`concert For Karen Iv' Planned For April 24

After A Health Scare, Colonels' Tough Guy Is Back On The Job

By DAVID WEISS and ANDREW TUTINO dweiss@leader.net
atutino@leader.net
 Thursday, January 24, 2002 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 9A 





WILKES-BARRE - One day after Kurt Keiper was charged with writing another
bad check, an attorney asked a county judge to allow police to use force to
gain entry to Keiper's house. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Attorney Richard Marusak, who is representing the Lehigh Tire Co. in a
lawsuit against Keiper, made the request after Keiper's wife denied a Luzerne
County deputy sheriff access to their home to take an inventory of their
property. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The inventory was needed to see if any of Keiper's property can be used to
make good on a judgment filed against Keiper. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Keiper, of White Haven, was recently sentenced to nine to 59 months in
prison on a bad-check charge. Prosecutors said he wrote a bad check for more
than $300,000 to McCarthy Tire. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The sentence was the first in a growing list of criminal cases Keiper
faces. Police said Keiper has written numerous bad checks to various
businesses in a scheme that could have netted him as much as $12 million. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Those who say they received bad checks or lost money on investments with
Keiper have come forward in Luzerne, Lackawanna and Monroe counties,
investigators said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Keiper's legal troubles continued to mount this week. He was charged
Tuesday with a misdemeanor count of passing a bad check to a Carbon County
business in August. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Franklin Township police said Keiper wrote a $6,000 check to the Charles
Crane Insurance Agency on Aug. 24, 2001, that bounced twice. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Lehigh Tire Co. filed suit against Keiper, his wife, Dourene, and their
business, Kurt's Hauling &amp; Sales after they sold 240 tires to Keiper. Keiper
twice wrote checks to the Hazleton company. Both bounced. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Lehigh later received a $50,400 judgment against the Keipers and sought to
have an inventory of Keiper's properties so it could recoup its money. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Court records say Luzerne County Deputy Sheriff John Wassil went to
Keiper's home on Dec. 20 to take inventory. But when Wassil tried to enter the
home, Dourene Keiper refused to allow ``Wassil access to her residence in
willful disobedience,'' court papers say. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Marusak is asking the court to allow the sheriff access to the property,
or, be allowed to use any force to gain entry. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr.
scheduled a hearing on the matter for 8:30 a.m. Feb. 11. A preliminary hearing
on the new charge is scheduled for Feb. 20 before District Justice Bruce
Appleton in Palmerton. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 David Weiss, a Times Leader staff writer, can be reached 831-7397. Andrew
Tutino, a Times Leader staff writer, can be reached at 829-7218. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Access To Keiper Property Sought Wife Of White Haven Man Refuses Entry To Luzerne County Deputy Sheriff Sent To Take Inventory.