The other row offices

I've been concentrating on the race for Luzerne County Controller because that is where most of the action has been lately. We have two other spots up for election on November 3rd and I hope this will be the last time we ever have to vote for candidates for these positions. But that is up to the Government Study Commission and then the voters to ratify a new charter.


I've been saying for months that Republican Carolee Medico Olenginski will romp to victory in the Prothonotary contest even without the news that her opponent's husband is a crook. I've never met Nancy Bellas and I was surprised that she won the primary against Duryea politico Art Akulonis and the most qualified candidate Gerald Mullery. I hear that the local Dems have given up on her and Mullery has even been handing out Carolee signs.

TL: Allan Bellas has resigned his post as President of Wyoming Valley West School Board President...Bellas has agreed to plead guilty to corruption charges related to his former post as Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority Executive Director. He previously accepted a bribe in exchange for helping a developer get a tax break deal.


Incumbent Democrat Register of Wills Dottie Stankovic is taking some flack over her work hours. The CV reviewed security records that show she never swiped her security card more than a third of the time over the last 21 months. But that does not mean she was a no-show at the Penn Place office on North Pennsylvania Avenue in Wilkes-Barre, Stankovic explained.
"I was in the office, and somebody else used their pass to open up the door. One opens it up, and five or six go in," Stankovic said.

Gina Nevenglosky, her Republican opponent, has claimed she has been to the Register of Wills Office "20-some times" this year and, she said, Stankovic was never there.

The suspicion that not all row officers put in a full day's is not new. Remember that Bob Reilly was selling used cars during business hours and a few years before that he was working in a beer store on weekdays.

This dust up just may be the answer to Gina's prayers of being elected.

Baseball Playoffs

We will have to wait a few days to learn who the Phillies will play in the World Series. Angels beat the Evil Empire 7-6.

Phillies are in the WORLD SERIES again

Sam Stretton endorses Griffith

Most endorsements are only good for a press release unless it's a group that can deliver boots on the ground or bundle money or both. That's why Labor Unions are important for Democrats and outfits like the Club for Growth matter for Republicans.

This one matters.



Oct. 20, 2009


Luzerne County Republican Controller Candidate Walter L. Griffith Jr. has received the endorsement of attorney Samuel C. Stretton, solicitor to former county Controller Steve Flood.
In a letter to the “electors” of the county, Stretton said he “strongly” endorses Griffith as the county’s next “financial watchdog.”


“I have had the opportunity to talk to Mr Griffith on several occasions regarding the Sunshine Law and other issues and firmly believe that Walter Griffith Jr. has a firm grasp on the function and operation of Luzerne County Government,” Stretton said in the letter.


Stretton said he feels confident that Griffith would follow in Flood’s footsteps and “pick up his torch and make significant changes for the better for Luzerne County.”


Griffith called the endorsement an “honor” and said Flood is the type of public servant that all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, should emulate.


“I am humbled by Mr. Stretton’s confidence and consider it an honor that he would endorse me,” Griffith said. “I think it just goes to show that my reputation as a government watchdog is appealing to people of all political parties who want someone in the courthouse whom they can trust.”


County Republican Chairman Terry Casey said Stretton’s endorsement indicates that the message being conveyed by the rejuvenated GOP crosses party lines.


“Steve Flood is a Democrat who defeated the powerful Democratic political machine,” Casey said. “When he got into office, he proved he was a true public servant and worked for the people, not for the party. We now know that Steve Flood knew when something was amiss, long before the rest of us knew. That’s what we can expect when Walter Griffith is our controller.”

Rumors

I just heard that the Grand Jury has indicted a high ranking Luzerne County elected official. I'm working the phones to confirm it.

Luzerne County Controller

Democratic Controller Bob Morgan candidate got his turn with the Times-Leader editorial board.

