2010 April » PureBunkum

The Gospel According To George Banks

Local

Apr 302010

The 13th Apostle?

By Betty Roccograndi

Let’s just put George Banks out on work release already and call it a day.

Last year, convicted mass murderer Banks dodged yet another bullet when, after much suspense, he was declared too mentally ill to be executed.

Of course, that determination could have been made 27 years ago when he gunned down 13 people, including five of his children, the women who bore them and an innocent passer-by.

A third competency hearing is underway because former Luzerne County judge, Michael Conahan, now a self-admitted racketeer, had taken the easy way out last year and simply signed off on all the arguments Banks’ attorneys presented that he was too delusional to understand that he faced death for slaughtering his families.

The state Supreme Court ordered another competency hearing for Banks, rejecting Conahan’s copy cat opinion that there was overwhelming evidence to show that he was incompetent.

There is also overwhelming evidence that two decades of appeals was a colossal waste of time and money.

This isn’t a case where the wrong man may have been charged and sentenced to death for killing 13 people. Then, it might be easier to understand the prolonged fight to keep him alive. No, this man is guilty, and no one disputes that. He got the sentence that a jury more than two decades ago decided he deserved.

But lucky for Banks, the law says that his mental state when he stormed Schoolhouse Lane in Wilkes-Barre and a dwelling in Jenkins Township toting an assault rifle is irrelevant here. Now that he’s facing punishment for his murderous rampage, it’s his current state of mind that counts.

And his current state of mind is telling him that the justice system should back off because he spoke to God, and God told him He needs him on earth. Also, Banks contends, former President George W. Bush vacated his sentence. Now, we all know that Bush would never do such a thing – Obama maybe, but certainly not Bush.

So, Banks doesn’t understand why he was sentenced to die for killing his multiple families?

You can bet that those five terrified children didn’t understand back in 1982 why they were being slaughtered one by one – by their father.

And you can bet that the innocent mothers of those children didn’t understand why they had to die. Only they didn’t have to die.

Neither did the ill-fated passer-by, Ray Hall. Following Conahan’s ruling last year, Ray Hall Sr., the young man’s 82-year-old father, expressed frustration that a vigorous fight is still being waged on behalf of the cold-blooded killer who blew away his son.

So the case drags on.

In Pennsylvania, the death penalty is legal. It should either be abolished or allowed to be implemented when justified. If it’s not justified when someone kills 13 people, including one’s children, then, really, what’s the point of having it on the books?

This case proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the wheels of justice do indeed turn slowly. It’s time to grind them to a halt, declare Banks’ tenacious attorney, Al Flora Jr., and his team the winners and not spend one more dime taking this case any further.

Justice has not been served. After 27 years, it’s probably time to move on.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

National

Apr 272010

By Betty Roccograndi

It wasn’t okay when a troubled student from Wyoming Valley West High School and her young accomplice painted swastikas on a Wilkes-Barre synagogue a couple of years ago. Our community was outraged at what many agreed was a hate crime. The vilified Valley West senior, only 19-years-old, was charged with institutional vandalism and sentenced to nine to 18 months in Luzerne County’s prison.

So, is it now okay for vandals, angry over Arizona’s crackdown on illegal immigrants, to smear swastikas, using refried beans, on the state Capitol’s windows? Is that also not institutional vandalism?

And what’s with the refried beans? Are we supposed to be sympathetic to their plight because the beans somehow suggest racial attacks against minorities?

And to top it off, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano has referred to Arizona as East Germany. She’s tougher on law-abiding Arizonans who support this law in overwhelming numbers than she is on foreign terrorists, whose acts she prefers to call “man-made disasters.” She also said that Arizona’s borders are as secure as ever. In other words, they weren’t secure before and they still aren’t.

The Arizona law makes it a state crime to be here illegally. It allows police officers to ask for identification of anyone they suspect jumped the fence rather than went through legal channels to be and/or work in this country. And that is what has the ACLU and its ilk up in arms. RACISM is their battle cry.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon had the nerve to weigh in, calling the law discriminatory. Let’s get this straight. Calderon called the law - which thousands of his countrymen broke – discriminatory? President Calderon, we don’t want to discriminate against your country’s drug dealers. We simply don’t want them here at all.

