Former Northampton Township Official Jailed Over Lewd Acts
Alex Lloyd Gross
Lawrence Weinstein
An ex-Northampton Township official and his girlfriend who admitted poisoning a woman with grain alcohol and taking nude photographs of her after she was incapacitated will serve time in county prison. Lawrence J. Weinstein and Kelly A. Drucker both were sentenced Thursday with orders to report next month to the Bucks County Correctional Facility.
The couple pleaded guilty earlier this year to their roles in the 2017 conspiracy, called a “sickening betrayal” by Judge Brian T. McGuffin, in which Drucker on Nov. 10 lured the victim from a restaurant in Holland back to her home nearby while repeatedly spiking the woman’s drinks with Everclear. Weinstein, the 45-year-old ex-lawyer who directed what the co-defendants called “the mission” from his home via frequent, graphic text messages to Drucker, received a sentence of 11½ to 23 months in county jail with a 5-year concurrent term of probation.
That evening as the victim fell ill and disoriented from the high-proof alcohol slipped surreptitiously into her wine, Weinstein instructed Drucker to remove the victim’s clothing and to take photos of her through the use of glasses outfitted with a hidden camera, especially while the victim used the bathroom. Drucker obliged. For her part, Drucker, 46, once a trusted friend to the defendant, was sentenced to spend 9 to 23 months in county prison, and also ordered to serve a 5-year concurrent term of probation. They both must register as sex offenders for 15 years, and as a condition of their bail are prohibited from leaving their homes except for medical reasons prior to reporting to prison.
Kelly Drucker
While recovered photographs and text messages between the defendants shed some light on what occurred during the incident, the extent of the abuse the victim suffered cannot be known for sure. The victim, who recalled little of the evening beyond dinner with Drucker, learned of the events nearly a year later when she was contacted by Bucks County Detectives. “On Nov. 10, Kelly and Larry took my right to make a choice away from me,” the woman said. “They could have killed me that night.” Messages between Drucker and Weinstein sent the morning after the incident reference the presence of semen, presumably deposited the night before, on a blanket in the bed where the victim awoke in a state of partial undress.
The messages also express excitement for future “missions.” Text messages indicate, and Weinstein admitted, that he went to Drucker’s house after the victim became unconscious. He has insisted that he did so out of concern for the victim’s wellbeing, and said in court Thursday he did not touch the victim. Weinstein, addressing the court, highlighted his deteriorating health in the wake of a head injury in 2017, which he said made him act impulsively. He called his crimes both “horrific” and “the worst thing that I’ve ever done in my life.”
In both defense presentations, Weinstein and Drucker pleaded for probation and pointed to tarnished social and professional reputations as mitigation. “People can be so mean,” Drucker said. In character letters, Weinstein’s former employer wrote that “Larry has been punished without limits,” while another supporter suggested “anything less than leniency” would be destructive to the community. One defense attorney suggested the case was one of “simple voyeurism.” Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer M. Schorn argued the planning and manipulation involved showed the case was anything but impulsive, and far from “simple.” “There have to be consequences more than just embarrassment for such deeds,” Schorn said. “They have turned the victim’s world upside down.” Judge McGuffin, it seems, agreed. “To let you folks walk out of here on probation would so seriously depreciate the seriousness of these offenses, and be offensive to my responsibility as a judge and to the victim,” he said.
The judge applauded the courage the victim displayed in speaking out against her abusers, and said he believes it “very, very, very likely” that through her strength she has prevented others from falling victim to the defendants. The case was investigated by Bucks County Detectives Chief Martin McDonough and Detective Mark Zielinski and prosecuted by Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer M. Schorn.
