Charges expanded for former Dubois city manager, employee accused of stealing funds

( WJET/WFXP )– A Superseding Indictment returned by a federal grand jury this week has expanded the time frame of the operation allegedly run by a former Dubois city manager and employee to steal over $1.5 million from the city.

A federal grand jury returned a 10-count Superseding Indictment accusing 64-year-old John “Herm” Suplizio and 59-year-old Roberta Shaffer of Dubois that accused the two of stealing another $700,000 previously not accounted for along with money laundering charges.

Suplizio and Shaffer, who were the city’s manager and secretary respectively, for Dubois are accused of knowingly conspiring to embezzle, steal, convert, and misapply over $1.5 million of the city’s money between May 2008 and March 2022.

In order to steal the money, prosecutors accuse the two of opening bank accounts without telling the Dubois City Council and auditors then would funnel the fees for the city from waste management and a pair of oil companies into the accounts.

The two would then allegedly withdraw large amounts of cash and write checks to themselves along with others, obtain cashier’s checks with themselves listed as payees, and make payments to Suplizio’s personal credit card.

The charges on Suplizio’s card ranged from vacation expenses, utility expenses for his residence, department store purchases, jewelry store purchases, political dinners, and other things frequently costing more than $10,000 which prosecutors said constitutes money laundering.

If convicted, each man faces up to five or 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or $500,000 or both with the actual sentence being based on criminal history and the severity of the offense.

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