Karl Rominger’s latest prison sentence marks the end of a long, painful process for the disbarred Carlisle attorney and surrounding legal community, Rominger’s lawyer said Thursday.
Rominger, 43, was sentenced in August for stealing nearly $800,000 from clients. He is now facing an extra 20 months in prison for tax evasion.
He received the latest sentence Tuesday from Middle District Judge Sylvia Rambo. He will serve it consecutive to the five-and-a-half- to 18-year sentence he commenced in August.
Lemoyne-based attorney William Costopolous, who represented Rominger, said Thursday that while “there is no celebration to be done” regarding the sentence his client received, he and Rominger understand it and will accept it.
“He has now gone through the criminal justice system,” Costopoulos said of Rominger. “It was a long and painful process for him and the legal community. But I do believe that the healing process for him and his clients is well underway.”
Rominger was known for serving on the legal team that defended Jerry Sandusky. His legal issues came to light in May 2014, when he told Costopolous he had misappropriated nearly $800,000 of clients’ money because of an “uncontrollable gambling addiction,” Costopolous wrote in an Oct. 7 memorandum to the court.
He pleaded guilty to theft by deception and misapplication of entrusted funds in May 2016. In July, he pleaded guilty to additional charges for failing to file tax returns from 2006 to 2010.
Rominger is serving his sentence in Somerset County. In addition to the jail time, he must also pay restitution – $767,335 in the theft case and $317,602 in the tax evasion case – and undergo supervision for two years after his release, according to court documents.
