No Bid

I'm beginning to wonder if any Luzerne County business has been bid out in the last few years.


The TL is reporting that the county Convention and Visitors Bureau violated a State law that requires bidding for purchases that exceed $10,000. The agency spent over $200,000 for advertisements with a company owned by a friend of county Commissioner Greg Skrepenak and former county chief clerk/manager Sam Guesto. They rented billboards and benches but the location of these benches remains a mystery. You can't locate a bench at a bus stop?

This follows the revelation that millions of dollars of business at the county prison was directed to other friends of Skrep without being bid. DA Jackie Musto Carroll has asked an outside law enforcement agency to investigate the prison shenanigans but won't say which one. Since it appears that a state law was violated I assume it's the PA Attorney General. What I don't understand is why she won't reveal what agency is investigating. It shouldn't be a state secret. Unlike other officials she doesn't have an email address on the Luzerne County website so I will have to wait until tomorrow to call her office to get a no comment.


From the CV: Some no-bid purchases involve friends of county Commissioner Greg Skrepenak, former County Manager Sam Guesto, county Purchasing Director Greg Hunsinger and prison kitchen supervisor Jack Rentko.

A report from the County Solicitor Jim Blaum is due today.


Commissioners Maryanne Petrilla and Stephen A. Urban say the failure to bid went against past practice and was not a mistake. Skrepenak maintains it was an unintentional oversight.

More Luzerne County news:

County billed twice for work at prison, Petrilla confirms


And the appointment of a new Controller is caught up in Harrisburg politics.

Filler’ named for controller post



What a mess.

Luzerne County Debit Cards

It's really getting hard to keep up on this. Everyday brings another revelation, another headline and even more outrage.

There is a danger that this will overshadow all the other mismanagement such as the ballooning debt and failure to balance the county budget year after year and hiding it until after the last election. The sweetheart deal with PA Child Care for a juvenile jail in Pittston that is subject to a state audit that says the county may lose state reimbursements because of the way the lease was written. Declaring "emergencies" so they can avoid the bidding process to make improvements at the county prison and supposedly fix county owned bridges. How's the bridge repair going? A county owned bridge on Cleveland Street in Plains was damaged during the flood in November 2006 making it impassable and it's still not fixed! And on and on.

Yesterday it was revealed that Luzerne County Commissioner Greg Skrepenak used his card to pay for hotel rooms for his kids that went with him to the conference of the PA County Commissioners in York. He said it was a mistake because he thought he used his own credit card to make the reservations. I used to be in the hotel business and whatever card you use to guarantee the room doesn't matter as you have to provide a form of payment when you check-in. So I'm sure when the desk clerk asked how he was paying he produced the county card and didn't offer another card for the kids rooms that had to be paid for separately. I listened to Corbett interview him on WILK and he denied that he even had a credit card. But then he told the TL he can’t say for sure how much he overbilled the county until he finishes reviewing his personal credit card receipts.

More questions have arisen about the star of this show Luzerne County Deputy Warden Sam Hyder about training in Lancaster and a couple of fact finding trips to a New York prison. Then it was revealed that he uses a county owned 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe that he takes home even when he is on vacation. Predictably, he has lawyered up.

And he should:

Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett should make his determination “in the next week of so” whether to launch a criminal probe into alleged debit-card abuse by Luzerne County officials, a spokesman said Wednesday.

Walter has some questions

This is guest post from Republican Luzerne County Controller candidate Walter Griffith.

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This week I attended the Luzerne County Commissioner meetings which included the County Prison Board Meeting, Work Session and the Commissioner meeting .

The Public comment portion of the meetings I was allowed to address some issues at the Prison Board meeting and I asked about the Deputy Warden Sam Hyder issue regarding his taking vacation and not placing the time in the record for the payroll department and what if anything the County Prison Board was planning to do about this constant ability of our County Employees to take advantage of the taxpayers of this County. I was told they cant discuss it because it was a Personnel issue, but the question still remains as to why the Deputy Warden is still allowed to be on the payroll at all because of his constant and never ending ability to defraud the taxpayers of this County.

The Commissioner Meeting was then held on Wednesday and there was an issue regarding the termination of Veterans Director Richard Wren and 4 people spoke to his ability to be a fantastic Director and the fact that he has made a mistake and should be given a reprimand but not as severe as termination and this was ignored by two of the Commissioners and Mr Wren was terminated without a question or discussion.

My question and confusion here with this situation is a simple one, if the people that have abused the taxpayers by using the debit cards illegally were not terminated, and there was clearly plenty of evidence that they abused their power, then why was Richard Wren terminated without the ability to repay his mistake as well ?

What was different with this incident that was not the case with Mr Sam Hyder and James Blaum and the others ? What was it that made the crime that Richard Wren did to the taxpayers less offensive than that of the "Magnificent Seven" with the debit card debacle.

