Bolus claims conspiracy in federal suit
Businessman convicted of fraud, theft
Scranton-area businessman Bob Bolus has filed a federal lawsuit against officials with the state Office of Attorney General and several other people, alleging they conspired against him in a criminal case that led to his conviction on insurance fraud and theft charges.
The lawsuit, filed by attorney Anthony Moses of Wilkes-Barre, claims the defendants engaged in a pattern of racketeering by conspiring to see Mr. Bolus, owner of Bolus Truck Parts and Towing in Throop, wrongly convicted of charges he filed a false insurance claim.
A Lackawanna County jury convicted Mr. Bolus in March 2012 of filing a false insurance claim and theft by deception. Prosecutors said he filed a claim seeking nearly $38,000 in insurance proceeds for a 2009 crash involving one of his tow trucks and a vehicle it was towing. An expert for the prosecution determined much of the damage to the tow truck was caused by an earlier crash.
The state Superior Court upheld the conviction in April. The case remains pending as Mr. Bolus filed a motion for reconsideration.
Filed last week, the federal lawsuit alleges several people provided false information relating to the insurance claim, which helped lead to his conviction.
The suit also claims attorneys with the attorney general's office violated Mr. Bolus' rights when they convinced him to waive a June 30, 2011, preliminary hearing on the insurance fraud charges by promising that they would not file identical charges in a separate case. Prosecutors reneged on that agreement and filed the charges, the suit states.
The suit notes prosecutors withdrew the second criminal complaint the same day it was filed, but Mr. Bolus contends their actions harmed him because they caused him to lose his right to present a meritorious defense to the remaining case at his preliminary hearing.
In addition to the attorney general's office, the suit names as defendants Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., Motorist Mutual Insurance and former Attorney General Tom Corbett, now Pennsylvania's governor. It also names individual defendants Brian Bolus, Conrad Zebrowski, Edward Borgna, Joseph Pascucci and Carol Shoucair.
The suit does not list any addresses for the defendants, or provide any details of how or why the defendants conspired with each other. It seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
Contact the writer: tbesecker@ timesshamrock.com