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Some choice quotes:

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He hasn't been at Commissioner's meetings but assures us that “If something inappropriate is going on, you have to be the one to blow the whistle. That’s your responsibility.” ...“I don’t think that the controller in the end has a lot of political friends. I think the controller in the end does the right thing for taxpayers.”..."I think there’s a sense that county finances are a black box and that nobody’s sure that we have a problem until we have a problem, and whenever we have a problem it’s a big problem.”

Morgan said he would be a full-time controller but would continue to work for PNC Investments as a financial adviser on a “limited basis,” primarily nights and on weekends.
He does not expect PNC Investments to get involved in managing the county pension fund but said he would stay out of any such negotiations. Morgan said PNC is “very aware” of potential conflicts of interest.

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No mention of the potential conflict with PNC Bank being the county's bond underwriter.

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Morgan has a website up and takes a swipe at his 2 opponents on the front page. I have not worked in City or County government and I haven't run for multiple offices, multiple times.

GOP hopeful Walter Griffith was also interviewed by the TL.

He emphasized again that he will shut down his business and be a full time Controller. He is tenacious and said "I just won’t let go if it’s not right.”

“My big issue with county government is the lack of consistency. There never seems to be anybody that will put their hand in the air and be accountable or consistent with their policies. I think that’s crucial in government.” ...“I’ve sacrificed a lot since 2003 for the people, not that I want any accolades for that. I do it because I care. That’s the whole purpose of my running the campaign, it’s because I have a heart to serve. It’s because I want to be there to fix things if I can.”...I’ve run a business for 20 years. I think a business background and common sense is what makes it work.”

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Here is a link to his website.

Independent candidate Wil Toole was also interviewed by the TL that I covered in a previous post.

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You can read about him on his site http://www.bestcontrollercandidate.com/

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Morgan's campaign has been low key until the last couple of weeks but now he has billboards and is running radio ads that I haven't heard.

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From the Yonk: Morgan is also taking a swipe at his two rivals Republican Walter Griffith Junior and Independent Wil Toole. Morgan makes reference to the watchdog term readily applied to Griffith saying it takes more than some sort of mutt to oversee the finances of the county. He also refers to Toole’s previous administrative tenure as a way for the old boy network to continue to thrive.

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You can meet all three candidates this coming Monday night at the LuLac Political Letter candidate’s forum, Oct. 26th from 7 to 9 PM at Bentley’s in Ashley. Afterward we can watch football.

High Hopes

That is the song that Harry Kallas always sang. I miss Harry. I always loved to sit in the back yard after cutting the grass on Saturday then tuning in the Phillies game with Harry doing the play by play.

It's on YouTube. I was trying to post it but I got a bunch of errors.

I can hear his voice calling the 9th inning of this game tonight.


The Phillies win!

In the bottom of the 9th Jimmy Rollins hit a triple that drove in 2 runs and the Phil's win a 5-4 game. They are up 3-1. The Angels beat the Evil Empire in extra innings. That series is 2-1 Go halo's.

Football and politics

The Yonk's Controller gaggle is scheduled for next Monday and the Eagle's play the Redskins on MNF. Since the event will be at Bentley's and they have a bar with TV's it is perfect setting for a meeting of the Saturday OT Committee and Operatic Society. After the debate we can watch the Eagle's snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory . How did they lose to the Raiders? So come out and join us to address the financial crises by infusing cash into the malt beverage industry to ensure it's liquidity. I will send out an email to anoy,er, remind you in the next few days.

The program:

The debate/forum format will be:
1. Opening statements.
2. 3 Lead off questions.
3. Questions on the job itself and how the candidate’s perceive their role in it.
4. Audience questions submitted on index cards.

It’s free and open to the public. Monday night, October 26th, 7 to 9PM, Bentley’s.


The candidates are pain in the ass Walter Griffith (R), longtime Pittston Democratic Politico Wil Toole who is running as an independent and the invisible man Bob Morgan (D).

A note to a local radio loudmouth who is trashing bloggers this is called snark. It's what we do and I hope it offends you just like just about everything else does. Here's a quarter, go buy a sense of humor.

