What's your sign

The other day Sue Henry on WILK suggested that I check out a political sign at the end of Madison St in Wilkes-Barre just before North St. This piqued the interest of Facebook pal David Wayne of David@DavidWaynePhotography.net who took this picture.

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Tom Witts is a candidate for city council in Snelville, GA. Why somebody on Madison Street has a yard sign for a local candidate in Georgia is anybody's guess. Maybe some of my North End readers will get on their bikes, ask some questions and report back.

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According to his website Tom Witts is a big fan of yard signs. I would appreciate your support by allowing me to come by and place one in your front yard.

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Well Tom, you are certainly welcome to put one in my yard and I will even take a picture and urge all voters in Luzerne County, PA to support your election.

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You have a friend in Pennsylvania.

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Update: I learn things with your help.

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Tom is a native of Carbondale who left the area in 1966 to serve in the the US Navy. After his service he built a successful business in Florida then relocated to Geogia.

YouTube weekend

I told you I was tuning in Madonna. Hard to beat this entrance

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Don't worry, next weekend it will be the Sex Pistols

Free the Uighurs

How the U.S. Betrayed the Uighurs

Intellectuals Call for Release of Uighur

Breathing fire

Uighurs set for islands

One crime

So far about a dozen public officials have been charged with committing crimes in office in Luzerne County. Most of them have been charged with just one count of corruption which begs the question "What else has been going on?"

Multi-party Bob/Youtube weekend

There are so many things that I want to write about but I caught the dreaded drombone of head colds so I'm just going to use Youtube videos to make my point. Maybe I will have to go before one of Obama's Death Panel's to decide if my life is worth saving.

Mericle pleads guilty

He gives a $1 million "finder's fee" to a judge on a $6 million building project and that is OK according to the US Attorney's Office and faces maybe 4 months in jail despite that the fact that he lied to the FBI and IRS but he is "cooperating" with the investigation. Such fargon BS and it just goes to show that if you have enough money you can buy your way out of just about anything.

How is paying a bribe to a Judge not a crime?




Here are some videos from Barry and Cindy that come to mind.







Back to listening/watching Madonna

Groundswell

I want to be the last Jury Commissioner of Luzerne County-David Yonki

I called into the Sue Henry show on WILK this morning and we discussed Luzerne County politics and scandals. These days they are one and the same. The situation of Democratic Jury Commissioner Jerry Bonner came up of course and off the top of my head I suggested that we should all write-in the Yonk for that office in the November election. The reaction to that idea has been tremendous.

After receiving numerous phone calls, e-mails, Facebook postings and hearing the idea being discussed on the late afternoon show on a local talk radio show that were all positive I called my friend David.

He likes the idea!

And he agreed to run for the post after some cajoling from me.

His platform includes:

1. I'd run as an alternative to the taxpayers to ensure that if Mr. Bonner resigns, a crony would not get the position.

2. In my official capacity as jury commissioner, I would take every opportunity to lobby against the continuation of the position. I find it interesting that the Republican Commissioner is not even saying a word about this and how it would effect him.

3. I have much experience with downsizing and elimination of my job. I'm good at it, in the last decade I was downsized three times. It was not of my own making. Finally I can downsize out of a job because the job is not needed.

So let's write-in David Yonki for Democratic Jury Commissioner. The one good thing about the new electronic voting machines it is easy to write-in a person for an office. No more stickers or golf pencils just hit the letters on a touch screen.

August 10 was the last day to take your name off the November ballot so the chances are that Jerry Bonner will still be listed as the Democratic candidate for Jury Commissioner.

Nipper is sueing Savo

TL: Former Luzerne County Sheriff candidate George "Nipper" Nowakowski Wednesday filed a lawsuit against recently resigned Sheriff Michael Savokinas and the county.

This gets to be more fun everyday. Nowakowski has run for Sheriff about 14 times and still can't get it through his head that the people don't want him in the job.

