Son of ex-Limerick judge convicted of theft
NORRISTOWN >> The son of a former Limerick district court judge faces probation and community service following his conviction for stealing a skid loader in Pottstown.
Walter Brant Gadzicki, 39, of the 100 block of Old Mill Road in Upper Providence, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to three years’ probation after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of theft by unlawful taking in connection with a January 2018 incident during which he stole a Bobcat S550 Skid Loader, valued at more than $32,000.
Judge Wendy G. Rothstein, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, also ordered Gadzicki to complete 36 hours of community service. Gadzicki, who was represented by defense lawyer Martin P. Mullaney, also faces drug and alcohol evaluations and must comply with all recommendations for treatment, according to court papers.
Prosecutors previously denied Gadzicki’s request for admission to the county’s Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program, a special probationary program open to first-time, non-violent offenders, which allows them to clear their criminal records after completing a period of probation.
As a result, Gadzicki will have a criminal record.
Gadzicki is the son of former District Court Judge Walter F. Gadzicki Jr., of Limerick, who retired in 2018 after 36 years in office.
With the charges, detectives with the Pennsylvania State Police Eastern Auto Theft Task Force alleged Walter Brant Gadzicki stole the Bobcat heavy machinery about 6:30 a.m. Jan. 23, 2018, while it was parked on a parking lot at the rear of the Walmart store on Shoemaker Road in Pottstown. The owner of the skid loader reported it stolen to Pottstown police on Jan. 24.
Investigators obtained video surveillance footage that captured the theft.
At 6:27 a.m. “the subject is observed backing the Bobcat skid loader out and proceeded to drive the skid loader around the rear of the Walmart and is last seen heading on the road behind Walmart toward Shoemaker Road,” Upper Merion Detective Matthew F. Romberger, who is a member of the state police task force, alleged in the arrest affidavit.
About three hours after the theft, Gadzicki attempted to sell the vehicle for $4,500 to the owner of an area landscaping company who ultimately “had some concerns with the Bobcat and opted not to buy it that day,” detectives alleged.
The investigation determined Gadzicki subsequently sold the vehicle to a Limerick man for $3,000 in late January 2018, according to the arrest affidavit. The man who purchased the skid loader reported “that he was not aware the skid loader was stolen,” Romberger wrote in the arrest affidavit.
“(The purchaser) further stated Gadzicki informed him that he got the skid loader from a bookie,” Romberger alleged in the arrest affidavit.
Other charges of receiving stolen property, theft by deception and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle were dismissed against Gadzicki as part of the plea agreement.
“(The purchaser) further stated Gadzicki informed him that he got the skid loader from a bookie.”
- Upper Merion Detective Matthew F. Romberger