Another Guilty Plea in Ripoff of Montco Condo Owners By Managers
By Brad Segall
PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. (CBS) -- The former assistant property manager at a Montgomery County, Pa. condominium complex has admitted her role in a scheme that defrauded the residents of that complex out of hundreds of thousands of dollars over several years.
Patricia Paugh (top right photo) pleaded guilty today to a pair of felonies: theft by unlawful taking, and conspiracy to commit theft. The charges stem from a nine-year scheme in which Vincent Lopez (top left), the former property manager at the Plymouth Hill Condominiums, stole nearly $600,000 to line his own pockets (see related story).
Montgomery County prosecutor Laura Adshead says Paugh, 55, was taking hush money from Lopez, who orchestrated the scheme.
"It was his role essentially to plan it, and he put aside the money... she accepted $30,000 from him, so he was paying her off," Adshead told KYW Newsradio.
Paugh faces a maximum of 15 years behind bars, although defense attorney Rick Tompkins indicated that he wants his client evaluated for house arrest.
Lopez was sentenced last year to 4½ to 12 years behind bars.
