HONESDALE

Officers found about 80 bags of heroin when they arrested a Beach Lake man last week, borough police said.

Police arrested George Hazimof, 47, on Nov. 13 after investigators say they learned that he was involved with drug sales in August and September.

Authorities obtained a warrant, and while arresting Hazimof, they found heroin and money.

Hazimof is charged with possession with intent to deliver and criminal use of a communication facility. He remains in custody at Wayne County Correctional Facility on $60,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday.

— FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY

A Canadensis man sentenced to death for the 2014 ambush that killed one state trooper and wounded another is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his case.

Eric Matthew Frein’s death sentence was unconstitutional because emotional testimony prosecutors presented went far beyond what is permitted by law, his attorney, Michael Wiseman of Philadelphia, says in court papers. Frein’s sentence should also be overturned because he was denied his right to an attorney when he was first questioned, Wiseman says.

The arguments are similar to issues Frein previously raised in an unsuccessful appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Wiseman contends the court erred in denying the appeal because it failed to address constitutional issues.

The U.S. Supreme Court hears only a small fraction of cases referred to it each year. It will decide

whether to hear Frein’s appeal after Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin files a reply, which is due Thursday.

Frein, 36, was convicted in April 2017 of first-degree murder and other charges and sentenced to death for killing Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson II and wounding Trooper Alex T. Douglass in a sniper attack outside the Blooming Grove State Police barracks Sept. 12, 2014.

Wiseman argues the death sentence should be vacated because Tonkin violated Frein’s rights under the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which limits evidence in the death penalty phase to information about the victim and the impact their death had on their family.

The evidence included the testimony of 10 witnesses, a 15-minute video of Dickson’s graduation from the state police academy and information regarding his wife’s difficulty in giving birth to one of their children. That unfairly inflamed the jury against him, he argues.

The state Supreme Court considered the same issue, but dismissed the appeal, finding that decisions on evidence admissibility are up to the trial judge. Wiseman contends the court should have evaluated the evidence based on the constitutional challenge, but did not.

Wiseman also argues police violated Frein’s rights when they refused to allow his attorney to see him once he arrived at the barracks shortly after Frein was taken into custody. Frein made incriminating statements during the questioning.

The state Supreme Court agreed police violated Frein’s rights, but said it was a harmless error because evidence against him was so overwhelming he would have been convicted even if his statements were suppressed.

Wiseman argues the court failed to consider the impact Frein’s confession had on jurors during the death penalty phase, which raises constitutional issues that are not subject to the “harmless error” analysis.

“Frein’s confession was used to show the casual, detached and apparently uncaring man who killed one state trooper and wounded another, in cold blood,” Wiseman said. “In a very real sense, the confession was the tent pole from which the rest of the commonwealth’s theory of the case hung.”

Contact the writer:

tbesecker@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9137;

@tmbeseckerTT on Twitter

Clarks Summit

Casino/craft fair trip: Clarks Summit Fire Company J.W. Hall Auxiliary bus trip to Tioga Downs Casino, Dec. 15, leaves Clarks Summit at 1 p.m., $20, includes access to craft fair, $30 in free play and $10 food voucher; reservations, 570-586-9656, ext. 4, by Dec. 1.

Lackawanna County

Thanksgiving meal: Veterans free Thanksgiving meal, Satur­day, United Bap­tist Church, 213 S. Main Ave., coffee and donuts, 9 a.m., dinner, noon-8 p.m., hygiene packages, clothing items, haircuts, takeout food containers, canned goods.

Madisonville

Breakfast buffet: Madisonville Fire Company breakfast buffet, Sunday, 8 a.m.-noon, fire hall, 3131 Madisonville Road, menu includes hotcakes, French toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, home fries, homemade sausage gravy and biscuits, strawberry rhubarb preserves, local maple syrup and beverages, takeouts available; 570-842-7711.

Old Forge

Annual meeting: Felittese Association of Old Forge annual members meeting, Monday, 6 p.m., Arcaro and Genell’s, election for the board of directors will take place.

Cookie sale: St. Nicholas of Myra Byzantine Catholic Church annual Christmas cookie sale, Dec. 14, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., church hall, 320 Vine St., all homemade cookies including anise wedding, thumbprint, pepper cookies, chocolate chip, peanut butter kisses, nut rugalach, linzer and Welsh cookies, fill a box with the cookies you like, $9/pound; preorders: Betty, 570-457-9292, or Maria, 570-457-8275, by Dec. 8, preorders will not be accepted after this date.

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.

MARRIAGE LICENSES

■ James Thomas Munley Jr., Scranton, and Janey Ramos Gatchalian, Baguio City, Philippines.

■ Rose Carme Destine and Justin Eugene Williams, both of Scranton.

■ Sandra Dalla-Riva, Scranton, and Louis Robert Burke, Taylor.

■ Richard Anthony Marcano Jr. and Janice Soto, both of Olyphant.

■ Brooke Rose Marie Benson and Brian Joseph Newhart, both of Scranton.

PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS

■ Charles and Jennifer Grabow to Mark A. and Megan E. Deshaies; a property on Second Street, Dalton, for $221,450.

■ Paul M. and Candida A. Smola, Blakely, to LMK Investments LLC; a property at 1708 Main St., Blakely, for $157,400.

