Busy Weekend

Start off with drinks with Tom on Friday then breakfast with Phyllis on Saturday, lunch with Matt and dinner with the Fearsome Foursome. Unfortunately I won't be able to make any of these great events because of other obligations. 



Fellow blogger Tom Borthwick of NEPArtisan is celebrating his 30th birthday & his run for Scranton School Board next Spring.The Party will be at Joyce's Cafe in Minooka from 5:30 PM - 8 PM on Friday, September 28th. You can RSVP on the Facebook page.

Come help Tom celebrate his "Borthday!" BTW, What's this about a wedding?


After you sleep off the effects of the Jager Bombs that Tom is not promising to buy for everyone you can join my 2nd favorite state legislator for a Bloody Mary and some scrambled eggs. Sorry Phyllis but Daryl Metcalfe has moved into the lead for all the wrong reasons or maybe I'm just being lazy.


SRPM: The Third Annual Breakfast Fundraiser for State Representative Phyllis Mundy will be held on Saturday September 29, 2012 from 9-11am at Genetti’s Conference Center Wilkes-Barre. Matt Cartwright, 17th Congressional District Democratic Candidate will be the featured speaker.

Spill out of Genetti's then head north on I-81 to Scranton but first see if you can get a deal on some Televisions. 

The Matt Cartwright for Congress campaign is hosting its first annual Fall Festival this weekend at Nay Aug Park in Scranton.  The event will take place on Saturday, September 29^th from 1 – 3.30 PM. 

The family friendly event will feature live entertainment from the Jeanne Zano Band, a BBQ dinner featuring whole roast pork, as well as a moon bounce and pumpkin decoration for children.

Details on Facebook.  Hope it doesn't rain.

NEPA Blogcon 2012 will start at 8AM on Saturday

Join us for a day long conference and networking event covering blog and social media centric topics including: All things Google, SEO, HTML, branding, content strategy, monetizing your blog and more. If that sounds too boring, we promise there will be videos of cats and geek bellydancers.

On Facebook

The after party  will be at Rodono's on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre starting at 5PM. If you're hungry get the pizza with the walnut topping. 

Sell the Station

County manager: Sell Market Street Square complex

Luzerne County Manager Robert Lawton is proposing a new course of action for the train station at the Market Street Square complex in Wilkes-Barre.

On Tuesday, Lawton said he does not support a prior decision to spend $2 million renovating the station and asked the county redevelopment authority to sell the 5 acres of land, train station and its properties in the complex.

Why the county bought this pile of junk from Thom Greco for $5.8 million was a mystery to me and many others, the Bond Brothers made that deal.

In 2010, Greco was sentenced to two years probation for failing to tell federal agents he was the victim of a shakedown by former county Commissioner Greg Skrepenak.

Greco said Skrepenak refused to pay a bill of more than $10,000 for televisions supplied to a sports bar run by Skrepenak's father, and prosecutors said the televisions were a reward for helping with the purchase of the train station complex.

Lawton has decided not to piss away more money on a property that is a total mess which is a good call. The idea that a visitors center could be built or the miracle of restored train service is not in the cards. The main building has been neglected for so long it is probably in similar  shape as the Hotel Sterling. Steve Urban thinks it's all about him   
"He is retaliating against me personally because I'm a supporter of the project," said Urban, who did not attend the meeting. "Anything we started he wants to destroy."

I always liked Steve when he was the minority commissioner willing to to say NO to stupid spending but he seems  to go off the rails on this one.

Luzerne County is broke, it is less than broke with almost $500 million in debt obligations so spending on new projects is out out the question.

 

 

 

Thom Greco

30 and counting.

Thom Greco is famous for opening food and beverage businesses in Wilkes-Barre with much fanfare only to see the ventures fail shortly afterward. There have been so many I'm not even going to try to list them all.

His latest project is a pizza place at the site of the former Grogg Shop on the corner of N. Main and Union Streets that recently was Gage Restaurant. In the past it was Hacienda Restaurant, Heartbreaks, Harrigan's Irish Pub, Bazookas, Martini Ristorante and Bar, Aprilia's Restaurant and Nono's Restaurant and Bar.

He is presently operating Oysters in the Genetti Hotel and The Mines. Greco also owns residential and commercial rental properties and has been talking about building a fiber optic network using the steam heat pipes for years but that hasn't gone anywhere.

Now he has been snared in the Corruption Junction investigation signing another one of those very vaguely worded plea agreements.

TL: Court documents filed in federal court Thursday said Greco failed to report to authorities his knowledge that an elected official had solicited and accepted a gratuity in exchange for official action. ...Greco, 53, of Wilkes-Barre, had this information between April 2005 and December 2009, court papers say. The court papers do not identify the public official or provide any further details regarding the crime.


Disclosure: I actually worked for him for a short time at the Station nightclub and hotel complex that is now one of the biggest eyesores in Wilkes-Barre. I took the first job offer that came along to get out of that gig. But he came out of that alright when the Luzerne County Commissioners (Skrep, Vondy and Urban) bought that pile of junk but now don't have the money to clean it up. He was partners with the Kornfeld family of The Woodlands fame in that venture. When it went sour he sued them and actually had their cars seized and towed to settle his claims. Guess who towed the cars?

This made me laugh

TL: Thom Greco was thinking about entering the race in the 14th Senatorial District... but his legal residence lies outside the district.


He has property in Wilkes-Barre but lives in Butler Twp. I have to be careful here because he has a bad habit of suing people everytime one of his bars/restaurants doesn't work out. Greco also got Luzerne County to take the railroad junkyard on Market Street off his hands a few years ago supposedly to open a visitors center. The last time I drove by Market Street Square it was still empty.

The serious candidates are former Pittston City Mayor Mike Lombardo, Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton and State Rep. John Yudichak who are looking at seeking the Democratic nomination to succeed Ray Musto. So far the only Republican mentioned is Luzerne County Commissioner Steve Urban. We should have a better idea who is running after this weekend.