Pennsbury Township supervisors have a preliminary budget that they’ll be voting on next month. There is no increase in the township millage rate.
The budget is balanced with revenues and expenses estimated at $1,947,400, with a millage rate of 1.49 mils and an EIT (earned income tax) of 0.312. (A mil is a tax of $1 for every $1,000 of assessed property value. There is a contribution of $35,000 to the Kennett Library, and a combined $838,218 for fire and ambulance service.
Supervisors are expected to vote on the final budget during their Dec. 17 meeting.
The executive director of the Opioid Crisis Action Network (OCAN) has been charged with trafficking, according to Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer. Lawrence Arata is charged with 33 criminal counts, including trafficking in individuals, patronizing prostitutes, witness intimidation, and obstruction of justice.
Lawrence Arata
The district attorney said that Arata used funds received from Delaware County Government and the Pennsylvania Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement Trust to sexually prey on women suffering from opioid addiction.
“We also believe that there may be more victims of Mr. Arata’s predator behavior. I would encourage anyone with more information to contact my Office or reach out to the Victim’s Assistance Center of Delaware County to have your voice heard,” said Stollsteimer in a press release. “Our investigation concluded that Larry Arata cynically and cruelly misused those funds as leverage to satisfy his sexual desires.”
The charges come after a joint investigation by Upper Darby Township Police and the Delaware County District Attorney’s Criminal Investigation Division in response to allegations brought to law enforcement by victims of Mr. Arata and women who support them in the recovery community.
Arata turned himself in to law enforcement on Nov. 19, Judge David R. Griffin, and was released on $500,000 bail.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, the investigation began in the early part of August when one witness, a former employee and program director of OCAN, said Arata would rent a hotel room at the Best Western in Chester. The witness said she noticed Arata acting inappropriately with clientele, with some coming forward, telling the witness that Arata would ask them to come to the motel, where he would kiss and touch them, and offer them money.
One of the victims told police in October that she had two sexual encounters with Arata, both involving coercion for the exchange of OCAN resources.
•State police are investigating the report of an assault against a 35-year-old woman at a location on Route 202 in Chadds Ford Township on Nov. 8. The victim claims that a resident spat on her after a verbal dispute over medication.
•Police said Eliezer P. Munoz, 47, of Philadelphia, was cited for following too closely and transported for treatment following a two-car crash on Conchester Highway on Nov. 1. According to the report, both Munoz and the other vehicle were driving south on Conchester. Munoz was following too closely, police said, and struck the other vehicle.
•Naiel Z. McCalla, 20, of Perth Amboy, N.J., was cited for following too closely and striking another vehicle on Route 202 on Nov. 12, police said. Police added that McCalla initially fled the scene of the accident.
•Police are investigating the theft of various items taken from four. Vehicles parked on Dain Avenue in Concord Township on Nov. 17.
Kennett Square Police Department
Borough police said they arrested Eliseo Castillo-Sierra, 40, of Toughkenamon, on assault, criminal mischief, and harassment following a Nov. 5 incident in Kennett Square. According to the report, a victim advised officers that Castillo-Sierra had deliberately damaged her vehicle, causing approximately $1,000 in damage. During the investigation, police said they learned that Castillo-Sierra had allegedly grabbed the female victim by her hair and thrown her to the ground, and proceeded to throw a beer bottle at her. Castillo-Sierra was taken into custody, a criminal complaint was completed, and he was transported to Central Booking at Chester County Prison.
The budget is balanced with revenues and expenses estimated at $1,947,400, with a millage rate of 1.49 mils and an EIT (earned income tax) of 0.312. (A mil is a tax of $1 for every $1,000 of assessed property value. There is a contribution of $35,000 to the Kennett Library, and a combined $838,218 for fire and ambulance service.
