Ex-Hellertown Police Chief Pleads Guilty to Theft Charges

Hellertown’s former chief of police has pleaded guilty to three theft-related charges and agreed to pay $41,000 in restitution to the borough, Northampton County District Attorney Stephen Baratta’s office announced Thursday afternoon.

Robert William Shupp, 48, of Nazareth, pleaded guilty to third-degree felony charges of theft, theft by deception and forgery, according to the DA’s office and court records. Fifteen other criminal charges were withdrawn as part of the plea agreement.

At a hearing Tuesday, Court of Common Pleas Judge John M. Morganelli ordered a pre-sentencing investigation as well as input from borough officials and scheduled Shupp’s sentencing for Wednesday, April 23 at 8:45 a.m. at the Northampton County Courthouse in Easton. According to the release, each of the three felony counts to which he pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of up to seven years in jail.

Following an investigation by Northampton County Detectives, Shupp was charged in December 2023 with stealing nearly $125,000 in borough funds in the course of his employment as chief; a title he held for more than a decade.

At the time the charges were filed, officials said Shupp had fraudulently submitted more than 1,600 hours of comp time for which he was paid more than $81,000 from 2020 through 2023; stolen nearly $20,000 in seized funds from a safe that was kept in his office; and employed a scheme by which he stole more than $23,000 in petty cash from the borough.

The DA’s office’s release said the investigation “disclosed that Shupp unlawfully took cash from a safe; that Shupp also unlawfully took cash from the Borough to purportedly conduct drug investigations; and that Shupp forged signatures of other law enforcement officers to fraudulently request the cash for purported drug investigations.”

The office said Shupp was required to pay restitution immediately as part of the agreement.

Shupp is represented by attorney Gary Asteak.