FEDERAL OFFICIALS ANNOUNCE INDICTMENT OF 14 PERSONS IN A JOINT FEDERAL/STATE INVESTIGATION

Federal officials announced today that a federal grand jury in Harrisburg has indicted 14 people on a variety of criminal charges arising out of an ongoing investigation into the murders of two women in a Huntingdon County public housing development in January 2009.

United States Attorney Dennis C. Pfannenschmidt announced that federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in a coordinated effort this week arrested 11 individuals on charges that included fraud, drug trafficking and obstruction of justice. According to Pfannenschmidt, those individuals charged with providing false information to the Huntingdon County Housing Authority, which manages multi-family federally funded public housing developments, either concealed their criminal records or failed to disclose sources of income when applying to become a tenant or in their annual re-certification interview. The nature of the criminal record would have, in most instances, disqualified the individuals from becoming a tenant. Several individuals also concealed income earned from the sale of controlled substances. According to Pfannenschmidt, that income, although illegally derived, was required by law to be reported. The concealment of this material information allowed individuals to receive federally subsidized housing since the housing developments or buildings where the defendants lived were either partially or fully funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Several individuals were also charged with the unlawful distribution of controlled substances, such as marijuana, percocet and oxycodone within 1,000 feet of federally funded public housing, specifically the Chestnut Terrace public housing development in Huntingdon County. One individual who was arrested was also charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly providing false information to investigators regarding the January 2009 murders of Christine McWhorther and Beatrice Daniels in their town home at Chestnut Terrace.

Those charged with the HUD fraud offense are Charles LeMaster, 42; Carole Ann Stodgel, 52; Betty Mae Roberts, 27; Marlin Dennis Booher, 37; Ralph Brotemarkle, 39; Matthew Allan Wargo, 27; Amy Dixon, age unknown; Steven Dale Kinzey, 24; Alton Rinker, 58 and Winston Beaver, 21. All are from Huntington County. Rinker, Beaver and Brotemarkle were also charged with drug trafficking. Bower Carl Booher was charged with obstruction of justice. Three other individuals were indicted as well and are in custody on other charges. Their indictments are under seal until they appear before United States Magistrate Judge J. Andrew Smyser in Harrisburg for arraignment on November 17, 2009. Those charged with HUD fraud, if convicted, face up to five years’ imprisonment and $250,000 in fines. Those charged with drug trafficking face up to 20 years’ imprisonment and $1 million dollars in fines. The penalty for the obstruction of justice offense is up to 10 years’ imprisonment.

According to U.S. Attorney Pfannenschmidt, federally funded public housing communities are intended for those who are eligible, most in need, and those public housing developments need to be free from crime, particularly drug trafficking which breeds other criminal activity. “Those who defraud the taxpayer of scarce funds intended only for those most in need will be prosecuted and removed from the public housing program. Those who peddle drugs in public housing will not only be prosecuted and removed from the public housing program but, more importantly, from the community.”

U.S. Attorney Pfannenschmidt also praised the combined efforts of those who investigated the offenses and assisted in the arrests. The investigation was conducted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Huntingdon County District Attorney’s Office, and other county and local law enforcement agencies with the assistance of the Huntingdon County Housing Authority.

Assistant United States Attorney William A. Behe has been assigned the prosecution of these cases.

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An Indictment or Information is not evidence of guilt but simply a description of the charge made by the Grand Jury and/or United States Attorney against a defendant. A charged Defendant is presumed innocent until a jury returns a unanimous finding that the United States has proven the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt or until the defendant has pled guilty to the charges.