by peter e. bortner
ORWIGSBURG - Steven Field testified Tuesday that he now knows his company paid a Lancaster County scrap metal dealer far more than it should have for copper, which he said is the fault of one of the company's former buyers.
"It's in excess of $600,000," Field, the owner of Weiner Iron & Metal Corp., testified during the preliminary hearing for that former buyer, Sharon M. Mullin, who is charged with stealing that money from the Pottsville corporation.
After a two-hour hearing, Magisterial District Judge James R. Ferrier ruled that prosecutors had presented enough evidence to support the four charges against Mullin - two counts of conspiracy and one each of theft and theft by deception - and ordered them held for Schuylkill County Court.
Ferrier allowed Mullin, 47, of Pottsville, to remain free on $25,000 unsecured bail pending further court action.
State police at Schuylkill Haven charged Mullin and Chester L. Caldwell Jr., 32, of Peach Bottom, with conspiring to steal $614,445.62 from Weiner Iron & Metal in 2011 and 2012 in order to boost the business of Caldwell's company, Stateline Recycling.
Police allege that Mullin deliberately had Weiner overpay Caldwell.
Caldwell had been scheduled to have his preliminary hearing on Tuesday before Ferrier, but the judge said it had to be cancelled due to that defendant's illness. Caldwell is charged with two counts of conspiracy and one of receiving stolen property.
Field, Orwigsburg, was one of two witnesses to testify against Mullin, who presented no evidence but spent much of the hearing conferring with her lawyer, Joseph P. Nahas Jr., Frackville.
He said Mullin did not deny what she had done when he and company Controller Mike Brennan confronted her about it.
"Sharon basically admitted the whole thing," Field testified when questioned by First Assistant District Attorney Thomas J. Campion Jr. "She was just trying to help Stateline out."
Stateline had become one of Weiner's most significant customers, eventually selling it 2.1 million pounds of copper, according to Field. Mullin gained a commission of about $10,600 from Weiner for her dealings with Stateline, he said.
"He started to show up with larger and larger amounts of copper," Field said of Caldwell. "Considering his general position in the marketplace ... it was a tremendous amount."
Unfortunately, Field said, he did not review company records immediately, and Mullin did the paperwork on the Stateline account,
"She admitted she had been grossly overpaying him for the material," Field said of Mullin.
When cross-examined by Nahas, he said he does not remember Mullin telling him she was trying to help Stateline gain a dominant position in the market in order to ensure Weiner eventually would benefit. Mullin might have told him that Stateline was going to pay Weiner back, but he is not certain of that, Field said.
State police Trooper John Sleboda Jr. also testified Mullin did not deny what she did.
"She did admit to making overpayments to Stateline," Sleboda said. Mullin did offer an explanation for her conduct, he said.
"She's naive and very religious," and wanted to help out, Sleboda said of Mullin's explanation of why she did what she did. "In a roundabout way, she was more into helping him."
Nahas asked for dismissal of the charges, saying Mullin kept nothing and was guilty only of making a bad business decision.
"She didn't steal anything," he said.
However, Campion successfully argued that whether Mullin kept anything or personally profited from the alleged theft is irrelevant.
"She agreed, and she intentionally paid, more than she should have," he said.
Campion declined to comment on the case after the hearing. Nahas said his client is innocent.
"She didn't steal anything. She simply entered into a business agreement. She did not receive one nickel," he said. "This is a civil matter, not a criminal matter." Defendant: Sharon M. Mullin
Age; 47
Residence: Pottsville
Charges: Two counts of conspiracy and one each of theft and theft by deception