Popular Westmoreland wallpaperer accused in jewelry thefts appears in court

A well-known Westmoreland County interior decorator on Friday waived her right to a preliminary hearing over police accusations that she stole more than $32,000 worth of jewelry from clients' homes, selling them at pawn shops and over the internet for at least 15 years.

Although Michael Ferguson, private attorney for Ligonier Township-based “Wallpapering by Jane” owner Jane Clark, 62, said there is no plea bargain in place, he indicated that he will continue negotiating with the district attorney's office towards “some type of resolution” to avoid a trial on multiple theft charges.

“There are still a number of legal and practical issues we have to work out with the district attorney's office, although we're hoping at some point for an amicable resolution. But at this point we're just not there yet,” Ferguson said as he departed Hempfield District Judge Mark Mansour's office with Clark.

She remains free on $35,000 bail, which was posted by a relative.

Trooper Brandon Yeager charged Clark on March 16 with multiple counts of theft, theft by deception and receiving stolen property after a months-long investigation.

The approximate total value of the jewelry police believe Clark stole in the course of her business currently stands at more than $32,000, according to Yeager. Some of the thefts date back to the early 2000s, he said.

She disclosed at her March arraignment that she has been in the wallpapering and interior painting business for three decades, and she advertised her home-based business through road signs posted throughout the county.

Clark's arrest was the result of Yeager's six-month investigation, which started Sept. 6 when Claudia Narcisi of Hempfield reported that she had discovered jewelry was missing after she'd hired Clark to paint a bedroom at her Donatello Drive home.

“Narcisi then recalled that she had hired Wallpapering by Jane approximately one year earlier, around October 2016 ... and had jewelry stolen,” Yeager said in court documents.

Later in September, Narcisi provided state police with photographs from a precious-metals website on which two rings and two necklaces that were stolen from her home were sold, according to court documents.

During the probe, Yeager traced some of the stolen jewelry that Clark allegedly tried to sell to Treasure Hunt in Monroeville, according to court papers.

There, Clark allegedly attempted to sell a state policeman's badge and class ring from the state police academy from former state police Lt. Jacob P. Zellie, who retired in 1993. Yeager said he was able to trace the items through engravings on them.

“Zellie reported he had hired ‘Wallpapering by Jane' in May 2016 to paint a room in his residence in Hempfield Township. Zellie had no idea his jewelry had been stolen,” Yeager reported.

Yeager said Zellie later telephoned him and said his Marine Corps class ring also was missing. Yeager said he was able to determine that Clark had sold that ring through a Pittsburgh pawn shop, The Gold Buyers, in December 2016.

Yeager alleged in court documents that when he called Clark in January to interview her, “she reported she had nothing to do with these thefts.”

“I then asked Clark how she obtained the Pennsylvania State Police ring that she sold on Dec. 29, 2017. Clark advised me that she had inherited an estate of her uncle's and he was on the job,” Yeager said in court documents.

Yeager said Clark refused to disclose her uncle's name and ended the conversation.

On Jan. 31, Yeager obtained a search warrant for Clark's home on Darlington Road in Ligonier Township and seized about 100 pieces of jewelry, “including several items that were hidden inside the residence.”

Yeager reported Friday that while many of Clark's former clients have contacted him to look for and claim missing jewelry items confiscated during the investigation, he still “has a lot of unclaimed items.”

“I actually still have tons of stuff. And some of the items are very distinctive ... many are engraved with initials,” Yeager said.

Anyone who may want to look for missing items can contact Yeager at 724-830-2098.

“We can still add victims to the criminal complaint,” Yeager said.

Although Clark did not speak to a reporter after her brief appearance in court, Ferguson said she is anxious to move past the ongoing legal travails.

“Jane's not a bad person ... this is the first time she's been in trouble with the law. This is certainly unfortunate, and she feels bad about it,” Ferguson said.

Paul Peirce is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-2860, ppeirce@tribweb.com or via Twitter @ppeirce_trib.