I think Mr Wren deserves proper reprimand and discipline but is termination of a Director of Veterans Affairs for a $70.00 infraction the proper punishment and what about the thousands of dollars that were taken by the "Magnificent Seven" and they were all allowed to keep their positions, and some were even rewarded with promotions.

The County Commissioners need to rethink their personnel policies and start looking at doing the right thing instead of the politically correct things for themselves.

Walter L Griffith Jr.
Luzerne County Controller Candidate

Prison Board change

The 2 Luzerne County Court appointed members of the Luzerne County Prison Board have been given their walking papers according to the CV:

The judges also announced Tuesday they’ll seek new candidates for the two court-appointed positions on the county prison board. The board consists of the three county commissioners, the warden and the two court appointees — Wister Yuhas and Robert Payne. Muroski said he had no specific complaint about Yuhas and Payne, who have presided over scandals involving the misuse of county-issued debit cards by prison personnel and a breach of county policy on bidding for food purchases.

The Warden is not a member of the prison board.

In the last few months (years?) Yuhas and Payne have teamed up with minority Commissioner Greg Skrepenak to defend Sam Hyder's world training travels and the no bid contracts that we will be hearing about again very soon. And much more nonsense.

Another reason to back Home Rule is that it could eliminate an anachronism like the prison board.

Gene Fischi takes a well deserved retirement

I haven't been a fan of the Luzerne County early retirement schemes* but maybe this time it has done some good.

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WILKES-BARRE – Luzerne County Prison Warden Gene Fischi has opted to accept the early retirement incentive being offered by the county after efforts to secure a contract that would guarantee his job failed.

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After all the fun and games that have gone on at the prison the last few years Fischi and Deputy Warden Sam Hyder asked for 5 year contracts that the prison board ignored. So he quit, good for him. I wasn't aware that senior county managers even had contracts. I was under the impression that the top administrators were "at will" employees of the Commissioners like all political appointees. Mr. Fischi is still a young man so I'm sure he will find another government position after he "retires" ala Bill Brace.

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*The original "Life Transition Plan" in 2006 was supposed to save $2 million over 15 years by floating a bond to finance the plan that will cost $23 million over 15 years. I have yet to see an accounting or progress report that documents any money that has been saved. Another feature of this scheme was to hire back many of the people who took the golden parachute through a temp agency owned by PA-10th Congressional GOP candidate Chris Hackett who gave his first campaign contribution ever to the Democratic Luzerne County Commissioner candidates Vondy and Skrep.

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I've been asking Chris Hackett for an interview but he has been reluctant. The last time I asked him about it he gave me the weather report for Hades. Saying I will get a sit down when the weather down there turns unseasonably cool. I thought our last chat went very well. He wants to debate Chris Carney but he won't debate Gort? I've also asked Carney for some time but his campaign has yet to get back to me. He won't debate Hackett and he won't debate Gort?

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Well, not a debate, I would just like to ask them both some similar questions about budgets, spending and taxes. And a few other things.

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Gene Fischi's greatest hits.

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The Prison violated the county purchasing policy and possibly state law.

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His Deputy, Sam Hyder, travels the world on the county dime and has not still payed back his personal expenses incurred during his visit to a strip club. Bad eyesite.

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And we became a laughing stock of the country when Hugo Selenski used bed sheets to escape from the lockup on Water Street. It was a cliche from a bad old campy Movie.

Outgoing Commissioners leaving a mess

This is a guest post from Wil Toole. Wil held various administrative positions in the City of Pittston and was a candidate for the new Luzerne County Council in the Primary. When it comes to county/municiple government he is one of the most knowledgeable people around.

Merry Christmas, You're Fired!

