A Unity man was ordered to serve nearly seven years in prison for bilking vendors at his stepdaughter’s wedding and related weapons offenses.

Joseph A. Malago, 52, was convicted in December by a Westmoreland County jury of 18 criminal counts in four separate cases. Prosecutors alleged he wrote a series of bad checks to cover payments to vendors for a 2020 wedding at Hempfield Park and cashed other bogus checks at local banks and businesses.

In all, Malago wrote and cashed bad checks totaling about $20,000, according to prosecutors.

He also was found guilty of the illegal possession of nine guns, which were found in his home following his arrest. Prosecutors said prior felony convictions prohibited him from having firearms.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger sentenced Malago to serve a 21- to 42-month jail sentence for the check scheme and a consecutive 5- to 10-year sentence for the weapons offenses.

Assistant District Attorney Katie Ranker asked the judge to impose a lengthy jail term, saying officials found evidence Malago lied to probation officers during a routine investigation prior to sentencing. Ranker said Malago claimed he graduated from high school, Penn State University and was a military veteran.

“He dropped out of high school, never attended Penn State and we had a letter from the Department of Defense saying there was no record of Malago in the military,” Ranker said.

The judge denied Malago’s request to defer his jail sentence while he appeals his convictions.

Prosecutors claim Malago is a risk to flee the country. He faces additional theft and fraud charges based on allegations he wrote a $66,000 bad check in 2022 to purchase a recreational vehicle, which authorities say he used to flee the jurisdiction with his wife. He was arrested in October 2022 in Georgia, police said.

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