SCRANTON — A 22-year-old city man who helped fracture a man’s skull during a violent assault downtown last year was sentenced Tuesday to state prison.

Lackawanna County President Judge Michael J. Barrasse sentenced Bryan Keller, formerly of 417 Cherry St., to four to eight years in prison followed by two years of probation.

Keller and three others set upon a man as he left a Linden Street bar May 5, 2017. The victim was badly injured.

“I know I made a mistake,” Keller said. “I felt bad. ... I can’t take it back.”

Barrasse seemed incredulous that Keller felt bad and asked when Keller felt a pang of guilt.

Keller bragged about the attack on social media with Raheim Rolling, 24, of Virginia, who also participated in the assault, the judge noted. In March, a judge sentenced Rolling to serve six months of probation.

“I know I was wrong,” Keller replied at Tuesday’s hearing. “That’s all I can say.”

Police cracked the case using social media, surveillance footage and taxi records. Police also arrested Tyran Dowdell, 31, of Scranton, who is awaiting further court proceedings, and a 17-year-old boy.

Keller said he was drunk at the time of the assault. His defense attorney said his family has a history of substance abuse.

Barrasse scolded Keller that there must be a consequence for his actions and set a stiff prison sentence.

The judge also ordered that Keller pay his share of restitution to the victim: $269.33.

Contact the writer:

jkohut@timesshamrock.com,

570-348-9144;

@jkohutTT on Twitter

Pat Clark was at the Jersey Shore with his wife and kids when I rang his cellphone.

“It’s funny that you called,” the co-founder of Friends of Lackawanna said. “I was just saying to my wife that there are more seagulls back home (in Dunmore) than there are here.”

The ravenous, winged rats that circle Keystone Sanitary Landfill in Dunmore and Throop are not actually seagulls, but they feast on out-of-state trash and dump the end product on the homes, lawns and cars of landfill neighbors. These dirty birds are local, and not about to fly away from such a voluminous food source.

So the news made Tuesday by the Commonwealth Court was especially encouraging to Clark. The court denied Keystone’s challenge of FOL’s legal standing to oppose an unconscionable near 50-year expansion of the landfill.

From the start of FOL’s campaign against the proposed expansion, lawyers for the landfill have focused on the basic legitimacy of the grass-roots group’s legal opposition to a private enterprise that would negatively impact the public for generations.

In May, the court rightly decided that citizens have a right to stand against actions that threaten the quality of life in their communities. Tuesday’s rejection of Keystone’s appeal reaffirms that obvious truth.

Now the fight can progress to an argument about the harms and benefits of the proposed expansion. Both sides told me they are happy to move the debate forward.

“We knew when we started this four years ago that the facts and the law were on our side,” Clark said. “It’s good to put the question of standing behind us, and we’re excited to move on and argue this on its merits.”

Keystone officials are just as confident they will prevail, spokesman Al Magnotta said.

“We anticipated this,” he said of Tuesday’s ruling. “We are happy to argue our case on the merits. We believe we have a rock-solid case, and we look forward to presenting it.”

With all the immediate disasters that demand daily attention here in Our Stiff Neck of the Woods, it’s easy to forget the time-lapse battle over the proposed landfill expansion. It would make the area’s tallest structure a mountain of out-of-state trash and cement our reputation as a region resigned to a future sold out to the bad bargains of the past.

The court’s rejection of Keystone’s appeal and the staying power of FOL suggest a shift in the wind. Keystone owner Louis DeNaples has long been accustomed to getting what he wants from politicians and regulatory agencies like the state Department of Environmental Protection.

He may get his expansion, but not without a fight. DEP will have final say, but Friends of Lackawanna is dedicated to standing against the expansion and determined to have the last word.

“After four years, we’re still here,” Clark said, “and we’re not going away.”

CHRIS KELLY, the Times-Tribune columnist, is inspired by people who stand up for their communities, especially against long odds. Contact the writer: kellysworld@timesshamrock.com, @cjkink on Twitter. Read his award-winning blog at timestribuneblogs.com/kelly.

Unemployment in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton metro area plunged harder in May than it has in nearly 30 years, new data from the state Department of Labor and Industry shows.

