Ex-Hellertown Police Chief Who Stole Borough Funds Given Jail Sentence

Hellertown’s former Chief of Police Robert W. Shupp III learned his fate at a sentencing hearing before Judge John Morganelli in Easton Wednesday. Having previously accepted Shupp’s pleas to three charges related to his theft of borough funds and forgery, Morganelli listened to testimony from a friend and three family members who urged him to show mercy to the 48-year-old Bushkill Township resident. He then sentenced him to 9 to 23 months in the Northampton County Prison to be followed by a period of parole and three years of probation. In addition, Shupp must pay court costs related to the case’s prosecution as well as fines totaling $10,000. Morganelli noted that he has already paid $41,000 in restitution to the borough.

Morganelli decided that Shupp will be immediately eligible for work release because he is currently employed, although the nature of his employment wasn’t disclosed during the hearing. After defense attorney Gary Asteak asked that Shupp have time to coordinate work release, Morganelli agreed to give him a week to do that before beginning his sentence.

For his part, Asteak urged Morganelli to impose “restorative sanctions” on his client in lieu of a jail sentence, telling the judge that a combination of a long probation period and extensive community service would be “uniquely appropriate” in the case because his client has “lived a life of…honor” and “donated his life to community service in a variety of ways.”

Asteak told the court that Shupp had no criminal history prior to his conviction and noted that he cooperated with the investigation.

“I am also certain that the offense is not part of his character,” Asteak said. Quoting from a court-ordered pre-sentencing report that included a psychological evaluation, Asteak said that instead there were “errors that were compounded over time.”

The hearing began with statements by a friend, Katie Pursell; Shupp’s mother-in-law, Patricia Wales; his sister-in-law, Katelyn Makatura; and his wife, Kara, all of whom characterized him as a devoted husband and father to his 14-year-old daughter.

“The relationship he shares with his wife and daughter is exceptional,” Wales said. “Being separated from them would be devastating for them.”

“I still see the pain in his eyes and the weight that he carries every day,” Kara Shupp said. “He is seriously trying every day to right the wrong.”

She told the court that in addition to losing his “name and his identity,” he “has lost many friends because of this…but he hasn’t lost the love and support of the people who truly know who he is.”

“Bob is not a hardened criminal,” she asserted. “He’s a man who made a mistake.”

When it was time for the prosecutor to address the court, Assistant District Attorney Robert Eyer presented a different picture of Shupp, telling Morganelli “the acceptance of responsibility that you’re hearing about today came because he was caught.”

Eyer said he was also concerned about the fact that Shupp’s character witnesses formed their opinions of him, at least in part, “while he was secretly committing crimes.”

Citing the pre-sentence report, he said Shupp characterized his own criminal misconduct as “no harm, no foul.” Evidence of his “distorted thinking” was a belief that “he was somehow underappreciated by the borough from which he was stealing,” he added.

The prosecutor noted that in addition to rehabilitation, the purpose of a sentence is both to deter others from committing the same crime and to punish the individual. He said incarcerating Shupp would be appropriate in order to achieve those ends.

Hellertown borough councilwoman Liz Thompson, who had provided a victim impact statement to the court prior to the hearing, also spoke during the sentencing hearing.

She recalled that Shupp was “cordial” and “involved with the community” when she first became acquainted with him as a council member in 2022, but said he used his persona and level of involvement to “deceive” the residents who trusted him.

“I feel that there is great harm that has been caused to the borough and our residents,” Thompson said, noting that “this was not a single act.”

In a separate impact statement, borough councilman Andrew Hughes shared similar views.

“This was not an isolated incident, but a series of calculated actions that culminated in this substantial theft,” he wrote.

“The Court may not be aware that Mr. Shupp’s extensive criminal behavior first came to light through timecard fraud, which I personally uncovered and reported,” Hughes said. “Acting as a whistleblower has been a very arduous and deeply stressful experience. Over four years, Mr. Shupp submitted fraudulent timecards, starting with small amounts and escalating to over $80,000. Funds that are critical to our financially struggling borough.”

“The borough’s subsequent investigations revealed alarming operational deficiencies within the Hellertown Police Department under Mr. Shupp’s leadership,” Hughes’ statement said. “His prolonged absences, poor example-setting and intimidation tactics created a toxic work environment for officers and borough staff alike. These issues compromised public safety by weakening the police department’s effectiveness and eroding public trust. The fallout from his misconduct further damaged morale among officers and Borough staff while leaving our community at greater risk of harm. This turmoil also imposed additional financial burdens on Hellertown taxpayers, including over $30,000 for a third-party assessment of police operations and nearly $60,000 in legal fees.”

Before he was sentenced, Shupp spoke directly to the court, telling Morganelli that his three proudest moments as an adult have been becoming a father, becoming a husband and becoming a police officer.

He said he threw away his professional reputation “in one instant,” attributing his behavior to “foolishness and weakness,” and said he “will spend every day for the rest of my life just trying to come close” to regaining the respect and trust he had.

Shupp said he is “truly sorry for the anger and disappointment” he has caused family members and friends, but did not apologize directly to the borough or its residents.

“I’ve always thought that the road to happiness was paved in gold and dollar bills,” he acknowledged.

In conclusion, he told Morganelli, “I am not a bad person.”

Morganelli said the sentencing was not an easy one for him, in part because of a clear lack of motive. He said he was troubled by the fact there was neither a psychological diagnosis that would explain Shupp’s actions nor addiction to drugs or gambling or other substance abuse or mental health issues.

“The ‘why’ of this case…is something that has perplexed me,” he said.

The judge noted that while Shupp said there was financial pressure on his family after his wife was laid off from her dental hygienist job during the Covid pandemic in 2020, at the time he was earning over $120,000 a year, which “is a lot more money than most people make in this life.”

“I have to conclude that the ‘why’ was that he could get away with it,” Morganelli said.

Morganelli said that while he believed Shupp is sincerely remorseful for his actions, he noted that in addition to a negative financial impact, the impact on the borough in terms of the public’s trust in its local law enforcement agency has been serious.

The judge said he believed a sentence including jail time was appropriate because of the seriousness of the crimes committed, which he said would be “depreciated” without a period of confinement, and because “a sentence of probation by itself would not be a deterrent, in my view, to others.”

Shupp is scheduled to report to the county prison April 30 and Morganelli said he has a the right to appeal the sentence.