The outgoing County Commissioner's have finally outdone themselves. They have prepared a budget that if adopted would bring county government to its knees and bring the business of the people to a shattering halt.
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This budget is far beyond what could even begin to resemble a working budget and in my mind is nothing less than a parting slap in the face to every Luzerne county resident.
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I will put the cart in front of the horse and comment on the real problem of county finances. Simply put, it is the debt. The debt service in 2008 was budgeted at just over $1 million dollars. It jumped to $21.8 million in the 2011 budget and for 2012 the debt services is listed as $24.8 million dollars. And there in folks lies the problem. The solution is to remove the debt service from the general fund and treat it as the separate animal that it is. The problem was not addressed properly so as a quick fix, it must be seen as a separate issue and a debt reduction fund must be created with millage dedicated for that purpose. The general fund millage would be adjusted to reflect this change. The next step would be to renegotiate the entire debt and to try the debt reduction plan I offered two years ago. The practice of creating future debt must stop post haste and not a dollar should be borrowed that does not affect the health and safety of our residents. NO MORE SPENDING!
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As you look at the current proposed budget, there was no thought or effort put into it. If there was then shame on the mini minds that created it. I will state a few examples of why the budget is unworkable.
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On the expense side the budget goes against logic and prevents various departments from operating and in some cases lock horns with the law.
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An example of ignoring the law would be the Court Stenographers. The 2011 budget is listed at just under 1.1 million dollars. They have spent as of October $876,532. The new budget is $750,286 which is a cut of 44.45%. The problem is that a court stenographer must be present and create a written record of every action taking place in the court system. This line item is designed to fail.
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The Prothonotary's office was cut from just over $1 million dollars to $607,793 for a 68.96% cut. This office is required for the operation of the courts and maintenance of various legal documents. The other Row offices have been cut to unmanageable amounts and the reasoning that they will no long be separate offices does not hold water. The Row Officers were removed from existence but not the duties of each office. Records are still required and the fact that these offices are located in three separate buildings has not even been considered. The cost of the individual Row Officer will be eliminated but there remains a need for management and supervision. How do you maintain control and effectiveness when the cost of doing so is removed from the budget? The Register of Wills budget was cut 50%, Clerk of Courts cut 57%, Treasurer 57% and the Coroner cut by 29%. These cuts are a budget directors dream come true but they are a manager's nightmare. The Department of Probation is cut 35% and it appears that the outgoing commissioner's must think that no criminals will be placed on probation, no fines and fees will be collected and restitution for victims will be forgotten. The Magistrates are cut 53.23% and I would think part of their logic is that one magistrate office might be eliminated. Flawed thinking because if that happens, it wont occur till 2013 so they must still operate.
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The Commissioners have given no thought to the fact that there are contracts in place but union and business. Example, of the 17 Magisterial offices, approximately 10 have leases with local municipalities and these local governments are planning their budgets with these leases in place. The remaining office have private sector leases and I doubt that these landlords are willing to cut the leases in half. Other than that, please consider that many Magisterial offices only have two clerical people so if they are cut in half, that leaves one person to run the office. If that person is sick or on vacation the office must close, there are no backup staff. The deeper you delve into this fantasy budget, the more childlike it becomes.
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This is just a brief overview of the expense side of the ledger and I didn't even mention other big ticket items such as the prison, Moon Lake, etc.
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The lack of thought is pretty evident when you consider that insurance and benefits remain about the same and this is after the county workforce is decimated. Is that logical?
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On the income side, there has been nothing done in the form of creative management and the lack of effort is obvious in the numbers as they currently exist.
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Steps that can be taken is the restructuring of the county debt, increasing probation services fees, the more active use of home arrest vs incarceration. This would result in the criminals (non violent) paying the cost of the ankle bracelets and supplying their own health care, food and clothing. The county spends millions each year on health care for prisoners. There can be an attempt to renegotiate county leases and discussions can be held with the unions to accept a temporary pay freeze or renegotiate the amount of the contracted pay increases. Probation fees for both adults and juvenile offenders must be increased. Some of these fees have remained unchanged for a number of years.
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The thing I must caution on is that balancing the budget on the backs of the employees is never a good idea and long term, it causes a negative impact on county operations. The county must offer an early retirement incentive but they must pledge to not fill the vacated positions and the unions must agree to allow for transfers to save jobs. Employees must be allowed to transfer within the system to fill job needs and avoid layoffs in one department and hiring's in another. It is also possible to consider voluntary short term layoffs. Yes the county is self insured but the amount paid on layoff would equal the net pay of employees, not the gross. The costs of Social Security alone would be significant.
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This is a time for creative thinking, not the simplistic approach that was used to gut the budget and give no thought to the consequences. For those incoming Council members who have taken the NO taxes approach of the Tea Party mentality, there is a reality that government is useful and serves a purpose. The problem in Luzerne county is that in recent years, little thought has been given to economic management and taxpayer responsibility. Services must be provided and in many cases are required but the delivery system can no longer be based on careless spending such as the palm reading time clocks and patronage with little thought to required funding.
Taxes are a requirement for services delivered and thoughtful frugal management must be the foundation of responsible government.

And former State Rep Kevin Blaum weighs in with his TL column

Commissioners continue to cause damage Kevin Blaum In the Arena

With only 45 days remaining in their tawdry tenure, the county commissioners brazenly made two appointments to the Luzerne County Community College’s Board of Trustees and named two more to the often pivotal county planning commission...On Monday your Luzerne County commissioners voted to create a bi-county authority to run the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport. The Lackawanna County commissioners followed suit, and each body gets to make three appointments to the board with each appointee serving a four-year term...Worse, the commissioners might be leaving behind a political budget document set to explode early next year, forcing the new council to raise taxes only a few weeks in or preside over a government that makes huge cuts in the office of a new district attorney and the new judiciary in which it functions.

So let us give thanks to Maryanne Petrilla, Stephen Urban and Thomas Cooney for reminding everyone why voters marched to the polls en masse to abolish the offices they hold and to establish a new, reform government that assumes its responsibilities on Jan. 2.

Untangling the web

"I just look at the little tab that has my name next to them and I sign them.- Luzerne County Commissioner Greg Skrepenak


Mike Buffer has great rundown of the latest web of deceit that we call Luzerne County government in the Citizens Voice today.