He has taken offence over this statement by Savo in the Times-Leader on July 15 regarding the accusation that his political enemies may have planted drugs in his car:

Though Savokinas did not implicate anyone, he said there were several confrontations with influential county figures who he said might want to see his reputation damaged.“It could be a multitude of a couple different things … to force me out of office, to ruin my name so I never win another office politically. I don’t know why.” he said. Specifically, he noted George “Nipper” Nowakowski, whom he defeated in what he termed a “bitter” 2007 Democratic primary race for his current office; former Republican Sheriff Barry Stankus, whom he beat in the general election; and Luzerne County Commissioner Chairwoman Maryanne Petrilla.

I'm not a lawyer so I don't if this statement is actionable or not but Nipper thinks it is. We will get the details tomorrow. Maybe Barry and Maryanne will want to piggy back on it since they were also named.

The Luzerne County Republican Party put out a press release earlier today calling for a special election to pick a new Sheriff and I think that would be a good idea. However state law specifies that the Governor must appoint the replacement of county row officers with the consent of the State Senate. Rapid Edward declined to nominate a new Controller when Petrilla got a promotion so I doubt he will take any action in this case. Right now Governor Rendell has a full plate trying to get a budget deal, talking to his dogs and dieting.

Another reason for Home Rule.

Maryanne and the press have been mean to me

So I Quit

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Read his resignation letter

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Luzerne County Sheriff Michael Savokinas resigned because he doesn't like his press coverage and battles with the Luzerne County Commissioners.

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I didn't know what to make of this and a friend summed it up.

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This is just Savo throwing a hissy fit. If you can't stand the heat, stay out of politics, dude. The contents of his resignation letter are substantially similar to what he said at the study commission meeting last week.

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A few people have told me that I put him over the edge with this last post. I doubt that.

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Politics ain't beanbag. What a pussy.

Update:

Luzerne County GOP calls for special election

WILKES-BARRE – Luzerne County Republican Party Chairman Terry Casey is calling on Gov. Ed Rendell to hold a special election as soon as possible to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Sheriff Michael Savokinas.

Savokinas abruptly resigned his position on Tuesday with 28 months remaining in his four-year term for the county row office.

Casey pointed to the ongoing “unrest and instability” in county government as a reason for the governor to act swiftly.

“With the current political climate and the growing mistrust and disappointment in county government, it is crucial that the position of Luzerne County Sheriff be filled by a duly elected individual,” Casey said. “Luzerne County residents deserve to be the ones who determine who will fill that crucial position.”

Casey said he hopes the governor renders a decision soon and would like to see the position placed on the ballot for the Nov. 3 election.

“It doesn’t seem right that a resigning official should be the one to determine who runs the sheriff’s office,” Casey said. “I also do not think the governor should name an interim sheriff to fill the rest of the term. As long as this position is an elected one, it is only right that the people have a say in who fills it.”

The friends of Jerry Bonner

He has many of them including a fellow member of the county housing authority that got a cut of the bribe he accepted earlier this year according to the indictment. That member hasn't been named yet nor the the payer of the bribe.

Jerry was the longtime owner of the Carriage Stop Inn on Route 315 that was the top spot for Democratic candidate fundraisers "because he had the best prices" according to a past County Commissioner. The Carriage Stop burned down a few years ago on St. Patrick's Day after closing early. How many bars close early on biggest drinking day of the year is a question that should be looked into.

Rising from the ashes Jerry replaced the Carriage Stop with a gas station and convenience stop that also has a bar and 6-pack take out store. I suggested that it be renamed "The Drink n' Drive."

If my memory is right I even attended the launch of the Gregory A Skrepenak Foundation at the place. Whatever happened to that?

After hosting so many Democratic fundraisers over the years Bonner was rewarded with the office of Democratic Jury Commissioner in the 1996 election which is basically a do nothing job that pays well. He might have even earned a pension for his "service."


Jury head Bonner indicted

County jury commissioner indicted on corruption charge

Carl Romanelli still fighting

A guest post from 2006 Green Party Senate candidate Carl Romanelli who is still dealing with the legal fallout from his ill fated campaign.

