Sharkey pleads to embezzlement

SCRANTON – For a decade, Luzerne County Court Administrator William Sharkey used his position to steal money from county coffers, federal authorities say. On Tuesday it took him less than 20 minutes to admit to the crime.

Sitting in the same seat that disgraced judge Michael Conahan occupied just a few days before, Sharkey appeared before Senior U.S. District Judge Edwin Kosik and admitted pilfering more than $70,000 in illegal gambling proceeds he was supposed to turn over to the county treasurer.

Sharkey, 57, of West Hazleton, pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement of public funds. He was released on $70,000 unsecured bail pending sentencing, which will occur following the completion of a pre-sentence investigation.

With his attorney, Bruce Miller, at his side, Sharkey answered a series of questions that ensured he understood his rights and that he was not under the influence of medications. Asked by a reporter as he left the courthouse if he was sorry, Sharkey replied, “Yes.” He declined further comment.

The plea comes five days after Conahan and suspended Judge Mark Ciavarella appeared before Kosik to admit accepting more than $2.6 million in kickbacks in connection with the operation and construction of a juvenile detention center.

The mob that descended on the courthouse for the judges’ pleas was nowhere in sight at Sharkey’s proceeding, which was attended mostly by members of the media. But a law enforcement official said the damage done to public trust equals that of the judges’ scandal.

“For a public official to have little or no regard for the law, and such little or no regard for what’s right and wrong, that’s what’s most upsetting,” Luzerne County District Attorney Jacqueline Musto Carroll said outside the courtroom.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, but it was Musto Carroll who first discovered the theft, Assistant U.S. Attorney William Houser told Kosik.

Houser said the crime was revealed after a member of the state police contacted Musto Carroll regarding illegal gambling proceeds the department’s Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement had turned in.

Speaking after the hearing, Musto Carroll explained that an agent with the LCE had asked her to purchase some global positioning systems. When she told the agent she had to check if there was enough money, he advised her his unit had just turned over $15,000 in forfeited gambling money to her office.

“As far as I could tell they had not made that deposit. One thing led to another. I saw that Mr. Sharkey’s name appeared on the forfeiture requests. That raised a red flag because his name should not have been on that request,” she said.

Federal prosecutors say Sharkey, who served as court administrator from 1997 until he took medical leave in August 2008, was able to steal the funds without anyone noticing because the money was turned directly over to him.

He would obtain a court order from a county judge that directed the funds be forfeited. Based on that order, the LCE turned funds over to Sharkey. He was then supposed to deposit the money with the treasurer’s office.

The problem, authorities say, was Sharkey did not file the forfeiture orders with the court, so no one other than him knew the funds existed. That allowed him to divert the money for his own use from 1998 to 2008.

Musto Carroll said the theft was particularly troubling because forfeited money is used to benefit law enforcement, such as for the purchase of equipment and training.

“That money could be put to good use for law enforcement initiatives. For that to be taken and put in someone’s pocket is unthinkable,” she said.

Sharkey, who is paid by the state, was suspended without pay from his $97,050-a-year job after charges were filed against him on Feb. 3. No decision had been made as of late Tuesday regarding his employment status, said Art Heinz, spokesman for the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.

Sharkey faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, but prosecutors have agreed to seek a reduced sentence based on Sharkey’s guilty plea.

Under the plea agreement, Sharkey will also be required to forfeit any money or personal or real property he purchased with the illegally obtained funds and to pay restitution.

The government may seek to seize his South Broad Street home, a car and part of the money he contributed to his pension in order to satisfy the restitution order, according to the plea agreement.

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

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Ex-court official admits to taking $70,000

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