Judge sets $1M bond for daughter charged with theft of Greensburg Beverage CEO's estate

The lawyer for a Murrysville woman who, along with her mother, is accused of taking more than $4 million of a relative’s inheritance, told a Westmoreland County judge the case against his client has no factual basis.

“Their theory is not supported by the evidence,” said defense attorney Paul Ellis during a hearing Wednesday. He asked a Westmoreland County judge to set a nonmonetary bond to allow his client, 26-year-old Angela Lynne Valesky, to be released from jail.

Valesky and her mother, Lisa Skatell-Valesky, 51, of Jeannette, were charged this month with theft in connection with allegations they falsified court evidence to steal money from the estate of the older woman’s late mother, Bette Iannuzzo, the former CEO of Greensburg Beverage, who died 2017.

Prosecutors claim Skatell-Valesky and her daughter concocted and participated in a scheme that included testimony at a December 2022 court hearing in Westmoreland County that led to the distribution of the estate’s assets.

Investigators say the plot involved falsified telephone testimony from a woman who claimed to be Iannuzzo’s other daughter, who was bequeathed a majority of the estate.

Assistant District Attorney Jim Lazar told the judge that call originated from Greensburg while the actual heir was in Florida.

Skatell-Valesky was due to inherit just $193,000, according to police.

Prosecutors said the funds were eventually released and controlled by Angela Valesky, who later diverted money to her mother and used by both women for the purchase of homes and a vehicle. Additional money was spread out to multiple bank accounts, Lazar said.

“The theory they are floating is impossible,” Ellis said during Wednesday’s hearing.

Lazar argued that Valesky is a potential flight risk should she be freed from jail before a trial. He suggested additional money may be hidden away and outside the reach of authorities.

“Based on the amount of money, it gives someone the ability to disappear and go wherever they want to ,” Lazar said. “Some money has been frozen, but it doesn’t come close the money that was stolen.”

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani set Valesky’s bail at $1 million, which mirrored the bond that was set earlier this month for her mother.

“There is a flight risk and there is also a risk of squandering the rest of the money,” the judge said.

Valesky and her mother are scheduled to appear for preliminary hearings Feb. 20 before Greensburg District Judge Chris Flanigan.