Crime & Safety
Second Suspect Caught in Palmer Check Scam
Authorities say man may be one of nine individuals involved in stealing checks from Magnetic Windings Co., a Palmer Township business.
Another suspect has been nabbed in a payroll check-cashing scheme against a business.
Stephen George Weaver Jr., address unknown, was arraigned before District Judge Jacqueline Taschner Thursday on charges of forgery, theft by deception and receiving stolen property.
Weaver is who allegedly cashed 19 payroll checks worth nearly $13,500 from
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Authorities say Weaver allegedly cashed five checks totaling $3,202.97.
Daniel Jonathan Rodriguez of Bethlehem was arraigned on similar charges Wednesday.
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It was unclear in court records what relationship the suspects had with the company.
The business also was recently in the news regarding its former bookkeeper, Teri Romanishan, who pleaded guilty in connection with stealing $220,000 from the company. A Northampton County judge recently rejected the guilty plea.
Concerning the more recent case, Palmer police officers James Taylor and Sgt. Timothy Ruoff met on April 23 with Albert Maroon and Edward Rossner of Magnetic Windings on Freemansburg Avenue and officials from PNC Bank.
Maroon reported to police several fraudulent and counterfeit checks containing account and routing numbers from Magestic Windings that had been stolen. The routing numbers listed a non-existent company, Inspiron, located on Reese Drive in Freemansburg.
Maroon provided authorities with copies of those fraudulent checks.
By April 30, police had confirmed that 19 checks were cashed with a combined value of $13,482.98 from the Magnetic Windings account. Five checks stated "Pay to the Order Of" Weaver.
Weaver allegedly cashed three checks at Wal-Mart for $722.97 and two for $620 and two more for $620 -- each allegedly cashed at Easton Exchange Co. and C-Town Market.
Weaver presented a driver's license to cash the checks, court records indicate. A driver's license check by authorities confirmed Weaver's identity as did a video of him at Easton Exchange Co.
He was being held on $15,000 bail in lieu of 10 percent and pre-conditions of pre-trial supervision, a drug and alcohol assessment and random urine testing.
The foregoing arrest information was supplied by District Judge Jacqueline Taschner's office. It does not indicate a conviction.