The crime fighting research trips to New York City by a bunch of county officials who have nothing to do with law enforcement were never approved by the board of commissioners and in many cases were paid for by county debit cards that got them all into hot water. The crime fighting superheros are Skrep, former Chief Clerk Sam Guesto, former Human Resources Director Doug Richards, indicted multi job holder Bill Maguire, exotic dance critic prison Deputy Sam Hyder and the best dressed man in Luzerne County, Bill Brace. No changes in policy resulted from the research although Skrep wanted to buy a $2 million computer system that none of the local police departments could agree on.

Since then we have learned that Doug Richards invented a company to do payroll work for the county drawing up a contract that was never approved by the commissioners but invoices were still approved by the Controller's office. Nobody seems to know anything about Continental Consultants Group Inc. and B&M Investigations Inc. or William Grub and John Luango. Grub and Luango are retired NYC cops that have done well in the security consultant business. They are doing so well that Luzerne County paid B&M $35,000 for a background policy report that no one can find. Reputation is everything.

Some choice Skrep highlights and quotes:



Skrepenak also denies knowledge that two retired New York City police detectives involved with those trips had business ties to county contracts now being investigated by the FBI and the county solicitor....Skrepenak has acknowledged that several former top aides are talking to federal investigators and could implicate him in the ongoing corruption probe...Skrepenak said he didn't know this month Grub and Luongo had ties to contracts between Luzerne County and two companies - Continental Consultants Group Inc. and B&M Investigations Inc..."What we found is guys who have 20 years in the police department, they don't make great money with the NYPD," Skrepenak said...


Skrepenak said he didn't notice that Grub was listed as B&M president when he signed the $35,000 contract. He said he "didn't know specifically who B&M was" and doesn't "look at whose names are on" contracts he signs.

Luzerne County prison

The prison board has declared a "state of emergency" because of the overcrowding at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility. It was prompted because prisons in other counties no longer have room for Luzerne County inmates. Another result of the so called war on drugs which now sees over 2 million people locked up every year in the US. In the 1970's the national prison population was about 200,000. The practical effect of the declaration is that warden will be able to award a no-bid contract to build a fence around the facility’s minimal-offenders unit.

The Commissioners are still looking at building a new lock-up that will cost at least $70-100 million that will have to be borrowed and Minority Commissioner Steve Urban thinks is too expensive. He wants to renovate the old juvenile detention building and use it as a women's prison to free up space at the main facility.

The prison Board also settled 2 lawsuits that resulted from the Hugo Selenski escape. After that fiasco Warden Gene Fischi and his Deputy Sam Hyder blamed it on underlings. The underlings objected to taking the blame and mouthed off to the press resulting in them getting fired. Call this a win for the 1st amendment that county taxpayers have to foot the bill because the top people wouldn't take responsibility for their actions. Maybe Fischi and Hyder have a future in the Bush Administration. And just to add to fun a guard has been granted medical leave because his dog suffered hearing damage.

Protest on the Courthouse lawn

From Walter:

Dear Fellow Taxpayers,


Please be aware that there will be a Rally on the Luzerne County Courthouse Lawn on Dec 17th at 9 AM to make the Luzerne County Prison Board remove Deputy Director Sam Hyder from his position. This is a Rally that will be very important to the integrity of the government in Luzerne County. Sam Hyder is one of the seven people that have abused his power asdeputy warden and has used his County issued debit card for purchases that were not authorised by his department supervisor. This is a direct violation of County Policy and the taxpayers must rally for accountability by having the Prison Board fire Sam Hyder. Please be prompt as the Prison Board meeting will start at 9:15 AM and we need to be there to show that the taxpayers will not allow this type of insubordination in our county government. I understand that Sam Hyder is in the process of getting his people together to make sure he has support there for himself. Let's all show the County Government that we are going to voice our displeasure with this type of behavior.

Another State of Emergency

The Luzerne County prison board plans to declare a state of emergency to buy food. It has come to light that the prison has bought more than $856,000 worth of groceries through a no-bid contract since 2006. I was shocked to read that Commonwealth Foods, the company that sold the supplies to the jail, is owned by a friend of Commissioner Greg Skrepenak.

And Perugino’s Market of Kingston also sold the prison more than $535,000 of produce since 2004.

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A county policy calls for sealed bidding of purchases expected to exceed $7,500 annually, and state law requires sealed bidding for purchases that exceed $10,000. The prison board say they need time to implement a system for bidding the items and the inmates still have to eat.

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A few months ago there was another flap over commissary goods being bought from another friend of Skep's. Anybody see a pattern?

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Commissioners Maryanne Petrilla and Stephen Urban have questioned whether that contract was piecemealed – the illegal practice of breaking large contracts into smaller ones to avoid bidding regulations.

