Ex-official in Pa. gets probation for tax crime

Associated Press

Sep 08, 2009 17:55 EST

PITTSBURGH

A federal prosecutor in Pittsburgh says a former county treasurer convicted of stealing more than $170,000 in tax receipts has been exemplary in cooperating with federal investigators.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan Conway told a judge that nearly everything Lawrence County Treasurer Gary Felasco Jr. told investigators has been corroborated.

Felasco was sentenced to three years' probation for not filing a federal tax return in 2005. The advisory range for the federal offense is four to 10 months in prison, but Felasco got a break because of his help with an ongoing public corruption probe.

Neither the prosecutor nor the defense lawyer would elaborate on Felasco's cooperation.