Schuylkill County’s former Clerk of Courts Steven Lukach has pleaded guilty to fraud and tampering with an FBI investigation.
According to a brief from WFMZ-TV news, Lukach entered a guilty plea to charges stacked against him on Friday in federal court.
The terms of the deal have Lukach pleading guilty to a single count of mail fraud and one count of falsifying records.
He could spend as many as 40 years in prison and pay hefty fines. But it’s likely he won’t spend anywhere near that amount of time in jail, if at all.
In July 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced a federal grand jury indicted Lukach on 20 counts of mail and wire fraud, and manufacturing records to obstruct an FBI investigation.
Swampy Steve Lukach Pleads Guilty
Lukach ran for State Senate once. He lost. Came back to his swamp lair in Pottsville and started pilfering county funds.
The investigation into corrupt Lukach began back in 2013. That’s when the County Controller’s office began looking into misappropriated funds in the Clerk of Courts office.
Lukach was comfortable in that role at the Courthouse. Clearly, he figured out a way around the system.
When it was determined that funds were missing, the FBI was called in to complete the investigation.
During that FBI probe, Lukach stole mail sent to banks, forged records, and sent fake records to the Controller’s office. All this was done to cover his tracks.
The funds Lukach stole from the county paid for things like credit card bills, meals, car payments, and other personal expenses.
In 2014, the salary for the Clerk of Courts was more than $54,000.
On Notice: Swamp Creatures in the Schuylkill County Courthouse
This is the latest news involving a swamp creature lurking inside Schuylkill County Courthouse.
There’s a reason they’re all so bloodthirsty for these jobs in election years. How often is the public’s best interest at heart when these creatures run for office?
We only have to look as far back as the recent resignation of County Prothonotary David Dutcavich to see. We may be close to exposing another of these swamp creatures at the Courthouse really soon.
BE SURE TO READ:
Nepotism Consuming Schuylkill County Prothonotary Office
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Waynes
March 24, 2019 at 8:27 am
Looks like Another skook scam artist. But some people are fine with it. As long as the skookies got their blighted row homes, police scanner on, overrated psu and high school football followed and quart of Schlitz ice in hand, its all good in the skook. Look the other way is usually the case here.