Com. v. Skarica

• Decision Date: 30 May 1980
• Citation: 414 A.2d 1390,489 Pa. 636
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, v. John A. SKARICA, Appellant.
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Page 1390

414 A.2d 1390

489 Pa. 636

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, v. John A. SKARICA, Appellant.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued March 7, 1980.

Decided May 30, 1980.

[489 Pa. 637] Michael J. Wherry, Asst. Public Defender, Mercer, for appellant.

[489 Pa. 638] David B. Douds, Asst. Dist. Atty., Mercer, for appellee.

Before EAGEN, C. J., and O'BRIEN, ROBERTS, NIX, LARSEN, FLAHERTY and KAUFFMAN, JJ.

OPINION OF THE COURT

O'BRIEN, Justice.

Appellant, John A. Skarica, was convicted by a jury of bribery. Post-verdict motions were denied and appellant was ordered to pay a fine of $500 and sentenced to a prison term of six to twelve months. The Superior Court affirmed by an equally divided court. Commonwealth v. Skarica, --- Pa.Super. ---, 411 A.2d 519 (1979). We granted appellant's petition for allowance of appeal.

Appellant first argues that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction. The Penal Code of 1939, which was in effect at the time of the instant offense, provided:

". . . (W)hoever being an agent, employe, or servant, solicits, accepts, receives or takes, directly or indirectly, any commission, money, property, or other valuable thing as an inducement, bribe or reward for doing or omitting to do any act, or for showing any favor or disfavor in relation to the affairs or business of his principal, employer or master, is guilty of a misdemeanor. . . ." Act of June 24, 1939, P.L. 872, § 667 (formerly 18 P.S. § 4667.) (Emphasis added.)

The evidence presented at trial is as follows.

In November of 1970, Alvin Taylor, owner of Taylor Ready-Mix Concrete, entered into two separate contracts with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). By the first agreement, Taylor agreed to furnish a storage area for PennDOT's winter road surface materials. In a second separate agreement, Taylor leased a high-lift truck to PennDOT for snow removal, with PennDOT agreeing to pay Taylor $12.50 per hour for the time the truck was actually being used.

Appellant was a highway foreman for PennDOT at the time of the instant offense. As part of his duties, appellant was responsible for keeping track of the hours Taylor's high-lift truck was used.

On January 26, 1973, appellant visited Taylor at his yard, informing Taylor that he had inflated the hours Taylor's high-lift truck had been used. Taylor testified that appellant demanded payment of $800. Appellant explained he had not approached Taylor earlier because Taylor had been in tight financial condition. Appellant told Taylor, "But I we need some money." The trial court asked Taylor whether appellant's request began with "I" or "we," but Taylor could not recall. Taylor originally refused to pay any money, but before appellant left, Taylor handed appellant a $500 check. Appellant requested payment in cash, but eventually accepted the check.

As we have oft stated:

"The test of sufficiency of the evidence is whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth and drawing the proper inferences favorable to the Commonwealth, the trier of fact could reasonably have found that all of the elements of the crime...