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I'm beginning to wonder if any Luzerne County business has been bid out in the last few years.
The TL is reporting that the county Convention and Visitors Bureau violated a State law that requires bidding for purchases that exceed $10,000. The agency spent over $200,000 for advertisements with a company owned by a friend of county Commissioner Greg Skrepenak and former county chief clerk/manager Sam Guesto. They rented billboards and benches but the location of these benches remains a mystery. You can't locate a bench at a bus stop?
This follows the revelation that millions of dollars of business at the county prison was directed to other friends of Skrep without being bid. DA Jackie Musto Carroll has asked an outside law enforcement agency to investigate the prison shenanigans but won't say which one. Since it appears that a state law was violated I assume it's the PA Attorney General. What I don't understand is why she won't reveal what agency is investigating. It shouldn't be a state secret. Unlike other officials she doesn't have an email address on the Luzerne County website so I will have to wait until tomorrow to call her office to get a no comment.
From the CV: Some no-bid purchases involve friends of county Commissioner Greg Skrepenak, former County Manager Sam Guesto, county Purchasing Director Greg Hunsinger and prison kitchen supervisor Jack Rentko.
A report from the County Solicitor Jim Blaum is due today.
Commissioners Maryanne Petrilla and Stephen A. Urban say the failure to bid went against past practice and was not a mistake. Skrepenak maintains it was an unintentional oversight.
More Luzerne County news:
County billed twice for work at prison, Petrilla confirms
And the appointment of a new Controller is caught up in Harrisburg politics.
Filler’ named for controller post
What a mess.
17 hours ago
6 comments:
Gort,
I was thinking that it might be easier if the county just released a list of contracts that were bid...a short list no doubt, but it would end the suspense.
what I want to know is how big the fookin cookie jar is that so many hands are caught in it???
kind of curious what vondy, the smart one, was doing during all of this. are his hands as dirty as skreps?
anon 9:25
I'm not sure but I do wonder how he afforded to join Huntsville Golf Club when making $42k per year as a commissioner. I guess it's possible. After all, it's only $18k initiation and $4,800 per year dues.
How could Vonder "hide" have known what was going on, he was too busy with his 2 or 3 part time jobs...
"How is it the Mrs. P was never aware of all the shannanigans when she was controller?" - overheard at a local eatery by a big-time, big-player dem lawyer
Rome is burning!
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