■ Megan J. McLaughlin, Scranton, to Paul A. Datti, Scranton; a property at 417 Colfax Ave., Scranton, for $95,000.

■ Gerald P. and Cynthia L. Gilroy, Myrtle Beach, S.C., to Theodore J. and Deborah A. Zenzal; a property on Willard Road, Greenfield Twp., for $55,000.

■ Eileen F. Fedele, Covington Twp., to Adam and Melissa Kieselowsky, Jefferson Twp.; a property on Winship Road, Covington Twp., for $200,000.

■ Denise Youorski, Jermyn, to Michael and Emily Repecki; a property in Greenfield Twp. for $132,000.

■ Edward Jr. and Christine M. Volovitch, Newton Twp., to Joseph E. Ferris, Dunmore; a property at 1065 Newton Road, Newton Twp., for $239,900.

■ Ryan M. Cavanaugh, Taylor, to John H. Hickey and Lindsay P. Iacovazzi, Scranton, as joint tenants with rights of survivorship; a property at 406 Third St., Taylor, for $165,000.

■ Mayankkumar R. Patel, Chino, Calif., to Paul and Geralyn Vecerkauskas, Clarks Green; a property at 717 E. Elm St., Scranton, for $25,000.

■ Vicky Varady, Benton Twp., to Joseph C. and Susan Chiochio, Scranton; a property in Benton Twp. for $47,500.

■ Minooka Pastries Inc., Scranton, to Joy Sensi, Scranton; a property at 3282 Birney Ave., Scranton, for $55,000.

DIVORCES SOUGHT

■ Toby D. Watson, Clarks Summit, v. Natalia Galyutina Watson, Omsk, Russia; married Jan. 25, 2008, in Fort Worth, Texas; Brian J. Cali, attorney.

■ Chelsy Esperance, Lackawanna County, v. Salvatore Tomazzolli, Tobyhanna; married May 5, 2016, in Las Vegas; Brian J. Cali, attorney.

DIVORCE DECREES

■ Brianne Dzwieleski v. Curtis Dzwieleski

■ Christopher Shimko v. Tina Shimko

■ Carolyn Diehl v. Joseph Diehl

■ Roldan Maradiaga v. Norma Argueta

ESTATES FILED

■ John Bartovsky, 300 Lillibridge St., Peckville, letters of administration to Helene Moyles, same address.

■ Jean Waespi, 111 Center St., letters of administration to James Pettinato, 142 Center St., Carbondale.

■ Norma Jean Wagner, also known as Norma J. Wagner and Norma Wagner, 100 Terrace Drive, Roaring Brook Twp., letters of administration to Randy L. Wagner, same address.

■ Regina Noll Fisch, also known as Regina M. Fisch, 1 Lake Scranton Road, Scranton, letters testamentary to attorney Elaine C. Geroulo, 1550 Penn Ave., Scranton.

■ Thomas J. Slater, also known as Thomas Slater, 403 Moltke Ave., Scranton, letters testamentary to Bonita Slater, same address.

■ Anna Kozlowski, 1335 Rundle St., Scranton, letters testamentary to Robert Petillo, 910 Moosic Road, Old Forge, and Anne Petillo, 121 S. Keyser Ave., Taylor.

■ Lillian Pearce, 946-948 Wheeler Ave., Scranton, letters of administration to Deborah Borst, 1009 N. Ridge Road, Newfoundland.

ONLINE: thetimes-tribune.com/court

State Sen. John Yudichak, a pro-labor son and grandson of coal miners who has been a moderate voice in the state Legislature since 1999, shocked the political world Tuesday by announcing he is leaving the Democratic party to become an independent who will caucus with the Republican majority.

“That doesn’t mean my values have changed,” Yudichak said in a phone call Tuesday. “I’ve always been bipartisan in my approach. I always felt it was my job to serve all constituents. That’s getting harder and harder to do. The conversation at a national level has become toxic.”

Yudichak, 49, said his switch to independent was a difficult decision that came after heart-to-heart talks with some of his longest political supporters, including his father, Joseph, a loyal Franklin Delano Roosevelt Democrat who Yudichak called “the best political adviser I have.”

The senator thinks his independence can be an example for politicians to adopt a “we” approach to government and politics instead of an “us vs. them” mentality.

With the move, the state Senate now has 27 Republicans, 21 Democrats and one independent with one vacant seat in a reliably Republican district.

Yudichak, of Plymouth Twp., said he wishes he didn’t have to pick a side to caucus with and could serve as a true independent, but Senate rules don’t allow that.

The senator told The Associated Press he found a growing disconnect with an increasingly liberal Democratic caucus and that some issues that are important to him will find a better home in the Republican caucus.

“I felt the voice of Northeastern Pennsylvania was being marginalized,” Yudichak said.

Still, he promised not to vote in lock step with the GOP.

The changing nature of the Democratic party ranks and the recent success of the Republican party in Northeast Pennsylvania — including Donald Trump’s big win here in the 2016 presidential election — likely influenced Yudichak’s decision to become an independent, said G. Terry Madonna, one of the state’s leading political analysts from Franklin and Marshal College.

“It could be he just reached the point the Democrats have moved beyond where he is,” Madonna said. “It could be he doesn’t want to become a Republican, but he can’t remain a Democrat.”

While top Republicans issued a statement Tuesday welcoming Yudichak, Democrats bade him a bitter goodbye. In a statement, Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-43, Allegheny, said Democrats were “extremely disappointed” to see Yudichak turn his back on their “large tent” values.

Yudichak responded that the Democrats’ tent “is shrinking every day.”

Despite the party switch, Yudichak said he would continue to fundraise for Democratic candidates and still back Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 race for president.

Yudichak was first elected to the state House of Representatives in 1998 and served six terms. In 2010, he was elected to the state Senate to replace longtime Sen. Ralph Musto and has won reelection two times. He’s next up for reelection in 2022.

He recently sparred with Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf over plans to close State Correctional Institution at Retreat in Newport Twp. and the White Haven Center in White Haven.

Wolf’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

Yudichak said the change in party doesn’t signal that he plans to run for another office one day.

“There’s always a rumor or two about me running for another, higher officer. But that is just chatter,” Yudichak said. “Right now, I’m focused on this job.”

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS contributed to this report.

Contact the writer:

bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com;

570-821-2055;

@cvbobkal on Twitter

Crews work on installing a 1-million-gallon storm sewer retention tank at the University of Scranton on Tuesday. The project, which Pennsylvania American Water expects to be complete by summer 2020, has displaced two of the university’s tennis courts. Once the holding tank is complete, the water company will rebuild the tennis courts on top of the concrete tank and add a small restroom as well, according to the university. At right, workers pour concrete on what will be the stormwater treatment facility. Below, the top of this tank will be tennis courts when the project is complete.

JAKE DANNA STEVENS

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

SCRANTON — Officials held a workshop with a planning consultant Tuesday on updating the city’s antiquated, 26-year-old zoning ordinance.

The goals are to get a completed draft to the planning commission in February for review and recommendation, city Planner Don King said.

A version coming out of the commission would go to city council in spring for its consideration, toward implementation of a new zoning ordinance by June, Mayor Wayne Evans said.

Noting he was on the planning commission in the early 1990s when the current ordinance was adopted, Evans said the update is necessary and overdue. As time has passed, new uses have come along, such as sharing-economy ventures, communication towers and brew pubs.

A zoning revision would recognize new uses and hopefully put them in zones where they make the most sense, while minimizing impact on neighbors, Evans said.

It’s important to get the update right, because the city will be living with the changes for some time to come, he said.

“This is a great exercise. I’m excited about,” Evans said. “I know what the long-term impact is.”

The Lackawanna County commissioners in January approved a $160,000 contract with Pittsburgh-based Environmental Planning and Design LLC to update by June 2020 zoning maps and ordinances for nine individual municipalities that make up the regional Scranton-Abingtons Planning Association, or SAPA. Those include Scranton, Dunmore, Dalton, Clarks Green and Clarks Summit boroughs and Newton, South Abington, Waverly and West Abington townships. During Scranton’s workshop Tuesday, EDP Managing Principal Andrew Schwartz worked with officials on refining preliminary lists of principal permitted uses — from single family homes to bars and banks — they deem appropriate for the city’s 15 different zones in an updated ordinance.

The same process will play out in the other SAPA municipalities, with uses varying among the members.

“This is all good stuff,” Evans said. “This is why we joined SAPA.”

Contact the writer:

jlockwood@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5185;

@jlockwoodTT on Twitter

Nov. 20, 1924

Fire claims 5 lives in Plymouth

A massive fire in Plymouth claimed the lives of five people and destroyed seven buildings. The fire broke out along the 200 block of East Main Street.

According to police, the fire was discovered at 1:30 a.m. by Deputy Sheriff Ignatius Hosey, who pulled the nearby fire alarm and ran into the burning boarding house at 204 E. Main St. to awaken and assist the residents.

The fire spread from the boarding house to the neighboring buildings that were home to a grocery store, meat market, cigar shop/pool hall, tailor shop and furniture store.

Upon inspecting the ruins, firefighters discovered the bodies of five people who perished in the fire. They were Alice Sherako, owner/operator of the boarding house; her 11-year-old niece and adopted daughter, Emily; and three boarders, Victor Nebrowski, Joseph Jarred and Lawrence Suchocki.

Firefighters also discovered the remains of a moonshine still and a barrel of mash in the basement of the boarding house. They believed that was where the fire started following an explosion.

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.

It was like a coronation without a crown, a Hollywood gala without a red carpet, a relieved beat cop handing off a ticking bomb to a newly certified explosives expert.

Scranton Mayor Until January Wayne Evans and Mayor-elect Paige Cognetti beamed on the steps of City Hall as a slate gray sky spit on North Washington Avenue.

The pair called the Monday press conference to demonstrate the “kumbaya” nature of the transition, which becomes official Jan. 6.

Cognetti briefly outlined the goals and framework of her team and invited constituents to follow the incoming administration’s progress on a slick new website — scrantonmayor

altransition.com.

The mayor-elect said she wasn’t ready to address any questions about personnel. That was the only kind I brought to the party, so I asked, anyway.

“Which one of you is going to fire Pat DeSarno?”

