City Manager Herm Suplizio's March arrest for the theft of more than $600,000 in public funds rocked DuBois, home to 7,400. 

Now, the sweeping corruption case has residents questioning how such a large theft could occur in a place so small without anyone noticing.

Spotlight PA reports the answer may lie in failed checks and balances and an optional form of government that gives city managers broad powers.

Read the full report: How a Pa. city manager allegedly stole thousands of taxpayer dollars with virtually no oversight.

THE CONTEXT: The alleged scheme was so elaborate, according to the AG’s office, that investigators with extensive backgrounds in organized and financial crimes were brought in to untangle a web of money moving in and out of accounts with little oversight or accountability.

DuBois is one of only a handful of cities in Pennsylvania that has adopted an optional form of government known as a "council-manager plan." It gives an appointed city manager broad powers over day-to-day operations.

In theory, checks and balances exist for tracking city finances, but testimony heard by a grand jury in the case revealed significant blind spots. Additionally, some funds Suplizio is alleged to have pilfered were overseen by non-government entities with unclear accounting practices.

Former DuBois City Manager Ron Trzyna told Spotlight PA: "We as city residents and taxpayers [are] just as much at fault as the government. I fault them because they didn’t oversee things. But I also fault all the citizens in the city of DuBois, and myself included, that we … never questioned."

JEEPERS PEEPERS: There are two stories I wish I would have read before consuming copious amounts of Peeps over the weekend: 1) This charming, Willy Wonka-ish profile of the Bethlehem factory that makes them, and 2) this less charming story about their red dye content. 

SOCIAL SUITS: Pittsburgh Public Schools, Pennsylvania's second-largest district, has filed suit against social media companies over worsening teen mental health, following in the footsteps of Seattle-area school districts and Bucks County on the other side of the state.

BAD BLOOD: The Inquirer (paywall) is not holding back on the PA Chamber's "Coolest Things Made in PA" contest, saying it gave short shrift — or no shrift at all — to Pennsylvania's largest city: "We investigate how a sandwich with French fries on it beat out the Declaration of Independence."

ERIE ECLIPSE: State Sen. Dan Laughlin (R., Erie) wants to remind everyone that the next total solar eclipse will pass directly over Erie on April 8, 2024, adding: "[There] won’t be another till 2099. Book your hotel rooms now, we’re expecting about 100,000 visitors." Local businesses are jazzed.

PA TRAILBLAZER: QBurgh reports on the passing of "trailblazing Pittsburgh transgender advocate Wendi Miller," who employed predominantly trans women at her East Liberty business, which served as a refuge and center for the city's emerging trans community beginning in the 1980s.