The other day, I was stopped at a DUI checkpoint. Traffic was backed up and delayed my return home. Did I scream in protest because I wasn’t drinking and driving? No, I did not. Actually, I was glad that the state police may have removed even one drunk driver off the road. My inconvenience was a small price to pay.

At airports, we have to remove our shoes and cringe as checkers go through our bags because one small, but deadly, segment of the population has made travel risky. Deal with it, illegal immigrants. The rest of us have to.

No one is saying immigrants are not welcome. America has always welcomed them and the diverse talents they bring. It is not asking too much that, in return, they follow our rules, pay taxes for what we offer them and join us in rebelling against those who don’t.

Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Drug Dealers

Local, National

Apr 252010

Obey Our Laws And You Can Stay

By Betty Roccograndi

There are a reported 460,000 illegal immigrants in the state of Arizona, including drug smugglers. Guess who the do-gooders are threatening? The drug dealers and law-breakers? Are you kidding?

No, the civil rights groups are planning to sue Arizona for its tough new law which cracks down on the illegals. President Barack Obama has jumped on the bandwagon. Anyone surprised at that?

What part of ILLEGAL don’t they understand? What part of drug smuggling doesn’t raise their ire?

The Associated Press reported that Arizona “is the busiest gateway for human and drug smuggling from Mexico and home to an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants.” So, Arizona lawmakers tried to do something about it, since the federal government hasn’t. But in yet another of his elitist put-downs, Obama called their efforts “misguided.” Bad, bad Arizonans.

The law the state passed makes illegal immigration a state crime and enables Arizona police officers to ask for identification if they suspect someone is illegally in the country. THAT’S what you think, screamed opponents, including The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. The fund issued a statement that said the law “launches Arizona into a spiral of pervasive fear, community distrust, increased crime and costly litigation, with nationwide repercussions.”

As for pervasive fear, yes, drug dealers lurking in neighborhoods pushing crack cocaine is pretty scary. As for increased crime, that is what happens when drug smugglers from Mexico cross the border illegally peddling their addictive wares.

As for community distrust, a Rasmussun poll reported that 70-percent of likely Arizona voters support the crackdown on illegal immigration. And it’s a safe bet that a majority of voters throughout the nation do too.

The National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders Legal Defense Fund plans a federal lawsuit against Arizona. Its president, William Sanchez, said, according to the AP, “Millions of Latinos around the country are shocked.” Impressive. He actually polled millions.

Then there’s Obama, who wasted no time instructing the U.S. Justice Department to examine Arizona’s law to determine its legality. Obama said the federal government must enact immigration reform at the national level. Otherwise, he said, the door will be left open for “irresponsibility by others.” Like those bad, bad Arizonans trying to keep the drug dealers at bay.

Obama said, according to The Wall Street Journal, that Arizona’s law threatens “to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans.” What is he talking about? Law-abiding Americans also cherish their safety, and it’s fair to say that drug smugglers entering our country from Mexico undermines that basic notion.

And, of course, cries of racism have surfaced. With an estimated 11-million illegal residents in this country, it’s racial profiling to question someone’s immigration status.

Of course it is, what isn’t these days?

Sniffle, Sniffle, How Did I Know Bribery Was Wrong?

Local

Apr 202010

You Say Bribe, I Say Fluke

By Betty Roccograndi

You may have to consult your Luzerne County Thesauras to answer the question below.

Passing a clandestine payment to a county Housing Authority board member is:

1. A crime.

2. An aberration

3. A fluke

4. An innocent favor which will get you arrested, but you’ll only have to stay home for a few months after you return from your son’s wedding.

5. All of the above

If you selected number 5, you are 100-percent correct.

Former Luzerne County Housing Authority board member and county jury commissioner Gerald Bonner did indeed ask for and receive $1,400 to give to his fellow board member William Maguire.