It’s an awkward question, but it shouldn’t have surprised Evans and Cognetti. The city’s fire chief got caught using his city-issued gas card and city-owned vehicle on a July vacation to the Jersey shore and lied to the boss when he got caught.

DeSarno got into a fender-bender, which led to a tip to the newspaper. Times-Tribune staff writers Joe Kohut and Jim Lockwood did what local reporters do — gathered the facts and spoke truth to power.

DeSarno told Evans he paid for his gas on the vacation. The newspaper proved that was a lie. Cornered, DeSarno grudgingly ’fessed up and agreed to reimburse taxpayers.

He spent public money and drove his city-owned vehicle to the beach and lied to the boss and still holds the fire department’s top job. In any private-sector business, that gets you fired — from a cannon. In Scranton, it gets you a chance to “clarify” the lie you told the boss and decide for yourself how much you owe.

After a “self-audit,” De-Sarno determined he owes $559.19 for gas used for personal travel over the last 5½ years. Rather than take his word for it, The Times-

Tribune filed a Right-to-Know Law request for any documentation he provided.

In a rambling written statement to Evans, the fire chief said he had an inferred understanding with former mayor and current felon Bill Courtright’s administration that he could use the car and fuel card “as my own, in essence.” Getting caught made him see that was a “wrong-headed assumption” made without “malice or deceit.”

Malice and deceit is The Times-Tribune business model, if you ask DeSarno. Just don’t dare call him on his cellphone. The chief has never been shy in his criticism of the newspaper. He was part of the crew who got a kick out of identifying themselves as “Lt. Art Franklin” to new reporters at fire scenes back in the early aughts.

Our archives include a photo of DeSarno hosing down hot spots at a 2006 fire in West Scranton. He identified himself as “Art Franklin.” The photographer took DeSarno’s word — a rookie mistake.

Lately, DeSarno’s dislike of the newspaper has flared out of control. In emails and phone calls, he imposed conditions dictating how and when he could be contacted by Times-Tribune reporters and specifically refused to speak with Kohut and Lockwood. Kohut called DeSarno on Friday, and received this text in response:

“I’m going to be nice because I’m convinced the fault lies with your boss... He was told (well one of the things he was told) in no uncertain terms that I would never return a call to either you or Jim Lockwood, whether made to my desk or PERSONAL cellphone.

“So since he, for some reason, keeps refusing to pass that info on, consider this my personal notification to you — Please don’t waste time calling me and NEVER AGAIN call my PERSONAL cellphone. Next time this happens I will file harassment charges on you.

“You’ve been notified.”

I called DeSarno on his personal cellphone (Evans confirmed the city doesn’t pay for it or reimburse him). The chief had nothing to say until I related the question I asked Evans and Cognetti about his employment status.

“Wayne would have done it already if I had done something wrong,” DeSarno said.

And there it is, the unabashed sense of entitlement of a longtime employee who seems to think the city exists to provide him a paycheck. DeSarno used public money for personal expenses and a public vehicle for a vacation and lied to his boss when caught, but doesn’t see any wrong in what he did.

I wish DeSarno had been willing to talk, because I was itching to respond to his text to Kohut:

Notice to Chief DeSarno: Public figures don’t get to dictate how the media covers them, and calls to department heads — especially police and fire chiefs — are essential to doing our jobs. Our reporters called to get YOUR SIDE of a story YOU CREATED. If you consider reporters treating you fairly and striving for accuracy a form of harassment, we plead guilty as charged.

I might also have thanked the chief for providing the newspaper with a golden opportunity to prove its worth to the communities it serves. His taxpayer-funded road trip sparked a continuing Times-Tribune investigation that exposed a city gas card system built for unaccountable excess and abuse. As a result, new policies were enacted and Evans and city council are seeking an outside audit. (Subscribe at 570-348-9190, or at thetimes-tribune.com/contact.)

The new policy and pending audit are signs of progress, but my question about DeSarno’s future employment stands. Neither Evans or Cognetti gave a clear answer on the City Hall steps.

“I think the clock is gonna take care of that,” Evans said. “We’ll see what happens.”

“So it’s gonna be Paige,” I said.

“We don’t know that,” Evans said. “We’ll have to wait and see.”

CHRIS KELLY, the Times-Tribune columnist, wrote this column with no malice or deceit. Contact the writer: kelly

sworld@timesshamrock.com,

@cjkink on Twitter. Read his award-winning blog at timestr

ibuneblogs.com/kelly.

SCRANTON — U.S. Marshals found a woman wanted for assault in Scranton in northern New Jersey.

Balir Hart, 31, of Scranton, was found Tuesday morning at a home in East Orange, marshals said.

Police have a warrant against Hart charging her with aggravated assault and robbery, among other counts, for reportedly attacking another woman with a Snapple bottle in January 2018.

Police said the altercation broke out because both women visited the same ex-girlfriend at Lackawanna County Prison.

Hart is being held at Essex County Jail awaiting extradition back to Scranton.

— JOSEPH KOHUT

High notes

Lackawanna County 4-H food and nutrition members recently competed in the regional 4-H Food Challenge Contest in Carbon County. 

Junior team members include Emily Bartell, Lindsey Bartell, Lauren Bartell and Erin Bartell, all of Clarks Summit.

Members who competed in the Senior Division include Anna Flowers, Abby Adamsky and Emma Adamsky, all Clarks Summit; and Charlotte Rozenburg, Factoryville.

