Tredyffrin Police Receive Commendation From Chesco DA

From left: Officer S. Galletta, Sgt. M. Major, Officer R. Carroll, Sgt. T.J. Bereda, 1st Asst. D.A. Noone, Lt. T. Landis, D.A Hogan, A.D.A. Gosfield, Sgt. R. Scott and Cpl. D. Molineux. (Photo courtesy of the Tredyffrin Township Police Department)

___________________

The Tredyffrin Township Police Department this week received a commendation from the Chester County District Attorney’s Office.

Chester County District Attorney Thomas P. Hogan presented the award to Tredyffrin Township Police Superintendent Anthony Giaimo on Monday, Dec. 15, at the Board of Supervisors meeting.

The police department was honored for the investigation and subsequent arrest of Guido Lavella, who was later convicted of embezzling $1.3 million.

Lavella, 29 was arrested in October 2013 and charged with embezzling $1.3 million from Taylor Gifts Corporation of Malvern.

During a six-month long joint investigation, Tredyffrin Police and the Chester County District Attorney’s Office “discovered that Lavella had funded a lavish lifestyle that included $48,000 for backstage concert tickets to the Dave Matthews Band; $16,000 for Eagles season tickets; $73,000 for classic cars, and casino gambling from the proceeds he illegally gained from his employer,” police said.

Lavella, the former CFO of Taylor Gifts, embezzled the funds between December 2008 and May 2013, police said.

“Financial cases of this complexity require exhaustive and tedious work,”Giaimo said. “In this specific case, Tredyffrin Township Police Detective Robert Bostick, Detective Michael Carsello and the Chester County Detectives were tasked with conducting numerous interviews and an enormous review of records to piece together this complex case.”

Lavella pleaded guilty to five counts of theft and was sentenced to up to 174 months in State Prison.