Two former employees of the Amazon.com facility in Fairview Township who stole nearly $300,000 worth of computers from the company must serve prison time and pay restitution.

Glen R. Coghill, 37, of North Pleasant Avenue in Dallastown, and Ishun J. Valenti, 28, of Kurtz Avenue in York City, pleaded guilty July 2 to felony theft and conspiracy to commit theft, according to court records.

On Wednesday, they were sentenced to nine to 23 months in county prison and a consecutive five years of probation.

Coghill and Valenti must each pay about $130,000 in restitution, senior deputy attorney general George Zaiser said.

Zaiser called the sentences reasonable because the defendants will be working to pay restitution. Both are eligible for work release.

The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office handled the case because of a conflict of interest -- Valenti's mother had worked in the York County District Attorney's Office, according to Zaiser.

Mom was sick: Defense attorney Chris Moore, who represented Valenti, called it a sad situation.

"His mom was sick ... and he used the money he got (from selling the stolen merchandise) to help take care of her," Moore said. "Most people don't ever find out what lengths they'd go to if they were really pushed -- to be put in a position of, 'What would I do to feed my family?'

"You never know what you're going to do until you're in that situation," Moore said. "But he took responsibility for it. He's working and paying down his debt and continuing to take care of his family."

Valenti's mother has since died, Moore confirmed.

First assistant public defender Clasina Houtman, who represented Coghill, declined comment.

The background: Coghill was Valenti's supervisor at Amazon.com's 500 McCarthy Drive facility.

He came up with the theft scheme and got Valenti into it, according to Moore.

Court documents state Coghill told investigators he participated in stealing 180 computers to give his daughter "a better life."

According to Fairview Township Police, the men -- as customers -- would order low-price products such as dog food or cat litter from Amazon.com.

But at work, they'd pack the shipping boxes with computers instead, then ship them to their homes, police said.

The men returned some of the stolen property after confessing to police.

-- Staff writer Liz Evans Scolforo can also be reached at levans@yorkdispatch.com.