Luzerne County Scandal Update

The dance around the contractor continues with the sentencing of the former executive director of the Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority. H. Allen Bellas, 60, of Kingston, pleaded guilty in January to corrupt receipt of a reward for official action accoring to this story that appeared in today's Times Leader.

Federal prosecutors say Bellas accepted money from a contractor in 2008 in exchange for helping the contractor gain acceptance into a tax incentive program.

More information was contained in this article in the Citizen's Voice.

Bellas, 60, was sentenced to six months home confinement followed by 18 months probation and fined $10,000 by U.S. District Judge Thomas I. Vanaskie.

The developer who paid Bellas has not been identified by federal prosecutors, but information in court documents indicates it was Anthony Trombetta, who received a $1.1 million government-backed loan through the authority for a housing project in Jenkins Township.

Trombetta’s dealings with local government and school officials have been a focus of wide-ranging corruption probe that has produced more than 30 arrests.

Bellas, a former president of the Wyoming Valley West School Board, resigned from the board shortly before his plea agreement with prosecutors was announced last year.

In another matter sentencing for a businessman who accepted money from one person plus provided free carpeting to another was postponed.

Painting/carpeting contractor Richard Emanski’s acceptance of $7,500 in an alleged deal involving another contractor and a public official complicated his sentencing for supplying free carpeting to a Wilkes-Barre Area School Board member today, leading to a postponement.

Emanski, 66, would face six to 12 months in the carpeting case under federal sentencing guidelines, but his attorney, Carl Poveromo, asked U.S. District Judge Thomas I. Vanaskie to consider a sentence of home confinement or probation during a sentencing hearing this morning.

In response, Vanaskie referred to a pre-sentence report, which has not been made public, which states that Emanski has made other payments to public officials and once split a $15,000 payment from another contractor with an unnamed public official. While those payments were not used to determine Emanski’s range of possible sentences under the guidelines, Vanaskie asked if they could be considered when deciding between a probationary sentence and a prison sentence.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Houser told Vanaskie that it was his position that the $7,500 payment, revealed to prosecutors by Emanski after his arrest, should not be used to “penalize” him.

It appears the sentencing is leading to speculation of more charges due to cooperation by defendants. I have a friend at the Attorney General's office who says he keeps a card in his briefcase. On one side it says "defendant" and on the other side it says "witness". He gives to a person he is questioning and tells them you decide which one you want to be.

Evidently the FBI has a card that says "defendant who cooperates" and "defendant with hard time". Seems like some are making the right choice.

The Great Train Robbery- Part 2

Market Street Square- 1984

Continued from Part 1.

Back in 2005 this article appeared in the Jersy Central Lines. It starts off with an observation that should never have gone unnoticed.

The CNJ Station Wilkes Barre
6/4/2005

Luzerne County officials may be so passionate about Wilkes-Barre and Scranton being connected by passenger train service they are ready to wager millions of federal funding on its success.

The application will be approved at the June 17 meeting and forwarded for federal approval, Commissioner Stephen Urban said Friday. The amount the county will try to borrow has not been determined. County officials hope to use proceeds of the "Section 108" loan to acquire and restore the Market Street Square complex owned by Wilkes-Barre City businessman Thom Greco.

Elected officials have a fiduciary responsilibity to their constituents and it doesn't include treating county funds as if they are expendable at the Mohegun Sun. The next part begs the question, where was the advice from solicitor Joseph Blazozek?

A "Section 108" loan carries great risk. If the county is unable to make payments, the federal office could deduct funds from the county's annual $6 million Community Development Block Grant. Block grants fund local projects, like street paving and playground renovations, in the county's 72 boroughs and townships.

The most prophetic statement from that article came from former Luzerne County Commissioner Todd Vonderheid.

Todd Vonderheid said options and cost benefits of acquiring the complex are still under discussion. He added that it was premature to talk about a sale. "It's unfortunate that Commissioner Urban chooses to reveal the details of a deal that's still in the negotiation stages, and potentially jeopardize the success of that deal," Vonderheid said. "Greg (Skrepenak) and I are more concerned about improving the quality of life in Northeastern Pennsylvania than seeing our names in the newspaper." He could never have imagined the amount of times names were going to appear in the newspaper and Urban's would be the only one that would end up in a positive fashion.

David Janoski over at the Citizen's Voice chronicled in his article that Wilkes-Barre nightclub owner/restaurateur Thom Greco faces up to three years in prison for failing to provide information about illegal payments made to an elected official.

The name of the official and the nature of the payment were not released by prosecutors, but sources familiar with the investigation say federal agents have been probing Greco's possible role in providing televisions to a now-closed city sports bar owned by the father of former Luzerne County Commissioner Greg Skrepenak.

According to sources Greco was asked to purchase something of significant value, possibly televisions, that ended up at the sports bar. When Greco presented the bill for payment it is rumored that he was told the bill was on him and tied to the Redevelopment Authority purchase of Market Street Square.

Big Ugly's on Wilkes-Barre Boulevard, closed in February after the elder Skrepenak testified before the grand jury probing corruption in Luzerne County.

Skrepenak Sr., 67, owned Big Ugly's, a sports bar located at 165 N. Wilkes-Barre Blvd., Wilkes-Barre.

Big Ugly's was located on property owned by Michael and Arlene Pasonick.
In October, 2009 Pasonick was identifed as the businessman who paid a $1,400.00 bribe that ensared Gerald Bonner and William McGuire, both of whom served on the Luzerne County Housing Authority.

At the time Attorney Michael Butera had this to say about his client.

