Copyright © 2013, The Morning Call
Two businessmen convicted of stealing from Bethlehem Township taxpayers for a failed streetlight deal now face similar charges in Bucks County, according to court records.
Earlier this month, Richland Township police filed charges against Robert J. Kearns and Patrick McLaine. Both men were convicted in January of theft for a scheme in which Northampton County prosecutors say they stole more than $830,000 by promising to help the township buy its streetlights, then did almost no work on the project.
Both Kearns and McLaine are charged in Bucks County with theft by unlawful taking, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds and conspiracy to theft. According to court records, the alleged thefts happened in the township in March 2009.
McLaine and Kearns, the principals of Municipal Energy Managers of Lackawanna County, were sentenced to state prison terms of 16 months to five years in the Northampton County case.
The company was hired in 2007 to help Bethlehem Township buy its streetlights from PPL, a plan township commissioners hoped would bring savings on utility bills. At trial, Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli said the men wrote themselves big bonuses and failed to even contact PPL until nine months after the acquisition was supposed to be complete.
Kearns, 49, and McLaine, 66, both of Lackawanna County, also face criminal charges in Lehigh and Cumberland counties where they are accused of similar streetlight schemes.
Copyright © 2013, The Morning Call