Unity man accused of bilking wedding vendor out of $14K also charged with illegally possessing guns

While some parents rack up debt paying for weddings, police allege a Unity man pocketed $4,000 on his daughter’s nuptials last month — an alleged scheme that landed him in the county jail.

Joseph A. Malago, 48, was arraigned last week on multiple charges of forgery, theft and writing worthless checks to pay for his daughter’s $10,000 wedding Sept. 19 in Hempfield Park.

When state troopers arrived Sept. 29 at his home just outside of Youngstown Borough to seize devices they believed he used to print the checks, they say they also confiscated multiple guns and ammunition. As a felon, he also is charged with illegal possession of firearms.

Trooper Troy Faulk alleges that after Malago paid a $4,000 down payment to the wedding vendor, Windswept Promotions of Unity, Malago had his wife return to the vendor after the nuptials with a second check to cover the entire $9,790 cost, apologizing that the prior check was written on an old account.

Faulk said Windswept had deposited the down payment, so the business wrote a $4,000 check to Malago to cover the difference, thinking both checks would be processed, according to court documents.

The second check was rejected for insufficient funds, and the $4,000 check from Windswept was cashed, according to court papers.

“The business was now out $13,781,” Faulk said.

“This is really frustrating. You try to do the right thing and then this happens, and it especially hurts with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on business,” said Marty Dorsch, Windswept’s owner. “You don’t know how many people who had wedding plans canceled and we have stepped in and helped them over the past few months. But then something like this happens.”

According to court documents, Faulk noticed that Malago’s checks were written under the name of a Blairsville business, J&S Auto Sales and Repair. He also reported that Malago’s wife, Letissha, said her husband was in charge of the family finances and provided her with the checks.

Faulk reported both checks appeared to be poorly printed and had some words misspelled.

Inside Malago’s home, police said they found a cache of guns in a bedroom closet, according to court documents. Troopers seized four rifles, including an AR-15, three handguns and a shotgun. Various rounds of ammunition were found throughout the home, court records said.

Extensive criminal record

Malago, who used to live in Youngwood, has an extensive criminal record in Westmoreland County dating back to 1993, mostly for writing bad checks, forgery and theft, according to records. Some are felony convictions for receiving stolen property and theft, which makes it illegal for Malago to own or possess guns.

In 2010, Malago pleaded guilty to felony counts of receiving stolen property and theft for a check-cashing scheme involving an ex-girlfriend’s bank account. According to complaints filed by county Detective Will Brown, Malago deposited four checks totaling more than $10,000 from her closed checking account into a savings account at Commercial National Bank & Trust in Unity.

Malago then withdrew $9,300 and used $4,500 to buy a vehicle, Brown said.

Malago’s former girlfriend told detectives she was unaware of the scheme.

He was sentenced to serve up to 23 months in prison and five years probation in that case, according to court records.

On Sept. 3, Malago was sentenced to serve six months on house arrest and five years of probation after pleading guilty to driving under the influence of a controlled substance after his July 2019 arrest by state police in Unity.

On Tuesday, Latrobe police filed a new complaint of forgery, receiving stolen property and theft, alleging Malago opened a savings account at Latrobe Federal Credit Union using a forged check from a nonexistent account, also labeled J&S Auto Sales and Repair, on Sept. 24 and withdrew $350.

Although there is no J&S Auto Sales and Repair, Jose Alicea owns J&S Truck Repair, just off Route 22 on Derry Lane, near Blairsville. He said he never met Malago and never heard of him before being contacted by police and the credit union recently.

“I’ll tell you the same thing I told the credit union and Latrobe police: I never met that man, don’t know him and have nothing to do with that stuff. Look at the complaint, (Malago) listed the check number at ‘22,670.’ … I’m still in the 100s on my checking account,” he said.

Malago was arraigned Sept. 30 and ordered held in the county jail. Court officials said Thursday he obtained bond from a bail bondsman and was released Oct. 1.

Malago could not be reached for comment. He does not have an attorney listed in the most recent complaints.

No one answered the door of his residence, which was posted with a “No Trespassing” sign. A tree in the front yard had a “Keep Out” sign on it.