A Scranton cop once accused of threatening to kill a bouncer at a city bar and harass him with traffic stops is back on the job after pleading guilty to lesser charges that allow him to avoid being fired.
Patrolman Mark A. Miller, 33, pleaded guilty to the summary offenses of public drunkenness and disorderly conduct on Oct. 22 in exchange for the dropping of the far more serious charges of making terroristic threats, official oppression, simple assault and harassment.
Patrolman Miller returned to work last week, acting Police Chief Carl Graziano said. He had been suspended without pay since his arrest in June 2011.
He still faces up to 180 days in prison and a maximum fine of $600, though prison sentences for summary offenses are rare.
Citing the city's contract with its police union, Chief Graziano declined to comment on why the city allowed Patrolman Miller to return to work.
Efforts to reach Lackawanna County District Attorney Andy Jarbola to explain why he approved the plea agreement that resulted in the reduced charges were unsuccessful.
Under state law, police officers who have been convicted of crimes for which a sentence of more than one year can be imposed as punishment automatically lose their state certification and may no longer serve as officers.
Five of the seven original charges carried potential prison time of more than a year.
Patrolman Miller was initially charged with felony rioting with intent to commit a felony or misdemeanor, two counts of simple assault, making terroristic threats, official oppression, disorderly conduct and harassment. The disorderly conduct and harassment charges could bring jail time of up to a year, but the other charges carried potential sentences of two to seven years.
Magisterial District Judge Ted Giglio dismissed the rioting and one of the simple assault counts in August 2011 after a preliminary hearing.
A conviction on the terroristic threats, official oppression or remaining simple assault charge could have cost Patrolman Miller his certification.
Under the plea deal, the disorderly conduct charge was reduced to a summary offense, the same as the public drunkenness charge, which was added as part of the deal. Both are punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $300 fine.
At the preliminary hearing, Matthew Sobieski, a bouncer at the V-Spot tavern in the city's Weston Field neighborhood, said he would not allow Patrolman Miller and friends Chris Kahanic and Brian Gannon to enter the bar because they were visibly drunk.
Patrolman Miller and Mr. Gannon showed him badges, though Mr. Gannon was not a policeman. When Mr. Sobieski still refused to let them in, Patrolman Miller threatened to "punch him in the face," according to an arrest affidavit.
Mr. Sobieski called for help from another Scranton officer, Mark Kosko, who was off-duty inside the bar. Patrolman Kosko talked Patrolman Miller into leaving.
Once outside, Patrolman Miller, Mr. Gannon and Mr. Kahanic started a fight with Robert Ruddy, an off-duty bar employee, and Mr. Ruddy's cousin, Michelle Smolskis, to whom Mr. Ruddy was talking outside the bar, according to court documents.
After Scranton police arrived, Patrolman Miller got into a Jeep owned by another friend and began yelling at him, Mr. Sobieski testified.
"I will make your life a living hell. I will pull you over every time I could. I will arrest you and put you in jail for the rest of your life," Patrolman Miller said, Mr. Sobieski told a Lackawanna County detective.
At the hearing, Mr. Sobieski acknowledged he did not tell police about those threats the night of the incident because he feared city police investigating the case and only later said it to a Lackawanna County detective.
Ms. Smolskis also denied Patrolman Miller hit her, and Patrolman Kosko said he never heard his fellow officer say anything threatening to Mr. Sobieski.
"There were no structured sentences," Patrolman Kosko testified. "It was just cursing."
Before the plea deal, attorney Jason A. Shrive, Patrolman Miller's lawyer, argued the remaining charges should be dropped for lack of evidence.
Last week, Mr. Shrive said the guilty plea was acceptable because the original accusations against Patrolman Miller failed to pan out in court. He said his client had suffered enough, considering he had been suspended without pay for more than a year and had a spotless record as an officer.
"What was reported to have happened and what actually happened were two different things," Mr. Shrive said. "That's why he was given such a decent plea deal. ... Everybody should know that people make mistakes."
Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com