The junior team placed second and the senior team placed first in their region among 53 4-H members from across the state who competed in the new contest.

The challenge is modeled after the television show “Chopped.” The members cooked a dish from designated products and a limited pantry and had to have nutrition and cost comparison knowledge for their presentation.

4-H food and nutrition program is sponsored by Penn State Extension. For more details, about the 4-H program or to volunteer, contact the extension office at 570-963-6842.

Super students

Senior Ian Gratkowski is taking on the lead role in the Dunmore High School Crimson Company production of “The Great Cell Phone Catastrophe” beginning Thursday.

The play is a funny drama about a group of friends who have to make do without their cellphones, discovering their relationships with themselves, each other and the world, according to Dunmore. Ian is playing Lenny, a funny and always hungry nerd who adds comedic relief to the production.

“I would encourage the community to come out and see it as it serves as a night out with the family for enjoyment and laughter,” he said.

Ian has been a member of the drama club and an actor in the plays for the past four years. He is the club’s vice president.

Ian enjoys acting because “you get to share the stage with some amazing people and explore a talent that you otherwise never would have experienced.”

Ian, who hopes to become a forensic scientist in the future, is also president of the Book Club, a member of the soccer team, French club and National Honor Society.

The Crimson Company will perform “The Great Cell Phone Catastrophe” Thursday to Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Dunmore High School Auditorium. Tickets are $10 for adults; $8 for students/seniors; and $5 for children under five.

Pen pals

Fifth graders in Melissa Raniella’s Language Arts class at Lakeland’s Mayfield Elementary were overjoyed when they received responses from their pen pals from Maryville, Tennessee.

The students: Mason Christopher, Christian Miller, Olivia Wade, William Kucharski, TJ Kopa, Talia Depoti, Kyle Lorenzetti, Tori Wormuth, Kaitlyn McAllister, Eliana Rogari, Rileigh McGowan, Gabriella Nelson, Cameron Gomes, Riley Bevan, Shawn Markey, Shea Smith, Jake McHale, Hunter Smallcombe and Elijah Boguski, practiced writing personal letters and also discussed what they were learning in their mutual reading series: “Wit and Wisdom.”

The main local airport’s long streak of monthly departure records ended in October, but a new annual record remains likely.

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport saw 25,359 departures last month, off 1% from 25,604 the previous October, airport figures show.

Before that, the airport set records 14 months in a row.

Airport officials attributed the monthly decline to United Airlines’ decision to curtail its service to Chicago.

In September, United had three flights daily Sundays through Saturdays. In October, the airline dropped a flight each weekend day, eight days in all, and the last four weekdays of October, according to online airport schedules.

The reduced flight schedule continues in November, December and January.

Airport Director Carl Beardsley Jr. said flight reductions typically occur in slower travel months with demand driving what happens.

Typically, the airport returns to three flights daily by March, Beardsley said.

Attempts to reach United officials were unsuccessful.

United faced stiffer competition for Chicago-bound local passengers all year this year. American Airlines added two more daily flights to Chicago in June 2018.

Through October, 250,396 passengers flew out of the airport, not far off the annual record of 268,197 set in 2017. That record should fall by the end of the year, despite the lost flights. More than 45,000 people flew out of the airport the last two months of last year.

“It’s been a fantastic year, no matter what,” Beardsley said.

Airport board member David Pedri joked that he’ll have to note the failure to break another monthly record in Beardsley’s personnel file.

“Obviously, it had to stop at some point,” Pedri said. “It was an absolutely amazing run. ... They’re doing some good things there.”

Contact the writer:

bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9147;

@BorysBlogTT on Twitter

SCRANTON — A Scranton woman faces drug charges after a traffic stop in the city Tuesday, police said.

Barbara M. Heredia, 32, 1821 Price St., was charged with intent to deliver a controlled substance, and related counts after officers from the Scranton Police Street Crimes Unit stopped her car for a window tint violation at 4:30 p.m. at 10th Avenue and Oxford Street.

After smelling marijuana, officers searched the car and found eight Lorazepan pills and three suspected ecstasy pills in Heredia’s purse.

After arriving at police headquarters, detectives found 5.2 grams of marijuana in her pants and six packets of heroin in her shirt, along with more than $800 in cash.

Bail and preliminary hearing information were not available Tuesday.

— ROBERT TOMKAVAGE

A militia of little green army women is calling for backup.

Scranton toymaker Jeff Imel and his company BMC Toys drew national attention in the fall when he set out to design and produce women toy soldiers in a style historically dominated by male-looking figures.

Last week, he announced he would add more poses to the original four if he could raise some capital.

So on Thursday, he launched a to fund production and fulfillment and also gauge consumers’ willingness to buy little green army women.

Press attention is one thing, but he wanted some certainty they would actually sell.

He reached $28,235 as of Tuesday afternoon, more than double his original $11,400 goal. His success unlocked a number of so-called “stretch goals” that enable him to add different poses. He plans to produce 12 now, including a running rifleman, combat medic, a radio operator and low-crawl poses.

He got the answer he was looking for — consumers are hungry for a feminine take on a classic toy — but he admitted he won’t make back his total investment for years to come.

