July 1, 2026
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
Just when one thinks the Lehigh Valley can’t get any more strange, a greenhouse leads to misdemeanor charges against Whitehall Township Tax Collector Tina Koren.
Koren, 64, faces charges of official oppression and harassment over a dispute with a neighbor, according to Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan. A preliminary hearing was held yesterday.
Official oppression sounds like something from the Soviet era, but here it means Koren allegedly used her township position to harass neighbors who put up a small greenhouse.
The charges are that she subjected her neighbors to mistreatment, and infringement of personal and property rights by contending Mary Ellen and Steven Griffin were operating a business out of their home.
I have thought about putting up a small greenhouse at my home. That is officially off.
Unfortunately for Tina Koren, her last name sounds like Karen, the generic term for a woman who complains.
As always, Holihan notes: As in every criminal case, the fact that an arrest has occurred or a complaint has been filed are merely accusations; and the defendant, Tina Koren, is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
See the statement from District Attorney Holihan:
July 1, 2026
District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan announces all criminal charges filed against the Whitehall Township Tax Collector for official oppression and harassment will proceed to Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas after a preliminary hearing yesterday.
Tina Koren, DOB 2/4/1961, of Whitehall, was charged April 6, 2026 with misdemeanor counts of Official Oppression and Harassment.
A preliminary hearing was held June 30, 2026 before Magisterial District Judge Todd P. Heffelfinger, who ruled there was enough evidence for the charges to proceed to county court. Heffelfinger also set Koren’s bail at $5,000 unsecured.
The next court hearing will be a formal arraignment scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 13, 2026 before Judge James T. Anthony.
The investigation began with an initial complaint filed in September 2025 at Whitehall Township Police by Koren’s neighbors, Mary Ellen and Steven Griffin.
The Griffins live in the 3300 block of South Ruch Street in Whitehall Township. The complaint filed in September 2025 alleged harassing behavior by their neighbor, Tina Koren.
To avoid any potential conflict of interests, the investigation was referred to the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office by Whitehall Township Police Chief Michael Marks.
The Griffins own and operate a charitable organization known as The Caring Place, located at 931 Hamilton St. in Allentown. The Caring Place is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the homeless and those in crisis by providing food, shelter, clothing and essential services. The organization does not conduct any business activity at the Griffin home or property in Whitehall Township.
The investigation revealed that in early June 2025, the Griffins decided to build a small greenhouse to the rear of their property.
The greenhouse would be used to grow fresh vegetables to be donated to individuals and families in need through The Caring Place and to educate children about how food is grown.
Koren also lives in the 3300 block of South Ruch Street in the township and shares a property line with the Griffin home.
On June 12, 2025, Koren filed a complaint with the Whitehall Township Zoning Office stating the greenhouse was being constructed without a property building permit.
An inspection was conducted by the zoning office and on June 23, 2025, the zoning office sent out an enforcement notice to the Griffin family. Several days later, Steven Griffin completed the necessary building permit paperwork, paid the $35 fee and received a valid building permit for the greenhouse.
The investigation revealed that Koren, acting in her capacity as the Whitehall Township Tax Collector, sent several misleading emails to the company contracted by the township to handle business taxes.
The emails written by Koren stated the Griffins were running a portion of the business from their home in violation of township tax law.
This misinformation led to several tax bills and notices being received by the Griffins that had been authored by Koren.
In one email to the business tax collection agency, Koren included a photo of a van bearing The Caring Place logo in front of the Griffin home with a woman at the rear of the vehicle. The email states, “This is one of the many pictures I have received from Whitehall residents who are legitimately paying for a business license.”
The investigation revealed the photo of the van was taken from inside the Koren home.
The investigation indicates that Tina Koren, acting in her official capacity as the Whitehall Township Tax Collector, intentionally mislead and/or lied to the business tax collection agency about the business activity of the Griffins in order to subject the Griffins to unfair assessment, mistreatment, infringement of personal and property rights which did alarm and seriously annoy the Griffins and served no legitimate purpose and harassed the Griffins.
This case was investigated by Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office Detective Richard Heffelfinger and will be prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Carly Levandoski.
As in every criminal case, the fact that an arrest has occurred or a complaint has been filed
are merely accusations; and the defendant, Tina Koren, is presumed innocent until and
unless proven guilty.
