FBI contacts
more local
school districts
By Patrick Sweet
Staff Writer
The FBI has contacted two
additional Luzerne County
school districts to ask about
transportation providers,
bringing the total to seven dis-
tricts.
OfficialsfromtheNorthwest
Area and Lake-Lehman school
districts say they received calls
roughly two to three weeks
ago. The caller identified her-
self as a representative of the
FBI and asked whether the dis-
tricts owned or leased their
buses. Neither district owns its
own buses, so the caller asked
for information about the ven-
dors.
Representatives of Crest-
wood, Wilkes-Barre Area, Wyo-
ming Area, Wyoming Valley
West and Hazleton School Dis-
tricts have already reported
receiving similar calls.
Northwest Area Superinten-
dent Nancy Tkatch said the
woman identified herself as
Susan Walker, but Tkatch does
not recall Walker introducing
herself as an agent.
“I don’t know the reason for
the inquiry,” Tkatch said.
Northwest has a contract
with Barchik Buses LLC of
Huntington Mills; Richard
Moss Busing and K&G Trans-
portation, both of Hunlock
Creek; Cragle Bus Service Inc.
and Kabata Transportation
Inc., both of Shickshinny; and
Master’s Bus Line Inc. and
Dorethea Dohl, both of Ben-
ton.
Lake-Lehman Superinten-
dent James McGovern said he
had no idea why the FBI would
ask about buses. The call came
roughly two weeks ago, he
FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 2010
said.
“They didn’t give any indi-
cation that there was going to
be a follow-up,” McGovern
said.
Dallas-based Back Moun-
tain Transit Co. handles buses
for the Lake-Lehman district.
TheFBIwouldnotcomment
4 – THE CITIZENS’ VOICE
on whether it is conducting an
investigation or the details of
any investigation. Dallas,
Greater Nanticoke Area,
Hanover and Pittston Area
school officials say their dis-
tricts have not been contacted.
psweet@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2117
WB_VOICE - CVDAILY - 4 - 06/04/10
Former Luzerne County Clerk of Courts Robert F. Reilly, right, leaves federal court with his attor-
ney, Michael I. Butera, in April.
Clerk’s resignation official
Rendell’s office
confirms receipt
of Reilly’s letter
By Michael P. Buffer
Staff Writer
WILKES-BARRE —
Thursday was Robert F.
Reilly’s last day as Luzerne
County clerk of courts, an
elected post Reilly held
since 1988.
The governor’s office
received his resignation
letter Tuesday, and his res-
ignation took effect at the
close of business Thursday,
said Gary Tuma, spokes-
man for Gov. Ed Rendell.
Rendell has 90 days to nom-
inate a successor, whom
the state Senate must con-
firm.
Reilly, a Democrat from
Wilkes-Barre, is working
with federal prosecutors on
a plea agreement to resolve
a charge he shook down a
handyman for cash kick-
backs on carpentry and
other odd jobs, according to
a court filing from May 12.
“The effective date of the
resignation relates to Mr.
Reilly’s personal situation,
in relationship to years of
service,” said Michael I.
Butera, Reilly’s defense
attorney.
Reilly, 57, was elected to
six terms as clerk of courts.
His annual salary was
$36,562.
Now that his resignation
is effective, Reilly will stop
receiving a county pay-
check. He stopped working
at the county courthouse
after being charged April
16 with receiving kickbacks
from a construction con-
tractor working for a
records-management con-
WB_VOICE/PAGES [T04] | 06/03/10
sultant, Wayne-based LRW
Solutions Inc.
The county retirement
board is not expected to
approve a pension request
from Reilly because he fac-
es criminal charges. The
board would have to return
Reilly’s pension contribu-
tions without interest.
The clerk of courts is
responsible for maintain-
ing and filing criminal
court records, and the
office collects various crim-
inal court fees. Deputy
Clerk of Courts Tom Piza-
no will be the acting clerk
of courts until a successor
to Reilly is confirmed by
the state Senate. Pizano’s
annual salary as deputy
clerk of cour ts is
$35,540.03.
The nominee must have
been registered to vote as a
Democrat in 2007, which is
when Reilly won his last
term in office. The term
22:42 | SUPERIMPWB
Former
Nanticoke
WARREN RUDA / THE CITIZENS’ VOICE
expires January 2012.
Reilly allegedly demand-
ed contractor Barton J.
Weidlich give him a cut of
at least 10 percent for each
job Weidlich performed for
the county. That work
included installing an
employee gate in the clerk
of courts office and con-
structing security cages at
a records storage facility
for the county records
improvement committee,
according to an affidavit.
Reilly was chairman of
the records committee and
signed requests to pay LRW,
the consultant for the com-
mittee. Weidlich, who has
been cooperating with
investigators since he was
charged with obstruction
of justice last October, said
he gave Reilly five to seven
cash kickbacks in 2007,
totaling $1,500.
mbuffer@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2073
football
coach sues
district
By Erin Moody
Staff Writer
A former Greater Nanti-
coke Area football coach is
suing the district to recover
more than $7,000 in pay he
claims he is owed for the
2009 season.
After dealing with health
problems during the season,
Lou Cella resigned as head
coach in November.
According to a lawsuit
filed Tues-
day by attor-
ney Thomas
O ’ C o n n o r,
Cella was to
receive a
$6,800 foot-
ball coach
salary and
an $800 sti- Cella
pend for
supervising football play-
ers’ weight lifting train-
ing, which began in early
January and stopped at the
end of the coaching sea-
son.
At the end of the season,
Cella put in a formal request
for his salary and stipend.
He made several additional
requests and received no
payment.
“The main point is he
didn’t receive a dime for all
of it,” O’Connor said. In
September, Cella told The
Citizens’ Voice that his doc-
tor was keeping him away
from Nanticoke Area foot-
ball games after he suffered
a heart attack in August.
O’Connor said Cella’s work
began well before the foot-
ball season.
“Men and women are act-
ing coaches the whole year,”
he said. “It’s not just a closed
period of time.”
Cella wants the district to
pay him his salary, the sti-
pend and attorney’s fees, at
a total cost not to exceed
$50,000.
STEVE BENNETT, staff writer, con-
tributed to this report.
emoody@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2051