8/7/2019 060410 FBI More Schools

1/1

WB_VOICE - CVDAILY - 4 - 06/04/10 WB_VOICE/PAGES [T04] 06/03/10 22:42 SUPERIMPWB

FBI contactsmore localschool districtsBy Patrick SweetStaff Writer

The FBI has contacted twoadditional Luzerne Countyschool districts to ask abouttransportation providers,bringingthe total to seven dis-tricts.

OfficialsfromtheNorthwestAreaand Lake-Lehman schooldistrictssay theyreceivedcallsroughly two to three weeksago. Thecaller identified her-self as a representative of theFBIandaskedwhether thedis-

tricts owned or leased theirbuses.Neitherdistrictownsitsown buses, so the caller askedforinformation about theven-dors.

Representatives of Crest-wood,Wilkes-Barre Area,Wyo-ming Area, Wyoming ValleyWest andHazleton SchoolDis-tricts have already reportedreceivingsimilarcalls.

NorthwestArea Superinten-dent Nancy Tkatch said the

woman identified herself asSusanWalker, butTkatch doesnot recall Walker introducingherself asan agent.

I dont know thereason fortheinquiry,Tkatch said.

Northwest has a contractwith Barchik Buses LLC ofHuntington Mills; RichardMoss Busing and K&GTrans-portation, both of HunlockCreek;CragleBus Service Inc.and Kabata Transportation

Inc., both of Shickshinny; andMasters Bus Line Inc. andDorethea Dohl, both of Ben-ton.

Lake-Lehman Superinten-dent James McGovern said hehadno idea why theFBIwouldaskabout buses. Thecallcameroughly two weeks ago, hesaid.

They didntgive any indi-cationthat there wasgoingtobe a follow-up, McGovern

said.Dallas-based Back Moun-tain TransitCo. handles busesfortheLake-Lehmandistrict.

TheFBI wouldnotcommenton whether it is conducting aninvestigation or the details ofany investigation. Dallas,Greater Nanticoke Area,Hanover and Pittston Areaschool officials say their dis-trictshave notbeencontacted.

psweet@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2117

FormerNanticokefootballcoach suesdistrictBy Erin MoodyStaff Writer

A former Greater Nanti-coke Area football coach issuing the district to recovermore than $7,000 in pay heclaims he is owed for the2009 season.

After dealing with health

problemsduring the season,Lou Cella resigned as headcoach in November.

According to a lawsuitf il e d T u e s -day by attor-ney ThomasO C o n n o r ,Cella was tor e c e i ve a$6,800 foot-b a l l c o a c hs a l a ry a n d

an $800 sti-p e n d f o rsupervising football play-ers weight lifting train-ing, which began in earlyJanuary and stopped at theend of the coaching sea-son.

At the end of the season,Cella putin a formal requestfor his salary and stipend.He made several additionalrequests and received no

payment.The main point is he

didnt receive a dime for allof it, OConnor said. InSeptember, Cella told TheCitizens Voice that his doc-tor was keeping him awayfrom Nanticoke Area foot-ball games after he suffereda heart attack in August.OConnor said Cellas workbegan well before the foot-ballseason.

Men and women are act-ing coaches thewholeyear,he said. Itsnot just a closedperiod of time.

Cella wants the district topay him his salary, the sti-pend and attorneys fees, ata total cost not to exceed$50,000.

STEVE BENNETT, staff writer, con-tributed to this report.

emoody@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2051

WARREN RUDA / THE CITIZENS VOICE

Former Luzerne County Clerk of Courts Robert F. Reilly, right, leaves federal court with his attor-ney, Michael I. Butera, in April.

Clerks resignation official

By Michael P. BufferStaff Writer

W I L K E S - B A RR E Thursday was Robert F.Reillys last day as LuzerneCounty clerk of courts, an

elected post Reilly heldsince 1988.The governors office

received his resignationletter Tuesday, and his res-ignation took effect at theclose of businessThursday,said Gary Tuma, spokes-man for Gov. Ed Rendell.Rendell has90 days to nom-inate a successor, whomthe state Senate must con-firm.

Reilly, a Democrat from

Wilkes-Barre, is workingwithfederalprosecutors on

a plea agreement to resolvea charge he shook down ahandyman for cash kick-backs on carpentry andother odd jobs, accordingtoa court filingfrom May 12.

Theeffective dateof theresignation relates to Mr.Reillys personal situation,in relationship to years ofservice, said Michael I.Butera, Reillys defenseattorney.

Reilly, 57, was elected tosixterms as clerk of courts.His annual salary was$36,562.

Now that his resignationis effective, Reilly will stopreceiving a county pay-check. He stopped workingat the county courthouseafter being charged April16 withreceiving kickbacksfrom a construction con-t ra ct o r wo rk ing f o r arecords-management con-

sultant, Wayne-based LRWSolutionsInc.

The county retirementboard is not expected toapprove a pension requestfrom Reilly because he fac-es criminal charges. Theboard would haveto returnReillys pension contribu-tionswithout interest.

The clerk of courts isresponsible for maintain-ing and filing criminalcourt records, and theofficecollects various crim-

inal court fees. DeputyClerk of Courts Tom Piza-no will be the acting clerkof courts until a successorto Reilly is confirmed bythe state Senate. Pizanosannual salary as deputyc l e rk o f c o u r ts i s$35,540.03.

The nominee must havebeen registered to vote as aDemocrat in 2007, which iswhen Reilly won his lastterm in office. The term

expires January 2012.Reilly allegedly demand-

ed contractor Barton J.Weidlich give him a cut ofat least 10 percent for each

job Weidlich performed forthe county. That workincluded installing anemployee gate in the clerkof courts office and con-structing security cages ata records storage facilityfor the county recordsimprovement committee,according to an affidavit.

Reilly was chairman ofthe records committee andsigned requeststo pay LRW,the consultant for the com-mittee. Weidlich, who hasbeen cooperating withinvestigators since he wascharged with obstructionof justice last October, saidhe gave Reilly five to sevencash kickbacks in 2007,totaling $1,500.

mbuffer@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2073

Rendells officeconfirms receiptof Reillys letter

Cella

4

THE

CITIZENSVOICE

FRIDAY,

JUNE4,

2010