A former Easton police officer sentenced to 3-6 years in state prison 13 years ago for burglary and other crimes is a candidate for constable on the city's South Side.

And according to officials, nothing precludes 50-year-old George L. Rich from seeking the job in the city's 9th Ward. He is one of three Democrats running for a six-year term.

Rich, of the 200 block of Ann Street, was one of four people involved in a burglary and theft ring in the early 1980s in the city. He took part in the ring while serving on the police force.

His past is a concern to one of his Democratic primary opponents, constable Harry Davis of Highland Boulevard, who told press about Rich's record.

John J. Haney IV, of the 400 block of Folk Street, is also a Democratic candidate. There are no Republican candidates.

"He betrayed one badge, he'll betray another," Davis charged.

"No comment," said Rich Wednesday. "I'm not going to say anything. It's a dead issue."

Rich said the truth did not surface in the early 1980s about what happened and he didn't want to discuss it again.

He pleaded guilty in November 1983 to one count of burglary and two counts of conspiracy to commit theft. He admitted to breaking into Easton Iron and Metal Co. in July 1980 and to conspiring to steal police recreation equipment and gasoline from Easton police cruisers.

Rich, his uncle Arthur Ricci, former Easton patrolman Gary Bruch and Bruch's nephew, Bryan Bruch, were sentenced for their roles in the scheme in the area between 1980 and 1983.

Rich was sentenced in April 1984 and paroled in April 1987, according to a state corrections department spokesman.

Assistant District Attorney Daniel Polanski said his preliminary research did not indicate a record would disqualify someone from seeking the job. However, the district attorney's office does not have jurisdiction over constables, Polanski said.

According to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, which oversees constable training by the advisory Constables' Education and Training Board, constables are elected independent contractors.

Among other duties, constables can serve criminal arrest warrants and civil documents, transport prisoners and conduct sales of levied property. They are not required to carry a weapon. If they carry a weapon, they must be trained and certified.

While a burglary conviction would prevent Rich from applying for a license to carry a weapon, District Attorney John Morganelli said the law exempts some, including police, sheriffs and constables, from that license requirement. Morganelli said his interpretation of the law is that Rich would be able to carry a weapon as a constable if he reached that exempt status.

Morganelli said constables enjoy a unique status in law enforcement. They have common law arrest powers and can arrest individuals for crimes committed in their presence. They cannot, however, make vehicle stops. Morganelli said a burglary conviction would bar someone from becoming a police officer or sheriff.

Morganelli said there is a movement among some district attorneys to limit the abilities of constables and make them process servers without arrest powers. He said he was not part of that movement.

Assistant County Solicitor Doug Tkacik, adviser to the county election office, said state law dealing with constables does not address the issue of candidates with criminal histories. Case law, however, makes reference to a section of the state constitution prohibiting those convicted of "infamous" crimes like embezzlement from holding an office of trust or profit.

In a 1979 Delaware County case, Tkacik said the court considered a case in which a call was made to prevent a man from serving as constable, based on a conviction for burglary, larceny and conspiracy. "The court said those crimes were not infamous crimes," Tkacik said.

A note included in the Delaware County decision said that a court should not remove a public officeholder for a criminal act for which formal punishment was administered and where the conviction occurred before the present term of office. "To do so would deprive the people of their right to elect their officers," the ruling said.

Rich, who listed his occupation on the petition as a youth care worker at the Children's Home of Easton, is also owner of Rich's Dollar Store in the 1200 block of Northampton Street, according to his state ethics form.