Politics & Government
Tonkins Embezzlement Case Going to Court
The grand jury investigation report on Nancy and William Tonkin, accused of embezzling $850,000 from South Whitehall, was used in lieu of a preliminary hearing.
The embezzlement case of Nancy and William Tonkin, who are charged with stealing $850,000 from South Whitehall Township utility accounts, will be heard in the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas, according to court records.
The case was transferred to Lehigh County Court last Friday, according to court records. No court date has been scheduled yet.
The Lehigh County District Attorney's office requested the grand jury investigation report be used in lieu of a preliminary hearing, which had been scheduled next Friday in front of District Judge Jacob Hammond, according to a court employee. The Tonkins had appeared at the grand jury investigation, the employee said.
Nancy Tonkin, 66, the former South Whitehall Township utility supervisor, was arrested May 21 and released 10 days later on $200,000 bail from Lehigh County Prison.
Her husband, William, 69, a former South Whitehall police officer, who was also charged, has been out on $100,000 bail.
A yearlong investigation revealed the couple allegedly stole the money in an elaborate embezzlement scheme using residents’ utility payments from 1999 to 2012, according to the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office.
The couple, who are from Emmaus, gambled some of the money in casinos, the district attorney said.
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