Former Charleroi teachers union treasurer waives theft case Fallowfield woman charged with stealing $65K from union
CHARLEROI – The U.S. attorney’s office will not seek a federal indictment against a Fallowfield Township woman accused of stealing nearly $65,000 from a teachers union while she served as its treasurer.
The theft charge against Rae Dawn Grillo, 55, will instead be prosecuted locally, Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone said Monday after she waived her case to Washington County Court.
Vittone said investigators did not determine how Grillo used the money after it was withdrawn from the union’s bank account containing emergency strike money between 2007 and 2012.
Grillo declined comment while leaving the office of District Judge Larry Hopkins in Charleroi.
The office of U.S. Attorney David Hickton was consulted about the case because the federal Labor Department assisted in the investigation.
Vittone said he agreed to withdraw one of two theft charges against Grillo under the terms of a tentative plea agreement reached with her Monday.
The money was discovered missing after the Pennsylvania State Education Association learned its Charleroi members owed the association $7,262 in union dues in June 2012, court records indicate.
Grillo, who worked for the district as a speech therapist, agreed to return $57,788 to the union, police stated in the affidavit supporting the case. The federal investigation accused her of stealing an additional $8,175, a sum that was not returned to the union, authorities said.
Grillo, of 22 Pleasant Valley Drive, since resigned from her position in the school district, Vittone said.
She is free on a $50,000 unsecured bond.