SCRANTON — City police are looking for a man accused of giving officers false information related to a deadly South Side crash.

Caio Santos Cunha, 26, 3211 Vipond Ave., Scranton, is charged with making false reports and unsworn falsifications stemming from statements he made to police after the April 6 crash that killed Robert Ortiz, 20. Cunha traveled behind Noah Cohen, 25, the man accused of driving while intoxicated when he struck Ortiz’s vehicle at the intersection of Breck Street and Pittston Avenue that morning, police said. Cunha is accused of telling police Cohen had a green light when he went through the intersection and hit Ortiz, but video surveillance contradicted his claims, police said.

Cunha is described as being 6 feet tall, 170 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call 911.

— CLAYTON OVER

SCRANTON — A driver struck a parked vehicle and a building after another car pulled out in front of her Tuesday, police said.

The crash happened about 2 p.m. , when a car driven by Bruce Schwartz of Riverdale, New York traveled east on Orchard Street and stopped at the intersection with Pittston Avenue, city police Lt. Marty Crofton said. He didn’t see a car driven by Annmarie Shields of Scranton, which traveled south on the avenue, and pulled onto Pittston Avenue, Crofton said. Shields struck Schwartz’s car, which deflected her vehicle into a parked car and a building at 231 Pittston Ave. , Crofton said. The building sustained minor damage. Schwartz was taken to Geisinger Community Medical Center, police said.

No charges have been filed, Crofton said.

— CLAYTON OVER

Gloria Jean, an accomplished soprano singer, actress and former Scranton resident who starred alongside Bing Crosby, W.C. Fields and other icons of Hollywood’s “Golden Age,” died Friday in Hawaii at the age of 92.

Born in Buffalo, New York, on April 14, 1926, Gloria Jean Schoonover moved to Scranton with her family when she was just 6 months old and spent her early childhood singing on the radio and in city vaudeville houses. Dropping her surname for the silver screen, Gloria Jean’s big break came when she was cast as the lead in the 1939 Universal Pictures film, “The Under-Pup.” The movie’s world premier was held at Scranton’s

Strand Theater, with thousands turning out to welcome the bright young starlet home.

The child prodigy turned leading lady would go on to star or co-star in 26 feature films between 1939 and 1959, including “If I Had My Way” (1940), alongside Bing Crosby; “Never Give a Sucker an Even Break” (1941), alongside W.C. Fields; and “Pardon My Rhythm” (1944), alongside Mel Torme. She retired from acting in 1963.

Scranton resident Jerry Lyman, 82, a friend who had exchanged letters with the late actress since 2016, owns copies of 22 of those 26 films. Lyman first encountered Gloria Jean on screen in the 1990s, when he watched “Never Give a Sucker an Even Break” for the first time.

“All the sudden it shows this girl walking toward the camera ... and she’s singing with the most extraordinary range, and on top of this she had the face to go with it,” Lyman said. “And this combination just blew me away. I said: “My God, this girl is perfect!”

Last month, just less than two weeks before Gloria Jean passed away, Lyman wrote a letter to the editor published in The Times-Tribune encouraging Scranton to recognize its “greatest childhood star” every Aug. 24 — the day in 1939 that Gloria Jean walked Lackawanna Avenue mobbed by fans prior to the premier of “The Under-Pup.”

“It would be nice for the city to pay her a tribute while she is still with us,” Lyman wrote in the letter published Aug. 18.

While the original Gloria Jean is now gone, her name is carried on by Gloria Jean Leonard of Scranton, who responded to Lyman’s letter to the editor with one of her own published Saturday. Born Aug. 24, 1939, Leonard was named after the actress but knew little about her namesake until reading Lyman’s letter.

“Thanks and please pass on my regards to another Gloria Jean from Scranton,” Leonard wrote.

Lyman was prepared to do just that when he learned Tuesday that the actress had died. And while he cherishes her letters and declarations of friendship — “Jerry, you’re one in a million,” for example — Lyman wishes he travelled to Hawaii to visit the late Gloria Jean, who he called “a living doll the likes of which the world will never see again.”

“I miss so much not going over on a plane and giving her a hug,” Lyman said. “It’s the one big thing missing in my life.”

After she gave up acting, she became a receptionist and executive secretary for Redken Laboratories and retired after 30 years there, according to an obituary article in the Hollywood Reporter. She was preceded in death by her husband, Franco Cellini in 1962, and their child Angelo Cellini, in 2017.

Contact the writer:

jhorvath@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9141;

@jhorvathTT on Twitter

Desperate to be reunited with his best friend, Buddy limped home. Home was gone, reduced to a splat of blackened boards and broken glass.

Buddy’s best friend, Brian Ott, 58, was laid up with burns over 85 percent of his body in an Allentown hospital, almost 100 miles from Buddy.

The house exploded late Thursday. The cause remains under investigation, Taylor Police Chief Stephen Derenick told me Tuesday. A neighbor noticed Buddy nuzzling the ashes of 308 Union St., Taylor, on Saturday. The neighbor called Derenick, who called Denise Kumor, founder and CEO of Duryea-based Tracey’s Hope Hospice Care and Rescue for Domestic Animals Inc.

“I can’t say enough about Denise’s response,” Derenick said. “She didn’t hesitate. She said, ‘Take him up to VREC and don’t worry about the cost.’ ”

On Saturday, Buddy was treated at Veterinary Referral and Emergency Center in South Abington Twp. His injuries were serious — smoke inhalation, dehydration, singed fur and four burned paws. The pads on one paw were burned off entirely, Denise said.