"Jerry Bonner did not commit any crime. I don't know how the government could prove that he did commit a crime," Butera said. "They are going to have to prove every single word of that indictment. Jerry Bonner was not corrupt and he didn't corruptly receive any award or bribe." Of course Gerald Bonner plead guilty in December, 2009.

The original post talked about a "band" of outlaws and trains. Although the trains weren't robbed in this story many were swept up like beached whales in the undertow from one property deal.

It is appropriate that former Wilkes Barre City Councilman described the deal for Market Street Square in this manner.

McCarthy said he questions the wisdom of the public purchase because the property has become “like a great beached whale” that attracts vandals. Evidently the "beached whale" attracted so much attention the feds decided to "inspect the beach for more casualties."

The Great Train Robbery- Part 1

In 1903 there was a film called The Great Train Robbery. It was the first narrative film in film history. The film was originally advertised as "a faithful duplication of the genuine 'Hold Ups' made famous by various outlaw bands in the far West."

Rolled the "film forward" to 2005 in Luzerne County. There was a proposed rail line between Scranton and the greater New York. Congress approved a $286 billion transportation bill that includes authorization for $120 million for the project. According to a Times Leader article from 2005 Paul Kanjorski had this to say about the project.

But the passenger line remains years away, said U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke.

"This is not a high priority for the New Jersey transit authority,"
Kanjorski said.

An environmental study for the rail project is nearly completed, he
said, and the type of rail service -- either regular or high-speed -- is
still being discussed.

The rail link between Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, however, is not
included in the language of the transportation bill. It seems like someone was in a big hurry to purchase property when the prediction from the funding source is that reality is a long way off.

Why do I bring all of this up? More from that same article.

The Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority is buying a historic train station downtown with the hope it will someday serve again as a terminus on a passenger rail line connecting Northeastern Pennsylvania to Hoboken, N.J.

Authority officials authorized an agreement of sale with Thom Greco,
the owner of the 6.5-acre Market Street Square property on Monday. The
authority will pay $5.8 million for the land, which includes the vacant train station along Wilkes-Barre Boulevard.

"It's going to tie into all the downtown projects," said Allen Bellas, authority executive director. "It's obviously going to help out the passenger rail service."

Mr. Bellas was charged by the feds with accepting a $2,000 kickback in 2009 for an unrelated matter. However, his arrest demonstrates the intertwining of the players by the charges filed yesterday against Thom Greco.

Corrupt Receipt Of A Reward For Official Action

That's the charge an authority member and businessman plead guilty to yesterday in a Scranton federal court. Jennifer Learn-Andes writes in the Times Leader

Former Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority Director Allen Bellas and area business owner Richard Emanski both pleaded guilty in federal court in Scranton Tuesday on unrelated charges connected to the ongoing corruption probe.

Bellas, 60, of Kingston, pleaded to corrupt receipt of a reward for official action. Emanski, 66, of Harveys Lake, pleaded to corrupt payment of a reward for official action.

Bellas acknowledged that he accepted $2,000 from a construction contractor in 2008 in exchange for helping the contractor secure approval of a program that funds some development costs.

SOP wonders out loud how many more authorities should be investigated for similar crimes. Stay tuned.

Luzerne County Did Discuss Building A New Prison

At one time Luzerne County was looking to build a new prison.

04/14/2006
County jail design will cost $2.5 million
BY JAMES CONMY STAFF WRITER


WILKES-BARRE Luzerne County officials are poised to spend more than $2.5 million to design a new prison even though construction on the jail may not begin for years.


The money to finance the new prison’s design will come from about $30 million in bond money the county borrowed for other projects, but has not expended to date, Skrepenak said.


Design costs are typically 5 percent to 7 percent of the estimated construction costs, Larry Bickford, a representative of Kimball and Associates, said during the work session. County officials negotiated a cost of about 4.25 percent of the estimated $68 million construction cost because of the uncertain construction date, said Sam Guesto, county manager.

From recent news releases the prison needs to happen sooner than later.

Mayor Leighton is asking the FBI to look at Wilkes Barre City Hall. Nothing against Leighton but would the catharsis happen if the FBI never came to town? Why wasn't that matter turned over to the District Attorney first? You see the normal protocol would be District Attorney/Attorney General/FBI but there is nothing normal about what is going on in Luzerne County at this point.

Pittston is attracting its share of attention. The FBI nabbed a Pittston businessman for obstruction of justice charges relating to the storing of county records at his private building. Barton Weidlich was caught leaving the county records in his own "cookie jar." Evidently Sam Guesto wasn't familiar with the County Code enacted by the Pennsylvania Legislature which prescribes the manner for keeping and maintaining county records.

If you download it be aware that it is around 339 pages but it is good reading. Read the part(page 72) where the Salary Board is made up of the three commissioners and the controller.

Section 1622. Salary Boards Created.--There is hereby
created in each county a salary board, which shall consist of
the three individual members of the board of county
commissioners and the county controller in counties where there
is a controller, or the county treasurer in counties where there
is no controller. The chairman of the board of county
commissioners shall be chairman of the salary board. The board
shall meet and organize on the first Monday of January of each
year.


Then read the minutes of Luzerne County's Salary Board and see if that is the way they are doing it. Here is a link to the latest meeting.

Is that the procedure Ciavarella followed when he gave Angela Sallemi an almost $21,000.00 per year raise?

Back to the need for a jail.

Veteran reporter Jennifer Learn-Andes chronicles the problems Exective Director Allen Bellas faces connected to the federal corruption probe.

Bellas had informed Paternoster on Wednesday that he would be resigning within 10 days because of something connected to the federal corruption probe. Paternoster said Bellas indicated that he was “in trouble.”

In the 1800s it was called a Gold Rush.  In the 21st century it is known as the "FBI Express Lane to the Pen".