Vonderheid would do it again

Former Luzerne County Commissioner Todd Vonderheid told the the Luzerne County Government Study Commission on Wednesday that he would vote to lease the PA Child Care juvie prison in Pittston again.

CV: In November 2004, commissioners Vonderheid and Greg Skrepenak signed a $58-million, 20-year lease for a juvenile facility owned by Hazleton-area attorney Robert J. Powell and western-Pennsylvania businessman Gregory Zappala...In January, disgraced former judges Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and Michael T. Conahan were charged with taking more than $2.8 million in a kickback scheme to send juveniles to Pennsylvania Child Care LLC's facilities. Powell pleaded guilty in July; Zappala has not been charged or accused of wrongdoing..."I'd sign that lease tomorrow, with only two alterations," he said.

I'm not going to rehash all the controversy about that decision because everybody who reads the local papaers and this blog knows the story. I just find that statement to be in-fucking-credible.

Vonderheid is now the head honcho of the local chamber of commerce that always tells us that we have "great work ethic" and promises "good paying jobs." Under his stellar management the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry just avoided having it's headquarters sold at tax sale.

While he was in office he teamed with Greg Skrepenak and an army of consultants to produce county budgets that were works of fiction resulting in ever more borrowing every year just to pay the bills. That's why I call them the Bond Brothers.

Now we have to deal with Skrep and Vondy's lack of basic math skills and Commissioners Maryanne Petrilla and Steve Urban will have to bite the bullet and raise taxes to balance the budget. They are already getting beat up in the newspapers comment sections about the possibility. Last week Urban told me that they are not going to borrow any more money and I don't think that they could even if they wanted to because the county has reached the limit.

Nobody wants to pay more property taxes but I don't see an alternative.

What's that Chet?

“I have read some blogs that all people laid off in probation are back to work, and they’re not accurate. That’s absolutely untrue.” -Luzerne County President Judge Chester Muroski

I'm not sure what he is talking about. I can count on one hand the number of blogs that write about Luzerne County politics that I read everyday and none of us has said any such thing as far as I know. Maybe he is confusing blogs with comments made on one of the newspaper sites. If you really do read blogs your honor please contact me because I have a few questions.

Judges look at cutting budget

Lidge blows yet another one

Brad Lidge came on in the 9th inning tonight with a one run lead then gave up 2 and lost the game. AGAIN. In his previous 3 appearances he gave up at least 1 run but got the save anyway. This can't continue if the Phillies hope to repeat. Last year he was great but this year it's been an adventure everytime he takes the mound. A championship team can't have a closer that is setting a record for blown saves and has an ERA over 7. The alternatives are Ryan Madson who has been shaky and Brett Myers has injury issues.

This brings back bad memories of the 1964 Phillies collapse and the 1993 Wild Thing when we all sat around with towels on our heads.

Luzerne County Judges

This was supposed to be a comment over at Lu-Lac.

The question that I have is how does everybody know what was going on in Lokuta's courtroom but nobody knew what was going on in Ciavarella's?

Alice Cooper died tonight

In Scranton, Pennsylvania.


He met his untimely demise 4 different times on the stage of the Scranton Cultural Center. He first was decapitated by a guillotine then bought it by way of a lethal injection. After he committed 3 murders during the show he was then hanged for his crimes. His last death was the result of a magician's trick that went horribly wrong.


Don't worry folks, Vincent Furnier is as healthy as ever and is still playing too much golf but his stage presence has been knocked off yet again and will always be resurrected for the next show.

This is the 5th time I've seen Alice Cooper in concert and there is nothing like it.



This one is for Jacki

Pizella won't go quietly

Indicted Wilkes-Barre Area School Director Frank Pizzella showed up at the Wilkes -Barre Area Vo-Tech board meeting yesterday and handed out a press release that said he is not going anywhere.



