Westmoreland County’s former director of purchasing was arrested Tuesday on felony charges accusing him of stealing $9,800 by allowing department employees to work an extra 30 minutes daily.
County detectives said Kristopher R. Cardiff, 47, of Trafford, was not authorized by the county’s salary board to extend the workday for department employees, according to court papers.
Cardiff was suspended without pay in August and fired the following month. He is free on $10,000 unsecured bond while facing three felony counts of theft and a single misdemeanor charge of misapplication of entrusted property.
County employees discovered the discrepancy in August while preparing for the 2025 budget, police said. Payroll records showed that between early August 2023 and Aug. 13, 2024, four hourly unionized and two salaried employees reduced their lunch hour by 30 minutes to be paid for a 7-hour work day, rather than 6.5 hours, according to court papers.
The courthouse in Greensburg is open to the public weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. As a result, most employees’ pay, including those in the purchasing department, is based on a 6.5-hour workday.
The purchasing department oversees all equipment and supplies acquisitions for the county. It also operates the courthouse mailroom and printing services.
In July 2023, Cardiff submitted a proposal to the salary board requesting the change as a result of an increased workload, county officials told investigators. But that proposal was not included on the July 2023 salary board agenda, and never voted on, police said.
Cardiff was paid an extra $5,400. His annual salary was $70,314. Five other employees who were not identified in court papers got about $4,400 total. The four unionized clerks involved were not disciplined, remained on the job and will not have to repay the money, officials have said.
Cardiff’s deputy, Kristen Coyne, who also was suspended and fired, told investigators she believed the change had been approved and she manually adjusted the length of employees’ work days in weekly payroll reports at Cardiff’s direction, according to court papers. Her annual salary was about $47,000 and county records showed she received more than $3,600 in additional pay. Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Melanie Jones said no criminal charges are being filed against Coyne at this time.
Cardiff, who was hired to head the purchasing office in November 2022, is a Trafford Council member. He previously disputed the allegations in an interview with the Trib and claimed he mistakenly believed he was authorized to implement pay hikes.
Attorney David Colecchia said simply because charges are brought does not mean a defendant is guilty.
“Mr. Cardiff does not agree with the Commonwealth’s recitation of the facts in this matter and we look forward to presenting our case in court,” he said.
A preliminary hearing is set for Dec. 12.
County commissioners are set to hire Daniel Ellingsen as director of purchasing at their meeting Thursday.