Phillies win the phirst game of the World Series

Chase Utley puts 2 out of the park and Cliff Lee goes the distance scattering 6 hits and striking out 10 giving up only 1 unearned run plus he made some nifty plays in the field. I thought that CC got pulled too early but I liked the result because the Yankees bullpen got tagged for 4 more runs. Whoever invented the pitch count should be shot.

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Yankee fan favorite Pedro Martinez is going for us tomorrow.

PA State Supreme Court race

I don't pay much attention to the statewide Judge races because the candidates run on their bio's and promise to be tough on crime with an emphasis on locking up all the drug dealers. But then every politician promises to lock up all the druggies and we all know that policy has worked out well over the past 50 years. Their campaigns are financed by the lawyers that will appear before them but they assure us that that will not influence their rulings. What a bunch of hooey.



Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts make a good case for scrapping the present system and going with merit selection of Judges. Their blog JudgesOnMerit.org documents the problems with electing appellate Judges.



The Democratic nominee for the one open seat is Jack Panella
from Northampton County who presently serves on the Superior Court and was on the Court of Judicial Discipline that dropped the ball over the allegations about Luzerne County criminals Conahan and Ciavarella . They were busy with the Lokuta witchhunt orchestrated by Conahan.




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His opponent is Joan Orie Melvin from Pittsburgh who also serves on the Superior Court. Her website tells us that she has been a lifelong Republican. Her faith is the cornerstone of her life. She comes from a family of nine children raised with the principles of God and Country. Her sister is State Senator Jane Orie who helped her get the endorsement of the Pennsylvania Teamsters that didn't turn out so well. The Pennsylvania Progressive has the details.
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Melvin was in town last month and said of the Juvie Brothers scandal "This is surreal. It is right out of a Charles Dickens’ novel."
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In her previous visit to Wilkes-Barre in May she gave a long rambling speech to the local GOP faithful. In that speech she listed as one of her selling points was the upcoming redistricting after the 2010 Census telling the partisan crowd that they needed a Republican on the court to rule in favor of Republicans in any challenges to whatever plan emerges.

So much for Judges being above politics.
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Now Capitol Ideas points out that the state GOP is running a banner ad on GrassrootsPA on her behalf.

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"Tired of Barack Obama, Ed Rendell, Arlen Specter and big government Democrats ruining our nation?" the advertisement asks in yellow block capitals set against a bright-red background. And in case the message wasn't subtle enough, there's a Soviet-era hammer-and-sickle inside the "O" in Obama's last name. That oughta rally the base, eh?

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My friend Danny gave me the heads up and says


She's using a hammer and sickle for the "O" in Obama in her new web ad. Disgusting. And the best part is that it's paid for by the PA GOP.

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Comparisons to Communists or Nazi's used to be out of bounds in American politics but the Tea Bagger crowd does it all the time and now it is somehow Okay. It's one thing for a bunch of people who are ignorant of history and political philosophy to engage in this kind of nonsense but a State Supreme Court candidate should know better.
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The thing that we want in our Judges is to be impartial and not take political sides no matter what party they belong to. She flunks that test.
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I will vote for Panella.

YouTube weekend

Juvie Brother's song

Pat Benatar - Hell is for Children

The Gort42 comment policy

I don't have one.

If you think that something is out of bounds send an email and I will consider deleting it. I don't moderate comments or require that you sign in because this a free speech zone and the last thing I want to do is make it harder to comment. I do ask that you keep it clean and avoid accusing people of crimes. Other than that lets go back to mixing it up.

YouTube weekend

This is both funny and sad.

Simply Left Behind found it.





Waking Up Now has the details and documents all the crazy things that they say.

When you're right you argue the facts, when you're wrong you argue the law

That's what my lawyers tell me.


Luzerne County Democratic Jury Commissioner and Housing Authority Chairman Jerry Bonner has asked that his statements to FBI be thrown out because he was not advised of his Miranda rights before being interviewed by the feds. He may have a point if the FBI didn't follow the rules. At the same time anybody who has watched any cop show over the last 40 years knows that you that you can ask for a lawyer at anytime and refuse to answer questions that might incriminate yourself.

