Authorities accuse South Fayette commissioner of insurance fraud

Sept. 30--A statewide insurance fraud sweep netted a South Fayette commissioner who investigators allege made false claims after her house burned.

The state Attorney General's Office charged Jessica Cardillo, 32, with felony insurance fraud, theft by deception and conspiracy to commit theft by deception. She has a preliminary hearing set for Oct. 7 in front of Magisterial District Judge Jay H. Dutton.

Her stepmother, Dianne Cardillo, 49, and a friend, Michelle D'Angelo, 53, both of McDonald, also face insurance fraud and conspiracy charges.

Cardillo, a Republican, and the other two defendants could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Cardillo, who also is a licensed state notary, joined the township's board of commissioners this year after defeating Democrat Marsha McFalls by five votes in November.

Fellow Commissioner Deron Gabriel said he has received several calls from constituents regarding the charges against Cardillo. He called the accusations "very serious."

"Based on the legal questions involved, and specifically whether felony insurance fraud is a crime of falsity and dishonesty, I will request that our township solicitor issue a formal legal opinion as to her legal status and whether she should resign from the board," Gabriel wrote in an email.

The accusations alone will not force her off the board, said Robert Caruso, executive director of the state Ethics Commission. The state constitution bars anyone convicted of embezzlement of public money, bribery, perjury or another "infamous crime" from holding public office.

Sean P. Kilkenny, an attorney specializing in municipal law near Philadelphia, said infamous crimes are typically drug or violent crimes, not insurance fraud.

Cardillo is accused of lying about staying with D'Angelo after her Oakdale house caught fire on June 18, 2012, according to a criminal complaint filed on Sept. 17. She submitted a false receipt showing she paid D'Angelo $1,500 for the stay, investigators said. D'Angelo told authorities that Cardillo did not stay with her, according to the complaint.

Authorities said Cardillo falsified receipts from a local deli, claiming she purchased food totaling $387.85 during the weeks after the fire. Her stepmother, Dianne Cardillo, told investigators she made the receipts at her home. One receipt showed Cardillo purchased food on a Monday. The deli is closed on Mondays, the complaint stated.

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