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On top of this a company has double billed the county for the 2nd time in 3 years for work done at the prison

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I listened to Commissioner Maryanne Petrilla yesterday on WILK say she wasn't aware of the situation because she's only been in office for 3 months but all the bills had to be approved by the county controller when she held that position.

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In October the prison board declared a "state of emergency" to build a fence and we all know about the Adventures of the well travelled Deputy Warden Sam Hyder.

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In more good news the Secret Service investigation of the debit card abuse has been delayed and authorities are investigating the possible theft of several thousands of dollars from the Luzerne County Treasurer’s office.

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Unbelievable.

Skrep asks if law was broken

There is a first for everything. Please stop laughing before you read the rest of this post.

TL: Luzerne County Commissioner Greg Skrepenak is questioning the legality of an e-mail from board Chairwoman Maryanne Petrilla, saying he believes it meets the definition of deliberation that should have taken place at a public meeting..."Is that a violation of the Sunshine Act? Are we able to use the computer to make decisions? I’m very curious about that issue,” Skrepenak said Thursday.

He raises a valid point but where was he when every other legally questionable thing that has happened in the last few years. He usually made excuses like it was a mistake because they all (debit cards) look alike or the policy or law was not understood by the people involved. Although they were supposed to be hired because of their expertize and knowledge of the law. I'm glad that Greg spoke up about this incident because almost every other "bad news" story about the county would end with "Luzerne County Commissioner Greg Skrepenak was unavailable for comment."

Shall I list Luzerne County's greatest hits? It's hard to do because it is endless.

Debit Cards

Sam Hyder

Luzerne County Prison

Bonds

No Bid Contracts

The Latest Outrage in Luzerne County


As one of Dana's favorite actors would say ...excertera...excertera.

Luzerne County scandals

No indictments yet but the buzz says it's just a matter of days. I've lost track of how many investigations are going on in the county.


The latest one is about the theft of funds from the treasurer’s office that DA Jackie Mo handed off to the FBI. I'm sure if someone gets caught with their fingers in the till they will get house arrest just like Robert Pritchard and Carl Salitis.


The more serious probe centers on the tangled web involving Judges Mike Conahan and Mark Ciavarella with PA Child Care owners Robert Powell and would be Hazleton Airport builder Greg Zapalla. Prothonotary Jill Moran also has ties to a company, W-Cat Inc., that they all have money invested in.


Then there is the Debit Card scandal that the Secret Service is investigating and the no bid contracts at the prison that some secret police outfit is supposed to be looking into.


I need a scorecard to keep track of all of this. Will someone help me out?


Luzerne County's greatest hits, so far:

Debit Cards

Sam Hyder

Luzerne County Prison

Bonds

No Bid Contracts

The Latest Outrage in Luzerne County



Did I miss something?


HOME RULE

Petrilla: Fire Guesto

I never thought I would see this. Good for Petrilla.

WILKES-BARRE — “In my opinion, he was unauthorized to change policy and was reckless,” Commissioner Maryanne Petrilla said. “His actions violated state law and cost taxpayers money. He has damaged the credibility of Luzerne County government. I have asked President Judge Mark Ciavarella to terminate him immediately. … Sam Guesto should be terminated for many reasons, mainly he overstepped his boundaries.”...Ciavarella said he wouldn’t fire Guesto unless some legal authority concluded Guesto violated the law. District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll has asked an outside agency to investigate.

So what Secret Police organization is investigating? If any. The county did it's own investigation of the prison purchasing practices and it alleges that Guesto instructed the prison kitchen manager to ignore bidding rules.

TL: Former Luzerne County chief clerk/manager Sam Guesto told county prison officials not to bid out items that were previously bid, telling the kitchen manager during a March 2006 meeting, “…do it or it’s your ass,” according to an internal report on illegal prison piecemealing released Monday. Guesto also directed that no-bid purchases be made from Commonwealth Foods Inc., kitchen manager Jack Rentko said in the report.

Guesto also directed the company designing the new prison to plan a bigger facility without getting the Commissioners to authorize the increased cost.

My opinion is that he should have been fired after the debit card scandal broke. We all await the results of the Secret Service investigation into that violation of the public trust.

Petrilla rakes in the bucks

Luzerne County Democratic Commissioner Chair Maryanne Petrilla has raised $54,000 this year and has $78,000 cash on hand according to her latest campaign finance report. That is more money than all the row officer candidates running this year combined.

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Indicted Jury Commissioner Jerry Bonner gave her $500 but she sent it back. There are a few other names that are in the news listed in the report.

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Wilkes-Barre Area School Board President Frank Pizzella kicked in $125 for her golf tournament that is also listed on his CFR. Pizzella has been charged with conspiracy in a teacher job-selling scheme in 2004. I didn't know that she played golf.

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Michael Pasonick is the owner of an Architect/Engineering firm that does business with just about every government agency in Luzerne County made 2 donations totalling $1750 to Petrilla.