Buddy is staying with a loving foster family and recovering with the help of antibiotics and pain medication, Denise said. Buddy was short of breath after a Tuesday visit to the Taylor Borough Building, so I will meet him at a scheduled Friday visit with Robert J. Noto, V.M.D., at Memorial Veterinarian Hospital in Old Forge.

Denise said Dr. Noto pledged to donate his services to Buddy’s care going forward. Tracey’s Hope can use help covering the costs of Buddy’s emergency care. To contribute, visit the shelter’s website at www.trac

eyshope.com.

In the meantime, join me in praying for Brian Ott, who remains in critical but stable condition. Derenick told me Buddy and his best friend were inseparable.

“If he (Ott) was out cutting the grass, that dog was right there by his side,” he said.

The bond between pets and the people who love them is stronger than anything that separates them. Ott’s house exploded, but Buddy came home desperate to be comforted by his best friend.

Derenick couldn’t confirm something Denise told me, but I choose to believe it. She said that before doctors put Brian Ott into a medically induced coma, they let him know Buddy was safe and waiting for him.

“They were very close,” she said. “We want to see them together again.”

CHRIS KELLY, the Times-Tribune columnist, hopes for that reunion, too. Contact the writer: kellysworld@ timesshamrock.com, @cjkink on Twitter. Read his award-winning blog at timestribuneblogs.com/kelly.

September 5, 1943

Bauxite stored

in Carbondale

The Hudson Coal Co. stored 150,000 tons of Bauxite at its storage yard in Carbondale.

Bauxite, the source of aluminum, is needed to manufacture planes for the war effort. According to the company, the pink-colored ore was mined overseas and transferred to Carbondale.

The reason the ore was in Carbondale was because the storage yard was empty due to the high demand on anthracite coal. The company said it was sending out close to 10,000 tons a day to the Aluminum Co. of Canada for processing.

Bountiful harvest at victory garden

Five neighbors planted a cooperative victory garden on the 1100 block of Washburn Street in Scranton that produced a bountiful return from their hard work.

The group included Mrs. Frank Hyland, Mrs. Robert McAndrew, Mrs. William S. Merwin, Mrs. Frank Ryan and Mrs. Stanley Nicodem.

The group said they plan on planting the garden next year.

Scranton speaks

at commencement

The University of Scranton held its commencement ceremony at the Scranton Estate.

A second commencement was needed due to the number of students enrolled in the accelerated war program. Fifty-one students received their degrees at the ceremony.

Speaking at the ceremony was Worthington Scranton. He spoke about the importance of college education.

BRIAN FULTON, library manager, oversees The Times-Tribune’s expansive digital and paper archives and is an authority on local history. Contact Brian at bfulton@timesshamrock.com or 570-348-9140.

MARRIAGE LICENSES

■ Ashley Ann Keen and Frank Robert Smith, both of Simpson.

■ Dawn Susan Dailey, East Stroudsburg, and Christopher Joseph Augustine, Fort Meade, Md.

■ Nicole Concetta Pelosi, Dunmore, and James Patrick McAndrew, Dallas.

■ Castellanos Javier Jimenez and Ignacia Marmolejo, both of Scranton.

■ Joshua David Cillo, Leland, N.C., and Maria Nicole Eboli, Wilmington, N.C.

■ Adit Patel, Redmond, Wash., and Dhruti Patel, Scranton.

■ Nicholas Del Prete and Anita Marie Suppy, both of Olyphant.

■ Robert W. Burrier and Sus­an M. Tucker, both of Moscow.

■ Yan Sonis and Tetyana Pavlyuchyk Dorsaneo, both of Scranton.

■ Jason P. Byers and Colien J. Ashcraft, both of Olyphant.

■ Juan Garcia-Guzman and Berenice D. Polanco-Peralta, both of Scranton.

■ Christine Marie Mariani, Scranton, and Jonathan William Rogan, Carbondale.

■ Amanda Marie Zilla and Mark Fortese, both of Dunmore.

■ Lara Anne Maciejeski, Scranton, and Brian Walter Bennie, Dunmore.

PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS

■ Kathleen Shemanski, Car­bondale, to Eddy Acevedo Jr., Dunmore; a property at 1307 Grandview St., Dunmore, for $170,000.

■ Robert and Marion Stan­koski, Old Forge, to Bryan and Alison Riviello, Throop; a property at 223 E. Morton St., Old Forge, for $127,000.

■ Kathleen Farrell, executrix of the estate of Aloysious Mack­rell, also known as Aloysious J. Mackrell, Waymart, to Eugene and Jean Perek, Sebastian, Fla.; a property at Fourth Street, Archbald, for $165,000.

■ Diane A. Thomas, also known as Diane K. Thomas, now know as Diane Keeler-Siniawa, Waverly Twp., to Timothy J. Butler, Clarks Green; a property in Newton Twp. for $229,900.

■ Jonathan R. Fanning and Dominika Piskorski, Clarks Summit, to Copa Properties LLC, Fort Collins, Colo.; a property at 710 N. Main Ave., Scranton, for $84,900.

■ William J. Jr. and Rosemarie Dobitsch, Factoryville, to Richard D. and Whitney D. Durling, Factoryville; a property at Seamans Road, Benton Twp., for $290,000.

■ John C. Kutkowski, Clarks Summit, to Sergio E. Semedo, Scranton; a property at 201 N. Hyde Park Ave., Scranton, for $95,000.

