Corporate exec pleads guilty to forging fake divorce papers to keep up affair
Dec. 16—A North Huntingdon corporate executive pleaded guilty Thursday to forging a judge's name on a fake court record as part of a plot police said was designed to convince his lover to continue an extramarital affair.
Dennis George Durmis Jr., 50, was ordered to pay a $1,500 fine and perform 50 hours of community service as part of a plea bargain deal that saw prosecutors dismiss one felony charge.
Durmis pleaded guilty to a reduced misdemeanor forgery offense.
Police said Durmis was engaged in a long-term affair with a coworker who in August 2021 threatened to terminate their relationship without proof that he was divorced, according to court records. The woman told police Durmis, in an effort to prolong their relationship, showed her an image of a divorce decree that had been signed the previous October by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Jim Silvis.
Police contended the woman questioned the authenticity of that document and contacted the Westmoreland County's Prothonotary's office at the courthouse where divorce papers are filed. An office staffer told police she suspected Silvis' signature was forged and that the document she reviewed contained a file number that was not generated by the court office.
Investigators determined no court document related to Durmis' alleged divorce existed after they confronted his wife outside of the family's home in August 2021 with the falsified paperwork.
"... she was visibly upset at the
possibility of it being an actual document. Dennis Durmis advised these investigators that it's likely that someone targeted them as a joke, possibly one or more of their children," according to a police report.
Several days later, Durmis was again questioned by police outside his house and admitted he created the falsified court document, police said.
"Durmis stated that he filled in the document with the relevant information including Judge Silvis' signature and took a photograph of the decree using his personal cellular telephone," police said.
Durmis made no comments during Thursday's guilty plea hearing.
Defense attorney Jeff Leonard said Durmis remains an executive with the Bayer company and currently works in Germany.
The Durmis' are still married.
"He's working to keep his family together," Leonard said.
Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich by email at rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .
