Scranton, Lackawanna County – A well-known Scranton businessman is behind bars.
Bob Bolus was sentenced to between 6-23 months in prison Wednesday afternoon.
He was convicted of insurance fraud and conspiracy charges after a trial earlier this year in Lackawanna County.
Bolus is 71 years old.
He told the judge Wednesday that this is not where he expected to be at this stage of his life.
http://liarcatchers.com/insurance_fraud.html
The judge said Bolus’ actions were calculated and motivated by greed.
Walking into court, Bolus said he takes responsibliity for his crimes, adding in court, he couldn’t change the evidence.
“I feel that what happened is, this became more political. This was a civil issue,” Bolus said.
Earlier this year, Bolus was found guilty of submitting an excessive insurance claim after one of his tow trucks was side-swiped in an accident in 2009.
The claim was for a few thousand dollars.
“This was not a bunch of mistakes or just decisions in a vaccum. This was an opportunity that Mr. Bolus seized upon to make some quick money,” Senior Deputy Attorney General John Dickinson said.
Bolus’ attorney tried arguing for probation or house arrest, highlighting his client’s community service record. The judge said jail time is needed.
“A little bit disappointed because of the great works this guy, Bob Bolus, has done over the years. He’s just a tremendous person for the community,” defense attorney Nino Tinari said.
Besides his tow-truck business, Bolus is probably best-known for putting on a community dinner for the Scranton community at Christmas.
As he went into court, Bolus said he hoped all the good he’s done for people would help him in front of the judge.
“They look forward to a lot of the things I do, community wise, not just the dinner but everything I’ve done,” Bolus said.
Bolus’ attorney says they will appeal the sentence. The judge indicated he would not be opposed to Bolus serving part of his sentence on work release.