Pasonick was recently identified as the person who paid the bribe of $1400 to Housing Authority member Billy Maguire that was passed on by fellow board member Jerry Bonner. I wonder what the vig was in that deal? In one of the most creative excuses that I've ever heard Maguire said that he was reluctant to ask the housing authority for reimbursement of $1,400 he spent while attending a meeting of the National Leased Housing Association with Bonner in late January 2009 because of the debit card scandal and previous publicity that he was travelling the world on the taxpayer's dime when he was working in law enforcement. So he got Bonner to ask Pasonick to pick up the tab. At least he didn't try to double dip because records show he was not reimbursed by the authority. Bonner's attorney Mike Butera made the revelation about Pasonick. Butera has contributed $1000 to Petrilla.

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Sometimes this gets confusing. Patrilla's committee received contributions from Hazleton State Rep. Todd Eachus' and DA Jackie Mo Carroll then her committee sent money to Eachus and Jackie Mo's campaign committees. Scott Gartley kicked in $500 and Petrilla contributed $1000 to Tina Gartley's judicial campaign. I guess this is an example of 'you wash my back, I'll wash your's.' These people don't use their own money to go to all these events, the donor's pay for it. In addition to Gartley she contributed to 2 other Luzerne County judicial candidates. She sent $250 to Joe Musto and $125 to Bill Amesbury.

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In the row ofifce races she(her committee) gave $250 to Dem Prothonotary nominee Nancy Bellas who's husband has been indicted for taking a bribe and Democratic Controller hopeful Bob Morgan got $550.

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Some Luzerne County officials chipped in for the boss.

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Director of Assessments Anthony Alu $125

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County Solicitor Vito DeLucca $375

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Prison Warden Joe Piazza $500

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This one I find interesting. Former Commissioner Todd Vonderheid ( Bond Brother) who is now the head honcho of the local Chamber of Commerce chipped in $250. Vondy ran as a team with Greg Skrepenak for Luzerne County Commissioners telling people we didn't need home rule because we can trust them. That worked out well. Vondy quit before his term was up.

Luzerne County scandals

SCRANTON – The U.S. Secret Service has concluded its initial investigation into the Luzerne County debit card scandal and has turned over the results to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for review, a federal prosecutor said Wednesday.

Forget the Secret Service and the US Attorney General the agency that matters in this is the IRS. I think it's pretty simple. If the people who had the debit cards in 2006 and charged personal expenses to it without declaring it as income on that year's 1040 should have to answer to charges of tax evasion.

Also, there has to be a Pennsylvania law about then County Manager/Chief Clerk Sam Guesto having a slush fund to pay the bills for Sam Hyder's trips to strip bars, etc. that then Controller Maryanne Petrilla claims she was not aware of. I don't know if any federal laws were broken but the PA Auditor General and Attorney General should be all over this.


Some of my previous posts on this and other related subjects:

Debit Cards

Sam Hyder

Luzerne County Prison

Bonds

No Bid Contracts

The Latest Outrage in Luzerne County

The jury is out

Democratic Luzerne County Commissioner Chairwoman Maryanne Petrilla has been getting some high marks from some of my friends lately. She has been joining with GOP Commissioner Steve Urban in making all the right noises about the countless scandals that have come to light over the last year. But what action has she taken?

She called for an investigation of Judges Mark A. Ciavarella and Michael Conahan business relationship with PA Child Care owner and Cargo Airport builder Robert Powell after it was widely known that the FBI and IRS had already launched a probe.


She called for Sam Guesto's head when it was revealed that he was strong arming county prison officials not to bid out items that were previously bid and deciding on his own to build a bigger prison. Not to mention the Debit Card Debacle. But Guesto has a job with the courts now and his boss is Ciavarella who says he's doing a great job. I have an idea, since this newly created court director job was invented for him after his position as chief clerk became untenable how about the salary board meet and eliminate the job.

The prison board suspended Warden Gene Fischi and the Purchasing Director for a week for violating the county bidding policy and possibly breaking state law. They should have been fired. Some sort of secret police organization is supposed to be investigating this mess according to DA Jackie MO.

And why does Sam Hyder still have a job on the public payroll?

Remember when Controller Steve Flood was screaming about the 20 year lease with PA Child Care and a bunch of other things. He was making too much noise and asking uncomfortable questions so he had to to go. So the County Dems recruited Maryanne Petrilla to take him out in the Primary of 2005. In her 2 years as Luzerne County Controller I don't remember her making any waves except for auditing the Republican Row Officers and even then she didn't find much wrong.

With all that said I hope that she does kick ass and takes names but I'm a cynical old bastard that has to see results.

Bonds, Luzerne County bonds

The Luzerne County Commissioners voted the other day to spend some left over bond money on things it wasn't originally borrowed for. I've been complaining about this sort of shell game as long as I have been blogging.


The bond money came from $32.5 million borrowed in November 2003 to fund Susquehanna River recreation improvements. The bond document did not earmark funding for particular projects, which means commissioners are free to spend the money as they see fit.