Bonner and Maguire last year traveled to a luxury resort in Florida to study innovations in low-income housing for the peons back home. The housing authority reimbursed Bonner $3,488 for his expenses, but Maguire, who earlier was caught up in a county debit card scandal, was a little gun-shy about asking for reimbursement. But no way was he going to pay for his good time at the Sanibel Harbour Resort and its ”world-class resort amenities.”

So he did what any enterprising county official would do. He asked Bonner to get the money from someone else. Bonner didn’t think he was doing anything wrong, he tearfully told a federal court judge Monday at his sentencing hearing. He said, according to The Times Leader, that Maguire “pestered” him, so he asked engineer Michael Pasonick, who has done a lot of work for the housing authority, to kick in. And surprisingly enough, Pasonick just happened to have $1,400 in spare change.

But federal agents caught on and concluded this wasn’t okay.

“This is just a fluke for me,” a weepy Bonner said after a judge sentenced him to two years probation and three months house arrest. The judge said his jail term at home could begin when he returned from his son’s wedding in North Carolina.

U.S. District Judge Thomas I. Vanaskie called Bonner’s action, “truly an aberration.”

The feds called it a crime, but what do they know?

Vanaskie went easy on Bonner, in part, because he said there is no evidence he did anything else wrong “for which he was not charged,” the Tl reported. Well, that certainly begs the question, what about the other 27 scoundrels arrested in the county-wide corruption probe? Did any of them commit additional crimes for which they were not charged, and if they did, what were they?

We know of at least two who almost got away with murder, so to speak. Former Luzerne County judges, Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan, of the “Kids for Cash” scandal, were originally only charged with tax evasion and depriving the public of honest services. But when a heroic federal judge rejected their plea agreements, the dam burst. The two now face charges of racketeering, money laundering, extortion, bribery, and about 40 others. But they’re still out and about because their lawyers filed an avalanche of pre-trial motions.

So, needless to say, Bonner’s crime/aberration/fluke pales in comparison to the judges’ alleged misdeeds.

As for William Maguire, for whom Bonner collected the $1,400 reimbursement, he was also charged with corrupt receipt of a reward for official action and is awaiting sentencing.

One missing piece of the puzzle, though, is why engineer Pasonick would agree to fork over $1,400 just for the asking. As Bonner said, maybe it was a fluke – a fluke that he asked someone likely to cooperate.

He Said. He Said

Local

Apr 182010

By Betty Roccograndi

Somebody needs to brush up on his math.

The man who snitched on Luzerne County Clerk of Courts/used car salesman Robert Reilly said Reilly “requested” a 10-percent kickback for any work Reilly steered his way. Well, Reilly steered at least $50,000 of work his way, according to newspaper accounts. But the agreeable contractor, Barton Weidlich, told federal agents he kickbacked $1,500 and even offered to kickback more than 10-percent.

Well, thankfully, Reilly only hired Weidlich to, among other things, construct a gate and not do the county’s books.

Anyway, it seems that the only one surprised by Reilly’s arrest Friday morning on bribery charges was the 57-year-old veteran politician. A week ago, his attorney, Michael Butera, said neither he nor his client were aware of any investigation of Reilly. Funny, because according to The Times Leader, the courthouse was abuzz with talk that Reilly would soon join the infamous Club of Corruption, which for all we know may be zeroing in on a new inductee as we speak.

At least Reilly was discreet in having Weidlich deliver the money to the car lot where Reilly also worked. Former Judge Michael Conahan, charged with racketeering, allegedly allowed a courier to deliver secret envelopes from an alleged mobster right to the courthouse. So we need to commend Reilly for exercising caution, not brazeness.

But the big question is was it really a bribe Weidlich delivered in installments to the car lot and a restaurant? Reilly says it was a campaign contribution that Weidlich gave him. These two guys are so credible, it’s going to be tough determining who’s telling the truth.

Attorney Butera just about called Weidlich a liar, which is what an attorney is supposed to do. “What’s in the affidavit is not true,” Butera said. He also said he’s surprised the affidavit was not sealed but is actually glad that Weidlich’s name was released. And Butera, a sharp attorney, also noted that 10-percent of $50,000 in salaries is not $1,500. But in all fairness, Weidlich’s forte is contracting work and stashing county-owned records in his private warehouse. So forgive him if he’s not proficient in math.