“I will continue to serve as the President of the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board and as a member of the Wilkes-Barre Area Vo-Tech Board. I was elected in 2007 to serve the electorate and taxpayers, and I will continue to do just that...I will remain accessible to the public and therefore, I will be more than happy to answer any questions from the members of the press regarding School District and/or Vo-Tech business. In regards to any questions relating to the recent events of the past week, my comment is and will continue to be ‘no comment’ on the advice of my counsel due to the ongoing investigation.”



Anyone who knows Frank will tell you that he has moxy. He has been accused of taking part in conspiracy to pay a $5000 bribe to an unnamed school director in 2004 in return for helping someone get a teaching job. The Indictment lists 3 other unnamed unidicted co-conspirators. Three other school board members that also sit on the Vo-Tech Board have also been charged with corruption and two of them have resigned.

It looks like Pizzella wants a trial on these charges and so do I.

Corey O'Brien for Congress

This story in CQ Politics has been all the buzz the last few days. Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey O'Brien has filed the required paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for the Pennsylvania 11th Congressional Disctrict seat held by Congressman Paul Kanjorski "out of an abundance of caution at this point, just to ensure that we're following all the appropriate procedures with respect to looking very closely at getting into the race."

The guys at CQ keep an even closer eye on FEC reports than AAJ.


He also put this up on his Facebook page,
I wanted to let you know that I have formed a federal campaign committee to run for the United States Congress. As I continue to evaluate the race, I thought that it would be prudent to form a committee to ensure that I comply with all appropriate federal rules

The FEC disclosure lists Michael Dougherty as the campaign Treasurer. He has a big hill to climb financially as Kanjo's 2nd quarter FEC report shows that he has $614K cash on hand and raised close to $400K in the 2nd quarter. 3/4th's of that came from various Political Action Committees, McGruff has a list of all the PAC's that have contributed to Kanjo just this year. The next FEC filing deadline is October 15th so we will get an inkling if O'Brien can raise the money necessary to take on our long time Congressman.

I talked to Corey yesterday and he had this to say:

I'm very seriously looking at the race and have been humbled by the response of people urging me to run. I think we have to seriously look at both fiscal and ethics reform. It's time to look after the needs of Main Street instead of the needs of Wall Street.

He said he will make a definite decision before the end of the year.

I also asked longtime Kanjorski spokesman Ed Mitchell for his reaction:

The Congressman is not focusing on politics. He's continuing his efforts to reduce unemployment, bring the economy back, re-regulate the financial industry and reform health insurance for all. There'll be enough time for politics next year.

When I first reported that Corey was considering a race against Kanjo in April many people alluded to a deal between them that I can't confirm and seriously doubt. I interviewed O'Brien shortly after that and he sure sounded like a candidate and still does.

For all his human failings, that we all have, Kanjorski, has been a good Congressman. It's tough to follow an act like Dan Flood. I know many of you will bring up the Conerstone thing that was investigated up and down and in and out (probably including cavity searches) by the Navy and the Karl Rove Justice Department but no charges were ever filed. Everytime I drive down River St. in Wilkes-Barre and look at the dikes that protect us I think of him. All the former coal wasteland in Hanover and Naticoke that now have ballfields and houses you can thank Congressman Kanjorski for getting the money to reclaim the land.

Face it, we expect our Representatives to bring home the bacon and he has excelled at it. Just ask any local Fire Department that needed a new pumper truck that costs a couple of hundred grand that they couldn't raise so Kanjo found the money someplace and got them equipment that they needed.

The Scranton Times has the rundown of the race.

Corey O'Brien may not be an official candidate but he sent out this photo to all the local media outlets and they are using it.

Walter Griffith for Controller

Luzerne County Republican candidate for Controller Walter Griffith had a gathering last night at the Ramada in Wilkes-Barre with a nice turnout.

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Just about every other county Republican candidate came out to show support for Walter and the rank and file in attendance expressed a unity that I have never heard from our local GOP.

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There was a microphone set up in the front of the room which always acts as a magnet to any politician but thankfully all of them kept their remarks short.

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All quotes are paraphrased.