Tim (take your hat off) Grier has made the same objection and points out that that bonds are supposed to be used for long term capitol improvements not everyday operating expenses. County Budget/Finance Chief Sam Diaz, and noted debit card abuser, said there is no legal requirement to use the money on projects that will last as long as repayment. I think he is wrong on that point. Even if he isn't the county government shouldn't be borrowing money for one thing and spend it on another. A few years ago they borrowed $9 million to build a new juvi prison then gave a sweetheart lease to a Pittston facility that the state objected to and had to terminate the lease. Then last December they used that money as Christmas presents for all sorts of projects that had nothing to do with the reason for borrowing the money in the first place.

Diaz also detailed the shortfalls of the last piece of fiction that was passed off as the county budget.

In other business Thursday, Diaz released a report explaining how the county ended 2007 with a $13 million deficit.
The report blames the deficit on a $16.8 million revenue shortfall, predominantly due to the county’s failure to meet projections in the following areas: current-year tax collections, $5.3 million; prior-year tax collection, $4 million; sale of county-owned land, $4.5 million; securing of state probation grants, $637,700; and federal transportation grants, $503,000.

Now they want to use $2.5 million of the proposed new bond issue to buy some land from Louis DeNaples when they can't sell the land they were counting on the help balance this year's budget. WTF?

Grier has offered to drop his challenge to the latest $93.5 million Bond issue if the Commissioners would just explain in detail what the money will be spent on. To me that's a reasonable request but they won't do it. And even if they did spell out how the money will be spent the way the thing is worded lets them spend the money on other things. Am I just becoming an old cynical bastard that doesn't trust the government?

Wilkes-Barre attorney Pete Moses, who is handling the county’s bond borrowing legal matters, on Friday declined to say if the county will accept Grier’s offer. Moses said he finds it "curious" that Grier wants to settle at this stage and is surprised Grier went public with his interest in settling.

It should be noted that Peter Moses looks to make a pretty penny on the bond issue and is billing the county for his work on this challenge. He has the best of both worlds. It makes you wonder why the county would bring in a hired gun who has a financial interest in seeing the bond succeed when they have so many other solicitors on the payroll.

And Commissioner Greg Skrepenak said the debit card abuse is "not criminal." It may not be but if I used a company card to buy drinks at a strip club or a $800 dinner tab with a $300 booze bill or pay for my kids hotel bill I'm sure I would be on the business end of a bread line

Luzerne County Controller

Acting Controller A.J. Martinelli has put 21st Century Appraisals on notice that the reassessment gravy train has limits.

TL: “Therefore, I am placing you on notice that as a supervisor of the fiscal affairs of the county, I will not pay any bills for any unauthorized and unwanted services that you force upon the county, for the reasons stated in this letter.”

Commissioner Maryanne Petrilla was the the previous Controller replacing Steve Flood who asked a lot of of uncomfortable questions about the PA Child Care lease and other things. There is no way to tell but I think the debit card scandal and the no bid contracts at the prison would have come to light earlier if Flood had a 2nd term.


Governor Rendell was supposed to appoint a new Controller with the consent of the State Senate but he punted. A couple of people applied for the job but they were ignored. Former Wyoming Valley West School District superintendent Augie Piazza wanted the post but I haven't heard if he is running next year. PittstonPolitics reports that former Pittston Area School Director Tony Rostock has been shaking the bushes and a potential rival let everybody know that he got a $30,000 no bid contract at LCCC. That potential rival is Wil Toole.

Wil Toole wanting to be a fiscal watchdog has to one of the funniest things I've ever heard. He charged thousands of hours of overtime to Pittston City and is now suing because he contends that the city should pay for his wife's health insurance indefinitely. He is good at lawsuits.

Piazza, Rostock and Toole are all Democrats.

I think we need a Controller from the other party. The Dems have been in charge for too long and have become arrogant and reckless although Petrilla and her new BFF Steve Urban is trying to right the ship.

The only Republican name that I have heard that is willing to take a stab at running for Controller is Bob Sypniewski. We have a draft Bob movement going on in the comments but he is reluctant to make the run so let's encourage him.


Update from the inbox:

Dear Gort,

I am also contemplating a run for the Luzerne County Controller Position...I am a republican that really cares about the lack of accountability of our elected officials and will work hard for the Taxpayers of Luzerne County...

Walter L Griffith JR
Luzerne County Taxpayer and Activist

Election day in PA

I usually put up some predictions about the election in the weekend before along with my endorsements for what it's worth but this year I'm just not that excited. But why let that stop me. I'll start with contests I can vote in.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court and Superior Court

Flip a ten sided coin. I'm still not sure who I'm going to vote for when I wake up tomorrow although Tim McCormick's direct mail piece got my attention.