It looks like Jerry is going to fight the charges that he passed on a bribe just like Frank Pizzella is doing.

I hope they both get a trial so all the dirty laundry can be aired.

This week in Luzerne County corruption

Wilkes-Barre Area School Board President Frankie "Kneecaps" Pizzella pleas not guilty to being part of a job selling scheme in 2004 before he became a school director.

17 Down and Hundreds? To Go

Finally, one of the people who has been paying bribes is charged.

CV: Richard Emanski, owner of King Glass and Paint Co., has agreed to plead guilty to one count of bribery, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court. Prosecutors say he installed carpeting in the home of an unnamed school board member between November and December 2004 in return for the board member's support of his efforts to secure a district carpeting contract.

The School Director is not named in the indictment but it's either James Height or Brian Dunn.

Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority Director Allen Bellas and president of the Wyoming Valley West School Board admitted that he took a $2,000 bribe from a contractor who secured a government loan through the authority for one of those great job creation schemes called Tax Increment Financing which is similar to the Keystone Opportunity Zones. They keep telling us that the benefit of these programs is that they will bring "good paying jobs to area because of our great work ethic." I think it's corporate welfare and you and me pay more property taxes because of it.


CV reporter Dave Janoski get's out his crayon and connects the dots. The bribe was paid by Anthony Trombetta who owns Insignia Point Courtyard and Intellacom Inc. Intellacom had contracts with the Wyoming Valley West and Pittston Area school districts and Luzerne County Community College. The firm has been paid about $1.6 million by the three institutions for work on computer and security systems since 2003. 2 grand for a security camera that can be bought for a few hundred bucks elsewhere should be looked at. Two Pittston Area officials have also pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from unnamed school district contractors. Trommetta also owned a restaurant that went belly up.

I'm actually rooting for Frank Pizzella in this mess. He want's a trial and so do I so names can be named. All these people that are pleading to just one crime leaves us wondering what else they did.

Did I mention that Allan Bellas' wife, Nancy Bellas, is the Democratic candidate for Prothonotary.

Will Toole responds

In my last post I invited Wil Toole to respond to the TL story rehashing his overtime controversy when he was Pittston's city clerk/administrator. He responded with an email and left a comment on the post. Being a fair and balanced blogger I decided to put both on the front page.

From the inbox:


I was surprised to read it. When I appeared before the Editorial Board, it was discussed in detail and I thought they understood the situation.

The hours I worked were all documented and NEVER questioned by the administration I worked for. The dispute was brought to a resolve and the payback was a result of a settlement reached in a law suit I had with the city's new administration. It is a complicated two year story but basically, the judge held a conference with my attorney and me at which time he proposed a retirement figure which I accepted. I had been two years without income and with living expenses and legal expenses I had depleted all of my financial resources. I had to resolve my pension issue as quickly as possible. Therefore, I accepted the proposed settlement.

The city has a defined pension plan which is locked into the employee's final pay. For the settled upon figure to be obtained, my final payout had to be adjusted so that the pension amount conformed with the formula. I did not repay $19,000 in cash. The City's auditing firm did the calculations and after all possible deductions and credits, I was left with a total cash payback of $4,600. The payback number never had anything to do with the hours I worked, it was a settlement.

It is worth noting that before I worked at the city, there was absolutely no administrative record of employee time off. Each office or department had a record controlled and kept by that supervisor who was a member of that particular union. The first thing I did was to create time sheets that were submitted with each payroll period and was signed by the employee and his immediate supervisor and then kept in the City's payroll department. I also required myself to have a time sheet and it was approved by the council member who served as the Director of Accounts and Finance.

I would be happy to invite you to lunch at which time we can discuss this entire situation in detail. As I mentioned, it was complicated and it was political and I suffered terrible character assassination during the Walsh Administration's final election. Beginning with my military service, I spent my entire life working for and in my community. While in the Coast Guard, I was stationed aboard a ship that did patrols in the North Atlantic. When we were in port in Staten Island, I attended boy scout meetings and taught knot tying to the scouts. From that point right up to my retirement, I served my community in many ways. You can read my community efforts on my campaign web site, I am not a single issue community activist. All of my life, I did what I thought was the right thing.