“The cost of the sculptor and the mold, it’s about the cost of a nice new car now,” he said, calling back a comment he made in September, when he compared development costs to a “modest new car.”

Imel made national news when a 6-year-old girl sent him a handwritten letter asking why he doesn’t make little green army women. His decision to try triggered a monthslong media blitz.

Given the high cost of injection mold tooling and safety standards, he faced an uphill climb from the start.

“It’s not very easy for someone to have a great idea and just go out and do it,” said James Zahn, senior editor of The Toy Book, a trade publication, and its affiliated consumer-focused publication The Toy Insider.

“It is impressive to see these people backing this with real money,” he said.

Zahn lives north of Chicago, near the Great Lakes naval base where sailors train. From his observations in shopping centers and restaurants, he surmises about half of the sailors who pass through the base are women.

“I think we’re starting to cross that bridge where this won’t be an uncommon thing any more,” he said of toys depicting women in roles historically reserved for men.

Imel expects little green army women will be ready for market by October 2020.

“I’m hoping this is a product that I sell as long as I have the business,” he said.

Contact the writer:

joconnell@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9131;

@jon_oc on Twitter

SCRANTON — Parking at downtown city garages and on streets — and parking tickets — will cost more in 2020.

Most increases were authorized under a rate schedule approved as part of the city’s 2016 monetization of the parking system that unloaded operations to an outside firm, the nonprofit National Development Council.

Two changes that deviated from the 2016 schedule were approved Tuesday by the Scranton Parking Authority.

The monthly parking rate in a city-affiliated garage downtown will increase $2, or from $90 to $92.

That’s a smaller increase than had been pre-approved under the city’s 2016 parking monetization, which called for the $90 monthly rate to rise to $100 in 2019.

But NDC and its subcontractor, ABM Parking Services, have been able to keep the $90 rate this year, NDC Directors David Trevisani and Robert “Bud” Sweet told SPA Tuesday. NDC/ABM can hold the monthly parking increase to $92 because of various efficiencies and because “the system is performing well,” Trevisani said. The city-affiliated garages are Casey, Connell, Linden, Medallion, Electric City and the Marketplace at Steamtown, all operated by NDC/ABM.

In addition, downtown residents will be offered a

discounted monthly parking garage rate of $74, applicable only in the Linden, Casey or Electric City garages on any floors other than the ground and top level.

The other garage fees approved in the 2016 lease deal between the city and NDC include:

n The parking rate will increase from $3.50 to $4 for the first hour; from $6 to $7 for up to two hours; from $8 to $9 for up to eight hours; from $9 to $10 for up to 12 hours; and from $12 to $13 for up to 24 hours.

n Weekend/special event parking will increase from $5 to $6.

n The lost parking ticket charge will rise from $20 to $22.

n Reserved monthly parking will rise from $120 to $122.

The on-street parking rates will include:

n A metered rate paid at kiosks replacing old street meters will rise from $1.50 to $2 per hour.

n A new, all-day rate in certain downtown periphery areas, but payable only through the Pango mobile app, will be $3.25 per day, under a pilot program.

n There will be a new pay-by-mobile convenience fee of 25 cents per transaction.

Citation fine increases will include:

n Overtime parking citations will increase from $25 to $35.

n A violation of the no-parking zone will increase from $35 to $45.

n A violation for fire hydrant/disabled space will rise from $55 to $75.

All of the new parking rates and fines will take effect Jan. 1.

The Scranton Parking Authority on Tuesday — with SPA Chairman Joseph Matyjevich, James Wintermantel and Michael Salerno all in favor, and the other two board seats vacant — approved the $92 monthly garage rate and the downtown resident discount, both requested by NDC.

The SPA had to vote on these two rates because they were not pre-approved under the 2016 monetization that had NDC taking over the parking system under a longterm lease.

Meanwhile, ABM crews have been removing old parking meters downtown and replacing them with modern payment kiosks.

As of Tuesday, 84 kiosks were put into operation with more expected to come online in the near future, AMB Operations Manager Chris Emerick said.

Motorists should expect parking hours to be enforced in areas where meters have been removed and kiosks put into operation, Trevisani said.

JEFF HORVATH, staff writer, contributed to this report.

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

An armed security team contracted by a Pike County woman to take over a Poconos community association and reclaim the land as her own raided the association’s clubhouse Monday and took a security officer hostage, state police at Blooming Grove said.

Troopers arrested and charged seven people for felonies which include terrorism, aggravated assault, kidnapping, robbery, burglary, theft and terroristic threats. They tried to take over Pine Ridge, a private, gated community development with about 1,100 homes, according to a criminal complaint filed by Trooper Edward Theodore.

They are:

Tonia Scott, 49, 4110 Winchester Way, Lehman Twp.

Sekou Rashid-Abdullah, age unavailable, 4800 Lamonte Lane, Apt. 1105, Houston, Texas.

Keeba Harris, 43, 4110 Winchester Way, Lehman Twp.

Sushane Adams-Heylinger, 26, 158 Hawley St., Binghamton, New York.

Musa Abdur-Rahim, 27, 8 Munsell St., Binghamton, New York.

Adam Abdur-Rahim, 31, 303 Rosamond St., Apartment 6-46, Houston, Texas.

