Police Blotter: Judge Orders Bridgeville Man to Pay Back $246K to The Meadows

A Bridgeville man was sentenced Monday to seven years probation and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $246,000 to The Meadows Racetrack & Casino in North Strabane Township.

Allegheny District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said in a release that Common Pleas Judge Anthony Mariani imposed the sentence against Thomas Reddy, 48.

According to the release, Reddy was charged in March 2009 after an investigation revealed he had used two companies — Innovative Cleaning Concepts and Total Mechanical Restoration — to “create fraudulent invoices for cleaning and repair services at the entertainment venue. Further investigation revealed that Reddy had used the proceeds from the fake invoices for his personal use.”

Reddy pleaded guilty to one charge of theft by deception in December.

According to a release, Reddy was director of purchasing for The Meadows from 2003 to 2006, and that on Jan. 1 2007 he was transferred from the racetrack to the casino, where his title was director of purchasing and facilities.

An internal investigation revealed that fraudulent invoices were submitted for and checks issued to Innovative Cleaning Concepts and Total Mechanical Restoration. The addresses for those companies, the release indicates, “turned out to be fraudulent and further investigation revealed that the proceeds from 147 checks totaling $246,301.61 had been deposited into Reddy’s personal bank account and used for his personal expenses.”

Peters Man Arrested After Foot Chase Also Charged in Muse Incidents

Peters police charged a township man with aggravated assault and a medley of other offenses following a foot chase last week.

Police Chief Harry Fruecht said Jeremiah Clayton Atkinson, 21, of 502 Carriage Hill Apartments, was also charged with simple assault and three counts of reckless endangerment after officers were summoned to his home around 8 p.m. Thursday.

Police said three women — one of whom was his mother — had locked themselves in an upstairs bedroom after calling police, reportedly telling a dispatcher that Atkinson had a firearm.

When police arrived, Atkinson reportedly jumped 10 to 12 feet from the home’s rear porch to the ground below, leading police on a foot chase that ended on West McMurray Road.

Atkinson was apprehended and taken to Washington Hospital for swelling in his hand, and police said he was later transferred to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh.

That was the second time in a month that he faced criminal charges.

Cecil Township police on March 22 charged Atkinson with criminal mischief and theft by unlawful taking after a rash of thefts from unlocked vehicles in Muse on Feb. 25 and Feb. 26. One car was also stolen.

According to a criminal complaint, Atkinson is accused of entering eight unlocked vehicles in Muse, stealing two navigation systems, a cell phone, a wallet, a bag of hand tools and other items — most of which was recovered, according to police.

Cecil police said Atkinson also smashed the window out of a vehicle owned by Doug Berns, of 29 Maple St., and took the keys to his wife’s 2006 Nissan Sentra. According to the complaint, the vehicle was found abandoned in the Hunting Ridge development in South Fayette Township.