Unity man suspected in Gross case pleads guilty to unrelated gun charges

A Unity man suspected in the 2018 disappearance of Cassandra Gross pleaded guilty Tuesday to unrelated federal weapons violations.

Thomas George Stanko, 51, pleaded guilty to two counts of illegally having guns because he is a convicted felon. His admission came in a video conference hearing from the Allegheny County Jail.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cindy Chung said prosecutors do not have a formal plea agreement with him.

Stanko is a suspect in the disappearance of Gross, though he has not been charged. He has been in jail since April 2018 on unrelated charges, including the federal weapons case.

Trial had been slated to start in December.

The charges stem from 17 guns state police said they found on Stanko’s Unity property and a storage unit he rented in in August 2018. He has a previous felony conviction that prohibits him from possessing a firearm. Stanko admitted to the crimes during the hearing.

He twice asked for more time to consult with his attorney during the hearing. The first came when Chief U.S. District Judge Mark R. Hornak asked if Stanko understood all the rights he was giving up by pleading guilty. The second came when Hornak asked Stanko about his guilt and the crimes committed. Defense attorney Komron Jon Maknoon said Stanko had additional questions.

“You have enough information, as far as you’re concerned, to proceed ahead?” Hornak asked after answering Stanko’s questions.

“Yes,” Stanko replied.

Hornak ruled earlier this year that authorities had probable cause to get search warrants to look for the guns based on coded jailhouse conversations he had with family and friends.

Stanko’s mother Almira Stanko was present on the video hearing Tuesday. The pair and Maknoon met separately by video after the hearing ended. A sentencing hearing will be held in 120 days.

Gross of Unity was last seen April 7, 2018. She was reported missing April 9, 2018. The next day, state police found her Mitsubishi Outlander burned in a wooded area near Twin Lakes Park.

In the days after her disappearance, state police were seen searching two Unity properties Stanko owns. In May 2020, troopers found a few items during a search at a home where Stanko’s mother lives on White Fence Lane next to Unity Cemetery. Those items were sent for testing and police have not publicly detailed them.

Gross would have turned 55 last month. She was declared legally dead in January 2019 by a Westmoreland County judge. State police classify the case as a homicide. No arrests have been made.

Prosecutors said in December that they anticipated filing homicide charges against Stanko, but the case was delayed by turnover in the district attorney’s office as well as a federal gun case.