Firefighter Accused of Ripping Off Auto Repair Shop

A volunteer firefighter faces numerous theft charges after investigators said he stole nearly $50,000 worth of parts and labor from the Kirwan Heights tire retailer where he was working.

Matthew R. Jankowski, 30, faces six felony theft charges and four misdemeanor theft counts after arrested him last month and accused him of ripping off Mr. Tire on Washington Pike.

Jankowski recently was the vice president of the .

The former assistant manager at is accused of stealing nearly $49,792 worth of parts and labor from the business during a five-month period from December to May.

Police said in a criminal complaint supporting Jankowski’s arrest that workers at Mr. Tire discovered he was voiding invoices after customers had paid him for repairs. Jankowski would take money, police said in the complaint, and also give auto technicians credit for work without their knowledge.

This isn’t the first theft incident involving a Baldwin firefighter in the past couple of weeks. Becks Run's Chief Leonard "Len" Novak and Deputy Chief Stephen Bonetti were  with embezzling approximately $25,000 from the Pennsylvania firemen's relief fund over an approximately five-year period.

Police said the thefts are not related.

According to the Baldwin Independent No. 1 website, Jankowski had once served as the vice president of the company. However, No. 1 Deputy Chief Bill Connors said that Jankowski was not serving as the vice president at the time of his charges.

Police filed the charges against Jankowski on Aug. 19 through . His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept 17.

Man tries to steal steaks and razor blades: A white male in his late 30s wearing a blue shirt and blue hat tried to steal a cart full of steaks and razor blades from the Giant Eagle on Aug. 30, Collier police said. An employee noticed he didn’t pay for the items and chased him out of the grocery store.

Bathroom break leads to charges: Brad Barclay, 25, of McKees Rocks was charged with theft and trespassing after Collier police said he went into a resident’s house to use the bathroom and took $400 from their wallet on Aug. 25.

Wallet theft: A worker at Napoli’s in Great Southern Shopping Center told Collier police that someone stole his iPod, duffel bag of clothing and wallet with $600 in cash and credit cards from his car on Sept. 1. Police said the worker left the car unlocked and windows down while parking it on the back side of the shopping center.

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