By Patrick Lester
The Morning Call
Copyright 2007 The Morning Call, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
DELAWARE, Pa. — Harold Lauble was depressed and desperate when he skimmed tens of thousands of dollars from the Delaware Valley Volunteer Fire Company and was duped into funneling some the stolen cash into a get-rich gold dust investment scheme, Lauble’s attorney told a Bucks County judge Friday.
“I was providing money up front,” Lauble, 62, the nonprofit’s longtime treasurer said after pleading guilty to stealing more than $80,000 of donor and taxpayer proceeds. "[The investment involved] importing gold dust that was brought into the United States and refined. It would recoup about 7 percent [profit].
“My intent was to get the fire company five to 10 times the amount [invested].”
Instead, it’s going to get the father of two time behind bars.
Although delaying Lauble’s sentence Friday, Judge David W. Heckler guaranteed Lauble he’ll be doing prison time after his next court date.
Heckler postponed the sentencing to allow Lauble to pay back about $9,600 recently discovered missing, months after Lauble was charged with stealing $70,953, about half of what the fire company spends annually. Lauble pleaded guilty to theft and receiving stolen property, crimes that both carry maximum penalties of seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine.
“It’s going to involve jail time. There’s no doubt about that,” Heckler told Lauble, of 369 Geigel Hill Road, Tinicum Township. “How much and where remains to be seen.
“I take a breach of faith very seriously. What you did was strike at the essence of what community is.”
Heckler assumed Lauble began investing fire company money in the gold dust company to earn a profit that would help him repay money already stolen. But Lauble claims the crimes began when he invested $20,000 to $30,000 in the company without other members of the fire company knowing. The remainder of the money was put toward Lauble’s personal mortgage payments and other bills.
Lauble never did receive money from the investment, which Heckler described as a “flim-flam.”
Tinicum Township Police Chief James Sabath said his department has looked into the gold dust scam.
“We have contacted various places where the money went in Texas and touched base with authorities out in Texas,” Sabath said. “Basically, [Lauble] was scammed. I wouldn’t anticipate any prosecutions from our end.”
While Lauble’s attorney, Marc I. Rickles of Newtown Township, painted his client as a selfless volunteer and public servant who made one mistake in judgment, Lauble’s colleagues at the 15-member Tinicum Township-based fire company described him as a liar who took advantage of them while hurting both their morale and public image.
Robert Furlong, the company’s president, said Lauble admitted to stealing the money when confronted by leaders of the group and promised to pay it back. But they say he began paying them back only after they confronted his wife Linda about the thefts.
Lauble, who was the company’s chief financial officer between 1995 and 2006, wrote 25 fire company checks to his company, HL Industries, between December 2004 and March 2006, according to police.
Furlong, who read a statement prepared by the fire company, said the organization fears it may face more financial problems in the future. Because Lauble didn’t file tax returns with the federal Internal Revenue Service for several years, Furlong said, the company could face fines and penalties.
“Again, he lied to us and the $9,600 has not been repaid,” Furlong said. “Only two of our 15 members requested leniency [at sentencing]. The remaining members feel an example should be set.”
Rickles repeatedly emphasized Lauble’s service with the fire company and Upper Bucks Regional ambulance company, as well as the Tinicum Township Planning Commission in describing Lauble as someone who is “selfless in so many ways.”
Lauble’s private packaging business was failing and he was ill when he stole the money. Rickles said his client appeared “suicidal” after he was charged with the crimes.
Lauble, who was raised in West Chester, N.Y., served in the Army and earned a Purple Heart while serving in Vietnam, has also battled leukemia and prostate cancer, both of which are in remission, Rickles said.
Gary Pearson, the organization’s vice president and a Tinicum Township supervisor, said an accountant has been reviewing years’ worth of financial documents for months.
“I don’t think it’s ever going to happen again,” Pearson said, adding that measures have been taken to prevent future thefts. “We continue to get wonderful support from the community.”