Troy Sutton, 50, 55 Goodwin Place, Brooklyn, New York.

Scott waged an unsuccessful campaign in courtrooms over the last several years claiming her Native American heritage makes her the rightful owner of the land where the Pine Ridge and Saw Creek communities are located in Lehman Twp. in Pike County.

“She was hoping that she was going to claim her property,” said Trooper Bob Urban, a spokesman for the Dunmore-based Troop R.

Scott claimed in federal court in 2016, that Pennsylvania American Water could not shut off her service for non-payment. Instead, they must pay her for using the land since it is a sub-corporation of the United States and as “an heir to the North American continent,” no law can exist that effects her right to self-determination, according to court paperwork.

The case was dismissed less than two weeks after she filed her complaint.

In 2017, she sought in federal court to have residents in Pine Ridge ejected and collect damages. That complaint also failed.

As recently as Sept. 6, Scott and Harris tried to present paperwork at the community office showing claim but were “intimidated” by a security guard and forced to leave.

Scott decided to make another attempt, but this time she would bring armed back-up.

Several weeks ago, she approached Sutton, a man who worked corporate security at a McDonald’s in Brooklyn, New York. She needed a security force to occupy land she owned, she told him. They exchanged numbers.

Sutton forwarded the information to his cousin, Adam Abdur-Rahim, who was a security specialist in Houston.

Scott and Abdur-Rahim discussed terms. Scott promised him a job as the chief of the tribal police that pays $1,000 a week and a free house of his choosing. Her security force would be paid $500 a week on a five-year contract and be given housing for $1 a year.

Abdur-Rahim went to work putting together a team — Sutton; his brother, Musa Abdur-Rahim; and his friends, Rashid-Abdullah and Adams-Heylinger.

On Monday morning, the day of the raid, the seven people police charged met in New York City, armed themselves and journeyed to Pike County.

At about 1 p.m., they entered the building and took a security officer, Sgt. John Derbyshire, hostage. Other staff members in the building barricaded themselves in other rooms.

Sutton later told state police that their only intention was to remove people from the property.

State police said they smashed windows and doors and caused extensive damage.

Chief Anthony Benito came to Derbyshire’s aid and found himself in a standoff with the gunmen. Fearing a gunfight would erupt, Benito retreated and contacted state police for help.

The gunmen handcuffed Derbyshire, 66, and put him in the back of his own vehicle.

The seven then tried to escape.

The two women were nearby in a getaway vehicle and tried to drive away, state police said.

Two of the gunmen tried to speed away with Derbyshire. Their plan was to drop off Derbyshire at the gate and then move on to raid Saw Creek.

Sutton stole the keys for a Pine Ridge security vehicle and tried to make his getaway.

However, troopers arrived and took everyone into custody.

The only injury reported came as Derbyshire hurt his wrist from the handcuffs.

The accused are held at the Pike County Correctional Facility without bail. Preliminary hearings are scheduled 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9144; @jkohutTT on Twitter

CARBONDALE — Carbondale police found a man wanted for rape walking up Main Street on Tuesday morning, Chief Brian Bognatz said.

Justin Brown, 24, was arraigned on charges of rape, sexual assault and other related counts.

Police said Brown sneaked into a woman’s apartment early Sept. 13 and raped her once she discovered him hiding in her living room.

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

Brown threatened to kill her family if she made any noise.

Brown, who police have said is homeless, went on the run. He was found Tuesday at about 11 a.m.

He remains in Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $200,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 26.

— JOSEPH KOHUT

Ending bullying will take education, advocacy and deterrents, local legislators said Tuesday.

The lawmakers announced a bipartisan effort to define bullying in the state crimes code, which could then lead to upgraded offenses and steeper penalties — and hopefully, fewer bullies.

“To the victims of bullying, we hear you, we stand with you,” said Rep. Kyle Mullins, D-112, Blakely, who is leading efforts in the House. “To the bullies, enough is enough.”

Sen. John Blake, D-22, Archbald, who introduced a bill in the Senate, said the lawmakers met with anti-bullying advocates and prosecutors to look for solutions.

The Pennsylvania Crimes Code does not define bullying, which leaves authorities no option other than to categorize the behavior under four different offenses: disorderly conduct, harassment, simple assault or terroristic threats.

Under the companion bills in the House and Senate, the crime of chronic bullying would be clearly defined as “the intent to place an individual or group in fear of personal injury or property damage; or the intent to harass, annoy, or alarm an individual or group.” It also would provide for offenses to be upgraded to one degree higher than if bullying had not been a factor.

“Our law and crime code are antiquated,” said Lackawanna County District Attorney Mark Powell, who attended Tuesday’s announcement in Harrisburg. “Bullying has been around ... forever. But, with cellphones and social media, it’s been taken to a whole new level.”

The bills still must make it out of committees and face votes from the House and Senate before needing a signature from the governor. Bullying sometimes drives people to suicide, and educators, law enforcement and legislators must work together, they said.

Contact the writer:

shofius@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9133;

@hofiushallTT on Twitter

SCRANTON — On the run from state and federal charges, Shawn Christy vowed to wage war against anyone who attempted to capture him during a three-month crime spree across six states, a federal prosecutor said in an opening statement Tuesday.