Thanks for asking without first jumping on the bandwagon of character assassination.

Thanks,
Wil Toole


His comment on my last post:


Gort,

I have no problem stating who the judge was that dismissed the charges and I did discuss the entire situation during the TL interview.

The fact is that half of the charges were dismissed at the magistrate's level. Carmen Maffei was the magistrate and he said afterward that he had confusion on some of the charges but if he understood the entire situation at the time, he would have dismissed all of them. The original magistrate was Fred Pierantoni but he removed himself because of perceived conflict of interest by working in the same building with me.

The truth was that most of the judges excused themselves because they knew me personally. Judge Conahan did agree to take the case. The thing that Conahan knew and bothered me was that when he defeated Judge Musto in his election to the Bench, I was a strong supporter of Judge Musto and absolutely did not support Conahan. That's a fact! Now with that situation facing me, I thought I would be in real trouble with Conahan but there was nothing I could do about which judge was left to hear my case. He did dismiss the remainder of the charges and commented as to how could they have gotten that far? The charges were absurd.

As for the question of Conahan being a friend of mine when all this happened can be answered in the fact that it was Judge Conahan who worked out my pension law suit and the deciding factor in my accepting the proposed settlement was that my attorney and I thought that I was awarded health insurance for life. We thought it was designed the same as state pensions at the time. I mention this because it was also Judge Conahan who canceled my heath insurance coverage last year. Does that sound like he did me a favor?

Joe Valenti claims to be the only one questioning my background but the fact that I filed a defamation law suit against him may have something to do with his obsession to continue his character assassination of me.

The history of my work in my community is contained within my web site, www.BestControllerCandidate.com. At the age of 66, I wake every morning and I'm proud of the man in the mirror. I have made many efforts and spent countless hours doing what I could to improve the quality of life in my community. If voters take the time to read about my work history and my public works and then choose to base their opinion on character assassination and false charges over 10 years old then that's their right to do so. Apparently, it is the headlines that matter, not the ultimate disposition of those headlines.

This all boils down to comparing what I have done with my life, the work experience I have accumulated and the ability I have to be a good County Controller. By the way, my "Rodney King" point when interviewed was based on what I see as county officials spending more time looking to lay blame than working together to solve problems. If I'm wrong and working together is a bad objective then there are two other candidates to choose from. This is still America and as a veteran of 4 years of active duty, I will defend your right to choose. And, as a veteran I will exercise my right to defend myself when challenged.

Luzerne County Controller

The county Republicans are looking for a sweep of the 3 row offices up for election this year and many local political observers have told me if they don't win this time they never will. Next to the Commissioners the most important job under the dome is Controller. The candidates are Republican Walter Griffith , Democrat Bob Morgan and Independent Wil Toole.


Toole is a long time Democratic politico from Pittston who flirted with a run for the Democratic nomination in the spring and applied for the job in 2008 when Maryanne Petrilla became Commissioner. Rapid Edward never got around to filling the post. He is now running as an Independent.

Toole was the first Controller candidate interviewed by the Times Leader Editorial Board and sometimes sounds like Rodney King. “I don’t know why we have to be at war. I don’t know why we can’t say, ‘This is wrong. Let’s fix it,’ rather than, ‘Ha, ha, ha, I got you.’ I just don’t see that as being necessary.” He touts his achievements as Pittston's as city clerk/administrator "I ran the city of Pittston for 13 years,” Toole said the city had low tax rates, paved roads, pristine parks, adequate staff, an over-funded pension fund and manageable debt load when he left in 1997.

The article also notes that Toole made headlines in 1999 when he agreed to repay Pittston nearly $19,000 in overtime the city said he illegally obtained. Pittston officials said he obtained that money by inflating the hours of overtime he worked during his last year of employment as city clerk. Felony charges of theft and tampering with public records against Toole were dismissed by a county judge. Who was the Judge?

