Jurors in Lycoming County Court listened to eight hours of testimony when the trial of suspended city police officer Thomas H. Ungard Jr. resumed Tuesday.
The trial continues today at 8:30 a.m. with visiting Potter County Senior Judge John B. Leete presiding.
The prosecution continued to present its case Tuesday with Dustin Kreitz, former assistant coordinator of the Lycoming County Drug Task Force, and Agent Anthony Fiore, the arresting officer in the case, testifying.
Kreitz, who entered a no-contest plea Monday in exchange for truthful testimony in the trial, took the stand shortly after the lunch recess and spoke briefly about where money was kept at the task force office, who had access to it and the reason he agreed to enter the plea and testify.
"I can't afford to fight this anymore," Kreitz said on cross-examination, wiping his eyes with a tissue and taking a moment to regain his composure. "I can't afford to put my family through this anymore."
When asked by the prosecution where money was kept at the task force office, Kreitz said it was kept in the evidence and the equipment room located off of the office he shared with Ungard.
According to Kreitz, only himself and Ungard had access to the evidence room.
He said Ungard, as the coordinator of the task force, used the money as he saw fit and kept some records pertaining to the drug task force at his city police office in addition to the task force office.
After Ungard's suspension from the task force occurred, Kreitz said Ungard returned to the office, bringing with him two envelopes with forfeited funds and money from the county Housing Authority in them.
He said he had not seen the envelopes prior to Ungard bringing them to the office but was aware of their existence.
Despite stating it occurred after Ungard's suspension, he could not specify the exact date on which Ungard brought the envelopes to the office.
Kreitz testified Tuesday as a witness for the prosecution, but Ungard reserved the right to recall him as a witness for his defense later this week.
Fiore was the last witness to take the stand before court recessed for the day and said that during his investigation into the matter, he recorded interviews with Ungard on three occasions.
Clips of the interviews were played for the jury regarding several aspects of the case, including the missing files pertaining to drug task force funds.
When asked about the files in the clip, Ungard, referring to files from 1998 through 2006, said he had begun to shred them, but decided to throw them in a Dumpster four or five months prior to the interview ,which occurred on Aug. 22, 2006.
"I know it doesn't look good. I know it looks s---" Ungard said in the recording. "I was mad at myself and Dustin (Kreitz) for deciding to do some housecleaning. No one told us we needed to keep those for years."
Earlier in the day, Ron Schwartz, an auditor with the county, testified that he told Ungard he needed to keep task force financial records for seven years for auditing purposes.
The trial will resume today with the continuation of the cross-examination of Fiore. The prosecution is expected to rest its case later today, and the defense will begin to present its case to the jury.