■ Jason J. and Robin M. Proskovec, by their agent NEI Global Relocation Co., Omaha, Neb., by Vicki L. Oakley, its director of closing services (power of attorney to be recorded simultaneously herewith) to N.P. Dodge Jr., as trustee under the trust agreement dated Oct. 14, 1985, and amended May 21, 2002, to provide for Leslie A. Delperdang as an additional trustee to serve along with N.P. Dodge Jr. known as “the Trust Between National Equity Inc., a Nebraska corporation and N.P. Dodge Jr.”; a property at 7 New­berry Circle, South Abington Twp., for $415,000.

■ N.P. Dodge Jr., as trustee under the trust agreement dated Oct. 14, 1985, and amended May 21, 2002, to provide for Leslie A. Delperdang as an additional trustee to serve along with N.P. Dodge Jr. known as “the Trust Between National Equity Inc., a Nebraska corporation and N.P. Dodge Jr.” to Eric and Lauren Eckenrode, Scran­ton; a property at 7 Newberry Circle, South Abington Twp., for $415,000.

■ Branch Banking and Trust Co. Winston-Salem, N.C., to Philip S. and Angela R. Jaimes-Weilbacher; a property at 707 Oak St., Old Forge, for $65,000.

■ Michael E. Bush, Scranton, to Angel Declet, Walden Village, N.Y.; a property at 1413 Rundle St., Scranton, for $99,000.

■ Christine H. Young, Waverly Twp., to Donald J. and Mary T. Booth, Scranton; a property at 901 Longview Terrace, Waverly Twp., for $207,000.

■ Fitzgerald Development Partnership, Moosic, to Christo­pher T. Boland III and Kelly A. Flannery, Moosic; two parcels in Moosic for $528,000.

■ Soup Street Enterprises LLC, Lindwood, N.J., to Copa Properties LLC, Fort Colins, Colo.; a property in Scranton for $89,900.

ARDS

The following were admitted to the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program for driving under the influence:

■ Nicholas Joseph Solomon, 22, 101 Joanne Drive, Archbald, stopped April 27, 2017, by state police.

■ Charles P. Kralovic, 65, 4270 Dawn Acres Drive, Madi­son Twp., stopped Sept. 2, 2017, by Moscow police.

■ Nicholas Tyler Urbanick, 24, 113 Grant St., Dickson City, stopped March 3 by South Abington Twp. police.

■ April Hubshman, 39, 52 John Drive, Gouldsboro, stopped Jan. 16 by Scranton police.

■ Alana Adrianne Hronich, 25, 125 Everett Ave., Scranton, stopped Sept. 26 by Taylor police.

■ Jorge Fuentes-Hernandez, 30, 182 Summit St., Edwards­ville, stopped Nov. 13, 2016, by Scranton police.

■ Joseph McTiernan, 54, 304 N. Main Ave., 2nd Floor, Scran­ton, stopped Nov. 3 by Scranton police.

■ Louis Ruspi, 63, 121 Pierce St., Eynon, stopped Feb. 6 by Blakely police.

■ Jonathan Brian Price, 40, 435 Jefferson Ave., Jermyn, stopped Jan. 31 by state police.

■ Barbara Jean Demeck, 57, 203 Elmwood Drive, Moscow, stopped Dec. 8 by state police.

■ Nicholas Joseph Grady-Hill, 20, 931 William St., Avoca, stopped Dec. 19 by Old Forge police.

■ Kyle J. Shaffer, 28, P.O. Box 283, Moscow, stopped Feb. 1 by Scranton police.

■ Gino Carachilo, 25, 4 Lathrope Ave., Carbondale, stopped Jan. 1 by Blakely police.

■ Jessica Krawczyk, 29, 720 Camalt St., Dickson City, stopped Feb. 9 by Olyphant police.

■ Donee Woodcock, 49, 2047 Maple Road, Dalton, stopped March 3 by South Abington Twp. police.

■ Fred J. Chamberlain, 77, 113 Commerce Drive, Scott Twp., stopped March 3 by Archbald police.

■ Joseph A. Lombardi, 33, 57329 Hospital Road, Bell Aire, Ohio, stopped Nov. 6 by South Abington Twp. police.

■ Dennis Ross, 25, 1027 Lackawanna Ave., Mayfield, stopped Dec. 5 by Taylor police.

■ Tracey L. Adams, 44, 3604 Heather Lane, Tobyhanna, stopped Dec. 3 by state police.

■ Kishor Panday, 43, 2253 Prospect Ave., Scranton, stopped Oct. 23 by Scranton police.

■ Himran R. Aziz, 21, 1945 Amelia Ave., Scranton, stopped Aug. 26, 2017, by Scranton police.

■ David Joseph Chofey, 62, 515 Newton Road, Scranton, stopped Nov. 24 by Blakely police.

■ Maureen Catherine O’Mal­ley, 50, 1730 Bundy St., Scran­ton, stopped Feb. 24 by state police.

■ Troy Mark Texiera, 23, 3152 Laurel View Lane, Tobyhanna, stopped Aug. 2, 2017, by Dick­son City police.

The following defendants were admitted to the ARD program for other crimes:

■ Mia Helena Calchino, 27, 441 Edgar St., Throop, arrested Jan. 5 by Blakely police for endangering welfare of children, possessing a controlled substance by a person not registered and use/possession of drug paraphernalia.

■ Eva Lynn Sierra, 23, 538 Mary St., Scranton, arrested Feb. 20 by Dickson City police for possession of marijuana and use/possession of drug paraphernalia.

■ Miguel Angel Ramos-Nunez, 29, 717 Mary Jo Drive, Jessup, arrested Feb. 8 by Dickson City police for receiving stolen property.

■ Kristian Blake Passetti, 21, 9070 Kingsley Road, P.O. Box 86, Kingsley, arrested May 22 by Taylor police for a DUI, use/possession of drug paraphernalia and accidents involving death or personal injury.

