Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Pittsburgh Woman Faces Criminal Charges For COVID Relief Fraud
Convincing banks that they can trust you enough to repay the money that you are asking them to lend you is not easy. After all, if you had that much money lying around, you would not need to borrow. There is an entire industry dedicated to lending people money now and asking questions later. … Read More »
Department Of Health And Human Services Recommends Rescheduling Cannabis At The Federal Level
Laws about cannabis reflect a lack of agreement about the contexts in which cannabis is beneficial, those in which it is a harmless vice, and those in which it is dangerous. Some states have enacted cannabis laws where legal cannabis products bear as little resemblance to the marijuana prized by the 1960s counterculture as… Read More »
Westmoreland County Woman Arrested For Trying To Buy Methamphetamine From Undercover Officer
Methamphetamine might not get a lot of press these days, but it is still plenty addictive and plenty illegal. It seems like a lifetime ago that Nic Sheff wrote Tweak, a memoir about his experiences with methamphetamine addiction, and his father David wrote his own memoir Beautiful Boy, telling the same events from his… Read More »
When Do Police Have The Right To Search Your Backpack For Drugs?
If you are going to travel across state lines with illegal drugs, it would appear that you have a better chance of getting away with it if you travel by bus. Given all the security scanners and baggage inspections at airports, it is difficult to bring drugs onto a plane undetected. If you travel… Read More »
Westmoreland County Home Contractor Faces Prison Sentence For Defrauding Customers
Now that the fall is ending and the children are back to school, we can all breathe a sigh of relief that we don’t have to sit through any more barbecues on people’s backyard decks until next summer. If the party hosts have an in-ground pool, the situation is both better and worse; it… Read More »
You Can Be Convicted Of Child Endangerment Even If The Children Did Not Get Hurt
When your family members accuse you of child endangerment, there is usually less evidence to persuade a jury that you are guilty of endangering the welfare of children and more evidence that your relatives should butt out of your business. Despite what your ex-wife might think, letting your children swim in your above ground… Read More »
Casino Employee Faces Charges For Stealing Money From Cash Register
Many people who are recovering from an addiction can tell you that they knew things were getting bad because they got arrested for drunk or drugged driving, drug possession, or a low-level financial crime such as theft. What happens after such an event depends less on the nature of the crime and more on… Read More »
Bucks County Woman Convicted Of Financial Crimes For Financial Abuse Of Elderly Father
Elderly people are among the most vulnerable when it comes to fraud and financial scams. The stereotype of financial abuse of the elderly is a lonely senior who has no family members living in town and who responds to a friendly email from a stranger. The new friend sends frequent correspondence, complaining of financial… Read More »
Fayette County Man Pleads Guilty In Federal Court To Internet Sex Crimes
Your high school civics teacher was right that most of the laws that affect your daily life are state laws. From the dos and don’t of cannabis consumption to the definition of distracted driving and the age at which a teenager is too old for juvenile court, many laws vary substantially from one state… Read More »
What Happens If You Do Not Come Back To Court After Being Released On Bail?
If you get arrested and then released, you have avoided the worst-case scenario, namely being held in jail until your plea hearing or trial. The best-case scenario is that, after arresting you, the police realize that they have no grounds on which to charge you with a crime, so they simply let you go,… Read More »