Preliminary numbers published Tuesday show the seasonally adjusted rate fell six-tenths of a point to 4.5 percent, aligning with the state rate. The northeast metro area typically trails the state rate.

With fewer people unemployed, companies find it harder to attract and retain talent, a symptom revealed in help-wanted signs posted outside storefronts and restaurants across the region. Employers in some sectors say they’ve struggled to fill positions for years.

“The entire service industry is feeling the crunch,” said Sam Anderson, vice president of operations at Pump N Pantry.

The Montrose-based convenience store and gas station chain of 15 stores plans to roll out a new, higher starting wage in part to attract more qualified workers early next month. Anderson declined to say how much it will be until the announcement.

Turnover is high at Pump N Pantry, he said, but he doesn’t think it’s as high as other convenience stores.

“When you’re a team member, you’re part of the family. And we hope that’s what keeps people around — we treat them well,” he said.

Jobless numbers lately have moved only a tenth of a point or so each month in the economic zone that includes Lackawanna, Luzerne and Wyoming counties

.

The last time unemployment reached anywhere close to current levels was June 1973

, when it hit 4.4 percent

.

A boost of 1,100 jobs

, coupled with a shrinking labor force, forced down the rate.

Since May 2017, the labor force withered by 2,400

workers.

“That’s going to skew your numbers a bit, and it’s going to show a larger decrease in the unemployment rate,” said Dana Harris, Ph.D.

, a Keystone College economist. “However, I’m not overly concerned about it. It’s not skewing it that much.”

A wide range of changes, such as workers leaving the area or a surge in retirements, could explain the shrinking labor force, she said.

It was June 1989

, following a recession, when the rate last fell so precipitously, said state analyst Steven Zellers

. From May to June that year, the rate dropped six-tenths of a point to 5.6 percent

.

Tuesday’s preliminary numbers likely will be revised down to reflect a smaller decrease in unemployment, the analyst said. Seasonal adjustment calculations appear to be throwing off the data; but any changes likely won’t be more than a tenth of a point or so, he said.

Sheetz employs 240 people in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties.

“It can sometimes be a challenge for us to find the candidates that we need to staff our stores,” said Sheetz talent acquisition Manager Amy Barr

. “While we certainly face challenges that I think most companies are experiencing, I think we have a different sell than a lot of other organizations.”

As part of its recruitment and retention strategy, Sheetz officials tout a “fun, upbeat” company culture and a robust benefits package that includes paid time off, health insurance and paid maternity leave.

The family-owned gas station/fast food chain based in Altoona recently announced a statewide hiring surge and has 17 job openings posted in the immediate region.

Within the metro area, new jobs in transportation and warehousing sectors continue to drive growth with 800 new jobs, not seasonally adjusted, from April to May. Leisure and hospitality trades also added 1,000 jobs, helping to push total nonfarm employment higher.

Seasonally adjusted, the region added 4,500 jobs since May 2017 for a total 266,800.

Susquehanna County had the lowest rate of the northeast counties — 3.4 percent. At 4.9 percent, Monroe County had the highest unemployment.

“Trying to find new hires has been a challenge for certain positions,” said Gerrity’s Supermarkets co-owner Joe Fasula.

The Scranton-based grocer has raised wages over the years and advertises for help online and in newspapers, but still struggles to fill full-time slots, especially in the produce department.

“I can’t really say that we’re feeling it worse than we have in the last couple years,” he said. “This is nothing that’s specifically new.”

Contact the writer: joconnell@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9131; @jon_oc on Twitter

SCRANTON

A man who received oral sex from a woman in a crowded Walmart parking lot in late March will spend at least five months in Lackawanna County Prison, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Peter Weins, 40, 383 Wheeler Ave., had pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.

President Judge Michael J. Barrasse sentenced him to serve up to 12 months in jail. Weins was sentenced to an additional three to six months of jail for violating probation.

Police caught Lisa Miller, 34, of Scranton, giving Weins oral sex in a car March 31. Miller, who also pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, is awaiting sentencing.

Barrasse said he’d entertain Weins’ release to a long-term treatment center.