■ Louis M. Pasquariello, 63, 283 Drake St., Old Forge, arrested Feb. 22 by Old Forge police for DUI, possession of marijuana and use/possession of drug paraphernalia.

■ Chelsie Lynn Crowell, 19, 1421 Capouse Ave., Scranton, arrested Dec. 5 by Dickson City police for possession of marijuana and use/possession of drug paraphernalia.

ONLINE: thetimes-tribune.com/courts

Senior U.S. District Judge William J. Nealon broke records for longevity as a federal judge and his wake will break new ground at the courthouse that bears his name.

People wishing to pay their final respects to Nealon will do it Thursday from 3 to 7 p.m. at the William J. Nealon Federal Building and United States Courthouse, at North Washington Avenue and Linden Street in Scranton.

Neither the U.S. Marshals Service nor the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts could come up with another example of a judge’s wake taking place in the courthouse named in his or her honor.

Martin J. Pane, the U.S. marshal for the 33-county Middle District of Pennsylvania, said visitors wishing

to pay respects to the Nealon family should enter on the Linden Street side, but the judge’s casket will lie in the lobby on the North Washington Avenue side. The casket’s planned location represents a nod to Nealon’s 2½ years as a Lackawanna County judge in the early 1960s. The county courthouse sits across North Washington, clearly visible from that side of the federal building.

Mourners will not have to pass through the building’s metal detectors.

“The line will be long. I’m very, very certain of that,” Pane said.

Pane was unsure of how the idea of having the wake in the courthouse came about, but said middle district Chief Judge Christopher C. Conner approved the idea. Efforts to reach Conner and members of the Nealon family were unsuccessful.

The original part of the courthouse, which stands at North Washington Avenue and Linden Street, opened in 1931. The newer part, adjacent to the North Washington side, opened May 4, 1999.

Nealon threw himself into helping plan the annex during the 1990s. The annex’s construction and renovation of the original courthouse cost $34 million. Combined, they have 272,000 square feet of space.

“He was intimately involved,” the marshal said. “It’s certainly an honor to have Judge Nealon at the federal courthouse and appropriate treatment for a judge who gave so much to the community and the rule of law.”

President John F. Kennedy appointed Nealon a federal judge on Dec. 15, 1962. On Aug. 28, two days before he died, Nealon broke the record for longest service as a district judge and longest service on a single court. He served 20,349 days.

Contact the writer:

bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9147;

@BorysBlogTT on Twitter

Cases against two of three defendants charged in the April death of a drug informant are on hold until a judge rules on whether a specific defense attorney can represent one of the accused.

Officials postponed a preliminary hearing for Cornelius Mapson, scheduled for July 25. Since then, his attorney, Curt Parkins, filed an appeal with the state Superior Court challenging Lackawanna County President Judge Michael Barrasse’s order removing him from the homicide case and a related drug case.

Barasse barred Parkins from representing Mapson at the request of District Attorney Mark Powell, who cited concerns that Parkins previously worked in the same law firm as attorney Paul Walker,who represented the homicide victim, Nina Gatto, 24, in a drug case.

Police say Mapson, 32, of Pittston, injected Gatto with fentanyl and then suffocated her inside her North Scranton apartment because she worked with police to make a drug purchase that led to his arrest.

Two other people, Melinda Palermo,38, of Pittston, and Kevin Weeks, 25, address unknown, are charged with conspiring with Mapson to commit the crime. Palermo waived her preliminary hearing June 18, but hearings for Mapson and Weeks have not been scheduled.

Walker represented Gatto after she was arrested in January for selling drugs to another confidential informant. He negotiated a plea to a possession of drug paraphernalia charge.

Gatto became an informant for police soon afterward. Her use as an informant sparked controversy after her death because she had serious mental health issues and her mother served as her legal guardian.

In the motion to disqualify Parkins, Powell argued there was a conflict of interest because Parkins had access to Gatto’s file while employed by Walker’s firm. The firm dissolved earlier this year and Parkins is now a law partner with attorney Matthew Comerford.

Parkins raises several issues in the appeal, including that Powell does not have legal standing to challenge his representation of Mapson. He also argued Barrasse erred in denying Mapson the right to have the counsel of his choice and in finding that Mapson could not waive any potential conflict of interest issue.

Powell recently filed a motion to dismiss Parkins’ appeal, arguing he had no legal right to file it because it involves a pretrial ruling. By law, an attorney must seek a judge’s permission to challenge a pre-trial matter and Parkins did not do that.

A judge will take the matter under advisement and issue a ruling at a later date.

Contact the writer:

tbesecker@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9137;

@tmbeseckerTT on Twitter

Dunmore

Work reunion: RH Donnelley/DEX One former employees reunion, Saturday, Sept. 15, 12:30 p.m., Sherwood Park Pavillion, Dunmore, $5/adult, kids free, bring potluck dish. Contact: Bill, bwriter602@gmail.com.

Fleetville

Rabies clinic: Rabies clinic, Saturday, Oct. 6, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Fleetville Firehall, 58 Firehouse Lane, $8, cash only; also available, nail clipping, $7, distemper, $15, microchip, $30. Contact: 570-650-4368.

Spaghetti supper: All-you-can-eat spaghetti supper, Fleetville Firehall, 58 Firehouse Lane, Saturday, Sept. 22, takeouts, 4:30-5 p.m., eat-in, 5 p.m. until sold out, homemade sauce, $5/quart to go, $9/adults, $5/10 and under. Contact: Beverly, 570-335-6212, or Bonnie, 570-945-5557.

