Treasurer of Uniontown Football Boosters accused of misappropriating more than $18,000
The former treasurer of the Uniontown Football Boosters is now under investigation after thousands of dollars went missing and the president of the boosters said she found out about the missing money when a business called to say it hadn't been paid.
That money was raised for the football teams in the Uniontown Area School District and was supposed to be used for things like new uniforms, helmets, team banquets, and trophies.
Now, the president said, they don't have two pennies to rub together.
"I'm devastated, I'm hurt," said Tiffany Blaho.
That's the reaction you would expect from Blaho after she learned that money went missing.
"I would have vouched for any of these people that I worked for," she said. "I would have stood ten toes in telling people they are wonderful people and they're here to help. So it hurts to know that somebody I spent a lot of time with, that I trusted, would do something like this."
That someone Blaho was referring to is the now-former treasurer who is under investigation for allegedly misappropriating around $18,000. When it was brought to her attention, she learned that the bank account was overdrawn by more than $3,000.
Confused, she asked the treasurer, who was the sole signatory on the bank account, she kept getting the runaround.
"We just kept pushing and at first we were told you just overspent, and I'm sorry I allowed you guys to overspend but that was the case," said Blaho.
It wasn't until Blaho had a meeting with the bank that she found out all the money was gone. The former treasurer, who has not yet been formally charged, has returned some funds, allegedly leaving the account with a balance of $40 - a far cry from the starting tenure of $18,000.
"Now we don't have it, so how do we celebrate our football children with banquets or how do we support them?" Blaho asked.
While the community waits for justice to prevail, Uniontown City Council member Angela Brown said the kids deserve better. Now, she's taking matters into her own hands and trying to raise the missing funds and then some so the kids can be celebrated for all their accomplishments.
"I just want to help the kids and make them whole again," she said. "That's my goal, just to make them whole. We can worry about the legal stuff later but we have to get these kids' money back."
Pennsylvania State Police are now investigating.