— JOSEPH KOHUT

DICKSON CITY

An investigation into allegations of animal neglect at a borough pet store found no evidence of wrongdoing by staff, borough police said Tuesday.

Dog wardens from the state Department of Agriculture twice visited Puppylicious Puppy Boutique on Route 6 last week. They found no violations and a veterinarian determined the dogs there are in good health, borough police Patrolman Michael Fredericks said. Another vet also examined a golden retriever at the store and ruled the dog is in good health, Fredericks said.

The store came under scrutiny earlier this month after posts on Facebook questioned the health of the dogs, notably the golden retriever puppy.

— CLAYTON OVER

SCRANTON

A city man awaits extradition to New Jersey where he will face homicide charges.

Scranton police arrested Altariq Jordan, 34, of 725 Prescott Ave., Apt. 1., on Tuesday. Newark police had issued an arrest warrant for Jordan, who is a suspect in a homicide that occurred Sunday. Newark police asked Scranton to be on the lookout, and an off-duty officer spotted Jordan on Tuesday morning and contacted the patrol division.

Officers conducted a traffic stop on Jordan’s vehicle and arrested him without incident, according to a release from Scranton police.

— SARAH HOFIUS HALL

SCRANTON

A 29-year-old Scranton man who hit another man with a wooden bat will not have to serve any more time in jail.

Martin Perez, 802 Quincy Ave., was sentenced to time served Tuesday for an assault that happened in August. The high end of Perez’s sentence is one year in the Lackawanna County Prison.

Perez pleaded guilty in April to simple assault.

An argument broke out when the victim, Lisandro Moctezuma-Monge, went to Perez’s home. Perez hit him several times with a wooden bat, fracturing his skull.

— JOSEPH KOHUT

SCRANTON

Police identified the man found after an arson on Roosevelt Street on Monday.

Brett W. Sweeting II, 26, of Scranton, was killed in the blaze.

Crews found Sweeting inside 52 Roosevelt St., which broke out in flames about 3 a.m.

It was unknown if anyone was living in the home. It may have been on the market for sale recently, Fire Chief Pat DeSarno said.

An autopsy conducted Monday determined Sweeting died from carbon monoxide poisoning from smoke inhalation, Lackawanna County Coroner Tim Rowland said. The manner of death is pending completion of an investigation by Scranton Police Department.

— STAFF REPORT

Updated at 2:21 a.m.

SALEM TWP. —Troopers responded to a home on Eisenhauer Road about 8 p.m. Tuesday and found one person with a gunshot wound outside the residence, Trooper Mark Keyes, a spokesman with the Dunmore-based Troop R, said in an email early Wednesday morning. The state police emergency response team was still on scene as of about 2 a.m. and was trying to secure the home, Keyes said. Troopers have been unable to make contact anyone inside the building.

Updated at 1:18 a.m.

SALEM TWP. — At about 12:45 a.m., the ambulances staged along Route 590 broke camp and left. Minutes later, a state police cruiser and then an ambulance drove from behind where fire police have Rose Road blocked and turned east on the highway. Two more state police vehicles followed shortly after 1 a.m.

The police activity Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning marks the second time in two days that incidents in Wayne County have elicited a heavy police response. James A. Sorrentino, 36, 40 Balsam Swamp Road, Prompton, died at his home Monday after shooting at state troopers who responded to a report he fired a shotgun at his brother, Charles Sorrentino, and his mother, Patricia Sorrentino, about 2:15 that morning.

Wayne County District Attorney Patrick Robinson’s office will determine if the shooting was justified after a joint investigation by his office and the state police.

-----

12:44 a.m.

SALEM TWP. — Fire police have Rose Road blocked off at several points after a sizable police response in the township Tuesday evening.

There is no word on the nature of the response early Wednesday morning. Several ambulances are staged near where officials have Rose Road blocked off at Route 590.

Wayne County District Attorney Patrick Robinson said state police are investigating an incident on Eisenhauer Road, but declined to offer further information.

PROMPTON

The Wayne County Coroner’s Office determined the man killed after a standoff with state police Monday died of a gunshot wound to the neck.

