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County court Documents pertained to placement of youths at PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care, county official says

FBI seizes juvie probation records

By Terrie Morgan-Besecker tmorgan@timesleader.com
Law & Order Reporter

WILKES-BARRE – The Federal Bureau of Investigation served a search warrant on the Luzerne County Juvenile Probation Department on Thursday morning, seizing financial records related to placement of juveniles at the PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care centers formerly owned by attorney Robert Powell, a county official said.

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A sign directs juveniles to a new location while the juvenile probation department is closed on Thursday.

Aimee Dilger/the times leader

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Paul McGarry, director of administrative services, said federal agents took records dating to 2002 – the time frame when the county began sending youths to the PA Child Care facility in Pittston Township.

Jerri Williams, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Philadelphia, confirmed agents seized records, but said she could not provide additional details because the warrant, which was filed in federal court, is sealed.

Martin Carlson, acting U.S. Attorney, declined to comment on the search or any other aspect of the investigation.

The juvenile probation department, located in the Penn Place building on South Pennsylvania Avenue, was closed to the public for part of the day Thursday. A sign posted at the security gate directed all juveniles to report to the third-floor conference room instead of juvenile probation.

McGarry said he did not see a copy of the warrant and does not know why the FBI sought the records. A source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, previously said the FBI has been interviewing numerous people about the county’s involvement with PA Child Care.

Powell, a former county solicitor, was part owner of PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care in Butler County. He announced on June 10 he had sold his interest in both firms and another business to his partner, Gregory Zappala.

Daniel Fee, a spokesman for Powell, said Powell was unaware of Thursday’s search and had no comment. Katherine Shafer, a spokeswoman for Zappala, said he also declined to comment.

McGarry said the FBI sought administrative records, including billing statements and records of the number of children who were placed at PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care.

McGarry said he doesn’t understand why a search warrant was issued, because the information sought is considered public record and includes records that have previously been released to the media.

“I’m not trying to downplay it, but really, the records they asked for were things I’ve given to you,” McGarry said. “It was public records, nothing unusual.”

The search is the latest development in the county’s long, convoluted and often controversial dealings with Powell and PA Child Care.

Most recently, Powell’s relationship with President Judge Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan, a senior judge, came under scrutiny after it was revealed the three had current or former ties to W-Cat Inc., a real estate development firm building a townhouse project in Wright Township.

Conahan and Ciavarella each listed financial ties to W-Cat on the statements of financial interest filed for 2007. Powell has acknowledged he was part owner of W-Cat, but has said he sold his interest to Luzerne County Prothonotary Jill Moran in 2004. Moran is a partner in the Powell Law Firm.

The revelation of the financial ties prompted commissioners Maryanne Petrilla and Stephen Urban last month to call for an investigation to determine if that relationship influenced the decision to utilize PA Child Care.

Petrilla said Thursday she had no prior knowledge that search warrants would be issued at the juvenile probation department.

“It came as a surprise to me. I heard about it through office talk,” she said.

The county’s relationship with PA Child Care has been fraught with controversy since the courts began sending youths to the facility in February 2003 – two months after Conahan said he would no longer allow youths to be sent to the county-owned juvenile detention center located on North River Street.

Conahan maintained the county’s facility was too dilapidated to house youths, even though the state Department of Public Welfare had deemed it safe.

The controversy continued in 2004, when then-commissioners Greg Skrepenak and Todd Vonderheid, who has since left office, voted to enter into a 20-year, $58-million lease of the facility despite concerns raised by DPW that the lease was a “bad deal.”

DPW continued to raise objections to the cost of the lease, ultimately forcing Skrepenak, Petrilla and Urban to vote in December 2007 to terminate the contract.

Petrilla said commissioners are continuing to negotiate with Zappala to get out of the lease. She said the board plans to vote on that matter at its next meeting on Wednesday.

Terrie Morgan-Besecker, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 570-829-7179