Review / Pittsburgh Tribune – Review – $250K bond claimed by bondsman in Florida fugitive's capture
$250K bond claimed by bondsman in Florida fugitive’s capture
0 Comments | Tribune – Review / Pittsburgh Tribune – Review, Sep 9, 2009 | by Rich Cholodofsky
A Westmoreland County judge must decide who should get a $250,000 forfeited bond for a suspected robber who was arrested in Florida in May after a four-year manhunt.
The high stakes turned up in the case of Ralph “Pretty Boy” Skundrich, 47, formerly of Valencia, Butler County, who fled Pennsylvania in 2005.
He cut off an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet and escaped house arrest while awaiting trial in Westmoreland County for the attempted robbery of a Greensburg grocery store executive in his Indiana County home.
In April 2005, Westmoreland County Judge John Blahovec forfeited Skundrich’s $250,000 bond and ordered Liberty Bail Bonds to turn over that cash.
The money has been held in an escrow account ever since, but the bail bonds company wants the money back. Skundrich’s family home has been seized by the company as collateral for the bond.
David Cercone, attorney for Liberty Bail Bonds, said the company’s extensive investigation led to Skundrich’s arrest in May.
In court yesterday, Liberty President George Lee said his company turned over to police the fruits of an investigation that involved hundreds of interviews with Skundrich’s family and friends, as well as cell phone records.
“We tracked him to Florida, but witnesses refused to speak to us,” Lee testified.
Skundrich had become romantically involved with a Florida woman, who subsequently liquidated her children’s college fund to pay for Skundrich to flee from police, Lee testified
pennsylvania escrow company
Jul 29, 2010
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