Gang Activity In Lackawanna County- Doherty, Is It Time To Admit It?

Detractors mocked Mayor Lou Barletta over his illegal immigration stance. One of the primary focuses of his efforts dealt with gang activity within the community of Hazleton. Posters on the blogs would state there was no gang activity in Hazleton and the Mayor plus supporters were making more out of it than was actually happening.

Let's roll the tape forward. Hazleton’s violent crime rate dropped over the past few years, despite a number of high-profile cases.

Contrast that fact with an article that appeared in today's Times Leader.

Residents of Lackawanna County should not “stick their heads in the sand” about local gang activity, according to county law enforcement officials who spoke to the Scranton-Lackawanna County Taxpayers & Citizens Association on Thursday night.

Robert Maguire, from the Lackawanna County Prison, and county first assistant district attorney Eugene Talerico advised the group of an ongoing effort to stem the growth of local street gangs.

One sign of local gangs is graffiti. He showed photographs of local graffiti, also known as the “newspaper of the street.”

The artistic or “tagger” graffiti is common in very high places, Maguire said. It is meant to impress other gang members.

The more ominous “gang” graffiti gives specific messages meant to intimidate other gangs and mark territory, he said. This type is usually easy to read, he added.

The Allentown area now has a rampant gang problem, he added. For the last four years, he and Maguire pushed gang awareness initiatives to help keep it down, Talerico said.

It is rumored among the troops that Mayor Doherty has a gag order on the police concerning the illegal gang activity occuring in Scranton. It would appear he doesn't want the public to know the extent his liberal policies are affecting his constituents.

As far as Allentown goes “After two agonizing hours of public comment Wednesday, Allentown City Council shot down Councilman Lou Hershmans proposal to fight illegal immigration, forcing supporters to try collecting the signatures of 2,000 city voters to put it on the ballot.