Bucks County judge, constable and public safety director indicted in money-laundering scheme
Bucks County District Courthouse (image via Google Maps)
A judge, public safety director and constable from Bucks County were federally indicted today for money laundering in a scheme that allegedly helped them pocket $80,000.
Magisterial District Judge John I. Waltman, Lower Southampton public safety director Robert P. Hoopes and deputy constable Bernard T. Rafferty were charged with money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering in an indictment unsealed today, U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger said.
The three allegedly began plotting in June 2015 and last summer laundered $400,000 in cash, misrepresenting it as proceeds from health care fraud, illegal drug trafficking, and bank fraud, according to the indictment.
If convicted, each faces up to 80 years in prison, three years of probation, and a $1 million fine.
Waltman, 59, of Trevose, has been a judge since 2011. Hoopes, 69, a former police officer and attorney from Doylestown, took Lower Southampton’s top public safety job, in which he oversaw all police, fire, and emergency operations in the township, in February. Rafferty, 62, of Langhorne, has been a deputy constable in Bucks County since 1998 and also heads Raff’s Consulting, a firm through which the three allegedly laundered money.
The case was investigated by IRS, FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Pennsylvania State Police.
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