Customers walking into La Dolce Casa in Tamaqua were greeted personally and warmly by Alfonso Picone, whose family owns the restaurant.

But the effusive restaurateur has a dark side, authorities say. He befriended an elderly couple, gaining access to their bank accounts and stealing $319,000.A Schuylkill County jury agreed, and after listening to four days of testimony, on Sept. 22 they found Picone, 46, guilty of theft, receiving stolen property, and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities.President Judge William E. Baldwin on Nov. 28 sentenced him to 18 months to five years in state prison, and ordered him to repay the money. He dismissed the dealing charge.Before imposing the sentence, 12 people testified on his behalf, citing his donations of food, his willingness to host fundraisers, and his warm, caring and generous character."Obviously, there are two Alfonso Picones," Baldwin said.Picone's victims, John W. Burnard and his wife, the late Ella E. Burnard, were both 90 years old when Picone began gaining their trust - and their money.The couple had frequented the restaurant, and Picone paid them special attention.According to police reports and testimony, Ella was struggling with age-related dementia when she asked Picone for help in paying her bills and balancing her checkbook.Following an investigation opened by the Schuylkill County Office of Senior Services, Picone was charged by then-Rush Township police officer Thomas R. Fort in May 2015 with swindling the Burnards, of Lake Hauto, over the course of 2014.Picone, according to testimony, had a heavy gambling habit. The restaurant was running in the red, and because he also owed millions of dollars in sales tax to the state, Picone could not get a bank loan.