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Forged letter stirs confusion at RTMA

A forged letter purportedly signed by a Reade Township Municipal Authority member has stirred confusion and could soon be taken to the Cambria County district attorney, officials said Tuesday.

The terse Feb. 17 letter, carrying the name of Jim Thompson and directed to fellow member Tom Hollis via the board secretary’s home address, tells the Reade Township supervisors they’re no longer allowed to meet at the water authority’s office, as they have for years.

The problem: Thompson said he never sent such a letter.

“It’s a cut-and-paste letter,” Thompson said Tuesday. “It’s like I created a letter telling them that they won’t be allowed to use our building anymore.”

The forged letter is the latest development in an ongoing, multifaceted political dispute in the northeastern Cambria County water authority, which serves several hundred customers. Thompson said it’s likely an attempt by political opponents to stir chaos and spur opposition to his work.

Board solicitor Tim Burns of Ebensburg said he will likely take the letter to the Cambria County District Attorney’s Office for investigation, though he held out little hope a culprit can be identified.

“I think it’s absolutely bizarre. I just find it bizarre and troubling,” Burns said.

Burns said he represents several government boards and municipalities and has never seen a similar development. If a suspect was found, he or she could likely be charged with forgery or other crimes, he noted.

It’s not entirely clear how any of Thompson’s political opponents would benefit from forging the letter.

Thompson said he sees it as a general attempt to sow confusion and make him appear unreasonable. He has clashed in the past with some of the township’s supervisors — especially Hollis, who sits on both bodies.

Hollis, who seemingly received the letter days before it became public, didn’t return a message seeking comment Tuesday.

A copy of the letter sent to the Mirror clearly indicates the flaws Thompson identified. The Reade Township Municipal Authority letterhead appears to be askew, as though it had been cut and copied from an earlier letter.

Thompson said his signature also appeared to be copied from another letter he’d sent in January. That document would have been widely circulated, leaving a number of suspects for the forgery.

Thompson first saw the forged letter Tuesday, a day after he said Hollis mentioned it at the authority office in Blandburg. He said he’d like to see the original firsthand, to better identify who might have created it.

“This is the kind of stuff that’s happening. When things are getting straightened out … there’s a handful of individuals who are basically trying to destroy or undo it.”

Mirror Staff Writer Ryan Brown is at 946-7457.

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