A pair of former Sewickley Water Authority employees who are under investigation for alleged inappropriate conduct with a minor face new theft-related charges.
Nathan Turner, 40, and his wife, Stephanie Turner, 35, both of Leet’s Fair Oaks neighborhood, are charged with receiving stolen property, access device fraud, criminal conspiracy and theft by unlawful taking.
Sewickley police filed those charges Monday, April 6.
The Turners had worked for the authority for about six years. General Manager David Brooks said Nathan was a plant operator and Stephanie was a clerk.
Brooks said suspicions were raised last year when certain oversight reports were not as detailed as required or were incomplete.
Brooks said there were some suspicious transactions involving water authority fleet fueling cards.
Sewickley police were called to investigate.
“We brought some stuff to their attention, and they did their investigation completely and fully and have charged them,” Brooks said Tuesday, April 7.
According to the criminal complaint filed Monday, there were fueling charges that took place after business hours as well as other transactions that “were inconsistent with standard practice of fueling vehicles” and regularly consisted of different employee codes.
An investigation into a fueling at a GetGo at the Quaker Village Shopping Center determined Nathan Turner allegedly used a fleet card to gas up his personal pickup truck.
Police said both Nathan and Stephanie Turner later admitted to using the cards to fuel their own vehicles.
Stephanie also allegedly told police of multiple other instances resulting in thefts from the authority, including submitting hours that she did not work.
The complaint states the Turners used a cellular phone line on the water authority’s account for a relative and made numerous unauthorized purchases through multiple vendors totalling about $14,400.
Unauthorized spending included about $1,900 at Lowes for home improvement materials and tools; $2,000 through Verizon for a new phone and service; $3,900 for Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Creative Pro; $225 to Go Daddy for a 10-year domain registration of Turnerlasergesigns.com and one-year Microsoft 36 Email Essentials add-on; $460 to Motion AI; and $2,000 through Grainger for fire rescue supplies, insoles, tools and electrical supplies.
Police noted the Adobe purchases were made “with no feasible use at Sewickley Water Authority.”
The Turners run a laser engraving company in Beaver County.
Both Turners were placed on leave and eventually fired Aug. 31.
Brooks called the Turners’ alleged actions disappointing.
Sewickley police said the Turners turned themselves in Monday.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 28 before District Judge Giuseppe Rosselli.
Stephanie faces more theft charges
Stephanie Turner is also facing misdemeanor charges of theft by unlawful taking, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds and misapplication of entrusted property.
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office filed those charges in late March.
Charges stem from an investigation late July into alleged activity with the Fair Oaks Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary.
The auxiliary was formed late 2020 or early 2021 with the purpose to raise funds to support the fire department, court documents stated. The auxiliary did hold some events such as drag queen bingo and plant sales in the spring and fall.
It maintained a bank account and credit card at Clearview Federal Credit Union.
Fire company president Mark Brooks said every time he requested funding for department needs, Stephanie Turner told him the auxiliary did not have any money.
The auxiliary disbanded in October 2024 after Stephanie Turner advised the department there were not enough volunteers to run it, according to the criminal complaint.
Shannon Homan, who served as auxiliary treasurer, told police she never reviewed bank or credit card statements and Turner handled 90% of the financial responsibilities.
Police discovered three Venmo transfers from the auxiliary account totaling $765.
Police said the individuals who reportedly received the money “do not appear to have benefited either organization,” according to the criminal complaint.
A preliminary hearing on those theft charges is also scheduled for April 28 before Rosselli.
The theft charges stem from an investigation launched in late July.
Theft investigation led to sex charges
That investigation led to a separate one by the Allegheny County Police in which investigators said Stephanie Turner allegedly exposed herself to a 14-year-old junior firefighter at Fair Oaks Volunteer Fire Department and told him she was eager to have sex with him once he turned 18.
Nathan Turner is the former Fair Oaks chief. Stephanie was a former volunteer.
The teen was at the Turners’ Ambridge Avenue home in the summer of 2024 when Stephanie Turner “came out of the bathroom without a shirt or bra on,” the complaint said. She then pulled down her jeans.
Police said the boy later told them Stephanie Turner’s “actions made him feel uncomfortable.”
The husband texted the wife about the encounter in July.
Sewickley police first spotted the Turners’ texts last October, while downloading data from a Sewickley Water Authority cellphone its officers were using to investigate the theft case, the complaint said.
The couple was arrested Nov. 24.
Charges of harassment, open lewdness, criminal conspiracy, indecent exposure, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of minors were held for court against Stephanie Turner on Dec. 9.
Nathan Turner was charged with the same crimes. However, the charges of indecent exposure and open lewdness against him were dismissed. All other charges against him were held for court, according to online court documents.
Non-jury trials in Allegheny County Court are scheduled for June 29.
A message left with Fair Oaks Volunteer Fire Department was not immediately returned.
Messages left with Stephanie Turner’s attorney, David J. Shrager, and Nathan Turner’s attorney, Joseph A. Feldman, Tuesday evening were not immediately returned.