Driller's manager charged in theft of up to $5 million
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A rescued coal miner and his wife listen to Larry Winckler, top right, of Falcon Drilling in 2002.
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Sometime between 2005 and 2007, Larry D. Winckler, a fleet manager for the Indiana County-based Falcon Drilling, approached the company controller pleading for money, state police said.
"One day [he] came to me. He was very upset. He stated he needed some money," Cheryl Brooks, who oversaw the company's accounting, told police. "He had tears in his eyes."
Ms. Brooks complied when he asked her to write him a check from company accounts and he covered his tracks with fake invoices, a criminal complaint said. He came back for money again and again, until he was siphoning off about $150,000 a month, the complaint said. In all, Ms. Brooks estimated he embezzled around $5 million from the company, whose estimated annual sales total $15 million, according to business information company Dun & Bradstreet.
Mr. Winckler, 51, a former drill operator who assisted with the Quecreek Mine Rescue, was arrested Monday and charged with 29 counts of theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property. He remained in the Indiana County Jail on Tuesday on $1 million bail.
Ms. Brooks had not been charged as of Tuesday. State police did not respond to several requests for comment.
The company, a pioneer of Marcellus Shale drilling, employs about 170 people, according to Dun & Bradstreet. The company said the theft would not affect its operations.
"We are shocked and disappointed to learn of these allegations. Falcon Drilling is cooperating with law enforcement and we will continue to cooperate fully," the company said in a statement. "We are disheartened, but we have a strong employee community and our operations will continue without interruption."
Nearly a decade ago, in August 2002, Mr. Winckler manned a Falcon drill as it punched a hole in the earth at the Quecreek mine in an unsuccessful attempt to reach nine miners who had become trapped several thousand feet below the surface. The miners were rescued about three days later.
First Published February 15, 2012 12:00 am