I find it amazing that the TL would include that information in the article but not ask him to comment about it. I have asked Toole for his side of the story and will publish his response if he answers.


The Blogfather has been researching the PNC Bank ethics policy because Democratic nominee Bob Morgan is employed by that bank. He points out many potential conflicts of interest because PNC has been involved financing Luzerne County bonds and some pension funds also wash through PNC. The company prohibits outside employment that interferes with the employee's job responsibilities or schedule. Morgan is on record as saying he will keep his job at the bank and will devote whatever time he feels is necessary to the Controller's position. I'm just guessing but I think he keeps banker's hours so how is he going to be available for all the meetings of the Salary Board, Retirement Board, Commissioner's meetings and just running the day to day operations of the office? Maybe he has a lot of vacation time saved up.


The Lu Lac Political Letter is hosting a debate between the candidates at Bentley’s, Route 309 in Ashley Tuesday October 27th from 7 to 9PM. All three candidates have accepted David's invitation.

This is neat. A venue that I can grab a drink then go to a political debate. I think that we can make this into a blogger/committee meetup.


Update: The date for the debate is MONDAY OCT. 26th. We changed the date because of WVIA TV's broadcast debate on the night of the 27th. We felt it wouldn't be fair to the candidates to compete with that. So the debate is Monday, Oct. 26th

Mike LaPolla for State Represenative

Freshman Democratic State Rep Kevin Murphy has an opponent.

From a press release.

LaPolla Announces Bid for 113th Legislative District Post

New Leadership Needed in 2010

North Scranton-Last evening, Mike LaPolla announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for State Representative of the 113th Legislative District to a crowd of 75 supporters, friends and family in North Scranton.

Mike LaPolla stated that he has spent the latter part of his career in service to the Boy Scouts of America and now seeks to take that philosophy of accountability, hard work and service to the community to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. LaPolla described himself as someone who carries no baggage and has no backs to scratch. He stated that he is a straightforward, honest, middle class citizen like the taxpayers of the 113th Legislative District.

“I have no political ties to special interest groups except one, the taxpayers of the 113th Legislative District” LaPolla said. “From Moosic and Taylor to Throop and South Abington with Scranton in the middle, property tax reform and the inability of the legislature to pass an acceptable budget in the time specified by law are the key issues the taxpayers face today. It took 101 days to get a mediocre budget passed that does not address the issue of a multi-billion dollar shortfall next year. Many citizens of the commonwealth were hurt by this inactivity and lack of accountability on the part of the legislature. If our representatives in the General Assembly are incapable of providing a solid, balanced and fair budget by July 1st as the law states, they should receive no pay, no per diems, and be sequestered in Harrisburg until such time as they come to an agreement on the budget. We elect our legislators to do the business of the Commonwealth in the best representation of the people they serve. This year, our legislature has failed miserably at great detriment to the people of the Commonwealth. This lack of accountability to the taxpayers must change and will change when I am elected to represent the people of the 113th Legislative District.

Mike LaPolla and his wife Jacqueline live in North Scranton. Mike has worked in service to the Boy Scouts of America for the past 11 years as Senior District Executive.

Christopher Paige for Congress

There is at least one Republican in Pennsylvania's 11th Congressional District that is willing to take on Paul Kanjorski that is not named Lou Barletta.

Coulter Jones broke the news in the Citizens Voice a few days ago that Christopher Howard Paige filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission this past week, clearing the way for the 37-year-old Skytop man to run for Congress. Paige, who runs a hedge fund with his wife in Monroe County, was a registered Democrat until 2008, but switched registration to the Republican Party after the Democratic-majority Congress passed the TARP - the Troubled Assets Relief Program, which was part of the bailout of the U.S. financial system.

My first reaction was Who is this guy? So I started asking around.

I contacted long time Kanjorski spokesman Ed Mitchell who replied "Never heard of him. Got balls running as a hedge fund manager these days!"

