The former owner of The Bucks County Playhouses was sentenced to 30 months in prison for money laundering and mail fraud.
The Bucks County Playhouse in 2012LAMBERTVILLE -- The former owner of The Bucks County Playhouses was sentenced to 30 months in prison for money laundering and mail fraud, according to a report by the Bucks County Courier Times.
Ralph Miller, 69, of New Hope, Pa., was found guilty by a federal jury in Philadelphia in May for submitting false invoices for high-end theater lighting and other items he claimed were damaged by a 2006 flood that forced the closing of the landmark theater, according to the newspaper.
On Monday, Miller was sentenced to 30 months in prison, ordered to pay $239,875 in restitution and serve a three-year term of supervised release, with the first year to be served in his home with electronic monitoring, the newspaper reported.
According to the Cape Cod Times, Miller owned the Falmouth Playhouse, which was destroyed by an arsonist in 1994. The Cape Cod Times reported that Miller received insurance payments on other fires that destroyed buildings he owned, including a Bucks County warehouse in 1984 and the Woodstock Playhouse in upstate New York in 1988.
A 2009 fire that destroyed the Pocono Playhouse, also owned by Miller, remains under investigation as an arson, the Pocono Record has reported.
The Bucks County Courier Times reported that prosecutor's claimed Miller had filed fire and theft insurance claims on theater equipment in that fire that former employees testified the playhouse never owned.
Shortly after Miller was indicted in 2011, the playhouse was sold to the Bridge Street Foundation, a nonprofit established by Kevin and Sherri Daugherty of Doylestown Township, Pa., for $1.7 million.
The playhouse reopened in 2012 and upcoming shows include "The Bucks County Playhouse Comedy Series," "A Taste of Things to Come," "The First Annual Mardi Gras Drag Spectacular," "Defending the Caveman," "Galway Girls: Songs of Ireland" and "In the Mood."
Emily Cummins may be reached at ecummins@njadvancemedia.com Follow her on Twitter @EmilyACummins and Facebook.