Olyphant

Neighborhood watch: Olyphant Neighborhood Watch monthly meeting, Thursday, 6:30 p.m., Borough Building, Willow Ave­nue, new members welcome.

Peckville

Bus trip: Double “R” Twirlettes sponsoring a bus trip to the Miss America Pageant parade, Atlantic City, Saturday, $40/person ($15 rebate at Caesar’s), leaves Peckville at 8 a.m., return home at 8 p.m. Contact: Sheri: 570--499-7518.

Scranton

Bus trip: East Scranton Seniors bus trip to Hollywood Casino, Wednesday, Sept. 19, bus leaving at 10 a.m., returns from casino, 5:30 p.m., $34, rebate is $30 slots and $5 for food. Contact: Tom by Sept. 13, 570-280-5096.

Bus trip: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 232 Wyoming Ave., Scranton, bus trip to St. John the Divine Cathedral in New York City, Oct. 6. Price and information: St. Luke’s, 570-342-7654.

Legion meeting: American Legion Post 908 meeting Mon­day, 7 p.m.

Constitution-and-coffee: U.S. Constitution Article 5 presentation and civil discussion, Catlin House, Lackawanna Historical Society, 232 Monroe Ave., Scran­ton, Sunday, Oct. 14, 2 p.m., open to public with refreshments. Contact: Matt Zale, 570-357-4517 or matt.zale@cosaction.com.

Throop

Annual breakfast: Throop Hose Co. 1, 512 Center St., annual all-you-can-eat egg, pancake and sausage breakfast, Sunday, Oct. 7, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., $7/adults, $3/children 10 and under, tickets available from any member or by calling Dave Beson, 570-383-1019.

CLIPBOARD ITEMS may be sent to yesdesk@timessham

rock.com or Clipboard, c/o YES!Desk, 149 Penn Ave., Scranton, PA 18503. YES!Desk, 570-348-9121.

High notes

Scranton Public Library board members Emily Perry and attorney Jacob Nogi received the John J. Albright Distinguished Service Awards during a celebration of the Albright Memorial Library’s 125th anniversary this summer.

Perry and Nogi received the award for their exemplary service in support of the library.

Library Director Jack Finnerty presented Perry and Nogi with the awards.

June 1 was also declared Albright Memorial Library Day in Lackawanna County.

Board members including: Kenneth Mayers, Brian Lenahan, James Henkelman, board president; Betsey Moylan, Linda Koons, Karen Bazzarri and Daniel Ginsberg accepted the honor from county representatives.

Chapter

reorganization

Nanine Gramigna was installed as 2018-19 Keystone UNICO Chapter president during the chapter’s annual presidents dinner.

Glenn Pettinato, past national president of UNICO National, served as the installing officer. Cathy Gerard, outgoing president, is now board chairwoman.

New chapter officers include Frank Coviello, first vice president; Michele McDade, second vice president; Valerie Riggi, treasurer; Mary Ann Coviello, financial secretary; Mark McDade,

corresponding secretary; Nancy Malone, recording secretary; and Thomas N. Carlucci, sergeant-at-

arms.

Board members include Cathy Bianchi, Sandra Collins, Nancy Angeloni, Mary Mack, Ray Tropeano, James Mack, Bob Collins, Joe Sadowski, Sylvia Tagert, Ann Summa, Louise Ligi, Marilyn Vitali and Marge Ruggiero.

Super students

Lakeland graduate Lauren Cunningham received the Leah Loomis Legacy Scholarship.

The scholarship was awarded to Lauren, who like Leah, demonstrates leadership, confidence and strength through kindness and example.

Leah Loomis, a beloved member of the class of 2018, was tragically killed in a boating accident in September 2018.

A 47-year-old Scranton man tried to kidnap a woman’s young child while right in front of the boy’s mother, forcing the woman to physically take her son back, city police charged.

Samuel Uwimana, 1820 Division St., seemed to deny the allegation during a recorded interview Saturday at city police headquarters. He denied knowing the business police believe he was kicked out of sometime around when the incident happened and said that “God is his witness,” according to a criminal complaint.

Amy Cusick, the victim’s mother, told police that she and her son moved out of Uwimana’s way while on the 1600 block of Washburn Street on Saturday and the man bent over and picked up her son.

The complaint does not state how old Cusick’s son is. A birth announcement from 2016 indicates the child is a toddler.

“Amy was still shaking,” Officer William Hayes wrote in a criminal complaint. “She’s never seen this male before and hasn’t seen anything like this since she’s lived here.”

Cusick physically took her boy back. Uwimana started to flee. A Lackawanna County 911 dispatcher reported to police that Uwimana had been kicked out of the nearby Villa Maria II and then Cusick lost sight of him.

An ambulance crew saw Uwimana walk into West Side Food and Beer on South Main Avenue and police stopped him. An officer drove Cusick to the store and she identified him as the man who picked up her child.

Investigators asked if Cusick gave Uwimana any reason to believe he could pick her son up. She said no.

Uwimana is charged with kidnapping and disorderly conduct. He’s in Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $25,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled Monday.

Contact the writer:

jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9144;

@jkohutTT on Twitter

A Nicholson man did not report that a 25-year-old associate of his had been having sexual contact with a 16-year-old girl even though he was required to as a police officer, state police at Gibson charged.

Joshua Joseph Diddick, 29, also faces charges he offered alcohol to teenage girls at a house party earlier this year at that 25-year-old’s Hop Bottom house and “harassed” an underage girl on Snapchat until she blocked him, then messaged her again on Facebook, Trooper Girard Dempsey wrote in a criminal complaint.

Dempsey did not identify victims by name in that complaint.

All of that occurred while Diddick was a police officer, a point that two of the teenage girls joked about to Diddick after he offered them beer.