And then there’s that little accusation that Weidlich threatened a witness in the continuing county corruption probe and the obstruction of justice charge that he’s facing.

As for Reilly, his arrest wasn’t nearly as surprising as federal agents raiding the home of the grandfatherly state Sen. Ray Musto last week. Reilly has been a courthouse lightening rod for some time. Most recently he teamed up with former judge, Mark Ciavarella, also charged with racketeering, to sue the county when the adults there requested across- the- board staff reductions before the county reached bankruptcy status. But then Ciavarella was indicted, and Reilly, displaying he’s a man of conviction, decided against going it alone and withdrew his own lawsuit.

Now we’re left to wonder why investigators believed Weidlich, who said Reilly demanded that he deliver the bribes or campaign contributions in cash. Apparently there is no paper trail to verify his claims. Did Weidlich perhaps wear a wire? The plot thickens.

And what will Reilly do with his campaign contribution considering it’s unlikely he’ll successfully run for anything again?

But the even bigger question is on whom will Reilly now snitch? After decades in politics, surely, he knows the whereabouts of some other closeted skeletons.

Let Them Eat Crumpets

National

Apr 162010

They're So Cute!

So he was amused.

This supremely smug President of the United States said he was “a little amused” by the hundreds of thousands of ordinary Americans who gathered for tea parties on April 15.

Whether he likes it or not, he’s the reason they’re gathering. Barack Obama has given citizens from coast to coast cause to worry about not only their own futures but also about the future of their country.

Obama should not be amused. He should be alarmed because he has awakened a sleeping giant – the American people, who are not sitting back any longer while he and his cohorts in Congress plunge this country deeper into debt and chip away at our freedoms.

In an encore of his stand-up comedy routine of late, Obama wondered aloud why Americans aren’t thanking him for not raising taxes – YET! He gets more galling by the minute.

Well, in November, maybe the people will thank him as his soulmates in liberal Massachussets did when they replaced the king of liberals, the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, with a Republican.

Then we heard from former President Bill Clinton, who wasn’t amused; he was worried. He had the audacity to link the passion of the tea party-goers to the domestic terror attack years ago in Oklahoma City. He said words have consequences. He must have been remembering his own immortal words that, “I did not have sex with THAT woman,” which ultimately led to his impeachment.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said it’s the Republicans who should fear the tea party activists, not the Democrats. This woman is downright delusional.

We’ll find out in November who gets the last laugh – a cocky president who disses large numbers of American citizens when they express their very legitimate concerns or the people he propelled to rise up against him and with very good reason.

- Betty Roccograndi

Bye Hon; See Ya Tomorrow

Local

Apr 152010

Wilkes-Barre City Councilman Tony Thomas wants us to take his word for it that he just drops in nightly to see his wife in Wapwallopen before heading back to his own house in the city.

“I go up everyday, just to make sure everything is OK. Then I come back down, sleep in the city and go to work,” Thomas said, responding to a complaint from Linda Stets that he is in violation of the city charter. This very amusing story was in Thursday’s Citizens’ Voice.

So, the Thomases may not exactly have a conventional marriage, but at least he checks in on the missus daily.

But Stets is not buying this. She says that for the past 18 months, Thomas has lived with his wife in Wapwallopen. While, to most people, that would make sense, it doesn’t if you’re voting in Wilkes-Barre and serving as a member of its council.

Stets, who is the wife of Luzerne County Commissioner Steve Urban and ran unsuccessfuly for Wilkes-Barre City mayor and the council, wants Thomas to resign.

“This man is a councilman, and he’s playing games,” Stets said.

Thomas said his wife is living in his (their?) four-room “hunting lodge,” which he “fixed up” and is 25 miles from Wilkes-Barre. He said she lives there full-time while he stays at his house on Lehigh Street. He said he spends evenings with her and then heads back to the city. He didn’t say whether he leaves after dinner or after watching, say, “Wheel of Fortune.”

