Blair County logger faces 21 new timber theft charges

Local News

Discussion

June 24, 2009

Anonymous The Tribune-Democrat Wed Jun 24, 2009, 10:15 AM EDT

HOLLIDAYSBURG — A Blair County logger serving four to nine years in prison for stealing timber now faces 21 new charges.

Thirty-eight-year-old Francis Ritchey, of Claysburg, was sentenced last year after pleading guilty to theft and not paying state income taxes from 2003 to 2005.

Ritchey still owes about $490,000 in to those victims, and now a state grand jury says Ritchey allegedly stole from six other property owners in Blair, Cambria and Somerset counties.

Ritchey is charged with six counts each of theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property, four counts each of theft by deception and theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, and one count of criminal mischief.

Investigators say Ritchey stole the timber or didn’t pay as much as promised.

–––

Information from: Altoona Mirror, http://www.altoonamirror.com

Text Only | Photo Reprints

Local News

Highlights of Gov. Corbett's Marcellus Shale spending plan
Read on to see a bulleted list of Gov. Tom Corbett’s $27.1 billion state spending plan for the year that starts July 1.

February 8, 2012 1 Photo
Pa. gas drilling fee bill debate ends without vote
Pennsylvania, the only major gas-producing state that does not tax the taking of natural gas from its soil, moved closer Tuesday to imposing a fee on the drilling in the vast Marcellus Shale reserves that have transformed the state in recent years.

February 7, 2012 1 Photo
Blogging with heart
I've got so much stuff for this Sunday's American Heart Month package, that some of the stories will spill over onto Monday. But I don't know what to leave out, or hold for the next week, so it looks like a double hit this week.

February 7, 2012 1 Photo
$27.1B budget proposed
Gov. Tom Corbett on Tuesday proposed a budget of $27.1 billion, with no tax increases, deep cuts to higher education assistance and a range of cost-cutting in services for the poor, elderly and disabled.

February 7, 2012
Universities face steep cuts
State universities still trying to recover from deep cuts last year would have their public funding slashed even further under a budget plan unveiled Tuesday, leading some institutions to warn of a choice between maintaining buildings and offering academic programs students need to graduate.

February 7, 2012
Plan hurts middle class, local Democrats contend
While members of his own party praised Gov. Tom Corbett’s fiscal restraint, some local Democratic lawmakers said the Republican’s proposed budget panders to corporate interests while inflicting pain on the middle class.

February 7, 2012
Detour hurting some Portage businesses
Craig Mazzarese’s business depends heavily on drive-by customers, but since last week fewer drive-bys have been stopping

February 7, 2012 1 Photo
Local airport funding intact
Airport leaders here are breathing sighs of relief after Congress approved funding to support local commercial air service through 2015.

February 7, 2012
With state revenue tight, Westmont seeks school budget input
The Westmont Hilltop school board on Tuesday night held a public forum at the middle school to explain why the district, already one of the most efficient in the state, must raise taxes each year.

February 7, 2012
In brief: Commissioners plan to meet at schools
Cambria County’s three new commissioners, carrying out plans to take meetings into communities, have scheduled five of their meetings this year in high school auditoriums throughout the county.

February 7, 2012
More Local News Headlines