“Just because I am a cop doesn’t mean I can’t have fun,” Diddick reportedly said.

It’s unclear if Diddick is still a police officer. Diddick had been employed as a municipal officer in multiple jurisdictions. A message left for District Attorney Marion O’Malley was not returned.

An article reporting a child abuse arrest in April identified Diddick as a Montrose police officer who filed the charges. Montrose Police Chief Dale Smith said Diddick had been a part-time police officer but resigned from the force roughly a month ago because he took another job elsewhere. The chief believed Diddick had mentioned he would become an electrician.

A phone message left for Diddick was not returned. His attorney, listed on a court docket as Robert Hollister, declined a request for comment through his secretary.

State police began their investigation by the middle of July when a 16-year-old girl said during an interview at the Children’s Advocacy Center she received alcohol and sexual contact from a 25-year-old man and a local police officer knew about it.

The 25-year-old man she identified has not yet been charged regarding that conduct. Trooper Bob Urban, a spokesman for the Dunmore-based Troop R, said that investigation remains ongoing.

Two other teenage girls, 17 and 16, told investigators that the three minors were with the 25-year-old man and Diddick while Diddick drove them in his truck. Diddick appeared drunk but continued to drink as he drove, according to the complaint. He offered the underage girls beer. One of them took one and they teased him that he’s a police officer who is breaking the law.

Once stopped, the 25-year-old and the 16-year-old started “making out” in the back seat. Diddick grabbed the 17-year-old’s buttocks, state police said.

State police interviewed Diddick on Aug. 23 and he denied the allegations. A day later, he acknowledged that the 25-year-old and 16-year-old had been flirting and kissing in the back of his truck.

Diddick is charged with failure to report, stalking, corruption of minors and giving minors alcohol. He is free on $15,000 unsecured bail and has a preliminary hearing scheduled Tuesday.

Contact the writer:

jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9144;

@jkohutTT on Twitter

A Roman Catholic bishop who apologized to his flock last month for the "misguided and inappropriate decisions of church leaders" is reckoning with his own role — revealed in federal court a decade ago — in the system that protected pedophile priests.

Scranton Bishop Joseph Bambera handled three sexual misconduct cases during his three-year tenure as diocesan vicar for clergy. He testified about one of them in a 2007 civil trial over clergy abuse.

Under questioning from a plaintiff's lawyer, Bambera acknowledged the diocese ignored its own policy by failing to report "Father Ned" — a pseudonym used in court — to civil authorities. He testified that Father Ned was removed from ministry only temporarily before getting another parish assignment. Once there, Bambera told the jury, Father Ned was caught "grooming" a boy for sexual assault.

The Associated Press has learned that Father Ned's real name is the Rev. Robert Gibson, who died in 2012. Gibson is one of about 300 predator priests named in a landmark Pennsylvania grand jury report that said more than 1,000 children in six Catholic dioceses have been abused since the 1940s.

Bambera's participation in the Gibson case highlights the fact that some of today's bishops, while they were rising through the ranks, helped their superiors shield priests accused of abuse from law enforcement and allowed them to continue in ministry — or at least had knowledge of the cover-up by senior church officials and didn't blow the whistle.

"He knew. He was part of the system," said Marci Hamilton, a University of Pennsylvania legal expert on child sexual abuse and the founder of CHILD USA, an advocacy group.

Bambera, who has emphasized his zero-tolerance policies toward clergy abuse since becoming Scranton's bishop in 2010, said Bishop James Timlin had already decided to reassign Gibson to another parish by the time Bambera became vicar in 1995. He said he worked to make sure Gibson and other priests accused of abuse were eventually barred from ministry.

"Could I have done things better? Do I wish that there were things that were different in those days? Yeah, I do, I do," Bambera told the AP. "I wish that law enforcement was engaged on a much much more regular basis than it had been." But he said there was only so much he could do: "I worked for Bishop Timlin and the decisions were his to make, they weren't mine."

On Friday, Bambera barred Timlin from representing the diocese in public, citing his failure to protect children from abusive priests. Bambera said in a statement announcing Timlin's punishment that the grand jury report had also "caused me to reflect on my own role in handling allegations of abuse in the church" and "to consider my role and past actions in protecting children."

Bambera isn't the only current Pennsylvania bishop whose handling of old abuse cases has come under scrutiny. Like Bambera, Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik and Allentown Bishop Alfred Schlert were, at one time, high-ranking church officials tasked with investigating reports of sexual misconduct.

The grand jury said Zubik, on behalf of Pittsburgh Bishop Donald Wuerl, wrote a 1991 letter giving permission to a known child molester to transfer to a parish in the Diocese of Reno-Las Vegas. Wuerl, now a cardinal and the archbishop of Washington, D.C., has himself come under fierce criticism over his tenure in Pittsburgh. In Allentown, the grand jury said Schlert was involved in the diocese's 2002 effort to discredit a victim of priestly abuse. The bishop has flatly denied it.

In the Scranton case, the grand jury said the diocese was first contacted about Gibson — Father Ned — by an attorney for a man who claimed the priest had sexually abused him 20 years earlier. Gibson admitted to it, resigned as pastor and was sent to Saint John Vianney Center outside Philadelphia for treatment.

Before major church reforms in 2002, bishops often sent abusive priests to treatment and allowed them to return to ministry. Thus, eight months after his resignation and one month after Bambera became vicar for clergy, Gibson left treatment and went to live in a parish rectory outside Wilkes-Barre.

Gibson was reinstated "to a limited ministry as a parish priest" based on the recommendation of mental health professionals at St. John Vianney Center, diocesan spokesman Bill Genello said via email.