We have to assume this arrangement is okay with Mrs. Thomas. Actually, there may be other city wives wishing they had a similar arrangement with their spouses.

Stets is also demanding that Thomas not receive his $16,800 compensation for serving on the council, until he proves that he lives on Lehigh Street.

“My word is my proof, and that’s the way it is,” Thomas told the CV.

Well, since that’s the way it is, who are we to think otherwise?

- Betty Roccograndi

Dirty Money?

Local

Apr 152010

By Betty Roccograndi

There was a lot of private money spread around to political campaigns – $261,650.

There was a lot of sludge spread around in Hazleton at a cost of $38-million in public money – paid to those who made the contributions.

And there were a lot of change orders to the original $21-million contract to transport the sludge – $17-million worth.

There may have been collusion somewhere along the way.

Sounds like an outline of a John Grisham novel.

But, alas, it’s just the latest chapter in the blockbuster series of investigations throughout Luzerne and Lackawanna counties.

It will probably be some time before we learn why an army of federal agents in one week’s time raided a state senator’s office and then two Kingston firms who landed the $38-million government contract to prepare strip-mined land in Hazleton for development – their development.

State Sen. Raphael Musto said he has no idea why the feds were at his house but said he’d probably get a lawyer.

As for the Kingston companies, Fort Mifflin Reclamation Associates Inc., and Hazleton Creek Properties LCC, they already had a lawyer standing guard while the agents hauled away a reported 20 boxes of documents from their Kingston headquarters.

So far, no connection has been made between these two raids, but it sure does make one wonder.

Investigations here seem to be growing graver by the minute. They began with two Luzerne County judges being charged with racketeering and bribery. And now the really big guns are here – the U.S. Department of Transportration, the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigation Organization and the Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General.

William Rinaldi and Marvin Slomowitz, officers in both Kingston firms which were raided, have yet to comment. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded Fort Mifflin Reclamation the $21-million contract to transport the sludge. That was after their Hazleton Creek Properties site manager, Barry Bowen, from Scranton, submitted the low bid of $19-million, got the contract and then bowed out, The Times Leader reported. Hmmmm. That’s pretty interesting.

Then the contract just about doubled with $17-million in change orders and more agreements for more dredge disposal, The Citizens’ Voice reported.

Adding to the intrigue was something strange reported in the CV, that according to a federal contracts database, Fort Mifflin Reclamation is listed as an emerging small business with one employee and an annual revenue of $621,000.

Now who entrusts a $21-million project to a company with one employee, emerging or not? But, emerge, it did. The Times Leader reported that the company was incorporated in 2005 and one year later hit the jackpot with this government contract. The paper also displayed a detailed list of the companies’ campaign contributions, including about $88,000 to PA Gov. Ed Rendell and his political action committee.

Yes, indeed, money talks. In 2008, Hazleton Creek Properties got a $250,000 state grant “to build a rail spur next to the Humboldt Industrial Park to unload the silt,” the TL said. That was a pretty good investment: Give the governor $80,000 and more to other politicians and later land a $250,000 grant.

What is it about waste being a gold mine? The former West Side Landfill in Plymouth Twp. had enough land to store the garbage of its member towns for decades with no cost to its residents. But the towns’ board members were no match for the slick lawyers and engineers who enthusiastically talked them into importing tons and tons of trash from New York and New Jersey, which filled up the landfill well before its time. There were rumors galore about kickbacks back then, but they were impossible to prove.

And don’t even get us started on the landfills in Lackawanna County.

At least, the federal government is sifting through the debris in Hazleton. Hopefully, with enough digging, they will get to the bottom of what, if anything, may have not been above board.

Oops! I Dropped It.

Local

Apr 122010

Did They Play A Part?

By Betty Roccograndi

The same state board which sent former Luzerne County judge, Ann Lokuta, packing may have just given her the ammunition she needs to get her job and her pension back.

And she has Mr. Butterfingers to thank.

