Defense attorney says prosecution inaction warrants dismissal of Unity man's criminal charges
May 26—The lawyer for a Unity man police said is linked to the 2018 disappearance of his former girlfriend said inaction by Westmoreland County prosecutors violated the state's speedy trial rules. As a result, he wants a judge to dismiss three pending criminal cases.
Defense attorney Dante Bertani in court documents filed Tuesday argued prosecutors failed to push for Thomas Stanko, 50, to be transferred from a federal prison in Ohio pending disposition of two federal criminal indictments. They are in connection with a .22-caliber rifle found at a Stanko family cabin and weapons offenses related to a search of his Unity property where 17 guns were discovered that authorities say he wasn't allowed to have.
Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Tim Krieger has not yet ruled on the defense's motion to dismiss the cases.
Stanko has been in federal custody since early 2019, months after he was arrested and jailed in Westmoreland County related to three separate criminal cases in which local police charged him. Police say he possessed a stolen all-terrain vehicle; violated terms of a drunken-driving sentence; conspired with his mother to steal government benefits; and assaulted someone during a Youngwood bar fight in 2017.
The state's speedy trial law requires cases go before a judge or jury within six months after arrest for those in jail and a year for defendants not in custody.
In all, Stanko has been incarcerated for more than three years as he awaits disposition of cases filed against him in federal and state court.
"The Westmoreland County prosecuting attorney failed to take any action with the federal prosecutor to file and enforce a writ or take any action whatsoever to require the person of the defendant to remotely appear or be transported to be present for any of the numerous court proceedings scheduled in the Court of Common Pleas of Westmoreland County," Bertani wrote.
The defense claimed state charges were trumped up to illicit a confession to the murder of Cassandra Gross, Stanko's former girlfriend, who was last seen April 7, 2018.
Police said they believe Gross, who was 51, was killed, although her remains have never been found. A Westmoreland County judge in 2019 declared Gross legally dead.
Stanko has denied any involvement in Gross' disappearance.
Westmoreland prosecutors claimed a request was made but rejected by federal marshals to transport Stanko back to Greensburg to attend hearings.
In court documents, county prosecutors said Stanko's defense lawyers were responsible for the trial delays. They also noted the U.S. Constitution puts federal prosecutions ahead of those in state court.
"The period of delay attributable to the defendant will end, and the period of inquiry into the due diligence on behalf of the commonwealth will begin upon sentencing for the federal charges," Westmoreland prosecutors said.
Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled investigators conducted an illegal search of a Potter County cabin as part of the rifle case against Stanko and suppressed evidence collected during that search.
A defense request to bar evidence in the weapons case related to firearms found on Stanko's Unity property is still pending.
Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich at 724-830-6293, rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .