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Gene Kelleher was the emcee of the event and the first to speak was former State Senator Charlie Lemmond. He wasn't planning to speak but the crowd demanded it.

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He said a conservative is a liberal who has mugged by reality. We keep exchanging one Democratic administration in the Controllers office for another and nothing ever changes. We need somebody to watch store and Walter is the guy to watch the store. This is going to be a retail election.

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Next up was Commissioner Steve Urban. It's no secret that Urban and Griffith have not always seen eye to eye in the past so his ringing endorsement of Walter put all that to rest. He pointed out that the Controller has to keep an eye on a Human Services budget $250 million, a General fund of $120 million plus serve on the Salary Board, Retirement Board and starting in October the Prison Board. That is a lot of responsibility and Walter is up to the job. Urban then blasted the local Democrats saying one party rule has resulted in 15 indictments so far. He claimed not to know the name of his opponent offering that the only name I need to know is Walter. He then made a point about row officers actually showing up for work asking how we can elect a controller who is working at PNC Bank all day then maybe showing up for a few hours.

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Court of Common Pleas nominee Dick Hughes said that before he started campaigning for office the only thing he knew about Walter was what I read in the papers. Since then he become a partner seeking to reform county government.

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Everybody sung Carolee's praises and she said she looks forward to another term in the Courthouse to continue to clean up the mess.

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Wilkes-Barre Area School Board candidate Harry Haas was called on next. We need to take the county back and one party rule doesn't work. He reminded us that the public schools are the foundation of the community and loss of the faith in the system is one of the reasons that people move away from the area.

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Walter finished up and decried the arrogant in your face attitude of elected officials with a sense of entitlement. Make them accountable! He was the good soldier and endorsed the rest of the GOP ticket and thanked everyone for their support.

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A few things that I have learned about Walter over the last few years. He doesn't get caught up in personalities but digs for the facts. He is tenacious. He is incorruptible.

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Walter Griffith is a pain in the ass and that is a good thing.

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The other Controller candidates are Democrat Bob Morgan (no website) and Independent Wilfred Toole.

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(L to R) W-B Area School Board candidate Harry Haas, Prothontary candidate Carolee Medico Olenginski, Walter, Commissioner Steve Urban, Judge candidate Dick Hughes, retired State Senator Charles Lemmond.

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Photo courtesy of Kathy Dobash who regulary posts at NewsTalkPA which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the ever growing GrassrootsPA internet empire. You can aslo find more pictures by Kathy on her Facebook page and Fotolog.

Chris Doherty for Governor

pa2010 is reporting that Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty is running for Governor of Pennsylvania. He has been mentioned by the great mentioners (including me) for many other offices including Congress and Lt. Governor. He will cruise to reelection to Mayor of Scranton as both the Democratic and Republican nominees and will use this race to raise money for the next campaign.

A few weeks ago Doherty put out a letter saying he was pro-choice which signaled he was looking at a run for another office. The abortion hotheads reacted predictably.


Docs Letter:

