According to a press release from the Lehigh County District Attorney's office, Robert J. Kearns, president of Municipal Energy Managers, and Patrick McLaine, secretary and treasurer of the firm, have been charged with theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received and conspiracy for taking $160,182 from Coplay.

According to the charges, the two executives entered into an agreement in April 2009 to purchase streetlights within the borough from PPL Corp. It is alleged that the firm did no work, did not purchase the streetlights and spent all of the money.

The District Attorney's offices noted that on Jan. 11, a jury in Northampton County convicted the two men on charges related to a similar incident in Bethlehem Township.

They were convicted of felony theft for stealing $800,000 from Bethlehem Township for purchasing the township's streetlights from PPL and instead wrote checks to themselves after they received the funds.