Mar 13, 2020 3 min read

The attorney for a former Uniontown funeral director wants a Fayette County judge to modify the amount in restitution ordered in the case, and potentially modify his sentence if additional restitution is made.

Stephen Kezmarsky III, 52, was ordered to pay $555,556.16 – an amount his attorney is disputing as “speculative” in a recently filed motion.

Attorney Stephen Colafella contended that while the state attorney general’s office itemized the insurance fraud-related restitution Kezmarsky owes, prosecutors have not itemized restitution owed on the theft counts.

“In fact,” Colafella wrote, “there are seven alleged victims, the identities of which have not been disclosed.”

Kezmarsky was sentenced last month to 4 to 8 years in prison for stealing from those who either pre-paid for funerals, or who paid him for other services he did not perform.

Colafella asked for additional time to try and resolve the restitution issue with prosecutors, but asked a judge to reserve his right to a hearing if they cannot reach an agreement as to how much is owed.

The motion noted that $160,000 has been paid toward restitution so far, and asks Judge Steve P. Leskinen to consider further modifying Kezmarsky’s sentence if an additional “substantial sum” has been paid before a June 11 hearing.

The June hearing was scheduled after District Attorney Rich Bower filed a motion asking Leskinen to increase Kezmarsky’s prison term. In his motion, Bower contended that the sentence should’ve been longer because the impact of Kezmarsky’s thefts was “devastating” to his 114 victims.

Bower argued Kezmarsky “took advantage of individuals at the most vulnerable time of their lives.”

When Bower filed his motion earlier this month, he noted that one of the restitution checks for $50,000 paid on Kezmarsky’s behalf was returned for insufficient funds. He contended at the time that Kezmarsky’s sentence was, in part, based on his representing that he made $160,000 in restitution.

Bower said that returned check reduced the amount to $110,000. The $50,000 check has since been reissued and applied to the owed restitution.

Colafella’s motion touched upon Bower’s argument about the length of Kezmarsky’s sentence. He noted that his client entered a general plea, which left the sentence up to Leskinen. He also stated that Leskinen opted to sentence Kezmarsky on four of the dozens of theft counts to which he pleaded guilty.

“In fact, the sentence guideline ranges associated with these counts could have resulted in a lesser sentence had the court elected not to invoke the mandatory minimum sentence (on the four theft counts),” Colafella wrote.

The motion also noted that Kezmarsky was made eligible for the state’s Recidivism Risk Reduction Incentive Program. If he is accepted into the program, Colafella wrote, Kezmarsky would end up serving 40 months in prison.