SCRANTON — A longtime Pennsylvania clerk of courts has been sentenced to 27 months in prison on federal charges that he stole public money and then tried to hide his tracks by forging records.

Former Schuylkill County Clerk of Courts Stephen Lukach Jr., was sentenced Tuesday in Scranton after pleading guilty last year to mail fraud and falsification of records. Lukach must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on Nov. 17.

Lukach, a 70-year-old Democrat from Lake Hauto, stole about $40,000 in funds from various court accounts, using the money to make car payments and pay for meals, a family member’s credit card bill and other personal expenses, prosecutors said. Lukach then forged bank records in an attempt to conceal the thefts, prosecutors said.

Lukach was first elected to the office in 1987. He resigned under a cloud in 2014.

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