Bambera, as a top adviser to Timlin, participated in closed-door discussions about Gibson, according to his 2007 testimony. But he told jurors the final decision on what to do with the priest rested with Timlin. The grand jury extensively documented Timlin's role in concealing clergy sex abuse, but mentioned Bambera only a few times.

"To be fair to Bambera, he was not the ultimate decision maker here," said Nicholas Cafardi, a canon lawyer and former dean of Duquesne University School of Law.

Hamilton said Bambera's subordinate role is no excuse. She has called on Pennsylvania prosecutors to file child endangerment charges against bishops who concealed abuse as well as subordinates who took part. Hamilton noted the case of Philadelphia Monsignor William Lynn, the first Catholic Church official convicted over his handling of sexual-abuse complaints.

Lynn — who, as vicar for clergy, held the same position Bambera did in Scranton — served 33 months of a three-to-six-year prison term before a state appeals court granted him a new trial, which is pending.

"They all did the same thing," Hamilton said. "And what they did was put children in the pathway of pedophiles."

Bambera told the AP that while he didn't do the job perfectly, he did what he could to remove abusive priests, and "I clearly did raise my voice and my concern on many occasions about behavior and decisions that I didn't agree with."
 

SCRANTON — The outbound lanes of the Central Scranton Expressway will be closed for several hours Thursday while crews paint the Harrison Avenue Bridge abutment, the state Department of Transportation said.

The closure will take place between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. The expressway is scheduled to reopen by 3 p.m. for the evening rush hour.

PennDOT said the closure is necessary to ensure no paint gets on vehicles passing under the Harrison Avenue Bridge while crews complete the painting.

Traffic on Harrison Avenue will not be affected by the closure.

— STAFF REPORT

GREAT BEND TWP. — As a search is underway in northern Susquehanna County for a man wanted in a homicide, authorities have a 20-year-old woman in custody for the same charges.

Andrea Martel, Hallstead, was taken to the county jail this morning without bail on charges of homicide and abuse of corpse.

Martel is charged alongside 22-year-old Quentin Robert Millard, of New Milford, for the death of John Arthur Amrein, 52, on Monday in Great Bend Twp.

Millard remains at large. He may be armed with a handgun and was last seen running through some woods behind a home on Highlands Road in Great Bend Twp..

Check back for updates.

Neil Armstrong Elementary School is temporarily closed for an air-quality issue, Scranton School District Superintendent Alexis Kirijan, Ed.D., said today.

The issues are a result of the “unusually wet summer,” Kirijan said in an email, but did not clarify further.

“For the health, safety and welfare of our students and staff we will not open Armstrong Elementary until the issue is resolved,” the release says.

The first day for students in the Scranton School District is Thursday. However, Tuesday will now be the first day for students at the preschool through fifth grade school located at 1500 North Lincoln Ave., Scranton.

Teachers will return to the classroom Monday afternoon, the release says.

“We apologize for the inconvenience that this is causing to all, but we want the issue to be resolved as quickly as possible,” Kirijan said in the release.

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

As search teams continue to hunt him down for making threats against President Donald Trump and other elected officials, Shawn Christy of Schuylkill County allegedly broke into a business on Tuesday night and stole food, money and a shotgun, authorities said.

But in addition to stealing those items from Skitco Iron Works in neighboring Luzerne County, authorities also believe Christy posted a rant on his Facebook page, again making accusations of a conspiracy against him by officials in his hometown of McAdoo.

The Facebook post was made just before midnight and has since been deleted. A screenshot of the post was saved on a Facebook page his father created to keep his son’s friends and relatives updated on the manhunt that began on June 19.

U.S. Deputy Marshal Robert Clark, who has been leading the search for Christy, confirmed that they believe the Facebook post was made from the Luzerne County business.

Besides the accusations, the Facebook post also mentions the recent sightings of Christy at Skipper Dippers Dairy Bar & Grill on Route 309 in Still Creek, Rush Township.

Authorities say they believe Christy burglarized the popular ice cream shop on Aug. 24, eating food for nearly an hour. There was another reported Christy sighting at Skipper Dippers days later, this time he allegedly was hiding in a dumpster and fled when someone spotted him.

The Facebook post refers to the person in the second Skipper Dippers sighting as a “crisis actor.”

“I robbed the place, I never dumpster dived there,” the post reads.

The post ends with “I don’t make the rules, I’m just here to play the game.”

Clark said he couldn’t comment further as federal marshals and police have intensified the search for Christy in that area.

Since June 19, federal marshals, state police and local officers have pursued Christy into New York, West Virginia, Kentucky and Maryland as, officials suspect, he stole vehicle after vehicle to elude them.

Marshals believe he even slipped briefly into Quebec, Canada, around July 9.

Christy was charged June 19 with threatening the president. A week earlier, a comment under his name was posted on a Facebook page that appeared to take aim at Trump and Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli.

“Keep it up Morganelli, I promise I’ll put a bullet in your head as soon as I put one in the head of President Donald J. Trump. Remember where you came from punk,” the comment reads.

More information will be posted when it becomes available.

mgamiz@mcall.com

Twitter @mannypantalones

610-820-6595

SCRANTON — All three of the required local taxing bodies support extending the tax-exempt status of about 24 acres of land in the Scott Technology Park to accommodate a proposed business expansion promising to create hundreds of jobs.

Following the lead of both Scott Twp. supervisors and the Lakeland School District board, Lackawanna County commissioners today voted unanimously to extend Keystone Opportunity Zone benefits through 2028 on two neighboring lots that Process Technologies & Packaging is targeting for a 407,000-square-foot, multimillion dollar expansion. The company, which produces cosmetics, operates an existing manufacturing facility at the technology park and plans to add 300 new jobs by growing there.

