Clearfield County, PA
Criminal charges were filed Friday against Samuel Zaffuto, the former CEO of Christ the King Manor. He is charged with stealing about $170,000 from the DuBois, PA, retirement community.
Zaffuto, 64, is charged with two counts of felony corrupt organizations; three counts of felony theft by failing to make required disposition of funds; two counts of felony theft by deception; 10 counts of theft by unlawful taking; receiving stolen property; access device fraud; and 17 counts of misdemeanor theft by unlawful taking.
He was released Monday on $100,000 unsecured bail as he awaits a preliminary May 27 preliminary hearing, court records show.
The former administrator and CEO allegedly made various donations into a bogus charity account that he devised for personal use, much of it allegedly to support the Sykesville (PA) Ag and Youth Fair. He did so without the knowledge of the board of directors, according to a news release from the district attorney’s office.
In addition, Zaffuto reportedly purchased a 2018 Ford F-150 truck that cost approximately $58,000, also without the knowledge of the board of directors. He used that truck for personal purposes and to pull his food trailer to various fairs and festivals, authorities said.
Zaffuto also is accused of using Christ the King Manor funds to pay some of its employees to work at the Sykesville Ag and Youth Fair and attend the annual state fair conventions. Further, Christ the King Manor Auxiliary Committee had a concession booth at the Sykesville Ag and Youth Fair that would raise on average $12,000 per year, but Zaffuto failed to provide the profits to the auxiliary, officials said.
The charges stem from a lengthy investigation by Trooper Katherine MacTavish of the DuBois-based Pennsylvania State Police into the financial records of Christ the King Manor during the time that Zaffuto was the administrator and CEO.
Zaffuto was Christ the King Manor’s administrator and CEO for more than 15 years. His employment was terminated in July 2019 due to the discovery of “numerous issues of serious concern,” the district attorney’s office reported.
Clearfield County District Attorney Ryan P. Sayers told the McKnight’s Business Daily that, due to a five-year statute of limitations, the investigation looked only at alleged theft from 2017 up to Zaffuto’s employment termination in 2019.
“He’s only being charged back to May of 2017. However, this behavior has been going on longer than that. He can only be charged based on the statute of limitations. …[H]e clearly was taking money and diverting money from the institution [before 2017],” Sayers said.
