MAN SENTENCED IN THEFT CASE

ROCHESTER, N.Y.-- Duane Wida, 42,  of Elmira, New York, who pled guilty to the theft of government money on December 6, 2006,  was sentenced to a  five year term of imprisonment, five months of home confinement, three years of supervised release, and fined $1,000 by U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer, U.S. Attorney Terrance P. Flynn of the Western District of New York announced today.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard A. Resnick, who handled the case, stated that Wida was the residence manager for Pathways Inc., a not-for-profit corporation that provides services to the developmentally disabled.  Pathways Inc. operates a group home for six autistic clients in Elmira, New York.  Each of these residents receives a monthly personal expense allowance of $130 taken from their Social Security Disability Insurance provided by the United States government.  Wida, as Pathways’ residence manager, was responsible for distributing the $130 to each resident by placing it in a bank bag bearing the resident’s name.  Between October 2002 and October 2005, Wida stole and converted to his own use the total amount of $12,161.38 of the residents’ personal expense allowances.   

The conviction was the culmination of an investigation on the part of the  Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of  Laurie J. Bennett , Special Agent in Charge.