BROOKVILLE, Pa. (EYT) — A former Jefferson County Commissioner faces theft charges after allegedly directing a contractor to load discarded jail fencing onto his personal trailer and later selling it for scrap.
According to court documents filed on January 28, 2025, with Magisterial District Judge Gregory M. Bazylak, 70-year-old Herbert Lee “Herb” Bullers Jr., of Brookville, has been charged with theft of secondary metal, a first-degree misdemeanor, following an investigation into fencing removed from the Jefferson County Jail property in late 2022.
The investigation began after Jefferson County Commissioner Jeffery Pisarcik met with a landscaping contractor and a jail employee on July 9, 2024, to discuss the missing fencing.
Punxsutawney-based Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Gary Evans learned the fencing had been stored near the wood line following jail renovations completed in 2018. The area had become so overgrown that jail staff had forgotten about the fencing’s presence.
According to the criminal complaint, the landscaping contractor discovered the fencing while clearing brush in late fall 2022. He contacted Herbert Bullers, who was then a commissioner overseeing the work. Bullers allegedly arrived with a personal truck and gooseneck trailer on a Saturday sometime between October 24 and November 17, 2022, and had the contractor load five to six rolls of fencing onto his personal trailer.
Police say Bullers then took the fencing to Allegheny Mountain Recycling in Hazen, where records show he received $250.60 for the material on September 13, 2022, the complaint states.
When initially interviewed by police, Bullers claimed he couldn’t remember the exact amount he received but estimated it was around $130.
According to the complaint, Bullers told police that he did not meet with other commissioners about scraping the fencing.
The jail employee told investigators Bullers had promised to make a donation to the jail after scrapping the fencing, but no donation was ever received, according to police.
Police say Bullers later approached the landscaping contractor to ask if police had questioned him about the fencing, and sent him a text message about the incident. The contractor provided screenshots of the message to investigators, telling police he felt Bullers was trying to place blame on him and he did not respond to the text, the complaint continues.
When interviewed by police in August 2024, Bullers allegedly admitted to taking the fencing and keeping the money, acknowledging his “wrongdoing,” the complaint notes.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on March 24 before Judge Bazylak.