January 22, 2001
Copyright 2001 American Lawyer Media
Pennsylvania Law Weekly
January 22, 2001
(Johnstown, Penn.) -- A police officer would be allowed to keep $20,000 he found in a snowbank five years ago under a bill proposed by a Cambria County lawmaker.
Democratic state Sen. John Wozniak, of Westmont, will introduce legislation that allows officers to keep unclaimed money they find on duty.
Wozniak hopes to make the bill retroactively cover the case of Conemaugh Township police Officer William Richards.
The Somerset County officer found the money after a traffic stop in February 1996. A Somerset County judge awarded the money to Richards after no one could prove the cash was theirs. But the Pennsylvania Superior Court overturned that decision and the state Supreme Court agreed that allowing on-duty police to keep money they find creates an appearance of impropriety.
Wozniak, who represents parts of Cambria and Somerset counties, said his proposed legislation rewards honesty.
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