ROMANELLI ASKS PRESIDENT OBAMA FOR BEER SUMMIT II CHALLENGES BOB CASEY TO BASKETBALL GAME WITH ROMANELLI’S FATE AS THE PRIZE

Frustrated by yet another setback in the Pennsylvania Courts, Green Party US Senate candidate, Carl Romanelli is now asking President Obama to schedule Beer Summit II in order to attempt to resolve his ongoing saga. “We have tried everything possible in order to see justice here in Pennsylvania and we are running out of options,” Romanelli offered. He is referring to his long ordeal in the Pennsylvania Courts where, despite his gathering and submitting more voter signatures than any candidate in Pennsylvania’s history, Romanelli was not only displaced from the 2006 election ballot; but now has to pay more than $80,000.00 in costs and fees for the pleasure of being the victim of such a process. “It is time that the President weighed in on this, so I propose that he invite Senator Casey and me to the White House for a beer in an attempt to work matters out,” Romanelli suggested.

The situation in Pennsylvania is one of the strangest scenarios in all of politics, as it is now well known that in order to remove Romanelli from the 2006 ballot the lawyers for Bob Casey brought their challenge to the Green Party signatures by way of an illegal, taxpayer-funded process. The scandal has been dubbed Bonusgate as participants were not only providing attorneys for Casey with their work product while on state time and in state offices using state resources, but these employees also received state-funded bonuses for their effort. In his July 10, 2008 Presentment, which led to the arrest of ten legislative staffers and two former state representatives, the Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett says, “The two most outstanding examples of misappropriation of taxpayer resources in petition challenges were found in the challenges of Ralph Nader, for President in 2004, and Carl Romanelli, for US Senate in 2006.”

As it turns out, legislative employees in 2004 and 2006 would be given a crash course in signature challenge by lawyers representing Democratic candidates that wanted Romanelli and Nader off of the ballot. Then these workers would provide the work to attorneys from the law firm of Thorp, Reed and Armstrong out of Pittsburgh. These attorneys later would file the petition challenge in the hope of having independent and third party candidates removed from the ballots in question. Thorp, Reed and Armstrong is the firm used against Romanelli in the ongoing court battles. Many of the legislative employees providing what became the work product for these attorneys were given hefty bonuses for contribution. Information concerning this process is now public record as a few Preliminary Hearings for various arrested employees has provided detail and insight into this scheme.

“One would think that the commission of crimes against a working class candidate would be enough to get the attention of the Courts, but such is not the case in Pennsylvania. All along I have said that there was nothing wrong with the signatures the Greens submitted in 20006, and there wasn’t. So the Democrats had to rely on their friends who wear robes to finish the job,” Romanelli asserts. “The entire judicial system is corrupted here in Pennsylvania, and I should know because I come from Luzerne County where the disgraced, kids for cash judges come from,” he added. “So, since the judges are too crooked for a citizen to use the legal system, we need another way to resolve this shameful persecution and I thought Beer Summit II would be a novel approach. Perhaps then we can bring this nightmare to an end. This would be a big deal for me considering I don’t even drink beer.”

In the absence of Mr. Obama agreeing to a summit at the White House, then Romanelli has offered to play Bob Casey in a game of one-on-one basketball with Romanelli’s political and financial freedom on the line. “As in politics, Casey should have the advantage on the basketball court. He stands at about six feet, four inches; I am five feet five inches; he has access to the best gyms in the country, I still play in schoolyards; and he is a few years younger than I am. Of course, if Casey plays basketball like he plays politics then I’d expect he would hide and send the Philadelphia 76ers starting five to represent him at the game in order to vanquish any hope I had in winning a fair contest.” Romanelli suggested.

“In this instance I feel the sports analogy is appropriate, as Republicans and Democrats are much like pro wrestlers: They point fingers at each other and call each other names when the cameras are rolling, then toast the dummies that keep them rich and powerful as they inhabit the grand halls of, what is supposed to be, the people’s government.”