KOZ status exempts a property owner from a range of taxes — including property tax, the business privilege tax and taxes on net profits from business activity conducted within the zone — making it a powerful tool for attracting developers.

“In today’s market, in today’s economy, you would never attract these major developers without this instrument,” Scott Twp. Solicitor Richard Fanucci said of the KOZ designation. “These companies go nationwide looking for incentives ... and they are only going to locate where they get such incentives.”

The state Department of Community and Economic Development must grant final approval now that the township, school district and county have approved KOZ extensions at the lots, which otherwise would lose the benefits at the end of 2024.

Process Technologies hopes to close with the Scranton Lackawanna Industrial Building Co., the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce’s development arm, on the purchase of land at the tech park in the coming months, company controller Shawnna Giumento said.

Plans for the two-phase expansion include erecting two new buildings to house Process Technologies operations, a 201,000-square-foot structure during phase I and a 206,000-square-foot facility during phase II. The company would then close three other facilities it operates locally —warehouses in Olyphant and Waymart and a research and development facility in South Abington Twp. — and consolidate operations in Scott Twp.

In addition to the 300 new jobs created, about 60 people would be transferred from those sites to the expanded location, Giumento told Scott Twp. officials last month. She said Wednesday that the majority of the company’s workforce are Lackawanna County residents.

“This is going to be very, very good for Scott Twp.,” Commissioner Patrick O’Malley said. “(Process technologies’) investment is an investment in our employees in Lackawanna County.”

Contact the writer:
jhorvath@timesshamrock.com;
570-348-9141;
@jhorvathTT on Twitter

OLD FORGE — The repeated wrong-way traffic on Lonesome Road mystified Elaine Vass.

Old Forge police pulled over at least seven drivers this morning for violating the road signs banning Moosic-to-Old Forge traffic on the road, which reopened Tuesday with a single lane allowing only Old Forge-to-Moosic travel.

“People are stupid,” said Vass, the owner of E-Lane’s Diner, which sits near the Moosic end. She favored the single lane to get more traffic driving past her business, but many drivers ignored the “Road Closed” and “Do Not Enter” signs that bracket the single open lane near her restaurant.

“I don’t want anybody to get killed,” she said after watching the wrong-way drivers, who baffled Mike Schuback, too. His auto parts shop sits about halfway down Lonesome Road, which connects Old Forge’s and Moosic’s Main streets.

“It’s extremely clear, the signs are very visible,” Schuback said. “There’s no doubt in my mind you (can) read them or notice them.”

All the trouble started Aug. 13 when more than 4.3 inches of rain in 24 hours spurred Lackawanna River flooding that buckled the road in several places. The buckling forced the state Department of Transportation to close the road to all traffic. After that, PennDOT shortened the closed section to the damaged area so traffic could reach businesses on the Moosic end. Allowing traffic on a single lane allowed access from Old Forge.

After a business owner asked for the single lane, PennDOT agreed.

It quickly became apparent Tuesday that wrong-way drivers headed from Moosic to Old Forge thought they could get through the single-lane, one-way section without getting caught.

“It hasn’t worked as anticipated,” said Schuback, who watched at least two near collisions take place as wrong-way and right-way drivers rolled toward each other. “I’m not really sure how they’re going to resolve it, but the sooner the better.”

A reporter witnessed two wrong-way drivers who police pulled over.

James May, a PennDOT spokesman, hopes publicity about the signs gets more drivers to pay attention. PennDOT plans to re-evaluate today and decide if the one-way, single lane will stay. Otherwise, PennDOT may have to resort to closing the damaged section again, May said. Traffic signals to alternately limit traffic in either direction would take longer to install than repairs, he said. PennDOT aims to have the road permanently repair by the end of October, he said.

Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9147; @BorysBlogTT on Twitter

A 1,000 pound cast iron sculpture was rolled 100 yards from its grassy home alongside a spur trail off the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail, down a ravine and into a murky waterway, sparking a search for the vandals who damaged the artwork.

“This wasn’t somebody back stepping into it,” said Nikki Moser cofounder of Keystone Iron Works. The five-foot in diameter spherical sculpture had to be rolled by at least five people, she said.

The sculpture, by artist Vaughn Randall, a SUNY Courtland, New York, professor was temporarily displayed on the trail after the International Conference on Contemporary Cast Iron Art held in Scranton in May. Both Moser and Randall helped organize the conference which celebrated cast iron art work. Randall was in town Tuesday to pick up the piece and ship it to a buyer when he discovered it was missing, Moser said. The buyer was set to purchase the work for $10,000 and has since cancelled the deal.

Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority, which maintains the trail, has cameras that the Scranton Police Department monitors, said Owen Worozbyt, Trail & Environmental Program Manager. A police report has been filed about the incident, he said.

Lush green vegetation is matted down to its roots where the sculpture rolled into a tributary of the Lackawanna River. Damage is visible on the artwork, which was pulled from the water Wednesday afternoon by Matt Spott from M.J. Spott Crane Rentals in Taylor.

Spott donated his services free of charge after hearing the sculpture was vandalized.

More than 184 pieces of metal are molded and bolted together in floral shapes to form the sphere. Areas of the sculptures are cracked and dented or no longer connect.

Moser’s truck heaved as Spott lowered the sculpture into its bed. She plans to drive the sculpture back to Randall in the upcoming days.

“Despondent would be a good word,” Moser said about the situation. “You know when you work so hard to shift the community and do something really great and this happens, its devastating.”

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