Attorney Joseph Massa, chief counsel for the state Judicial Conduct Board, which prosecuted Lokuta, admitted Monday that he let slip through the cracks a complaint, which included case-fixing, filed against Lokuta’s mortal enemy, Michael Conahan. Conahan, another former county judge and principal player in the “Kids for Cash” scandal, faces racketeering, bribery and mail fraud charges, among a slew of others.

Massa testified Monday before a state commission investigating how Conahan and another former judge, Mark Ciavarella, were able to close down a county-owned juvenile detention center and send delinquents to a privately-owned one whose builder and owner paid them $2.6-million for their help.

Conahan and Ciavarella were key witnesses against Lokuta. Lucky for Conahan, a business partner of his, Pat Judge, sat on the Judicial Conduct Board around the time the complaint against him was shelved. And another lucky break – for Conahan, not Lokuta – was that the detention center’s owner, Robert Powell, who paid off Conahan and Ciavarella, had a little connection of his own. One of Powell’s former attorneys, Richard Sprague, presided over the board which heard the case against Lokuta and promptly ousted her.

One would have to be pretty naive to believe this chain of events was sheer coincidence.

Yes, Lokuta was accused of having court employees clean her house and of belittling lawyers in her courtroom. But, by no one’s standards, does that rise to the level of case-fixing.

Massa said the Conduct Board was short-handed. This is the board’s idea of prioritizing – going after a judge accused of violating judicial canons and leaving alone one accused of breaking the law?

He also admitted receiving the complaint against Conahan 10 months before he brought it to the Conduct Board’s attention and that when he finally did, it was in the form of a memorandum, which left out the tidbit about case-fixing.

Just what did this memorandum say? That someone in Luzerne County is accusing Judge Conahan of being naughty?

And one needs to take into account the outright viciousness with which the Conduct Board went after Lokuta. She never was given a warning to check her temper at the door before she was hauled before this board and bounced from the bench.

And for everyone who detested her courtroom behavior, an equal number could be found who believed she was a judge who was prepared and had no tolerance for those who weren’t. Someone actually complained that she scolded a deputy sheriff for jangling his keys in her courtroom. Again, that is a far cry from case-fixing. But, the Conduct board seemed fixated on getting rid of her.

The question remains was it at someone’s bidding? And if it was, we all have reason to worry.

Deal or No Deal

Local

Apr 112010

What Do You Say, Bob?

By Betty Roccograndi

NO DEAL, Luzerne County Clerk of Courts Bob Reilly reportedly told Howie Mandel. No, he reportedly said that to federal authorities, who, unlike Howie, aren’t known to play games.

“A source” told The Times Leader that Reilly rejected a plea agreement involving the continuing probe into criminal activities throughout Luzerne and Lackawanna counties.

So maybe Reilly didn’t do anything wrong except get caught once selling used cars when he was thought to be at the courthouse.

What we do know is that Reilly allowed a little red wagon to take up residence in Luzerne County for the past five years at a cost of $1,050 a day plus expenses to straighten out county records. Reilly’s son and his wife’s cousin worked for the company, LRW Solutions Group, which may have been a good enough reason to keep them around. So far, the little red wagon has hauled away $970,800 of taxpayers’ money plus another $38,700 in expenses, according to newspaper accounts.

County Prothontary Carolee Medico Olenginski, who raised some red flags regarding the little red wagon’s payments, told the TL that a former employee tipped her off, saying that LRW’s expenses “will blow your mind.”

It certainly blew our mind to learn that the little red wagon parked itself here for five years at a rate of $1,050 a day under an extended contract which set no payment caps and wasn’t even signed, which is what county Controller Walter Griffith revealed.

Maybe that’s what piqued the interest of three federal agencies which are investigating the LRW payments. The TL’s “knowledgeable” source said the plea agreement allegedly offered Reilly had nothing to do with those payments, which he approved.

Reilly has instructed The Times Leader to talk to his attorney if it has any questions. So the TL did, and attorney Michael Butera said he could not comment on whether Reilly was offered any deals. So, since Butera wouldn’t answer a simple true or false question, for now we’ll just have to settle for maybe. Butera also declined to say whether Reilly was the target of any investigations unrelated to his job at the Keystone Kourthouse.

