News

March 7, 2008

County’s ticket masters?

Commissioner Skrepenak and former chief clerk/manager Guesto asked county vendor for tickets to sports events, firm rep says.

By Jennifer Learn-Andes jandes@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Reporter
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Luzerne County Commissioner Greg Skrepenak and former chief clerk/manager Sam Guesto solicited tickets to sporting events from at least one vendor that does business with the county.

Larry Bickford, of L. Robert Kimball and Associates, said Thursday that his company, which is working on a proposed new county prison design, has purchased tickets for Guesto and/or Skrepenak several times over the last few years.

Bickford said his company offered the tickets half the time, and Guesto or Skrepenak requested them the other half.

“It’s 50-50. Sometimes they’ll ask if there’s a chance of getting tickets for a particular date,” Bickford said.

Bickford said he didn’t have a list of all the tickets supplied but specifically remembers providing tickets to at least two Pittsburgh Steelers games – two tickets for one game and four for the other.

“Sam’s a big Steelers fan. He likes to go to Steelers games, and we have access to those tickets,” Bickford said.

Standard seat tickets to Steelers games start at $62 and increase to the $90 range, according to the ticket office. Bickford did not recall the price of the tickets but said they were not box seats.

Bickford said he also took Guesto and possibly a prison employee to a Baltimore Orioles game about two years ago while they were all attending a national corrections conference.

Guesto and Skrepenak could not be reached for comment Thursday after several attempts.

A well-placed source says tickets were also supplied by other companies that do business with the county, but those companies did not immediately respond to requests for information.

The state Ethics Commission says tickets fall under the category of “hospitality.” Officials don’t have to report hospitality on their statements of financial interest unless it exceeds $650 per year from a single source. Guesto and Skrepenak did not report any hospitality on their three most recent statements covering 2004, 2005 and 2006.

State ethics law prohibits public officials and employees from soliciting or accepting gifts “based on the understanding” that their decisions would be influenced.

The county has paid Kimball $2.35 million to date for prison design.

Bickford said the tickets weren’t provided to gain special treatment.

“This was done after we got the work. When you’re working with clients on projects, you develop a relationship, and I certainly developed a relationship with Sam and Greg,” Bickford said.

The practice of supplying tickets for events is common among companies that do business with government entities, Bickford said.

“It’s typical for firms to offer opportunities to their clients, where their clients might have an interest,” Bickford said.

County minority Commissioner Stephen A. Urban said it troubles him that anyone from the county requested tickets.

“I would never solicit tickets. It would feel like it’s graft,” Urban said. “They’re asking for things for their personal use.”

Commissioner Chairwoman Maryanne Petrilla said she would never solicit tickets.

“I would personally never ask a vendor for tickets, nor would I put the pressure on them to give me tickets – never.”

Jennifer Learn-Andes, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7333.

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