Man who stole over $25K from Harmar's Deer Creek Cemetery Association gets probation

A man who admitted to stealing more than $25,000 from a Harmar cemetery association has been ordered to serve 10 years of probation and pay restitution.

Thomas Fink, 49, of Cheswick pleaded guilty in October to multiple counts of theft and receiving stolen property. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Susan Evashavik DiLucente sentenced him Tuesday.

Fink worked as the director of building and grounds for the Deer Creek Cemetery Association in Harmar for several years, said Donald Carlucci, the treasurer there.

A criminal complaint filed in the case said a board member from the cemetery association received a call in 2019 from a client who said that when she went to pay for two burial plots and a name plaque, Fink told her the cost would be $3,500 and that she should make the check out in his name.

The woman said she did what she was told but then contacted the cemetery association because it was unusual.

The group then reached out to Harmar police, who suggested the association have an audit done of cemetery finances. The audit was completed and turned over to Harmar police in June 2020.

The criminal complaint said a review by investigators showed that Fink had committed 22 instances of theft between August 2018 and December 2019, resulting in a total loss of $25,559.

All but one of the offenses involved checks written out to Fink. The other was a cash transaction, police said.

In an interview with officers in July 2020, the complaint said, Fink admitted to the thefts.

“I asked him why he did it, and he said that he has a very bad gambling addiction and that he owed some bad people a lot of money,” police said in the complaint.

Fink told the officer that they threatened his family, and he didn’t know what to do.

“He thought he would be able to repay the money, but his gambling debt continued to increase,” the complaint said. “He said that he always knew he would get caught.”

Attorney Kim Bodnar, who represented Fink, told the court that her client, who appeared via teleconference, is working for a food service provider at Camp Riley Air National Guard base in Oregon.

He has been paying restitution for more than a year and has shown dedication to his recovery, she told the judge.

“He’s committed to making future good choices,” Bodnar said Wednesday. “He’s sorry, and he’s doing everything he can to rectify the situation.”

At Tuesday’s hearing, Evashavik DiLucente told Fink that she would consider reducing the length of his probation if the restitution is paid in full early.

Fink must pay $200 per month.

“We’re just glad it’s over and was handled in a fair and amicable way,” Carlucci said.