3 old cases against Unity man linked to woman’s disappearance dismissed

UNITY, Pa. — Three pending criminal cases were dismissed against a man state police linked to the 2018 disappearance of a Unity woman.

Westmoreland County Judge Timothy Krieger ruled prosecutors took too long to bring Thomas G. Stanko, 50, to trial in the cases unrelated to the disappearance — two from 2018 and a third from 2017.

District Attorney John Peck said he is considering an appeal of the ruling, according to our news partners at Trib Live.

“The problem has been with Stanko that he’s indicted in federal court” and can’t be released from their custody until that case is resolved, Peck said.

“It’s the position of the Commonwealth that he was unavailable during this period of time,” Peck said.

Stanko’s defense attorney, Dante Bertani, requested the dismissal in May, arguing prosecutors violated the state’s speedy trial rules and failed to push for Stanko’s release from federal prison. The state’s speedy trial law requires cases go before a judge or jury within six months after arrest for those in jail and a year for defendants not in custody. In all, Stanko has been incarcerated for more than three years as he awaits disposition of cases filed against him in federal and state court.

Authorities have until the end of the month to set a trial date on a federal indictment in connection with 17 guns police said were found at a Unity property he owns and a storage unit while authorities were investigating the disappearance of Cassandra Gross. A second indictment related to another gun police said was found at a Potter County cabin was dropped after a federal judge found the search illegal.

In the now-dismissed three criminal cases, local police said he possessed a stolen all-terrain vehicle in 2018, violated terms of a drunken-driving sentence that same year and assaulted someone during a Youngstown bar fight in 2017.

Krieger detailed in his ruling dozens of court dates for each of the three cases and the reason for postponements of the matters. He found Stanko should have been brought to trial by Dec. 5, 2019, in the assault case; Feb. 25, 2020, in the receiving stolen property case and Dec. 10 in the DUI case.

Bertani could not immediately be reached.

You can read more on TribLive.com

Major parking changes coming to narrow Stowe Township street