News

December 28, 2007

Bills for 2 Rohland expert witnesses delayed

Professor, official for a consultation firm testified in double-homicide trial.

WILKES-BARRE – Two experts involved in a Luzerne County death penalty case will have to wait and see if they get paid for all their services.

Robert Johnson, a professor, and an official from Court Consultation Services did work for double-killer William Rohland during his trial.

Rohland was represented by public defenders, and Johnson and Court Consultation Services later submitted bills to the county for payment for their work.

But Court of Common Pleas Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. questioned the bills.

The judge, in a court order, said he had “serious questions as to the fairness, reasonableness and necessity of portions of said bills.”

He scheduled a hearing for Thursday to have the public defenders explain how the bills were “fair, reasonable and necessary, and to determine fair compensation for services provided.”

But because of the unavailability of a witness Thursday, the hearing was postponed until Jan. 23.

The amounts of the bills the experts submitted for their work were not disclosed in any court papers.

Past court papers indicate the public defenders exhausted their budgeted amount for expert services in September and any more funds would have needed approval from a judge to have the controller’s office pay the bills.

Rohland, 46, of Old Forge, was charged in the August 2006 shotgun slayings of Kelli Fasulka and Joey Hernandez in Avoca.

Police said Rohland went to Fasulka’s Walnut Street home to buy cocaine from Hernandez. There, he used a shotgun to kill Hernandez, 23, before shooting Fasulka, 39.

Prosecutors sought the death penalty.

A Luzerne County jury earlier this year convicted Rohland of two counts of first-degree murder, but it could not unanimously decide to sentence him to death.

That forced Olszewski to sentence Rohland to life in prison.

During the penalty phase of the trial, Rohland’s defense attorneys – public defenders William Ruzzo, Mark Singer, and Michael Kostelaba – had Johnson testify how inmates serving life in prison cause fewer problems than those on death row.

And Melissa Lang, a forensic social worker with Court Consultation Services, testified on how Rohland’s life spiraled after 11th grade.

The witnesses were called in an attempt to sway the jury to sentence Rohland to life in prison instead of death.

Kostelaba on Thursday said he didn’t know the amounts of the bills. Ruzzo and Singer did not return messages Thursday. Chief Public Defender Basil Russin was unavailable Thursday afternoon.

David Weiss, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7397.

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