Former Police Department Employee, Husband Headed To Trial For Theft Of Services

A couple – one of whom previously worked along side police officers – are headed to trial for allegedly stealing electricity from PECO and putting firefighters in danger.

At a preliminary hearing earlier this week, Faith Friedhofer, 51 and Donald Watson, 55, who now both reside in Newtown, had charges including theft of services, conspiracy and reckless endangerment forwarded onto Doylestown for trial. Watson had charges of theft, receiving stolen property and criminal mischief forwarded on in relation to a separate case.

According to the prosecution, Friedhofer and Watson are accused of having an illegal hookup that took electric from power lines and diverted it to their property at 211 Centre Street in Falls, bypassing PECO’s meter and therefore allowing Friedhofer and Watson to receive electrical service without paying for it. The alleged theft is estimated to have taken around $20,000 worth of electric service.

Bryan Huber, a PECO supervisor and analyst, testified that the home’s meter showed electric service dropped to a flat amount between 2009 and the date of a December 2015 fire that revealed the alleged theft to authorities. The analyst told the court that the couple’s monthly electric bill was a steady $50 to $60 per month.

Inside the home, Huber testified, a hot tub and tanning bed were among the items hooked up to the power system. However, Huber was not able to state when pressed by the defense counsel whether the items were ever powered by stolen electric service.

Another PECO employee who testified said the home had several electrical panels, several which appeared to have hooked up to the alleged illegal power connection.

When pressed, the PECO employee, who inspected the home with utility company security, said instructions on how to install additional electrical panels in the home could be found online and learned in only a few days.

Bucks County Detectives, who handled the case because Friedhofer worked for the township police department, executed a search warrant on the couple’s home and found items consistent with a drug growing operation, according to testimony from Detective Richard Munger. However, Vislosky struck the comments from the court record after an objection about the relevance to the case.

The alleged illegal hook up was discovered after a PECO crew member cut electric service to the meter as firefighters worked to put out the burning home. The PECO worker noticed that electronics inside the home remained on after the meter was cut, according to testimony.

The prosecution alleges that firefighters’ lives could have been in danger due to power not being cut to the home while they were putting down the flames.

“Where’s the evidence?” asked Michael Kevin Parlow, Friedhofer’s defense attorney. “There is none.”

The cause of the fire has not been released.

The Centre Street home has been owned by Friedhofer and Watson since 1986, county records show. Friedhofer was an administrative assistant for Falls police Chief William Wilcox and Watson works as a pool installer for a company whose business address was listed at 211 Centre Street.

The second case heard this week against Watson, who pleaded guilty in 2012 to stealing copper from a closed furniture store, was related to the theft of batteries from the Fairless Hills Athletic Association’s fields.  The club president and a neighbor testified against Watson.

The couple are both free on bail.