Former Uniontown nonprofit director withdraws plea in theft case
A Uniontown man who was sentenced to one to four years in prison for allegedly taking money from a local nonprofit withdrew his plea and is out on bail while he waits for the case to go to trial.
Attorney Michael Ford contended that Fayette County prosecutors incorrectly filed the theft charges lodged against Eric Dolfi, 44. The complaint lodged against Dolfi, who is accused of stealing nearly $48,000 from the Fayette County Association for the Blind, charged him with 494 counts of theft.
In a motion filed earlier this month, Ford argued prosecutors had two options. They could have filed one count of theft that covered the entire $47,949.20, or they could have filed 494 counts of theft and listed the individual amount allegedly taken for each of those counts.
Judge Nancy D. Vernon agreed with the argument and allowed Dolfi to withdraw his plea and released him from prison on $20,000 unsecured bond on March 11.
“We had to protect my client’s rights, and we’re going to continue to protect his rights because the violation of his rights puts him in jeopardy under the constitution,” Ford said Wednesday. “This puts us in a better position going forward with the case and we’re going to continue to protect his rights as we move forward.”
On Tuesday, Vernon granted an order allowing prosecutors to amend the charges filed against Dolfi so that one count of theft will cover the entire amount allegedly taken. That does not change the facts of the case, District Attorney Mike Aubele said Wednesday.
The district attorney, who inherited the 2022 case when he took office the following year, took full responsibility for the clerical misunderstanding.
“It is ultimately my responsibility,” he said.
As the former director of the Fayette County Association for the blind, police alleged Dolfii transferred a total of $17,280.71 from the association’s PayPal account to his personal PayPal account, used the association’s credit card to make $28,607.50 in unauthorized charges and inflated his paychecks by $2,061. The alleged thefts occurred between January 2020 and July 2021.
Aubele said he anticipates the case be tried sometime in April.