Gun’s sale puts ex-sheriff in Petrilla’s sights

Luzerne County officials are outraged over the county sheriff department’s sale of a 1920s Tommy gun that was donated to the county years ago.

Former Sheriff Michael Savokinas agreed to sell the gun to a Pittston gun dealership for $20,000.

Commissioner Chairwoman Maryanne Petrilla said the department should have asked the commissioners to decide if and how the gun would be sold, and there was no independent appraisal or public bidding to ensure the county got the best price.

“Nothing about that transaction was in accordance of the law and within the office’s rights to do,” Petrilla said. “Who knows whether it was worth $40,000 or, if it’s a collector’s item, even more?”

The $20,000 was deposited in the sheriff’s department, rather than the general fund, she said. Petrilla said she learned about the sale several days ago. The gun was donated to the prison years ago and given to the sheriff’s office for safekeeping, she said.

She also blasted the sheriff’s department for failing to respond to the county’s questions about the transaction.

The matter came to light when someone familiar with the gun contacted Controller Walter Griffith with concerns that the gun was sold for less than it was worth. Griffith verified that money from the sale was deposited and advised the person to contact county Solicitor Vito DeLuca.

DeLuca said the sheriff’s office wouldn’t cooperate, so he visited Advanced Arms in Pittston, which purchased the gun in addition to three others for $2,500. DeLuca said Advanced Arms furnished a sales agreement and other information.

“This is no disparagement to the dealer. He’s been very cooperative and turned over all the information,” DeLuca said.

Corporation records say Christopher Scoda is president of Advanced Arms, and Ralph Scoda is vice president. A business worker referred questions to Christopher Scoda, and he could not immediately be reached.

Savokinas, who resigned as sheriff Sept. 1, could not be reached for comment Friday.

The sales agreement describes the gun as a .45-caliber Thompson Submachine Gun, Model 1928 U.S. Navy. Advanced Arms indicated that the gun was in excellent condition and contained all original parts.

Advanced Arms also purchased a .30-06-caliber firearm for $1,500 and two 9 mm guns for $500 each, the agreements show.

Acting Sheriff Charles Guarnieri said Friday that sheriff’s workers found the gun in a storage area along with others that were being rounded up for destruction.

Guarnieri said Savokinas contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to check out the gun. Federal investigators who were checking out other matters in the office also knew about the gun, he said.

The office did not involve commissioners in the sale because Savokinas believed it had been donated to the office years ago by the prison.

Savokinas was comfortable with the sales price, Guarnieri said, because it was appraised by Advanced Arms, which is a certified gun dealer, he said.

“The situation didn’t require that it go out for a bid. It was the office’s weapon, registered to the office,” Guarnieri said.

He said someone in the county administration must have known about the gun sale because a line item was set up to credit the deposit in the office account.

Guarnieri said he used some of the money to purchase Taser equipment for the office.

But DeLuca said the law designates commissioners as sole contractors for the county, and all managers – row officers included – have no authority to enter into sales agreements on their own.

Without an independent appraisal by an expert not connected to the purchase, the county has no way of knowing the value, he said.

“Although it may have been a very fair deal, there’s no way to know,” said DeLuca, who is researching whether the county has any recourse.

County Purchasing Director Frank Pugliese said the county publicly advertises the sale of all surplus property valued at more than $1,000, and commissioners must approve each sale.

The county is currently rounding up surplus equipment from the old Valley Crest Nursing Home and nooks and crannies throughout the county, and any equipment not claimed by departments will be publicly auctioned, he said.