I’ve been mayor of Scranton for the past eight years, but outside of northeast Pennsylvania, people are still just getting to know me.
So for the last several weeks I’ve been traveling around the state, talking to people about the challenges we face and how we can work together to help create more jobs, grow our economy, and get Pennsylvania working again.
One question I get a lot is about my position on a woman’s right to choose. People look at me and they see a guy from Scranton who was one of 11 kids, a father of six and an active member of his church. They put those pieces together and they’re surprised when I tell them, I’m pro-choice.
I support a woman’s right to choose because, in my view, this is an extremely private, personal matter and every woman should have the right to decide for herself, with the input of her family, her doctor, and her faith. It is not an issue where government should decide. It is a private, personal choice.
Sometimes I get hypothetical questions about how I’d react to what the Supreme Court may or may not do or to a bill that doesn’t exist. To those questions I can only say that my position won’t change. I won’t support a bill that takes away a woman’s right to make her own decision.
Like any candidate, I’ve had occasion to fill out questionnaires on the subject. Such questionnaires are often worded in ways that fail to accurately reflect my position. The fact is, I support a woman’s right to choose. At the same time, I respect the rights of others to disagree, in some cases very passionately.
The right to passionately and intelligently advocate for your beliefs is one of the principles on which our country was founded and, as mayor, I have issued a proclamation acknowledging those who exercise that right on the other side of this issue. Supporting a woman’s right to choose while respecting the rights of others to disagree are not mutually exclusive positions. In fact, a shared bond of respect on this and most issues would serve us well as we work toward a common future.
And that common future will most likely be defined by the choices we make on Pennsylvania’s economy over the next several years, not by social issues. During the last eight years in Scranton, we’ve helped create thousands of new jobs and generate $500 million in new investment. We’ve enjoyed tremendous success by keeping our government focused on the things it can do best: creating jobs, growing the economy, and keeping our communities safe.
Pennsylvania’s next governor will face significant challenges and he or she would do well to keep the Pennsylvania government focused on the things it can do best—get Pennsylvanians working again and put the state’s economy back on the right track.

This is good news for the Corey O'Brien for Congress campaign. I still expect another Lackawanna County Democrat to get into the 2010 primary to split the anti-Kanjo vote.

Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, state Auditor General Jack Wagner and Philadelphia payday loanshark Tom Knox are all expected to seek the Democratic nomination, former Senate candidate Joe Hoeffel is also considering the race.

The "if "went out of the speculation today when I got this email:

CHRIS DOHERTY ANNOUNCES CAMPAIGN TEAM AS HE PREPARES FOR 2010 PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR'S RACE

Scranton, PA - Today Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty unveiled his campaign team as he prepares to runfor governor in 2010. The Doherty team is comprised of seasoned Pennsylvania and Washington, DCcampaign veterans, each with a proven track record of winning big elections."This is a winning team," declared Doherty. "They've elected presidents, governors, senators, and Members of Congress. They know Pennsylvania and they know what it takes to get the job done here.I want to put Pennsylvanians back to work and this is the campaign team that will help me do it."The Doherty campaign team includes:Corey Platt, Campaign Manager. Corey comes to the Doherty Team after two cycles in Missouri. In2008 he managed Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes's race in MO-06 and in 2006 he was the political director for the Missouri Democratic Party where he helped elect Claire McCaskill to the United States Senate. He has worked for numerous other campaigns and organizations in California, Arizona,and the Midwest.Julian Mulvey and Tad Devine, Media. Devine Mulvey is a strategic communications firm with extensive experience helping clients win campaigns in the U.S. and around the world. Their approach is centered on crafting clear messages, producing compelling media, and executing a disciplinedc ommunications strategy. They have helped elect dozens of statewide candidates and crafted the media strategy that helped elect Chris Carney (PA-10) to Congress in 2006, Bob Casey, Jr auditor general in 1996 and 2000, and Lynne Abraham district attorney in 1997 and 2001. Tad Devine served as a senior advisor and strategist to Senator John Kerry's campaign for president in 2004 and to Vice President Al Gore's campaign for president in 2000.Margie Omero, Polling. Margie Omero is President and founder of Momentum Analysis, a public opinion research firm. Omero's clients include the DNC, the DCCC, labor unions, and campaigns around the country from City Council to US Senate. She worked on both the campaigns of Congressman Chris Carney (PA-10) and Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-3). Omero is a blogger at pollster.com, and was named one of "50 Politicos To Watch" by The Politico online journal.Steve Stenberg, Mail. A partner at the Strategy Group, Steve combines years of campaign experience with localized direct mail strategies to help Democrats win in both blue and red states. In 2008,Steve produced direct mail for the Obama for America campaign while also serving as a lead consultant to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's independent expenditure efforts.Mark Nevins, Communications. Based in Philadelphia, Mark is a founding partner of the Dover Group,a full-service campaign strategy firm. Mark has extensive experience in Pennsylvania politics having served as communications director for Hillary Clinton's 2008 Pennsylvania primary campaign,as Pennsylvania communications director for Kerry/Edwards 2004, and as an advisor to congressional candidates all over the state. The Dover Group is also assisting the Doherty campaign with its fundraising and finance programs.

Tidbits

From the email:


The Morgan camp is going nuts because it was rumored that he promised the Deputy's job to Pizzella and if he goes, they are afraid that one of the other six might be Katsock who is his campaign manager. I can certainly see where they are concerned. Morgan also served as their campaign chair or treasurer.

Operation HEART kickoff

"All Democrats are not crooks, but all the crooks are Democrats.”-Luzerne County GOP Chairman Terry Casey

To reinforce that point yesterday we saw the Juvie Bothers, Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella, plead not guilty to a 48 count indictment. They previously plead guilty to 2 charges.

Jury Commissioner and Housing Authority Board Chairman Jerry Bonner also entered a plea of not guilty to taking a bribe. To top off a banner day W-B Area School Board President Frank Pizzella was indicted. All of them are elected Democrats.

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Our local elephants have a snappy new slogan to get the point across.

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Operation HEART: Honesty· Ethics· Accountability· Reform· Transparency

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Yesterday, the county Republican Party had a sparsely attended news conference in their shiny new digs in the Mid-town Village in Wilkes-Barre with PA State Supreme Court nominee Joan Orie Melvin as the headliner. Two of the three row officer candidates didn't even bother to show up. You still have to work on this party unity thing folks.

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Chairman Terry Casey started off the festivities reminding us that this is "the valley with a heart." A slogan that has been popular since the Agnes flood in 1972. Again I feel like we are living on Noah's Ark, before the flood-after the flood.

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That will and determination, that essential goodness, is still here. Unfortunately, it has been overshadowed by a corrupt political machine brought on by the perils of a one-party system. It’s the dirty little secret that we’ve all known about for years: cronyism, nepotism, teachers paying for jobs. One set of rules for those in power, another set of rules for the rest of us. So, what do we do to polish that tarnished image and to reclaim our reputation as the Valley With A Heart?

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Nothing short of a heart transplant. And that’s what we plan to do.We are the Republican Party of Luzerne County and I stand here today and pledge that the days of a one-party political system are over.

Zen has the whole speech.

Judge Melvin had this to say:

The most egregious case of judicial corruption and judicial abuse of power in our nation’s history actually occurred here in Pennsylvania, in Luzerne County. The judiciary violated these children. Within 5 minutes of being sworn in, they were escorted out in shackles to these personal profitable lock-ups. This is surreal. It is right out of a Charles Dickens’ novel.

She then recounted how she handled juvenile cases when she was judge in Pittsburgh. Non-violent kids didn't get locked up but were sentenced to community service.

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Dick Hughes was the next to speak and he was for positive change then touted that he has been endorsed by the Luzerne County Police Chiefs.

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The last speaker was Controller candidate Walter Griffith who stole the show. He was going to read his speech but put it aside and spoke from the heart. He endorsed the goals of operation HEART and added that he has been passionate about local government and the spending of your money. He knocked the local Dems sense of entitlement and pledged to "follow the money" whenever something doesn't pass the smell test. He complimented former Controller Steve Flood for his tenacity and said he will be just as tenacious.

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The program ended with Executive Director Renita Fennick singing the praises of Carolee Medico who didn't bother to show up.

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If Carolee were here, we’d have to give her the letter “R.”
If anyone knows reform, it’s Carolee Medico Olenginski.
For those of you who remember, Carolee took the courthouse by storm when she was first elected 12 years ago.
She took some steps that were unheard of – she came to work every day, stayed all day and kept track of her staff’s hours and days off.
She used the term “judicial corruption” long before it became a household word in Luzerne County.
It took courage to stand up for the people – especially when you find yourself standing alone – as Carolee often did. Many wished her well but ran for cover when she confronted corruption.
She was way ahead of the investigators and knew there was trouble under the dome. She was such a threat to corrupt officials that her 2001 opponent spent over $265,000 to unseat her.
We need to get Carolee back in office to finish the job that she started.


Register of Wills Candidate Gina Nevenglosky was also a no show.

A few other faces in the crowd were Commissioner Steve Urban and former State Senator Charlie Lemmond.

Frankie "kneecaps" Pizella is indicted

W-B Area School Board president indicted on bribery charge


Prosecutors allege Pizzella passed $5,000 from a person seeking a teaching position in the district and his or her spouse to an "unindicted board of education member," according to the indictment filed today in Scranton U.S. District Court.

From what I hear Frank has spent the last few years cleaning up his act so this is a surprise but not a shock since this happened before he became a School Director. A few years ago he was running for Plains Township Commissioner and was convicted of soliciting some goons to break his opponent's legs. He received probation for that offense. There was also a domestic incident involving his ex-wife and a firearm.

While I believe in redemption, it just goes to show how fucking stupid we have been as voters. Anybody who grew up in the North End of Wilkes-Barre or Plains Township in the late 1970's had to deal with Plains Police Officer Frank Pizzella and he was a power tripper. I have some stories I could tell you and I'm sure many others could chime in.

Frank performed a public service in 2001 when he ran for Luzerne County Controller. The primary was between him, Luzerne Mayor Andy Reilly and Steve Flood. Commissioner Makowski and ex-Commissioner Crossin begged him not to run but he did and split the old guard Democratic vote. Steve Flood won that election and raised Cain about was going on in the county but Maryanne Petrilla took Flood out in the next round in 2005.


Pizzella was fired from his county job shortly after and he sued and won. He was the county honcho about weights and measures. A job that never existed before and hasn't existed since.

The TL has a rundown of his previous legal troubles.

Pizzella’s past includes brushes with law

GOP Kickoff

From the inbox:

Judge Joan Orie Melvin, Republican candidate for Pennsylvania Supreme Court, will join Luzerne County Republican candidates at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15, as they unveil the party’s unified campaign.

The press conference will be held at the county GOP’s newly opened permanent headquarters, 41 S. Main St., Suite 14, in downtown Wilkes-Barre.

The Republican candidates will outline their campaign for the remaining seven weeks as they work to bring honesty, ethics, accountability, reform and transparency to the Luzerne County Courthouse.

Republicans on the ballot include Richard Hughes, Court of Common Pleas; Walter L. Griffith Jr., Controller; Carolee Medico Olenginski, Prothonotary; Gina Nevenglosky, Register of Wills/Clerk of the Orphan’s Court; and Frank Semanski, Jury Commissioner. Democrat William Amesbury is the other judicial nominee on the Republican ballot.


The event is open to the public.

Sports dilema

The Eagles are playing the opener against Carolina while at the same time the Phillies are in a pennant race and facing the Mets. My 2nd TV crapped out in the living room but I have picture-in-picture down in the Gort42 Command Bunker.

Another day another indictment

SCRANTON – A retired Wilkes-Barre detective was charged Friday by federal authorities with accepting a bribe in connection with his position as a member of the Luzerne County Housing Authority. William Maguire of Mountain Top is the second member of the authority’s board to be charged in the past 10 days.

So now we now know who Jerry Bonner was sharing his ill gotten bounty with but the person with the deep pockets has yet to be named. Maguire is another local politico that has plead guilty to just one charge of corruption.

I know that the US Attorney has a reason for getting a plea agreement from all these crooks but I would like to see a full accounting of their crimes like what just happened with the Juvie Brothers.

What else have they done?

Get well Sam

The CV is reporting that Luzerne County Deputy Warden Sam Hyder has been on sick leave for over a month. It must be serious because he has been a workhorse that has not taken a sick or vacation day in the previous 3 years according to county records.


I'm going to resist rehashing the controversies he has been involved in over the last few years and wish Sam and his family well.

This is nifty

Luzerne County candidate for Judge of the Court of the Common Pleas Dick Hughes is hosting a whitewater rafting trip on the Lehigh River on Saturday, September 19, 2009. The details are on Facebook but not on his website. Get on the stick guys. I think this is one of the most creative fundraising ideas I have ever heard of. I'll be watching college football that day so I can't make it but maybe Kayak Dude and the Blogfather will join in. They are fond of water sports.

Now that we are past Labor Day the other local candidates have some events scheduled.

GOP Controller candidate Walter Griffith has a shindig scheduled for Friday, September 18th in Wilkes-Barre. The details are on his website.

Judicial candidate Tina Gartley has a full slate of events including celebrations of grandparents, beer and polka plus she likes college football. She has an events page on her site.

Double nominee for Judge Bill Amesbury has had some get togethers that nobody bothered to tell me about ahead of time.

The Democratic row officer candidates are out there also but they don't have websites so I'm not sure what they are up to.

I usually don't watch the local newscasts (car hits tree, house burns down) but I will start tuning in for the political commercials. I await the ads that say we should retain Judges Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. and Thomas F. Burke Jr. I have never voted to retain a Judge because I'm a political junkie and I want to see another election and I think that retention elections are BS. Many of my friends have urged me to vote Yes on Burke but nobody has defended PPO-2.

Lokuta was right

The big headline today is that the Juvie Brothers have been hit with a 48 count indictment including racketeering, extortion, bribery, money laundering, fraud and tax violations. The details of the indictment haven't yet been reported on the US Attorney's website or in the press. Senior Judge Edwin M. Kosik rejected Michael Conahan's and Mark Ciavarella's plea agreement last month charging them with only 2 crimes and agreed with many of us that 7 years for taking bribes to lock up kids wasn't enough jail time for these 2 crooks. The maximum sentence is 25 years and the judge said the plea called for less jail time than normal sentencing guidelines. Reading his order he was especially miffed at their conduct since the guilty plea.

The Legal Intelligencer detailed many of their other crimes in a story in July and drops this bomb today.

A detailed complaint was filed against former Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Conahan with the Judicial Conduct Board in 2006, alleging wide-spread corruption including case-fixing, mob ties and the improper placement of juveniles in a privately owned juvenile detention facility.

When asked who might have filed the complaint, several sources speculated that Lokuta had written it. Lokuta denied authoring the complaint.

Asked who had, Lokuta replied: "One of my staffers."

I think Ann may have had some input in writing the complaint. The JCB that voted to remove her from the bench also allowed Conahan and Ciavarella to testify against her. Conahan's business partner, Pat Judge, was one of the people who sat in judgement of her. Her fate is in the hands of the State Supreme Court.

Ex-judges hammered with 48 counts

Ex-judges hit with 48 counts

Big day for the local GOP

RNC Chairman Michael Steele cut the ribbon at the grand opening of the new Luzerne County Republican HQ in the Midtown Plaza in Wilkes-Barre yesterday.

Coulter Jones in the Citizen Voice had this observation:

Media and the public were not allowed to attend the event, which was held before a three-hour "open house" for the public...Steele, who took over as chairman in January, attended a luncheon prior to his speech with several people who have made large donations to the Republican National Committee.

National GOP chief opens county HQ from the TL


The office is capable of handling a 24-line phone bank, providing campaign space for local, county, state and federal candidates to speak to the public and distributing countless fliers.
The headquarters also includes office space for Luzerne County Republican Party Executive Director Renita Fennick and Northeast Pennsylvania Regional Director Jon Hopcraft of the state Republican Party.
Registered Republicans can became Club GOP members if they donate $50 or more annually to help keep the offices open.


The Luzerne County Republican Party sent me a press release which I would publish but it was a PDF instead of a Word Document and it would take me about 16 steps to put it on the blog.

They also had Karl Rove speak to the faithful a few months ago.