But you have to understand, Butera has his hands full. He is also representing Pat Patte Jr., whose sports bar may have been involved in a gambling ring. So the last thing Butera needs is reporters pestering him about Bob Reilly, who is a busy guy himself, working full-time for the county and in between at a used car dealership.

These are good times to be a lawyer in Luzerne County, not to mention an investigator with the U.S. Secret Service.

No Comment!

Today's BULLSH*T

Apr 112010

“The Congressman doesn’t comment on decisions of the Pennsylvania delegation.” – Ed Mitchell, spokesman for U.S. Rep Paul Kanjorski, on his boss’ not recommending Chris Carney for a seat on the influential House Appropriations Committee.

Nor does he comment on much of anything else, for that matter – unless he’s coming to town with a bag of “free money.” Then he has plenty to say and is available to have his picture taken. – PureBunkum

CAUTION: Don’t Be A Name Dropper

Local

Apr 112010

What Are They Doing Here?

By Betty Roccograndi

Whatever you do, be careful about mentioning someone’s name. The feds are not only listening; they stand ready to pounce.

State Sen. Raphael Musto remains clueless why 10 FBI agents descended on his Pittston Twp. home on a bright, sunny afternoon last week armed with a search warrant.

But he has an idea. Musto said someone may have mentioned his name to federal authorities, who have been working overtime, it seems, interviewing everybody and his brother in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties as they continue their probe of corruption.

The conversation probably went something like this:

Interviewee: “Ray Musto.”

FBI. “Thanks, we’re on our way to Pittston Twp.”

And before you knew it, the feds were hauling away three garbage bags of Musto’s personal belongings and his Sirius satellite radio from his Lexus. As for the radio, maybe they simply wanted to listen to non-stop 60s music on their way back to headquarters.

But then there’s that trip to Israel that Musto and his wife made last year with Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Pasonick Jr. It was mentioned in two Times Leader stories, but how it’s relevant is also a mystery.

Frankly, there is something unfair about this. The TL confirmed that the Pasonicks were guests of the senator but that they paid their own way. Nothing wrong with that, so far. But according to the newspaper, Pasonick, whose engineering firm has worked in just about every city, borough, township and alley way in the county, donated $3,500 to Musto’s campaign war chest since 2006. However, mega-real estate developer Robert Mericle, the paper noted, donated $29,600 – and he didn’t even get a lousy T-shirt from the Gaza Strip.

Actually, it’s only right that Pasonick got to do a little traveling. He did, the local newspapers said, pick up the tab for former Luzerne County employee William Maguire to go to a lavish Florida resort last year to study options for low-income housing. With the feds lurking around every corner, Maguire was a little gun shy about turning in his expenses to the county Housing Authority, so former authority board member Gerald Bonner asked Pasonick to reimburse Maguire. For some unknown reason, Pasonick, who’s not even on the Housing Authority board, did. But the plan backfired on poor Bonner, who was later inducted into the Club of Corruption.

Anyway, back to the ever so cool Sen. Musto and the case of the mysterious search warrant. He told the newspaper again: “I don’t see a reason why I should be concerned.”

Well, unless the 10 FBI agents scoured the homes of everyone else on your block, maybe you should be.

An Investigation? Says Who?

Local

Apr 092010

Talk To My Lawyer

By Betty Roccograndi

Luzerne County Clerk of Courts Bob Reilly needs to take a break from selling used cars and read the newspapers, especially when he’s in them.

He should also advise his attorney to do the same. How can he be properly represented if his own attorney misses the blazing front-page headlines: “The Reilly Factor” – the very clever one in Thursday’s Citizens’ Voice and the ominous one in The Times Leader: “Feds look at county payments to firm.”

Okay, Reilly isn’t mentioned until the second paragraph, where it said he oversaw a fund whose payments caught the eye of the FBI. And we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that he may have mistakenly thought the CV was writing about Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor,” as in Bill O’Reilly, not Bob. But, then again, that was definitely Bob Reilly’s over-sized photo on the cover.

