Plea Deal Rejected for Palmer Township Bookkeeper

The sentencing of the former bookkeeper at a business will be rescheduled after the judge rejected a plea deal of one to two years in prison.

Teri Romanishan, a former employee of on Freemansburg Avenue, appeared before Judge Stephen Baratta in Northampton County Court Tuesday. Prosecutors and her defense attorney had negotiated the plea deal that would put Romanishan in prison for up to two years for taking more than $221,000 from her former employer.

"The judge didn't accept the plea offer," said Assistant District Attorney Constance Nelson, who supported the plea bargain. "After an hour-and-a-half (in court), we're still in the same position."

That position is Romanishan's sentencing.

Romanishan, of Lower Nazareth Township, was charged with writing 47 checks between September 2010 and August 2011 from the company account to use to support her children, including one who was dealing with a drug addiction. She pleaded guilty.

"Her guilty plea has not been withdrawn," Nelson said. "We're going to now wait for a date for her to be sentenced."

Calls to Baratta's office were not returned Wednesday.

Nelson said the main issue the judge focused on was Romanishan's ability to pay restitution to the company.

"That's always a question," Nelson said. "The most we can do as the Commonwealth is request an order that restitution is part of the sentence."

It would be up to Romanishan to pay a certain amount of money to the company on a scheduled payment basis. But with a felony conviction and jail time, job opportunities could be scarce.

"She [Romanishan] believes that she'll be able to find a job with her felony and be able to tender payments to the victim," Nelson said.