Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin and Borough of Coplay Mayor Joseph Bundra announced Jan. 31 two executives from Lackawanna County have been charged in connection with a failed business agreement to purchase streetlights for the borough.

Robert J. Kearns, president of Municipal Energy Managers Inc., and Patrick McLaine, secretary and treasurer of M.E.M. have been charged with theft, theft with failure to make required disposition of funds received and conspiracy for taking more than $160,000 from the Borough of Coplay.

Martin said Kearns and McLaine were convicted Jan. 11 in Northampton County for stealing $800,000 after agreeing to negotiate with PPL Corporation to purchase streetlights for Bethlehem Township.

Martin said his office held off on filing charges against the two executives for the alleged theft from Coplay for about six weeks in order to avoid prejudicing the jury in the Northampton case.

According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by Lehigh County Chief Detective Michael Millan and Coplay Chief of Police Vincent Genovese:

In April 2009, the Borough of Coplay entered into a business agreement with M.E.M in which the company agreed to act on behalf of the borough to purchase streetlights within the borough from PPL Corporation.

The borough entered into a formal written contract with M.E.M. that required the borough to pay $160,182 in two installments.

On June 8, 2009, the borough made a payment of $50,000 and on June 15, 2009, the borough made a second payment of $110,182.

The investigation revealed that M.E.M. never entered into formal negotiations with PPL on behalf of the borough for the purchase of streetlights.

Further investigation determined that the two checks from Coplay were deposited into the bank accounts of M.E.M., but that Kearns and McLaine spent the money, and that M.E.M's bank accounts showed no funds.

M.E.M. has since filed for bankruptcy.

"It is alleged that Kearns and McLaine did no work, did not purchase the streetlights as promised and spent the money," Martin said. "I think it is clear from some of the reports of the trial in Northampton County, they spent the money on themselves."

The concept of purchasing street lights from PPL in order to save money was a good one, Martin said.

"I think if they [Kearns and McLaine] had not become greedy and had followed through on what they said they were going to do they could have certainly made a reasonable profit doing this work honestly, they chose not to," Martin said.

Martin stated he does believe early on Kearns and McLaine did do what they said they were going to do and purchased streetlights through PPL for Allentown, Whitehall and Scranton.

"I do not believe there are other municipalities that were victimized by this scheme to my knowledge in Lehigh County," Martin said.

Kearns and McLaine were to purchase 1,000 to 2,000 streetlights within 12 months of the agreement with the Borough of Coplay, Bundra said at the news conference.

Bundra said Coplay is a small borough with 3,300 residents and as such, money is very tight.

"This is really going to hurt us. It's going to put a burden on our taxpayers," Bundra said. "I feel bad how someone could come in and do this misleading job