Petition for Reconsideration

Sheriff Michael Savokinas

"I find it unbelievable Sheriff Savokinas continues to misrepresent the facts and cry persecution, I think he is delusional."-Luzerne County Commissioner Chairwoman Maryanne Petrilla

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Luzerne County Sheriff Mike Savokinas is in the news again. I don't think the previous Sheriff, Barry Stankus, got as much ink in 8 years as this guy has in the last few months.

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On the one hand he is decrying budget cuts that forced him to lay off people but wants to take on the additional responsibility of overseeing Courthouse security warning the Luzerne County Government Study Commission "If there's an incident at that courthouse, a shooting, people are going to die, I hate to say it."

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He has resisted attempts to bring his office into compliance with county travel policies calling them nonsense. His chief deputy, Charlie Guarnieri, has been accused of harassment and questions have been raised about his vacation time that wasn't documented. When questioned about it by a TV reporter Guarnieri slapped his microphone away.

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Then there is drugs in the cars incidents and Savo claimed he was being framed. "It's not uncommon to find drugs in a police vehicle." The FBI is supposedly investigating the multiple drugs on the shoe stuff because DA Jackie MO punts every allegation of local wrongdoing by the political class.

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And Pittston School Board member Joseph Oliveri plead guilty to taking a bribe while on duty as a deputy sheriff. He committed a crime while in uniform and on duty and they want to pay him for his unused vacation and sick pay. Not that anybody actually keeps track of it.

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To top it all off Savokinas has a website:

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Michael Savokinas

Sheriff of Luzerne County

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This is not a dot gov or dot org domain but a dot com so it is hard to tell who is paying for it. There is not an email address to contact our sheriff so I just may give him a call. That is where I got the picture of him and the President.

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If you want to talk Mike, send me an email. I know you read this blog.

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I missed some stuff but you can read more Savo stories on the CV archive.

This is funny

I spotted this at Checking the Balance

Sights on Pennsylvania is a Hazleton based blog that is firmly in Mayor Lou Barletta's corner. Lately the author has been beating up on Todd Eachus and the bonusgate scandal. McGruff is a friend of mine and I can't agree that he resembles Kevin Costner. He is much more distinguished and reminds me of Sean Connery.

Mom knows baseball

My 79 year old mother is healthy as a horse and ornery as a mule for which I thank God every day. I went down to to her house today to cut the grass today to find her watching the Little League World Series and she was rooting for the Chinese Team! She has been watching the tournament from the beginning and could name many of the kids on both teams. I think she wants to adopt Wen Hua Sung. Chula Vista won the game 6-3.

I asked her who won the Yanks-White Sox game and she said the "crybaby's" did.

Yankees 8, White Sox 3

We talked about last night's Phillies game and Cliff Lee getting knocked around. She wasn't worried about it because "that's baseball." A pitcher gets hot for a stretch then gets clobbered. She thinks he will be OK the rest of the year but is worried about Brad Lidge closing. She likes Bret Myers.

Yes or No

Will Luzerne County Judges Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. and Thomas F. Burke Jr. suffer a similar fate as Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Russell Nigro? In 2005 Nigro lost his bid for retention because the state legislature voted themselves an outrageous pay raise in the middle of the night and the voters took their wrath out on him. There were other issues involved but it could be argued that he was a victim of "guilt by association."


So now the question is will Olszewski and Burke suffer because of the actions of the Juvie Brothers? They have not been accused of any wrongdoing but Conahan and Ciavarella are not on the ballot and they are. I don't have any polling to back it up but people I talk to are in a throw the bums out mood. That's why I also think the Republican row office candidates will do well.


I have never voted Yes in a judicial retention election and I'm not about to start now.

Ted Kennedy 1932-2009

This is a repost of what I wrote about my meeting with Ted after it was announced that he was ill.


I met the Liberal Lion about 20 years ago when I was on vacation on Nantucket Island. A bunch of us were in a bar when Ted a few other people walked through the door and sat down at the table next to us. I know it's hard to believe that both me me and Ted could be found in a drinking establishment.

