Edgewood's former borough manager and police chief will have to do without the Great Big Bertha golf club, fridge and car radio. He's not getting the $1,000 bed back either.
Peter D. Messina, 68, of Maple Avenue, lost his bid Tuesday to reclaim the items after being sentenced in June to nine months' house arrest and four years' probation on charges he stole more than $20,000 from the borough.
Messina claimed he'd reimbursed the borough for the items, valued at nearly $4,000. But Forest Hills Justice Susan Evashavik rejected Messina's small claims petition against the borough, saying he'd received credit from a county judge for reimbursing the items.
"The borough of Edgewood is a bunch of greedy pigs," Messina said after the ruling yesterday.
Items Messina sought included a refrigerator and a car radio, valued at $500 apiece; the Big Bertha club, valued at $349; and the bed.
"You're double-dipping," Evashavik told Messina.
"What are you going to do, throw me in jail?" Messina said after he accusing Evashavik of being prejudiced against him.
When Messina was arrested in October 1999, detectives for District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said Messina used a borough credit card to buy things for himself and reimbursed himself for expenses that he didn't accrue.
As a part of his guilty plea in June to charges of stealing from the borough, Messina was ordered by Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Judge John Zottola to pay restitution.
Messina was convicted of stealing $10,158 and defrauding the borough of $11,321.42 by collecting workers' compensation payments while receiving his borough salary at the same time.
Because Messina already had reimbursed the borough for more than $4,000 of the funds he was accused of misusing, the amount of Messina's workers' compensation and theft restitution is $16,854.18.
Messina took the Edgewood police chief job in 1983 and served as chief until he was fired in August 1999. He was borough manager from 1986 through December 1998.
