R. Tracy Seyfert (born December 2, 1941) is a former Republican member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

, representing the

5th District District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to: Europe * District 5 (Zürich) * District 5, Düsseldorf * V District, Turku * Districts of Malta#District 5, District 5, an electoral district of Malta * Districts of Malta#District 5 2, Distric ...

from 1997 through her resignation in 2000. Seyfert attended Mountain View Joint Schools. She earned her undergraduate degree from

Villa Maria College Villa Maria College is a private Catholic college in Buffalo, New York, United States. It was founded in 1961 by the Felician Sisters. History The college was initially a teacher-training center for sisters in the education apostolate and wa ...

(now part of

Gannon University Gannon University is a private Catholic university with campuses in Erie, Pennsylvania, and Ruskin, Florida, United States. Established in 1925, Gannon University enrolls approximately 4,600 undergraduate and graduate students annually. Its i ...

), her M.A. from

Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Western University, Edinboro (abbreviated as PennWest Edinboro) is a campus of Pennsylvania Western University in Edinboro, Pennsylvania. The campus had an enrollment of 2,259 as of fall 2024. History PennWest Edinboro was foun ...

, and a Ph.D. from

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

in 1988. She worked as a psychologist before joining the

Erie County, Pennsylvania Erie County is the northernmost county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 270,876. Its county seat is Erie. The county was created in 1800 and later organized in 1803. The county is part of the Nort ...

Council. Seyfert won election in 1996, running on her experience as a member of the

Council and her pledge to reduce the size of the Pennsylvania state government.

Arrest and Trial

On September 9, 1999, federal and state investigators raided Seyfert's home, located in "Tracy's Ridge" in Millcreek Township, Pennsylvania, and seized a 10-ton (1,500 kilowatt) generating unit and 500-gallon oil tank. New units of that size cost $160,000 and require a crane and flatbed truck to move and are capable of supplying power to a

coal mine Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

, a

lumber yard A lumber yard is a location where lumber and wood-related products used in construction and/or home improvement projects are processed or stored. Some lumber yards offer retail sales to consumers, and some of these may also provide services s ...

, or emergency power to the

USX Tower The U.S. Steel Tower, also known as the Steel Building, or USX Tower (1988–2001), is a 64-story skyscraper at 600 Grant Street in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The interior has of leasable space. At tall, it is the tallest building ...

. The total value of the units was less than $1,000. Prosecutors alleged that in April 1999, Seyfert enlisted Elk Creek Township Supervisor Harold "Frosty" Crane to help her acquire the equipment, which was slated to be transferred to a

volunteer fire department A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respo ...

. Individuals are prohibited from acquiring such equipment through this program. It is unclear what she wanted with the non-functioning unit, though employees suggested it was back up power for when the power grid might fail during the Y2K scare, in which all the computers in the world would malfunction. Seyfert pleaded guilty to theft of federal property and conspiring to influence a witness on May 12, 2000. In the plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to drop more serious charges that she attempted to have a witness change his testimony. The judge sentenced her to five years in federal prison and assessed a $5,000 fine. Seyfert was released from federal prison on March 20, 2001. Joseph Wenzel, a former legislative aide and close associate of Seyfert, pleaded guilty to

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

to tamper with a witness in Seyfert's trial. Wenzel admitted to working with Seyfert to get Harold "Frosty" Crane to lie to the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

during its investigation. In exchange for his guilty plea, federal prosecutors "agreed not to pursue accusations that Wenzel asked his brother to kill the witness.

References

External links

* Archived official PA House website {{DEFAULTSORT:Seyfert, R. Tracy 1941 births Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Politicians from Bridgeport, Connecticut Women state legislators in Pennsylvania Gannon University alumni Pennsylvania Western University, Edinboro alumni University of Pittsburgh alumni Living people American people convicted of theft Pennsylvania politicians convicted of crimes 21st-century American women 20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly 20th-century American women politicians