Update: The Luzerne County GOP press release

WILKES-BARRE -- Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele gave a pep talk to party faithful at Wednesday’s grand opening of the Luzerne County Republican Party headquarters on South Main Street.
Steele cut a red, white and blue ribbon and spoke to members of Club GOP, a newly formed grassroots organization designed to support the county GOP.
“This place is more than just four walls, fluorescent lights and a flag,” Steele said. “It’s where the Republican Party of Luzerne County will grow.”The local GOP’s permanent headquarters will house the offices of Executive Director Renita Fennick, and Northeast Pennsylvania Regional Director Jon Hopcraft of the state GOP. It will provide a meeting and campaign area for local, county, state and federal candidates and will feature a 24-line phone bank to assist with campaign efforts.
Steele urged party workers to come out and support the party and the candidates in the Nov. 3 election and said the timing was good for the GOP.
“Don’t believe it when they say the Republican Party is the party of no,” Steele said. “Our record is good. The opportunity is right.”
Steele, who was elected chairman of the national GOP in January, mingled with members of the ClubGOP during a private reception.

Sports weekend

Penn State won it's first game over the Akron Zips 31-7. Most rabid Nittany Lion fans thought it should have been a lot worse.

The defense was solid as expected but the offense misfired all day after getting a lead. The thing that worries me was the inability to run the ball but we may find out that Akron's defensive is better than expected. As all college football fans know the biggest improvement happens between the 1st and 2nd week. Syracuse lost a close one to Minnesota but I expect the Lions to handle them.

Oklahoma lost a close one to BYU 14-13 and their Heisman Trophy QB went down. They will bounce back against Idaho State next week. Navy gave Ohio State a game but came up short. Maybe this is the year that Navy finally beats Notre Dame. We are looking forward to November 7 when the Lions take on the Buckeyes and I hope there are not any surprises before that. This weekend Ohio State plays USC at home. I don't understand why Big Ten and Pac 10 teams play each other in the regular season because if you win your conference you will get to meet in the Rose Bowl.

The other service acadamies won their openers. Army 27, E. Michigan 14 Air Force 72, Nicholls St. 0

Being an Air Force vet I always want to see the Falcons win the Commander in Chief's Trophy.

The Phillies continue to piss me off, like that's news. They get swept by the Astros. You got to score some runs guys. Cliff Lee got clobbered again and Brad Lidge blew his 10th save on Saturday. Even when he actually saves a game it is an adventure. How may teams can put up with a closer that has a 7.15 ERA and 0-7 record.

The State University of New Jersey (birthplace of college football) got shellacked by Cincinnati 47-15. I guess I like Rutgers because they were so bad for so long and it's good to see a program turn it around. Hear that Temple! They have upgraded the stadium and filled the seats for the opener. I would go to see a game in Piscataway but I have made it a policy to never go to New Jersey on purpose. There is a reason why the Statue of Liberty has her back to the place.

Quincy's weekend of destruction

Mrs. G reminds me that it has been 8 months of destruction.

We have so many toys laying around the house you would think that we are running a day care but that's not good enough.

Yesterday he got a hold of the trash can lid (above) and made short work of it. He also got into a laundry basket and now we are are short a pair of Mrs. G's pajamas, 3 pairs of socks, bras, underwear and many other items of clothing. When he gets a hold of something that he knows he shouldn't have he likes to show it to you so it turns into a game of chase.




With all the rain lately the Q likes to dig a hole during a cloudburst. The last time he did it was just after I cleaned the porch so when he got done digging he trashed my nice clean porch.

For the most part the Q has been a good puppy. He knows his commands, is good on a leash and behaves well when supervised. It's just when you are not paying attention that he is a menace.

For example, he just came down to the Gort42 Command Bunker and immediately grabbed an important piece of paper that I was able to get back after a few minutes. After that crises passes I relaxed and he got something else. He just went back upstairs so I locked the door behind him.

After the dirt fell off he hung around with the cat on the mud covered porch.

More Quincy pix on my Facebook page.

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.