Grand jury hears Sharkey

SCRANTON – Former Luzerne County court administrator William Sharkey on Tuesday became the latest public official to appear before a federal grand jury investigating corruption within county government and area school districts.

Sharkey, 57, of Hazleton, testified in a closed-door proceeding before the panel for about 15 minutes, his attorney, Bruce Miller, confirmed. Miller declined to discuss the nature of Sharkey’s testimony or to say whether he is cooperating with federal authorities.

Sharkey served as court administrator from 1997 until February of this year, when he was charged with stealing more than $70,000 in illegal gambling funds that had been turned over to the county by the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement.

U.S. Attorney Martin Carlson declined to comment on Sharkey’s testimony. He did confirm his office is continuing to investigate allegations of corruption within the county. He reiterated his request that any person with knowledge of any wrongdoing contact his office at 1-866-996-4320.

Sharkey, the cousin of former judge Michael Conahan, is the third public official known to have testified before the grand jury thus far. On June 23, Tom Marino, tipstaff for county Judge Michael Toole, appeared before the panel. Wilkes-Barre Area School District Superintendent Jeff Namey testified before the grand jury in April.

To date the grand jury investigation has resulted in charges against eight people, including Sharkey, Conahan and Conahan’s co-defendant, former Judge Mark Ciavarella.

The two former judges pleaded guilty in February to charges of tax evasion and depriving the public of their honest services. Prosecutors say the jurists accepted more than $2.6 million in kickbacks in exchange for judicial rulings that benefited the builder and former co-owner of two juvenile detention facilities the county utilized.

Sharkey has not been implicated in that case, but allegations have been raised that he and Conahan improperly intervened to assign a defamation case against The Citizens’ Voice newspaper to Ciavarella.

That case, filed by area businessman Thomas Joseph, resulted in a $3.5 million verdict against the newspaper in 2006. A Lehigh County judge specially appointed by the state Supreme Court to review that case is currently considering whether to recommend that the high court grant the newspaper a new trial.

In his own criminal case, prosecutors say Sharkey devised a scheme that allowed him to pilfer gambling proceeds that had been seized from area taverns by the Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement. The money was supposed to be turned over to the county treasurer, but Sharkey subverted that process and pocketed the funds.