Act 1

It will probably pass in the Wilkes-Barre Area School District and many others. If your a senior home owner who lives on only Social Security it's a great deal. If your a working stiff that happens to own a home or rents you get screwed. And seniors who have pension, interest and investment income are in for a rude surprise. More than anything else I oppose this is because it will require filing yet another tax return.

Luzerne County Judge

Hold your nose and vote for Marsilio. The only reason he says he should be elected is that he is not Dave Lupas, good enough for me. I'm very surprised there aren't more candidates trying for this seat. The last time there was a judge seat open there was a slew of candidates including a guy named Nanda. I forgot his last name but I ended up voting for him after listening to him on the Sue Henry show. Judge's are supposed to be meticulous in their attention to detail and take responsibility for their decisions. Dave Lupas has had many cases dismissed because his office screwed up the paperwork then he blamed other people in his office for it. Sorry Dave, the fish stinks from the head down.


Luzerne County District Attorney

This one will be decided in the primary as no Republican is running. Jackie-Mo will romp to victory with the help of quasi-incumbency, lots of money from lots of lawyers and the Democratic Party endorsement. She's running on the same platform that Lupas did 8 years ago of locking up all the drug dealers and we all know that's turned out well. Since Dave Lupas was elected DA all the dealers have been locked up and there are no drugs in Luzerne County. Give me a fucking break. Vito DeLuca is easily the best choice for the job. He's been endorsed by the Times-Leader and State Rep John Yudichak is backing him.

Luzerne County Commissioner

Skrep and Petrilla will win the Democratic nominations. With Vondy riding off to head the Chamber of Commerce it leaves just one of the Bond Brothers to defend the record. 3 of the last 4 years the commissioners have had to float a bond just to meet payroll. They floated a bond to pay for a long overdue reassessment of property values and keep putting it off because it's an election year and they could pay for the extension because they had some left over bond money to pay for the delay. Then there is the "Life Transition Plan." They floated another bond to finance this plan that will cost $23 million over 15 years in the hope of saving $2+million if salaries are kept in check. I could go on all night but you get the idea. This is crazy. Now were looking at borrowing another $100 million to build a new prison. After the Pittston Juvenile Detention Center sweetheart deal do you want these people spending more of your money. Remember a bond is not free money but borrowing against future taxes.

I will vote for Steve Flood and Greg Gulick. I don't know much about Greg but his resume is sound. He's a long time local government official. I will vote for Steve Flood, even though he has been felled by a stroke, out of a sense of loyalty. He's a "bomb thrower and rabble rouser" that got results. Every employee of the county that is or will be eligible for a pension owes him a debt of gratitude.

Staeve Urban will win one of the Republican nominations and I predict Bill Jones will get the other.

Sheriff

Barry Stankus is the incumbent Republican officeholder. Isn't that a strange phrase. He'll win in the fall because he's done a good job. Mike Savokinas is the endorsed Democratic candidate running against George "Nipper" Nowakowski who has run for this office a few times before as a Republican. Nipper said he would appoint former Sheriff Carl " look out for that dog" Zawatski as his deputy. I vote for Savokinas.

Coroner

Another race that will be decided in the primary. Dr. Jack will win but I like both challengers. Plymouth funeral director Jim Desiderio has hit the party cicuit and I like his version of embalming fluid. But Mrs. G is leaning toward John Corcoran.

Other races I'm watching are the Philly Mayors race. Go Nutter. What a great name for a politician. But I met Dwight Evans many years ago and hope he wins. I'm pulling for Corey O'Brien in the Lackawanna County Commissioners race and hope Cordaro goes down. My old friend Errol Flynn is running for judge in Wayne County and Mario Fiorucci should be the next Mayor of Sugar Notch

Sam Guesto's feelings are hurt

“Have you seen the man? He’s probably lost 80 pounds since everything started. He’s suffering greatly.”

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Luzerne County Commissioner Chairwoman Maryanne Petrilla has been saying some mean things about Guesto according to his lawyer and he sent her a cease and desist letter.

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According to Attorney William Shehwen of the Philadelphia area Petrilla called him a "thief,” “gangster” and a “thug'" and alleges that she is trying to get him fired from the court administrator position that she voted to create when everybody knew the job was invented for him.

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Guesto resigned as County Manager/Chief Clerk after it was revealed that he was in charge of the debit cards that were abused by everyone that got one and changed the purchasing policy at the Luzerne County prison to favor some well connected people that appears to be both a violation of the county's purchasing policy and state law telling the kitchen supervisor “do it or it’s your ass.” The last straw seems to be when he decided to redesign the proposed new prison on his own adding millions to the cost.

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The debit card abuse is being investigated by the Secret Service and the piecemeal contracting at the prison is supposedly being looked into by some secret police outfit according to District Attorney Jackie MO. Maybe if you go to her golf outing you can team up with the Yonk and ask her what is going on.

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GUESTO’S DEBIT-CARD PURCHASES

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In another federal investigation

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Ciavarella’s alleged bias subject of Friday hearing