Former Pittston Area Superintendent Ross Scarantino, among the first snared in the area's federal public corruption probe, won't get his lucrative pension.
The state Commonwealth Court has affirmed a ruling by the state Public School Employees' Retirement Board denying pension benefits to Mr. Scarantino based on his corruption conviction.
Based on his 41 years of service, Mr. Scarantino had been eligible to receive about $1.5 million in pension benefits.
Mr. Scarantino pleaded guilty in 2009 to illegally accepting $5,000 from a contractor who he later helped obtain school contracts. He served 13 months in federal prison.
State law says public employees convicted of certain crimes are not entitled to receive their pension.
Mr. Scarantino's pension forfeiture "resulted from a breach of contract" between he and PSERS, the ruling said.
Mr. Scarantino had appealed the forfeiture, arguing the federal charge was not the same as the state charge that calls for forfeiture.
Charged in April 2009, Mr. Scarantino was among more than 30 public officials charged in a sweeping public corruption probe. Mr. Scarantino served most of his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution at Fort Dix, N.J.
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