SUNBURY - A criminal charge has been filed against a Schuylkill County attorney accused of faking a judge's signature on a bogus settlement order.
Stephen P. Ellwood, 62, of Orwigsburg, allegedly signed the name of Northumberland County Judge Charles H. Saylor to a false order dated April 18, 2013, indicating his client would be awarded $250,000 and Ellwood himself would get $25,000. Ellwood confessed during grand jury testimony Dec. 10, according to the resulting presentment.
The state Attorney General's Office charged Ellwood with one felony count of forgery Feb. 19. He is free on $40,000 bail.
The case will be transferred to Snyder County Court because of Saylor's involvement in Northumberland County Court.
Injury case
Ellwood was representing Robert Bechtel and his wife, June McIntyre, formerly of Kulpmont, in a personal injury case against their former landlords, Thomas and Margaret Valeiko. The attorney was working for Krasno, Krasno & Onwudinjo at the time.
Bechtel received the order from Ellwood. When a year passed and he hadn't been paid, Bechtel retained a second attorney, Tom Waffenschmidt, of Williamsport, who discovered the document was a fake. Saylor has said the signature is not his.
Ellwood did not return a message Monday seeking comment.
Bechtel, now living in Locust Gap, said Monday he has mixed emotions over news of the charges. He's angered by how long it took to begin holding Ellwood accountable, believing it may have been "swept under the rug," but he's pleased that it's underway.
The entire ordeal has left him bitter toward the legal system.
"I hate the legal profession. It's pretty evident why. This is how they think; this is how they operate," Bechtel said. "This just proves my point all along, what everybody says about the legal profession - right there's the evidence."
"My daughter suffered for six years because of this idiot. My family suffered because of him," he said. "I'm just glad that it's out there, that he can never do this again."