Troopers responded to 40 Balsam Swamp Road about 2:15 a.m. Monday to investigate reports that James A. Sorrentino, 36, shot at his mother and brother. Troopers shot Sorrentino about 7:15 a.m. , when he pointed a gun at police and opened fire, authorities said. Wayne County Coroner Edward Howell pronounced him dead about 9:55 a.m.

An autopsy Tuesday determined the manner of death as homicide.

The Wayne County District Attorney’s Office will determine if the shooting was justified after a joint investigation with state police.

— CLAYTON OVER

SCRANTON — Lackawanna County President Judge Michael J. Barrasse sent a Carbondale man to state prison Tuesday for firing a gun last year into an occupied Blakely auto shop.

Jeremy Wade’s behavior from his drinking has escalated and Barrasse had to consider the community’s safety in sending Wade to prison for 3¼ to seven years.

“The things that I did were out of line,” Wade said. “Someone could have gotten hurt.”

Wade, 31, shot at CJ Auto Technologies in the 1200 block of Main Street in November, police said. Four people were inside but no one was hurt. Police found 10 spent .380-caliber casings outside the business.

Wade pleaded guilty in April to recklessly endangering another person, criminal mischief and two firearms-related counts.

An addict, Wade said he substituted alcohol for heroin. He was arrested for driving under the influence several times.

Drunkenness isn’t an excuse, he said, adding he never intended to harm anyone when he shot his gun.

Wade will spend four years on probation following his prison term.

Contact the writer:

jkohut@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9144;

@jkohutTT on Twitter

SCRANTON — A 28-year-old man charged with threatening to kill his estranged wife and her family in a drunken fury nearly two years ago will spend almost a decade in state prison before being eligible for parole.

Joshua John Skivington, previously of Factoryville, bowed his head through most of Tuesday’s hearing, in which Lackawanna County President Judge Michael J. Barrasse sentenced him to 7¾ to 16 years in prison.

Skivington pleaded guilty in March to terroristic threats, carrying a firearm without a license, recklessly endangering another person, fleeing police, burglary and simple assault. The plea dropped charges of attempted first-degree murder.

“I owe amends to all these people,” Skivington, visibly emotional, told Barrasse in a somewhat cracked voice. “I don’t even know how to begin.”

State police charged Skivington in September 2016, after a day spent drinking vodka roused his anger and led him to tell his mother and brother he would kill his wife Kristen and her parents.

He pointed a rifle at his mother and brother and said he would shoot them if they did not hand over the keys to a minivan. He promised to murder his in-laws and take back his son.

Skivington’s family called 911 and alerted his wife’s parents. Police arrested him and found a .38-caliber revolver and .22-caliber rifle in the minivan.

The day’s events left lasting effects on his in-laws. Kristen Skivington filed for divorce. Her father, William Ashton, told Barrasse on Tuesday that they still have nightmares. He testified he sometimes dreams someone is standing at his door. Noises at night compel them to lock their doors and windows, something they didn’t feel the need to do before.

“There is much more to it than no one getting hurt,” said Ashton, of Scott Twp. “This has changed our lives forever.”

Skivington’s defense called psychiatrist Richard Fischbein, M.D., who testified Skivington meets criteria for bipolar disorder. With his history of self-medicating with drugs and alcohol, Skivington would have no chance of staying sober without actively addressing his mental health, he said.

With consistent medication, drug and alcohol counseling and counseling to resolve childhood traumas, Skivington could have a chance.

Skivington acknowledged in court he attempted suicide while at Wyoming County Correctional Facility. He said he is on medication now and has a state of mind he hasn’t had in years.

He apologized but recognized his words are meaningless unless his actions put weight behind them. He said all he can do is better himself.

Barrasse acknowledged Skivington’s case as being a “complicated” one but said, ultimately, the “mayhem” he caused that day rendered him a danger to society.

After his prison term, Skivington must spend 33 years on probation.

Contact the writer:

jkohut@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9144;

@jkohutTT on Twitter

WILKES-BARRE — He’s ghost busted.

