler County couple accused of stealing from their former employer in Jefferson Township challenged the charges Wednesday during a preliminary hearing, with one lawyer arguing the case is a civil matter, not a criminal one.
Prosecutors accused Adam Lesseski and Kara Lesseski of stealing $340,000 from their former employer, Larry Treadway, between 2017 and 2019. According to authorities, Treadway owns Concrete Coring Company.
But Adam Lesseski's attorney, Charles Hoebler of Carnegie, said Wednesday that Treadway lied, and that his client is the one who owns the highway maintenance company, arguing Adam Lesseski purchased the company in early 2019. District Judge Sue Haggerty in Saxonburg dismissed the counter arguments and bound the charges against both Lesseskis over to the Common Pleas level.
“Larry Treadway has been trying to take control, and his efforts include trying to blame Adam for his own mismanagement,” Hoebler said.
Adam Lesseski, the company's former vice president, is charged with 65 counts of forgery, one each of theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception and one count of conspiracy to commit each of the crimes of forgery, theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception.
Kara Lesseski, the company's former administrative assistant, faces one count each of theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception and one count of conspiracy to commit each of the crimes of forgery, theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception.
Kara Lesseski's attorney, Anastasa Williams of Pittsburgh, said after Wednesday's hearing that her client maintains her innocence. Assistant District Attorney Amanda Scarpo countered there is enough evidence to support the charges.
The couple remains free on $350,000 unsecured bond apiece. As part of Adam Lesseski's bond condition, Haggerty ordered he undergo weekly drug testing.
The prosecutor's sole witness was Trooper Brian Palko, the lead criminal investigator, who recounted his findings for the hearing.
Palko testified that Treadway is the owner because his sale of the company to Lesseski in early 2019 was reversed. Hoebler made a steady stream of objections throughout the hearing. Haggerty overruled most of the objections and ignored the rest.
Court documents identified Kara Lesseski as Treadway's stepdaughter. In her role with the company, she was responsible, in part, for accounting, bookkeeping and payroll processing, while her husband ran other aspects.
Police said both defendants were fired from the company after Treadway discovered financial problems and notified authorities.
Specifically, according to court documents, Treadway learned of a lawsuit filed by the Laborers' District Council of Western Pennsylvania alleging the company owed $645,500. That amount included $454,568 in unpaid fringe benefit contributions and wage deductions.
The owner's preliminary review of company books found the defendants “initiated unauthorized payments to themselves,” according to Palko's affidavit.
Treadway subsequently hired an accounting firm to perform a forensic analysis. The firm found $262,810.48 in misappropriated company funds.
The mishandled funds, documents said, represented “duplicate payroll checks, extra payroll checks, unauthorized raises, unreimbursed employee advances, unauthorized bonuses, unreimbursed loans (and) unsupported reimbursements and payments to (the Lesseskis).”
The alleged misappropriated funds also included “payments made to Adam's personal credit card, unsupported expenses on (the company's) credit cards issued to Adam and Kara, personal rent and PayPal disbursements.”
Palko noted the investigation found the accounting history and details in the company's software for many transactions were altered or deleted “to further hide and conceal the activities of Adam and Kara.”
A review of Adam Lesseski's bank records for the period of January 2017 to March 2019 allegedly uncovered 21 checks totaling $20,648.88 made payable to Concrete Coring deposited into one of his accounts.
During closing arguments, Hoebler said Treadway previously accused Adam Lesseski of stealing a company truck.
Scarpo objected, telling the court “I'm so offended by the irrelevance of this. This is so inappropriate.”
“What's inappropriate is you interrupting my closing argument,” Hoebler said. Turning back to Haggerty, Hoebler continued, “I know you'll hold it for court, but Treadway had lied before and he's doing that now.”