So considering all of this, it was quite surprising to read in Friday’s TL a quote from Reilly’s attorney, Michael Butera, that, “Neither Bob Reilly nor I are aware of any investigation relating to LRW. If, in fact, LRW is being investigated, it has nothing to do with Bob Reilly as far as we know.” We have news for you, payments to LRW are being investigated.

Granted, we’re not supposed to believe everything we read in the newspaper. But, come on. There it was for everyone to see, except perhaps, Reilly and Butera.

But isn’t it just like a lawyer to play down something like this? And isn’t it just like Reilly to hide? He referred any questions that pesky reporters might have to Butera. You can’t blame him, Butera is very good at fielding them.

Several federal agencies are indeed investigating almost $1-million in payments Luzerne County made to LRW Solutions, more charmingly known as the little red wagon. Reilly reportedly oversaw those payments.

There were supposed to be meetings along the way, with not only the county commissioners, but also with the county treasurer, sheriff, prothonotary and Reilly. Reilly said no one expressed any interest in a meeting, so having the strong work ethic for which he’s famous, Reilly handled everything on his own, apparently.

The TL contacted several other counties who also have committees regarding county records and related expenses. Officials from seven counties said they approve every expense and that not holding meetings is “not the norm.”

Well, we have news for them – Luzerne County is not the norm either.

Haven’t they ever heard of the Kids for Cash scandal?

Don’t Worry; Be Happy

Local

Apr 092010

What? Me Worry?

By Betty Roccograndi

Is that what someone does when 10 federal agents are rummaging through your home and cars – sit on the back porch, soaking up the sun? It is if you’re state Sen. Ray Musto.

Wow, and to think we dubbed former Lackawanna County Commissioner Robert Cordaro, Cool Hand Luke, after he remarked following his indictment on 40 criminal charges that it was not a pleasant day.

On Thursday, when the feds showed up at Musto’s Pittston Twp. home with a search warrant, Musto said he wasn’t concerned. “I sat on the back porch and enjoyed the sun,” he said. You can’t blame him; it was a nice day.

Since the rest of us would probably be quaking in our boots, we have to surmise that the senator was on valium.

“It’s not unusual,” said the 28-year state senator. Apparently it’s also not unusual to remain so calm, chatting with reporters, while FBI agents haul away three garbage bags of your personal stuff.

Maintaining his cool, Musto also said he had no idea what this was about. “It is probably an ongoing investigation of some sort.” Noooooo!

Then, according to The Times Leader, Musto ruled out a trip he took last year to Israel with the politically-connected Michael J. Pasonick Jr. and his wife as probable cause for the feds dropping by. He encouraged reporters to “look into that trip.” Why? It’s funny he didn’t bring out his photo albums.

Then things got a little weird. For someone with nothing to worry about, Sen. Musto refused to show reporters the search warrant allowing the FBI into his home. And after volunteering that he didn’t contact an attorney, the long-time Democratic powerbroker asked a reporter, “Do you think I should?” Yeah, maybe it wouldn’t hurt.

Not having a clue as to why 10 FBI agents would storm his house and be interested in the Sirius satellite radio in his Lexus, all Sen. Ray Musto could muster in the way of an explanation was, “I’ve stepped on a lot of big toes over the years.”

Well, now the FBI is stepping on the senator’s big toes. Since we don’t know why, we might as well just go sunbathing.

Strike 3 You’re Out!

National, Today's BULLSH*T

Apr 092010

I was watching the opening day of baseball between the Washington Nationals vs. the Philadelphia Phillies, and the President was throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.

You can watch the video and make your own judgment, but I think he throws like a girl, which is an insult to all girls.

After he threw out the first pitch, he was interviewed by the the broadcast team, and they asked him who was his favorite player from his favorite team, the Chicago White Sox. Well, our Harvard-educated President stammered on (as he usually does) about a speech on growing up in Hawaii.

Mr. President, the White Sox are your favorite team and you don’t know any of the players? What a bunch of bullsh*t, or as we say around here PureBunkum.

The Plumber

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