A city resident who tried entering the infamous Welles House — a purportedly haunted property at 46 S. Welles St. — was arrested early Wednesday morning after being found armed with a shotgun, sword, brass knuckles, a pocket knife and a copy of the Bible, according to police.

Anthony Parker, 33, of 586 Carey Ave., told police he was at the home to “look for ghosts,” according to the charges.

The house was built around 1860 by industrialist Augustus C. Lanning, who, as legend has it, experienced a series of tragedies soon afterward. Now vacant, the home has been marketed as “Pennsylvania’s very own Amityville Horror” and is ostensibly linked to a number of mysterious deaths, unexplained apparitions and bumps in the night.

According to the charges against Parker, police responded to the home shortly after 3 a.m. Wednesday to a report of a break-in in progress, with a witness reporting someone was prying plywood off the back door.

Police arriving on the scene found a Chrysler minivan parked in front of the home facing the wrong direction and heard movement from the back of the property. When officers circled around the home, they found Parker holding a pry bar in his left hand, with a 24-inch sword tied to his back, the charges say. Parker was also wearing red gloves, despite the warm weather, police said.

Parker complied with orders to drop the pry bar and to untie the sword, and lay on the ground while police frisked him, police said. The search turned up a silver brass-knuckle bladed weapon that was in Parker’s pocket as well as a folding pocket knife and a Bible, the charges allege.

Parker also had a Crown Royal bag containing 10 shotgun shells that was tied to his belt, the complaint says. Parker claimed he had left the shotgun home, but police subsequently found a loaded pistol-pistol grip shotgun in the rear of the home, police said.

Asked what he was doing at the home, Parker told police he was there to “look for ghosts,” according to police. Parker told police he did not know the owner but knows people who do, the charges say.

The property manager told police she doesn’t know Parker and that he did not have permission to be at the home.

Police charged Parker with defiant trespassing, possessing instruments of a crime, weapons possession, possessing an offensive weapon and prowling at night time.

Magisterial District Judge Thomas F. Malloy Sr. arraigned him on Wednesday morning and set bail at  $25,000. Parker was being held at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility with a preliminary hearing set for July 5.

WILKES-BARRE — A Scranton man accused of sexually abusing a young girl for years pleaded guilty to child sex charges Wednesday and was sentenced immediately to up to 20 years in state prison.

Keith Brian Lewis, 40, 1622 Washburn St. pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated indecent assault, statutory sexual assault, indecent assault, corruption of minors and child endangerment. Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Vough accepted the plea and immediately sentenced Lewis to 6¼ to 20 years in prison.

“Both the victim and the commonwealth are very pleased with the outcome of this case,” Assistant District Attorney Nancy Violi said after the hearing. “The abuse the victim endured had a tremendous impact on her life. This plea spared her the ordeal of having to relive the abuse at trial and guaranteed that the defendant is held responsible for his actions. She finally has closure and can now move on with her life.”

According to prosecutors, the abuse took place at homes in Plymouth Township and Taylor, starting when the girl was 7 years old and lasting until she was 12. Prosecutors say Lewis forced the child to have sexual intercourse, perform oral sex on him and watch pornography, asking if she would do the acts she saw on the screen.

Lewis threatened to slap the girl if she didn’t do what he wanted, and warned that he would murder her mother and sisters if she ever told anyone about the abuse, prosecutors said.

The Times-Tribune does not identify victims of sexual assault.

Last year, Lewis pleaded guilty to charges of statutory sexual assault and corruption of minors in the case, and was sentenced to 14 months to 10 years in state prison. However, Lewis withdrew that plea, opening the door for his new sentence imposed Wednesday.

Contact the writer: jhalpin@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2058

SCRANTON — McNichols Plaza Elementary School is currently in the running to win a $50,000 recycled playground.

The school is in third place in a contest sponsored by Colgate, ShopRite and TerraCycle and is asking the community to help them get to first place by voting online before the contest ends Saturday.

The Scranton School District elementary school in South Scranton does not have a playground.

As part of the contest, volunteers also collected used dental care products like toothbrushes, dental floss cases and packaging and sent the items to TerraCycle, a national recycling center in New Jersey.

