Crime & Safety
Judge Drops Charges Against PBAA President
Charges of theft and misappropriation of funds were dropped against the former Plum Borough Athletic Association president and small business owner.
Plum District Judge Linda Zucco dismissed charges Wednesday in a case involving the former president of the Plum Borough Athletic Association.
Richard Claypoole, 68, had been with theft by deception and misapplication of entrusted property and property of government or financial institutions.
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s officer accused Claypoole of using his private business, Richmar Sporting Goods, to mark up supplies he then sold to PBAA, the nonprofit he headed. Claypoole was accused of making roughly $213,000 in payments to himself and his company between 2008 and 2011.
Detective Kevin Flanigan testified that financial statements showed Claypoole marking up sporting equipment by about 30 percent, bringing in roughly $18,000 in profit during those years. Richmar equipment accounted for around 80 percent of PBAA’s purchases, Flanigan said.
Former PBAA Secretary James McGrath said the company’s officers and board members knew of the arrangements and weren’t pressured to buy from Richmar. Officers reviewed orders for goods such as baseballs, bats and uniforms before issuing checks to Claypoole or his company, McGrath said, and he assumed the company would make some profit.
Claypoole, whose poor health condition had caused the trial to be postponed earlier this year, sat through the hearing in a wheel chair and didn’t speak. He resigned from the PBAA after he was charged in December.
