Bad-check charges dismissed

Former Bieber Bus owner makes good on $25,000 owed to workers

Charges of writing bad checks against the owner of the closed Carl R. Bieber Inc. bus company were dismissed Sept. 2 because he made good on $25,000 in employee paychecks.

District Judge Gail M. Greth, Fleetwood, dismissed the charges on the day Steven G. Haddad, 55, of Weisenberg Township, Lehigh County, was scheduled for a preliminary hearing. Haddad had been free on bail since he was charged in June.

Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams said the charges were dismissed because every victim in the case was compensated.

“This defendant made restitution to all of the victims,” Adams said.

Haddad could not be reached for comment. His attorney, James M. Polyak, declined comment.

The longtime bus service based in Kutztown closed in February 2019, leaving Berks County without regular service to New York and Philadelphia.

According to court records:

On Feb. 5, 2019, Bieber employees notified county detectives that their paychecks were bouncing due to insufficient funds.

Two days later, Bieber abruptly closed and suspended all bus service.

Detectives began investigating Feb. 13, 2019.

The investigation disclosed that Haddad had issued checks to the employees knowing the company’s bank account didn’t have the funds to cover them.

Detectives determined Haddad had issued a total of 51 bad checks totaling $24,893 to 29 employees.

The employees also were assessed fees and charges by their financial institutions because of the returned checks, for a total of $787, prosecutors said.

Bieber’s financial troubles became public in July 2018 when the company was evicted from the Port Authority Terminal in Manhattan for failing to pay $214,000 in bills.