The 28-year-old McAdoo man stole multiple vehicles and broke into several homes and businesses in an “odyssey” that began May 30, 2018, after he failed to show for trial on assault charges in Schuylkill County, Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis Sempa said.

“The defendant, the evidence will show, was a one-man crime wave,” Sempa said in a 30-minute opening statement at Christy’s trial in federal court. “He said he would use lethal force against any law enforcement that sought to detain him.”

Christy was charged in July 2018 with making threats against President Donald Trump and three counts of transmitting threats against Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli and other law enforcement officials. In June 2018 Facebook posts, prosecutors say Christy said he would “put a bullet” in the heads of Trump and Morganelli and threatened “lethal force” against other officers.

Christy was later charged with several offenses related to the manhunt, including two counts each of transporting stolen vehicles and firearms across state lines and one count of being a fugitive in possession of a firearm.

Authorities say Christy first fled in a stolen vehicle to New York near the border with Canada. He stole additional vehicles as he traveled through West Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland and Ohio, where he was captured on Sept. 21, 2018.

In a five-minute opening statement, Christy, who is representing himself, said he intends to “question possible illegal acts” committed by law enforcement. He said he does not know if he will call any witnesses, but will show the government destroyed or lost evidence and plans to challenge the credibility of government witnesses.

In a prior interview, Christy’s parents, Karen and Craig Christy, said their son is not a threat. They maintain his Facebook posts were merely protests of the unjust treatment he received relating to charges filed against him for assaulting the former mayor of McAdoo in March 2017. A Schuylkill County jury found Christy guilty of simple assault in that case last month.

Sempa said the federal case against Christy will largely rely on video surveillance footage that shows him stealing vehicles and notes he left at some of the homes and businesses he broke into, apologizing to the victims. One of those notes also threatened law enforcement, telling officers to “back down” from the search for him.

“If it’s war you want, it’s war I will give you,” Christy wrote, according to Sempa.

Prosecutors also have recordings of phone conversations Christy had with two people — whom Sempa described as his “admirers" — who visited him at the Ohio prison where he was held following his capture.

“He’s bragging about the crimes he committed,” Sempa said.

The trial before U.S. District Judge Robert D. Mariani is expected to last until at least Friday.

Christy also is awaiting trial on charges in Luzerne County Court for the theft of guns from his uncle’s home and in Carbon County Court on three cases involving thefts and a break-in at a private residence.

Contact the writer:

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

@tmbeseckerTT on Twitter

SCRANTON — People with disabilities and their advocates seem to agree on one thing: The County of Lackawanna Transit System and other transportation agencies provide great service — except when they don’t.

Transportation concerns came up early and often at a public hearing Tuesday to receive input for Pennsylvania’s next three-year State Plan for Independent Living.

The forum, hosted by My Center for Independent Living on Sanderson Avenue, was the fourth of five scheduled across the commonwealth to solicit testimony about the human services needed to support independent living by individuals with disabilities. The statewide plan receives about $300,000 annually.

Mary Claire Boylan, social work coordinator for the Lackawanna Blind Association, told hearing moderator Matt Seeley that her agency quizzed clients about the primary barrier to their independence “and everybody came up with the same topic — transportation.”

“Huge,” she said. “It’s the biggest problem.”

Although she described the shared-ride service COLTS provides to low-income, elderly and disabled people as “wonderful,” Boylan cited a series of scenarios where both the shared ride and the regular COLTS bus service don’t meet the needs of visually impaired residents, including veterans.

She pointed out it is more convenient for a disabled veteran to get a bus to the Mohegan Sun Pocono casino than to the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center, both of which are in Plains Twp.

“So what’s more important? Gambling or the veterans?” Boylan asked.

Ron Biglin, a visually impaired veteran from Newton Twp., also praised the shared ride system but said there needs to be more coordination between COLTS and the Luzerne County Transportation Authority to make it easier for people who have to travel to medical appointments in the Wilkes-Barre area.

Tim Moran, chief executive officer of MyCIL, said he reviewed every State Plan for Independent Living for the past 25 to 30 years and found the key areas of focus are virtually the same in all of them. Transportation is the No. 1 concern, followed by housing, employment and socialization, he said.

“I’m sick and tired of seeing the same things in the state plan every single time it comes out because there is no resolution to any of it,” Moran said.

Seeley, executive director of the Pennsylvania Statewide Independent Living Council, who opened the forum with a reminder that suggestions should be realistic, reiterated there is only about $300,000 available statewide each year to implement whatever is contained in the plan. Not many big issues can be solved with $300,000, he said.

“The last three or four plans are almost identical because we hear the same things,” Seeley said. “But, we can’t fix county-to-county transportation. We can’t fix employment.”

When Moran asked if there has ever been a study to determine what can be fixed, Seeley asked whether the $300,000 should be spent on that.

“It’s better than nothing every three years,” Moran said. “At least it’s progress.”

Keith Williams, MyCIL advocacy and outreach coordinator, suggested using a portion of the $300,000 to develop a pilot program for providing post-graduation transitioning services for young people with disabilities.

While in school, most of those young people have individualized education programs and are eligible for a variety of services that end abruptly once they graduate at age 18 or 21, he said.

“It’s like walking off a cliff,” Williams said.

Contact the writer:

dsingleton@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9132