ROCHESTER, Pa. -- An investigation by the state attorney general's office named one current and three former Rochester borough officials in a case of alleged theft and corruption in the cash-strapped Beaver County municipality.

Two of those suspects -- former borough council president Joseph Glenn and Jeffrey Simmons -- were in court Wednesday as investigators accused them of using their public positions for private gain.

Glenn, 45, is charged with misappropriating rents paid to a borough authority called Rochester Network Alliance, which he headed.

Glenn and Simmons, 43, who was treasurer of the same authority, are accused of using grant money so the authority could buy more than $25,000 worth of computers from a business they co-owned -- and then stealing some of that equipment after the authority was dissolved.

"There's no theft," said attorney Michael Pawk, who represents Glenn and calls it a weak case. "They didn't steal from taxpayers. The property is there. My client brought the police into their home and showed them where they were stored."

Glenn lives in a home with Simmons. On the day of his arrest in August, Glenn said, "I'm on the board of a community network authority. We give computer classes to the public. We were told to get our equipment out of the building, so we brought it to the house."

Two of the 15 computers were in use at the home, WTAE Channel 4's Janelle Hall reported. With the other equipment, hard drives were stored in the home and the monitors were stored elsewhere.

"It was the best that could be done by two guys who just aren't sophisticated business men," said attorney Mike Sherman, who represents Simmons. "There was no corruption. This was just two guys who stored computers at their house."

Prosecutors said no one told Simmons to remove the equipment. They said Simmons told investigators at a grand jury that he removed the equipment because of a personal vendetta against the borough and police department. The police used some of the equipment belonging to the Community Alliance.

The attorney general's office says Glenn should have abstained from a vote when the board voted to use a computer business -- to which he had ties -- to purchase equipment and services. Investigators call that a conflict of interest.

Simmons and Glenn are due back in court in March.

Also charged are former borough manager Edward Piroli and former borough secretary Lois Sutter.

The financial situation in Rochester was in "sharp decline" and the borough had past-due bills totaling more than $726,000 in late 2006, a state grand jury found. "During this time of financial hardship" the financial condition of the four defendants "improved," the grand jury said.

Piroli, 57, was accused of using state aid money that should have been deposited in the police pension fund for unauthorized raises and longevity pay for himself and Sutter, 54. Late last year, the borough owed $113,000 to the pension fund for underpayments in 2005 and 2006, the grand jury found.

Piroli also was accused of misusing a $50,000 state grant earmarked for police department renovations to instead pay the mortgage on the borough building in 2006.

Tom Albanese, who replaced Glenn as council president earlier this year, said borough officials have been told not to comment on the criminal charges. Glenn remains a council member, Albanese said.

Albanese can't say whether the borough is in better financial shape now.

"I don't know that 'improved' is the best word, but it's stabilized," Albanese said.

The grand jury said the borough forfeited its ability to apply for state Department of Community and Economic Development grants because of Piroli's alleged misappropriation.

DCED spokesman Kevin Ortiz said the grant ban remains in effect, with one exception. Earlier this year, Rochester received $57,000 from DCED's early intervention program that is meant to help troubled municipalities resolve their financial problems.

It is hoped the aid will keep Rochester from becoming a financially distressed community, which would require a state-appointed board to oversee the borough's finances, Ortiz said.

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