Helen Mongelluzzo knows her longtime friend Victor Steban isn’t likely to ever be released from prison.

Still, she appeared Tuesday in a Westmoreland courtroom seeking information about allegations raised last year that motorcycles and other belongings were stolen from his home following his arrest on murder and other charges.

Mongelluzzo, of Delmont, didn’t get the answers she wanted when Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bilik-DeFazio rejected her appeal and ruled police reports were exempt from public release of internal investigative reports.

Mongelluzzo was acting as Steban’s power of attorney and said she filed a police report and private criminal complaint alleging the thefts. She filed requests for access to those records under the state’s right-to-know law. Both North Huntingdon and the district attorney’s office previously rejected the public release of those reports.

“He has lots of fines and costs and wants to use those to pay them off. It was his property and he should have a say in who gets what,” Mongelluzzo said.

She suggested two Harley Davidson motorcycles and other items were taken from Steban’s home by relatives and others following his May 2021 arrest. The items could be worth at least $50,000, she said.

Steban, 56, pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the May 16, 2021 fatal shootings of Jacob Erdeljac, 41, and his girlfriend, Mara Casale, 27, at their Penn Township home as part of a four-day crime spree.

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In return for his guilty plea, prosecutors dropped an effort to seek the death penalty against Steban. He was sentenced to two consecutive life prison sentences and an additional 46 to 92 years behind bars.

Police said Steban waited for hours in a treeline until Erdeljac and Casale returned to their Claridge-Elliott Road home after a motorcycle ride.

Investigators say Steban approached Casale as she walked to the house, shot her on the back porch with an AR-15 rifle then killed Erdeljac as he sat on his motorcycle.

Investigators claimed Steban then returned his attention to Casale and fired again to ensure she was dead. Steban blamed Erdeljac for a recent breakup with a girlfriend, according to police.

Hours before the murders, Steban shot at three homes, including the Hempfield residence of Dennis “Rooster” Katona, the former national leader of the Pagans motorcycle club, authorities said.

Investigators suggested Steban’s crime spree was motivated in part by a dispute he had with leaders of the motorcycle gang. After a court appearance last year, Steban told reporters his actions were “all about getting Rooster.”

Mongelluzzo said she just wants to know the outcome of the police investigation into the theft allegations she raised.

No criminal charges have been filed, according to Assistant District Attorney Anthony Iannamorelli.

“North Huntingdon police said they will take another look at it. Even if charges are filed, we don’t give police reports to a victim,” Iannamorelli said. “They didn’t give her the report because they’re not her own investigators. You would want to hire your own investigator.”

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