By Bob Kalinowski
The Citizens’ Voice
SWOYERSVILLE, Pa. — The mother and daughter accused of a massive theft from a Swoyersville volunteer fire company each took the witness stand Tuesday in their trial and denied pocketing any money.
“No, sir,” Catherine Drago, 83, said, when asked if she ever took any cash from the coffers of the now-defunct Swoyersville Hose Co. No. 1.
Her daughter, Carol Gamble, 52, had a similarly succinct response.
“Never,” Gamble said.
Prosecutors accuse the mother-daughter team of stealing more than $700,000 in bingo, pull-tab and carnival proceeds, citing an audit done by the state Bureau of Charitable Organizations. Drago, who was the treasurer of the fire company, and Gamble, the president, held exclusive control over the fire company’s finances, prosecutors say.
While on the witnesses stand, the women explained their roles in the bingo operation and how they logged the balance sheets for bingo and the other fundraisers.
State auditors failed to account for things like bingo losses after the local casino opened, a shift in funds from pull-tab proceeds to cover bingo losses, and cash payouts to workers, defense attorneys say.
James Gattuso Jr., a certified public accountant who was hired by the defense, testified Tuesday that he reviewed the same documents as state auditors and doesn’t believe there were any financial irregularities.
“I would say, in my professional opinion, the state auditor’s report is totally inaccurate,” said Gattuso, of The Gattuso Group Inc. in Forty Fort. “There was nothing that indicated any missing money.”
Gattuso acknowledge bingo workers, like anyone dealing with cash in such an operation, could have skimmed a few bucks here and there, but there would be no way to prove it by looking at records.
During Gattuso’s cross examination, Luzerne County Assistant District Attorney Michelle Hardik made it clear that the defense was paying Gattuso for his report and testimony. He acknowledge he bills at a rate of $135 per hour, but didn’t have a final bill yet.
She also got him to admit he did not analyze all of the same documents as state auditors.
“The key documents were there,” he said.
The trial, before Luzerne County Judge Lesa Gelb, is expected to conclude today.
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(c)2014 The Citizens’ Voice (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)
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