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By Terrie Morgan-Besecker tmorgan@timesleader.com
Law & Order Reporter
Terrie Morgan-Besecker on Facebook   |   @TLTerrieMorgan on Twitter

WILKES-BARRE – One month after being fired for refusing to answer questions about two controversial contracts, former Luzerne County Human Resources Director Doug Richards was charged Thursday with accepting a bribe for helping a contractor secure a contract with the county.

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Richards

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The criminal complaint, filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, says Richards accepted more than $1,000 from a contractor, who is not identified, between Jan. 1, 2006 and May 1, 2008. The money was to reward Richards for helping the contractor secure a contract worth more than $5,000.

The complaint was filed simultaneously with a plea agreement that Richards signed on Tuesday. The agreement calls for Richards to plead guilty to one count of corrupt receipt of a reward for official action. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, but Richards likely faces no more than four to 10 months based on federal sentencing guidelines. He is scheduled to plead guilty on Jan. 6.

The charge comes amid continuing questions regarding Richards’ apparent involvement with contracts involving Continental Consultants Group Inc. and B & M Investigations Inc, both of New York.

Continental was given a no-bid contract in 2007 to oversee staff hired for a post-flood cleanup program. The firm later began overseeing payments to former county employees who continued to work as consultants for the county.

B & M was hired in 2006 to do background checks on employees and create a pre-employment procedure report. The report, which cost $35,000, has never been located.

U.S. Attorney Dennis Pfannenschmidt declined to comment on whether the charges against Richards are connected to Continental or B & M contracts.

Sources have told The Times Leader that federal authorities have been investigating whether Richards has any connection to Continental or B & M.

The Continental contract was signed by county Workforce Investment Development Agency Director Richard Ammon. Ammon appeared before a federal grand jury in Scranton last month to present information about the contract and answer questions, the sources said.

Richards, 44, of Reliance Drive, Wilkes-Barre, served as human resources director for four years. He submitted his resignation on Nov. 17, telling commissioners he wanted to pursue opportunities in the private sector.

He was fired the next day after he refused to answer questions regarding the Continental contract. Federal agents searched Richards’ office that same day and removed boxes of documents.

County officials have since uncovered information that appears to link Richards to Continental and B & M. Records with the New York state corporation bureau show the two companies share the same mailing address of the law firm of Miller, Apfel & Curran in Hauppauge, N.Y.

Invoices for Continental filed with the county controller’s office contain instructions that the company’s checks were to be delivered to Richards and, on instance, former county employee William Maguire. Normally checks of delivered directly to the vendor.

County solicitor Vito DeLuca has also uncovered other evidence that appears to link Richards to the firm.

DeLuca found an Oct. 23, 2006 e-mail to Richards from William Grub, the owner of B & M. The e-mail contained the company’s letterhead and a blank invoice.

A second e-mail, sent that same day to Ammon, contained a copy of the contract from Continental. Deluca traced the origin of the contract document and found it was created by Richards on April 30.

Richards told Ammon to sign the document and fax it to Richards at the human resources department. Federal investigators have received copies of Richards’ e-mails.

Richards is the second high-ranking county administrative official and the 22nd person overall to be charged as part of the ongoing corruption probe.

On Nov. 12 Bill Brace, former deputy chief clerk for the county, was charged with accepting a custom-made suit from a New York City tailor valued at $1,500 in exchange for influencing the awarding of a county contract.

Brace and Richards were among several county officials who stayed at the Manhattan Club in New York in 2006 and 2007. Commissioner Greg Skrepenak, who attended some of the trips, said they were to discuss crime fighting strategies.

Skrepenak said Thursday he knows nothing of Richards’ involvement with Continental. He declined to comment on the charges against Richards.

Commissioner Chairwoman Maryanne Petrilla said she “knew something was shady” when Richards resigned.

“You just don’t resign from a job in this economy,” Petrilla said.

Petrilla said Richards’ arrest was especially disheartening because he sat in meetings with senior administrators discussing ways to stop corruption.

“What’s appalling to me is that he was a key member of this administration and the deceitfulness that was going on behind our back is what is pretty incredible,” she said. “For him to sit in meetings with us knowing that he was involved in some form of corruption, I just can’t even fathom it, the dishonesty.”