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Mark Sivak, 44, used the city’s Verizon account to buy and resell at least 31 cellphones between November 2019 and April 2022 for a total of $12,630, Northampton County District Attorney Terry Houck said alongside the City of Bethlehem Police Department.
He also apparently admitted to ordering additional items from the city's Verizon account over the past six months and bringing them home for personal use, including two Oculus VR headsets, a JBL sound bar, and subwoofer, a Sony speaker, an iPhone 12 Pro Max, and phone battery packs.
Those items were worth approximately $2,500, the DA said.
Sivak became the focus of an investigation in mid-January, when the City of Bethlehem Controller's Office became aware of unusual activity in a city-owned financial account, they said.
Investigators said they discovered that Sivak was making withdrawals from the city-owned account into his personal bank account.
In an interview on April 28, he admitted to using PayPal to sell used electronic equipment to a third-party reseller and having that reseller send the proceeds to the city's account rather than his personal account in order to avoid paying taxes, the DA said.
In one email from May 2021, police discovered that Sivak was selling three brand new Verizon Apple iPhone 11 cellphones for a total of $1,638, they said.
Sivak was also the administrator of the city's cellphone service, which included ordering and distributing cellphones to designated city employees, authorities said.
In another instance, he ordered five Apple iPhone 11 cellphones for five employees using the city's account, but the employees claimed they never received their phones, the DA said.
“I want to thank the officers of the City of Bethlehem Police Department for their thorough investigation in this case,” District Attorney Houck said.
“It represents the department’s unwavering commitment to uphold the law.”
Sivak had worked as the city's finance director since March 2007, his LinkedIn profile shows.
Sivak is charged with theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, and criminal use of a communications facility.
He was expected to turn himself in to Bethlehem police Thursday.
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