WEST EASTON, Pa. — A former borough clerk is accused of stealing more than $57,000 in sewer and trash collection fees over a two-and-a-half year period, according to court records.
David Gehman, 62, of Coopersburg, allegedly stole the money in cash payments made by West Easton residents between January 2021 and September 2023.
Pennsylvania State Police charged Gehman last October. He has been free on $75,000 unsecured bail and was scheduled last week for formal arraignment in Northampton County Court.
Gehman is charged with three felonies: theft by unlawful taking, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, and tampering with public records.
Authorities said the borough’s office manager became suspicious in 2023 after observing large sums of cash in Gehman’s borough hall workspace.
An audit identified $57,514 missing from the borough’s sewer fund and general fund, according to a criminal complaint.
State police allege Gehman accepted cash payments from residents and entered them into the borough’s computer-based accounting system, but never deposited the funds.
Money found in office, court records show
Gehman was hired as a part-time clerk handling accounting duties in January 2016, according to court records.
On Aug. 21, 2023, Borough Manager Joan Heebner found a bag in the office containing Gehman’s paycheck, $880 in cash and payment slips for cash received from residents for their bills totaling $3,050.
Heebner told authorities she thought Gehman left the bag by mistake. She took the cash assuming it was borough funds and left the bag where she found it, according to the criminal complaint.
After consulting with the borough attorney that day, according to court records, she sent Gehman a text: “David, I have been informed that due to irregularities found during the audit, you are to be suspended until further notice. Your code to enter the building has been deactivated and the pw on the computer has been changed.”
She never saw or heard from Gehman again, authorities said.
By the time state police interviewed Heebner in September of last year — more than a year after texting him — she told investigators Gehman never responded to her text and she had not seen nor spoken to him since, court records say.
LehighValleyNews.com reached out to Mayor Dan DePaul for comment but a message was not immediately returned.
