Residents: Esposito's sentence is too soft

While supporting an order that former Swissvale Borough manager Tom Esposito repay almost $842,000 that he stole, residents wondered Friday how it could be done.

"So he does three to six (years in jail), and after six he's supposed to pay that back• How's that supposed to happen?" said Gary Scott, who owns Swissvale Music on Noble Street.

Scott, standing in the showroom of his well-stocked and busy music store, said he's waiting for the day when Swissvale becomes known for its good businesses rather than for the arrests of borough officials.

"I hope that when people think of Swissvale, they think of Swissvale Music or Filmet or Hohman's Cleaners, rather than all of these scandals," Scott said.

Farther down Noble Street, borough residents Terry Ward and Judi Matelan were sipping sodas with a friend and waiting patiently for their sons to finish their Friday bowling game. They also were talking about the fact that the longtime borough manager, who had also been active in their sons' baseball league, was going to jail.

"I think the residents of Swissvale feel betrayed. We entrusted an individual with our tax money, and to find out 10 years later that these funds were being misappropriated … it's very disheartening," Matelan said. "My husband and I were born and raised here. It's just an unfortunate experience."

Esposito, the borough manager in Swissvale from 1990 to last year, was sentenced Thursday to 34 ¹ / ₂ to 69 months in the Allegheny County Jail and 19 years' probation by Common Pleas Judge Gerard Bigley. He was sentenced on two counts of unlawful taking or disposition of funds received and a charge of restricted activities against using the authority of his office to benefit himself.

Investigators say Esposito wrote himself more than 600 extra payroll checks over an 11-year period and funneled money from the borough's liquid fuels, sewer and general funds to cover the checks.

As a condition of his probation, Esposito was ordered to pay back the $841,726 that he was accused of stealing.

Ward said she thinks the sentence is fair but added that Swissvale taxpayers can ill afford to lose the amount of money Esposito admitted taking. She supported the judge's order that Esposito repay the money.

"And I hope that happens," she said. "Swissvale is in a state where we can't afford to have that money missing or gone, so I hope that he does make good on it."

But business owner and borough resident Coleen Humberson, who said she had frequent dealings with Esposito, was far more bitter about Esposito's legacy and far less happy about the sentence.

"I think he really got off easy, and he did nothing for this town," she said.

Humberson said she frequently appealed to Esposito for help to deal with stormwater getting in her house.

"His quote to me all the time was: 'If we had the money we'd like to help you, but we can't afford it.'

"I guess we couldn't afford it because he was taking the money," Humberson said.

From her post in the Veltre's Pizza shop on Washington Avenue in Swissvale, Cathy Kristofic said she thought Esposito got off easy.

"I think it's very unfair. I think he should have got a lot more time than he did," Kristofic said. "That's a lot of money."

She saw Esposito's sentence as an indication that former borough council member James Schlanger, who will be formally arraigned April 19 on a charge of stealing $500 from the borough safe, would get a light sentence if he is convicted.

Kristofic said, "If that's the way it goes, maybe we should all get a job at the borough," Kristofic said.