Judge delays Claire Risoldi jail sentence for contempt until federal decision

April 30, 2018

A prominent and politically connected Bucks County defendant in a $20 million insurance fraud case will remain free while a federal court considers an appeal of her 2016 contempt finding in a separate witness intimidation case.

Claire Risoldi in red

Chester County Senior Judge Thomas Gavin last week issued an order delaying the pending 30-day jail sentence for Claire Risoldi, 70, of Buckingham, until the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia makes a decision regarding a motion to overturn the contempt finding.

If the federal court denies the motion, Gavin ordered Risoldi surrender to Bucks County prison “on or before noon” on the third day after the order dismissing her motion is entered.

Gavin held Risoldi in contempt in 2016 for using the subpoena process to skirt a court order barring her from contacting prosecution witnesses in her insurance fraud case. The state Superior Court upheld that decision last year. Risoldi defense attorney Jack McMahon filed the federal petition in February, after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected a request to hear an appeal of the finding.

McMahon has said he believes the contempt finding violated his client’s federal and state constitutional rights, including the right to participate in her defense against fraud and other charges in connection with an October 2013 fire that heavily damaged the family’s 10-acre Buckingham estate, Clairemont. Claire Risoldi also faces additional charges in separate witness intimidation cases including one that led to the contempt findings.

If the federal court judge agrees, the decision would vacate the state court contempt finding, and jail sentence.

Claire Risoldi and her son Carl, 46, of Buckingham, are scheduled to go on trial next year for participating in an alleged insurance fraud scheme. Two others charged in the case — Carl’s sister, Carla Risoldi, 51, of Solebury and his wife, Sheila Risoldi, 46, of Buckingham — have been accepted into a special trial diversion program that could see the charges dismissed if successfully completed.

For now, Claire Risoldi remains free on bail in her criminal cases. There is no indication how long it could take before a federal judge issues a decision.

Gavin is overseeing the Risoldi fraud case and related matters after all Bucks County judges recused themselves in 2015, when the criminal charges were filed against the family, which has close ties with the county’s Republican Party.