SUNBURY - An informant charged by Shamokin and Coal Township police with drug-related offenses showed up late for his sentencing Monday morning, prompting President Judge Robert B. Sacavage to continue the legal proceeding once again because his attorney had already left the courthouse and couldn't be reached.
Robert Santore, 51, of 217 E. Third St., Ranshaw, a police informant who played a key role in the conviction of Cornell and Diane (Reichwein) Delvalle, of Coal Township, is now ordered to appear before Sacavage at 1 p.m. Thursday for sentencing.
Santore, who remains free on bail, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of manufacturing with intent to deliver a controlled substance filed by Shamokin Cpl. Bryan Primerano and two counts of criminal conspiracy filed by Coal Township Detective Jeff Brennan. The charges filed by Primerano and Brennan relate to incidents that occurred in late December 2005 and late October 2006, respectively.
After Santore failed to appear for his 9:15 a.m. sentencing, Assistant District Attorney Michael Toomey planned to file a bench warrant for the defendant to be taken into custody and brought before a judge within 72 hours. The judge, if he signed the warrant, would have the discretion of releasing Santore and scheduling a new sentencing date, incarcerating Santore until his sentencing, or sentencing the defendant right away.
But Santore's attorney, Peter Campana, of Williamsport, asked Sacavage to postpone the sentencing until Thursday, which he did.
Campana told a reporter in court that he did not know why his client failed to appear for sentencing and wasn't sure of his whereabouts. Upon leaving court, Campana said he planned to contact Santore to make sure he appears for sentencing Thursday.
But a short time after Campana exited the county courthouse about 11:40 a.m. to attend to another legal matter, Santore arrived. Sacavage said efforts were made to contact Campana and have him return, but they were unsuccessful. The judge said he then decided to continue the case rather than issue a bench warrant to secure Santore's appearance.
Santore's sentencing has been continued multiple times.
Toomey arranged a plea agreement for Santore in exchange for his testimony in the trial of the Delvalles, who were convicted by an all-female jury Jan. 20, 2012, of multiple-drug related offenses.
In June, Santore was cited by Shamokin Code Enforcement Officer Rick Bozza for having his property at 205 S. Seventh St., Shamokin, vacant for more than 10 years.
Kulpmont police cited Santore for restrictions on alcoholic beverages following an incident in the 1400 block of Chestnut Street at 2:15 a.m. Feb. 11.
Police said Santore, who was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped, allegedly was holding a plastic cup that contained vodka and had an open can of beer on the floor between his feet.