Debbie Hardy's ex jail-bound
Sitting shoulder-to-shoulder in a Westmoreland County courtroom with her ex-husband, billionaire businessman Joe Hardy, Debra Hardy watched as her estranged husband was ordered to jail for stealing $5 million worth of her jewelry.
Paul K. Ucman, 45, was sentenced Thursday to serve at least 364 days in jail. He could spend nearly two years behind bars for taking a one-of-a-kind Louis Vuitton handbag filled with his estranged wife's jewels from a bedroom vault in her Rostraver mansion.
The home at 1 Debbie Lane, built by 84 Lumber magnate Joe Hardy, was the scene of the jewel heist in which authorities contend a $355,000 engagement ring, diamond necklaces and about 500 other expensive pieces were taken by Ucman on Sept. 28, 2007.
Westmoreland County Judge Richard E. McCormick Jr. sentenced Ucman to a jail term of one year less a day to two years less a day, a slightly more lenient sentence that the penalty recommended by county prosecutors.
"I've made it a county sentence because frankly, this wasn't just a theft, and it wasn't just a domestic situation," McCormick said. "Mr. Ucman took those items for the purpose of forcing the return of certain property disputed in this relationship. You wanted to use it as leverage."
Ucman will be eligible for work release and must undergo alcohol and anger management treatment. He was ordered to begin his jail sentence Nov. 9.
After a one-day, nonjury trial in August, McCormick convicted Ucman of a felony theft charge and a related misdemeanor offense of receiving stolen property.
Police said Ucman entered his estranged wife's bedroom, smeared the lens of a video surveillance camera then punched in the code of the vault safe to access the jewelry. About a week later, the jewelry was returned to Debra Hardy by Frank DeRosa, the father of Ucman's first wife and current girlfriend.
DeRosa testified at trial that he did not know who gave him the jewels to return to Debra Hardy.
In court yesterday, DeRosa pleaded with McCormick to sentence Ucman to probation rather than jail. DeRosa's brother, Tom DeRosa, chairman of the Forward Township board of supervisors, asked that Ucman remain free and said he is vital employee who helped to repair a local bridge.
Ucman told the judge yesterday that he was sorry for the trouble he caused the court, but he did not apologize for the thefts.
Defense attorney James Jeffries said Ucman maintains his innocence.
"We believe there was this third stranger who delivered the jewels to Mr. DeRosa and told him to give them back to Mrs. Hardy. We don't know who that third person is," Jeffries said.
Only the Louis Vuitton handbag was not returned. A special hearing will be conducted in about a month to set the restitution Ucman will owe Debra Hardy for that missing bag. The two are disputing the value of the bag.
Hardy and Ucman are still married. The divorce is pending, according to Jeffries.
As she left the courtroom with her first husband, Hardy said she was relieved the case against Ucman is over.
"We're very pleased," she said.