Our best local researcher McGruff did some digging and found out that Paige graduated from the University of Virginia, has a law degree from Yale University and a master's degree in political science from New York University. He was the Director of The Pace Poll and is now dealing in exotic financial instruments that most of us don't understand and may have contributed to the financial meltdown that happened last fall. He moved to the Poconos in 2006 was a registered Democrat until 2008.

Some choice quotes.

From the CV:

"I'm not some hardcore Republican. What the Democratic Party has been doing with the economy has been disastrous. We cannot let this continue."

He takes a shot at Barletta.

"We've tried that twice. We don't need to try that again. I don't share his approach on immigration at all. I think he would damage the Republican Party's reputation with that approach."

And he took a shot at Kanjo about his oversight of the financial industry and his vote for the TARP program.


"That's like bragging you were on the bridge of the Titanic and in charge of navigation," Paige said. "These bailouts were unbelievably expensive, and obviously ineffective if you look at what has happened to the economy. Just take it the common sense, how does it make sense to take our money to give it to banks so they can lend our money back to us?"

More choice quotes from the Pocono Record.

“I was outraged by the bailouts which I think are unconstitutional. You are throwing societal resources at inefficient companies.”

“The housing bubble was fueled by government policy subsidizing home ownership. We've got to stop trying to subsidize various industries.”

In an interview with pa2010.com he said “I think the public has decided to get rid of Kanjorski, they just saw Barletta as an unacceptable alternative,” Paige said. “Had it been someone else, we would have won last year.”

I had a brief conservation with Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta on Saturday who also had no idea who this guy is and declined to respond to Paige's criticisms. I asked him a few questions.

The last time I talked to you I got the impression you were running for Lt. Governor, what happened to that?

"I want to be in a position to affect change and that is not an office that would let me do that."

Are you going to run for Congress again?

"I haven't ruled it out and I'm very seriously looking at the race."

Has your Congressional campaign committee raised any money this quarter?

"Very little, just trying to retire the debt."

When I talked to you in your office last January it was obvious that you love being the Mayor of Hazelton.

"Staying Mayor is not out of the question."

Mayor Lou will be teaming with Mayor John DeStefano Jr. of New Haven, Conn. to discuss immigration at a forum at Wilkes University on Oct. 22.

One thing that I like about Barletta is that he has a thick skin. I disagree with him on many issues and have beat him up on this blog many times but he always talks to me.


Corey O'Brien didn't return a phone call asking for comment.

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Update: As noted Paige was a Democrat until 2008 and his campaign contributions reflect that. According the the HuffPo he gave $2300 to Hillary Clinton in 2008, $1800 to John Kerry in 2004 and $600 to Howard Dean in 2004. Watchdog.net lists contributions of
$250 to Actblue and $250 to Sestak For Congress in 2006.

Bellas fired

Or suspended, it amounts the same thing.

WEST PITTSTON - The Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority suspended Executive Director Allan Bellas without pay today after Bellas rescinded a promise he would resign amid "trouble" stemming from a federal corruption investigation.

His legal problems appears to be part of one the property tax give away programs to local businesses that promise to bring "good paying jobs to the area because of our work ethic." The rest of us make up the shortfall in tax revenue every year. The TL has more about Tax Incremental Financing. A source familiar with the investigation said Bellas has signed a plea agreement with federal prosecutors and is expected to be charged soon with accepting money in connection with some official action. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he did not know if the alleged wrongdoing was related to Bellas’ position on the authority, the Wyoming Valley West School Board or some other entity.

He also served on the LCCC Board of Trustees from 2003 to 2007.

So I will go out on a limb and predict that he will be charged with just one crime leaving us to wonder what else he did like many of the other people snared so far. I want trials for all these people detailing who paid them how much and when.

His wife, Nancy Bellas, is the Democratic nominee for Luzerne County Prothonotary and could probably now kiss that off.

I have been predicting for months that Republican Carolee Medico Olenginski would win the election and fair or not this probably made her case about corruption.