Crash causes traffic backup
SCRANTON - A tractor-trailer crash backed up traffic on Keyser Avenue and the McDade Expressway during the morning commute Wednesday, officials said.
Scranton Police Capt. Glen Thomas said the driver was turning onto Route 11 south from the Keyser Avenue ramp of the expressway when the sun blinded him and he drove into an embankment around 6:35 a.m. The driver was not injured.
The ramp from Keyser Avenue to Route 11 was closed to remove the truck and reopened around 8:30 a.m., PennDOT spokesman James May said.
Tow firm disputes payment date
WILKES-BARRE - Leo Glodzik III failed to pay on time the $50,050 owed for his towing contract, Wilkes-Barre officials said Wednesday.
Municipal Affairs Manager Drew McLaughlin said the city sent Mr. Glodzik an invoice on April 5 and told him the payment was due Wednesday. Mr. Glodzik said the invoice had a Tuesday due date, adding he will pay the bill by that date.
Mr. Glodzik's LAG Towing has paid the city for exclusive towing rights since April 2005. This year's bill is payment for last year's towing privileges.
The city is determining whether to terminate Mr. Glodzik's contract after customers accused Mr. Glodzik of overcharging and billing them to retrieve their stolen cars, a violation of his contract. In February, an FBI agent delivered a subpoena to City Hall seeking police records related to LAG Towing.
Mr. Glodzik's contract expires in 2015. LAG Towing was conducting business as usual Wednesday.
Kingston chief stepping down
KINGSTON - Kingston Police Chief Keith Keiper abruptly has taken paid administrative leave while municipal officials investigate the department's use of off-duty police officers for outside events, Kingston officials confirmed Wednesday.
Several Kingston officers said Mayor James Haggerty hastily called a meeting Wednesday among some department members to announce Chief Keiper would be stepping down, at least temporarily, due to the internal review.
Mr. Haggerty wouldn't say if Kingston officials have any evidence that policies were broken or if Chief Keiper did anything improper.
Chief Keiper's leave comes at a time in which the IRS has begun asking questions about the handling of cash proceeds from middle school dances at Wyoming Valley West. Off-duty Kingston police officers work security at the dances and are paid in cash by event organizers after signing a receipt, the district's superintendent told The Citizens' Voice last month for a story about the IRS probe.