Anyone interested in voting for the school can visit the McNichols Plaza Facebook page, @mcnicholsplaza on Twitter or www.terracycle.com/en-US/contests/colgateshopriteplayground2018.

— KATHLEEN BOLUS

CLARKS SUMMIT — The Abington Heights teachers union officially has a 5-year contract, ending a year of labor strife in the district and the threat of another strike in September.

The board voted 6-2 to pass the contract tonight. The Abington Heights Education Association approved the contract Tuesday.

Under the terms of the agreement, teachers will receive a 2 percent retroactive raise for the 2017-18 school year; a 2.5 percent raise in the second year; 2.75 percent in the third year; and 3 percent in both the fourth and final years of the contract.

The new agreement ends a year of failed negotiations held since before the contract expired in August. The approximately 250 member union — which includes teachers, counselors and nurses — went on an eight-day strike in September.

Both sides changed their proposals multiple times over the year but, until today, were not able to reach a compromise regarding health care and raises.

Check back for updates.

Contact the writer: kbolus@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5114; @kbolusTT on Twitter

HONESDALE — Borough police and U.S. postal inspectors are investigating the destruction of a post office mailbox.

Someone or a group of people put an explosive in the box located near the intersection of North Main Street and 13th Street sometime between 12:50 a.m. and 1:07 a.m. on Tuesday, borough police said. The explosion also destroyed mail inside the box.

Anyone with information is asked to call borough police at 570-253-1900.

— CLAYTON OVER

SCRANTON — The Planning Commission wants more information on stormwater management of a proposed apartment building downtown on a triangular lot next to Kildare’s Irish Pub.

The commission tonight reviewed a subdivision and site plan by BS Scranton LLC for a four- to five-story apartment building of 48 450-square-foot efficiency units at 617 Lackawanna Ave. and Kressler Court.

In April, the zoning board approved a variance for the apartment building. The firm now seeks site plan and subdivision approvals from the planning commission.

City Engineer John Pocius said the firm has met numerous requirements since the commission first reviewed the plans in May. But more details need to be resolved before he and city Planner Don King could recommend that the commission approve the subdivision and site plan, Pocius said.

The commission continued the application to its next meeting in July.

While most pending matters are fairly routine, stormwater management poses a challenge for the firm, Pocius said. Kressler Court forms a low area with a street drain emptying into a privately owned stormwater pipe that runs under the Hilton Scranton and Conference Center and comes out on the Adams Avenue side of the hotel, Pocius said.

BS Scranton would either have to gain permission from the hotel to have stormwater from the apartment building flow into the Kressler Court drain and through the pipe under the hotel, or pump the stormwater up to a different stormwater drain on Lackawanna Avenue, Pocius said.

“It’s a big hurdle, because there’s not an easy way to get rid of the stormwater,” Pocius said.

Chris Sespico, engineer for BS Scranton, said the firm will work on resolving the issue.

“Everything’s been going pretty smoothly up until now, just this hurdle, as far as the private pipe, so we’ll continue to push forward,” Sespico said.

BS Scranton, a firm of Kildare’s owner Dave Magrogan and partners Vaughan Buckley and Dana Spain, all of the Philadelphia area, see a downtown rental market of college students and young professionals wanting small, efficiency apartments.

Contact the writer: jlockwood@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5185; @jlockwoodTT on Twitter

SCRANTON — A resolution to privatize the Lackawanna County Tax Claim Bureau by approving a contract with the acting bureau director’s 16-month-old company was stricken from the agenda shortly after Wednesday’s commissioners meeting started.

As such, commissioners did not vote on the contract.

The resolution — which was added to commissioners’ agenda late Tuesday afternoon after the original document was posted on the county website — called for the county to enter into a professional services contract with Scranton-based Municipal Capital Recovery LLC, a private company owned and managed by acting tax claim bureau Director Joseph Joyce.

Under the contract, MCR would operate the bureau for at least five years at no expense to the county. The company, which Joyce established in February 2017, would be compensated “on a contingency basis from the proceeds” of the delinquent property taxes it collected. It would also make money on a fee schedule established in the contract. The county has not solicited proposals from other companies, acting Chief of Staff Donald Frederickson said.

The item was removed from the agenda after county Treasurer Edward Karpovich raised concerns with the contract prior to Wednesday’s meeting.

“I need to know more details,” Karpovich said, noting things were moving “too fast.” “I have to know that it’s financially beneficial to Lackawanna County, and I don’t know that.”

Joyce, a partner in the Pittston-based law firm Joyce, Carmody & Moran, has worked as a solicitor for the bureau for more than a decade. He’s run the bureau as an independent contractor since January, after longtime Director Ron Koldjeski resigned. His hourly rate is $125, but the total amount he has earned in that role is unclear and the county did not provide that information Wednesday.

Reached after the meeting, Joyce didn’t provide a figure but said he “can’t imagine it’s very much.”

Joyce and/or his wife, Margaret, contributed $3,249 to Commissioner Patrick O’Malley’s campaigns from 2015 to 2017. Members of his family, his law partners, a law partner’s wife and political action committees related to the family or his law partners contributed another $32,732 during the same period.

Combined, the $35,981 total ranks as O’Malley’s top source of campaign contributions.

Of Joyce’s contributions to O’Malley, $1,416 went to the joint campaign committee O’Malley had with Commissioner Jerry Notarianni, all in 2015 when they ran for office as a ticket and before their acrimonious split in 2016. Notarianni received no contributions to his individual campaign committee from Joyce or his wife. Joyce also did not contribute to O’Malley’s joint committee with former Commissioner Jim Wansacz, O’Malley’s primary election running mate in 2015.

Of the contributions by the others, O’Malley’s individual committee got the bulk, $26,483. Another $7,548 was contributed to the O’Malley-Notarianni committee, all in 2015, and another $1,950 to O’Malley’s joint campaign committee with Wansacz, also all in 2015.

Notarianni’s solo committee received a total of $200 from two Joyce family members in 2016, but none from Joseph himself.

Joyce contributed $250 last year to Commissioner Laureen Cummings’ campaign committee while his law partners and a partner’s wife contributed a total of another $750 in 2016 and 2017.

Noting his decade-plus working as an attorney for the bureau, Joyce said he’s familiar with its operations and knows its staff. He acknowledged making political contributions, but said he couldn’t have known at the time that Koldjeski would resign.

“On the merits, I don’t think me submitting a proposal is way off base,” Joyce said, arguing that his company would make the bureau more efficient and increase delinquent tax collections. “I think I have the credentials. I think I have the experience.”

O’Malley said he was “too busy” to answer questions after a county prison board meeting Wednesday. He did not call The Times-Tribune to offer comment as he said he might do.

It’s unclear when the contract with Joyce’s company may come up for a vote, but Cummings said she will not support it. Privatizing the bureau will result in increased fees, the filing of liens and other actions that will hurt delinquent taxpayers, she said.

Notarianni said he will continue to study the proposal.

Contact the writer:

jhorvath@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9141; @jhorvathTT on Twitter; bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9147;@BorysBlogTT

Commissioner accuses official of lying

Also Wednesday, Commissioner Jerry Notarianni publicly accused acting Chief of Staff Donald Frederickson of lying last week when he denied to The Times-Tribune that he had told Notarianni that former Chief of Staff Andy Wallace would resign June 20. Wallace resigned Friday.

“I am disappointed in your remarks to The Scranton Times,” Notarianni said to Frederickson. “You told them that you had not told me that. Starting off without telling the truth is not a good place to begin as a chief of staff.”

Frederickson fired back by accusing Notarianni of violating county policy by discussing the Wallace matter with the media, and said he exposed the county to potential liability.

“It’s been longstanding county policy not to discuss confidential personnel matters outside of the administration,” Frederickson said. “You were incorrect in doing that, commissioner.”

Commissioner Patrick O’Malley defended Frederickson, saying he was never under the impression Wallace would resign June 20. He also praised Frederickson’s experience and, along with Commissioner Laureen Cummings, thanked him for serving as acting chief of staff.

Commissioners have yet to determine whether they’ll advertise the chief of staff position before permanently filling the role, O’Malley said.

— JEFF HORVATH