A Palmerton Area School District employee accused of theft and receiving stolen property will have his case heard in Carbon County Court.
Todd Mertz, 54, of Lehighton, waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday before District Judge Bruce Appleton of Palmerton.
A district groundskeeper in the PASD, Mertz faced two counts each of theft of unlawful taking or disposition, and receiving stolen property.
One count each of theft by unlawful taking or disposition, and receiving stolen property were dismissed. Mertz still faces one count each of both charges.
He is scheduled to go before the county Court of Common Pleas for a pretrial status conference at 9 a.m. Nov. 29.
According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by Trooper H. Christopher Bonin of the Pennsylvania State Police:
On Aug. 6, Bonin received information that Mertz had been stealing numerous items from the school district in the performance of his duties, according to the affidavit.
Sometime between 2006-2007, the Towamensing Elementary School had been undergoing renovations that were being completed by Bracy Contracting Incorporated; part of which entailed installing new floor tile, pink in color, the affidavit says.
Mertz was later seen installing that tile in a motor home owned by his father-in-law by another employee of the school district.
On July 27, Trooper Nicolas De La Iglesia traveled to Towamensing Elementary to view the tile that had already been installed. De La Iglesia then traveled to the residence of Mertz's father-in-law in Towamensing Township.
De La Iglesia received consent to search the motor home, and observed the floor tile inside to be the same type, size, and color of the tile that he viewed inside Towamensing Elementary.
The motor home contained 14 partial tiles and 15 full tiles. The motor home was a 1993 Chevrolet C30 built by Gulfstream with a PA Registration of HHO-4681.
In addition, Mertz was also questioned by officials at the Palmerton Area School District for stealing a space heater and five gallons of diesel fuel for the heater on July 21.
Mertz admitted to taking the heater sometime in January. On July 22, Mertz returned the heater and five gallons of diesel fuel to the school district.
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Comments
What a bunch of BS. I have known Todd for years. Todd is one of the most honest men i know. Palmerton School dist board members should be ashamed of their selves for smearing Todds name.
I smell liars at the PASD. And you know who you are.
I just wonder whos PASD family member is going to replace him. You better have good knee pads and wipes to clean the smell off your nose when Mr Scherer stops fast.
What a waste of tax payer money for total nonsense. When this witch hunt ends and Mr. Mertz is exonerated, I hope the tax payers and voters in the Palmerton school district final wake up and realize the mess this district is in. Mr. Mertz has been suspended and arrested for taking tiles and borrowing a heater?! What relative does Mr. Scherer want to give more of the district's money to now (for Mr. Mertz's job)? Who do you think is paying the overtime needed to cover Mr. Mertz's responsibilities? Who's paying for Mr. Mertz's lawyer? Who's going to pay for the lawsuit that is sure to follow? The taxpayers!!! Hasn't this board learned their lesson yet? What about the $200K paid in the past year for legal fees for wrongful dismissal suits for fired teachers? Yet we don't have money to keep our kids in sports and extra-curricular activities. Doean't the school board have anything else to waste time on...like the Dress code?