One of my friends spotted him and got all excited and wanted to go over to him which we all counseled against but Jack couldn't be persuaded to let the man just enjoy his evening. So he goes over to his table and starts babbling some thing like Senator Kennedy, Senator Kennedy I think you should be President, I'm from New Hampshire but I would vote for you anytime and some other stuff. Ted was a little taken aback with that sycophantic verbal assault. With a surprised and annoyed look on his face he said "Get the fuck away from me kid." The rest of us watching this exchange erupted in laughter and a round of applause. Jack came back to the table with his tail between his legs and sulked for a while.

Later in the evening Ted came over to us and slapped Jack on the back and apologized for being so short with him. He sat down with us and bought a round and we discussed sailing, a little politics and few other things.

A personal note. My father died from brain cancer so I hope some people will resist the temptation to make tasteless Chappaquiddick jokes at this time and wish his family well.

Let's go to trial

A few years ago I was in the jury pool for a murder case. I forget if it was the prosecution or the defense that asked me what I thought about the death penalty. My reply almost got me a contempt citation. For the most part I oppose it because I don't think the government should be killing people no matter what they did and the administration of it is a nightmare. The one exception that I favor the death penalty is a case of a elected public official (such as a judge) using his/her office to enrich themselves. That bastard should be strung up in the Public Square after due process of course.


Ciavarella, Conahan withdraw guilty pleas

UPDATE: Conahan/Ciavarella file motions to withdraw guilty pleas


The Judge still doesn't buy it.


I want a trial!

Honest Service Fraud and tax evasion are minimum charges. They can pile on a lot more.

Help me out lawyers. Does the Us Attorney have to go back to the Grand Jury to get more charges?

Phils back Pedro in NY, win on rare feat | phillies.com: News

Phils back Pedro in NY, win on rare feat phillies.com: News

Triple Play

One of the great joys of baseball is when you see something that is almost never done. Phillies 2nd baseman Eric Bruntlett caught a line drive in the bottom of the 9th with no outs then stepped on second and tagged out the runner coming from first for a triple play. The last time I saw a triple play was when Mickey Morandini did it against the Pirates in 1992.

Pedro Martinez is living a charmed life, 2-0 after 3 starts. The Phils got him 12 runs in his first game against the Cubs then Jamie Moyer threw a lights out game after a rain delay against the D-Backs. Today the Phils put up a 6 spot in the 1st and Pedro kept letting them back into it. Then Heartbreak Lidge took over in the 9th and gave up a couple of hits and got burned by errors but Bruntlett was in the right place at the right time. Bruntlett also had 3 hits.

Looking for video that I can embed, help me out.

2010 Senate race

Pat Toomey was in town on Friday which was a surprise to me and many of my Republican friends. He talked with Bill O'Boyle of the Times-Leader and decried "the lurch to the left” of the federal government. His solution to the health care crises is tort reform. He also continued to hammer Senator Arlen Specter (PA-D,R,?, plaid) He said he decided long ago that he would challenge Specter – then a Republican – in the 2010 primary. “Then a poll came out and Specter decided to switch parties,” Toomey said. “I think voters are fed up with the political opportunism of Arlen Specter.”

The polls are all over the place in this race which is to be expected this early in the contest but Specter's reelect number is not good.

In an interesting twist Toomey has agreed to meet with Democratic Senate candidate Joe Sestak to hold a joint town hall on health care in Toomey's home town of Allentown. Afterward he wants to go drinking, "I'm happy to welcome Joe to the great city of Allentown and I'd extend to him an invitation to share a beer with me at one of our fine local establishments after the town hall meeting." I would like to be part of that, I'd buy them both a Yuengling. I think the country needs more beer summits.

I don't know if Republican Senate candidate Peg Lusik drinks beer but her campaign is doing a good job of keeping bloggers updated.

Where’s the Bill?

She is touring the state and when she makes it to Luzerne County I hope to talk with her and give you a report.

YouTube weekend

For the most part I don't like to watch people dance. I have never seen the Nutcracker would rather hit my head with a hammer than witness Riverdance.

At the same time I could spend all day watching Michael Jackson and Madonna sing and dance.