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By Terrie Morgan-Besecker tmorgan@timesleader.com
Law & Order Reporter
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WILKES-BARRE – The ongoing corruption probe into Luzerne County school districts nabbed its second suspect on Tuesday with the filing of a federal charge against longtime Wilkes-Barre+Area+School+District%22>Wilkes-Barre Area School District board member Brian F. Dunn.

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Wilkes-Barre Area School Board member Brian Dunn leaves federal court in Wilkes-Barre Tuesday.

Pete G. Wilcox/The Times Leader

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Dunn, 45, of Wilkes-Barre, was charged with accepting tens of thousands of dollars in kickbacks in exchange for his influence in the awarding of contracts and the hiring of teachers within the district from January 2005 to December 2008, according to a criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The case is the latest to result from the rapidly developing corruption probe into area school districts that also resulted in the arrest last week of Pittston Area School Superintendent Ross Scarantino.

Scarantino, 64, of Duryea, is accused of accepting thousands of dollars in bribes in connection with the awarding of a contract within the Pittston Area district on or around February 2008.

Dunn’s arrest comes two weeks after Wilkes-Barre Area Superintendent Jeff Namey appeared before a federal grand jury with records, including school board meeting minutes that had been subpoenaed by the FBI.

Federal authorities asked school directors to review a list of elementary teachers hired since 2004 and to place their initials next to those they recommended for interviews, board members Joe Moran and Jim Height said in a previous interview.

Namey did not return a phone message left at his office Tuesday. In previous interviews he said he could not comment on his testimony.

Dunn is charged with one count of theft or bribery involving a program that received federal funding, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The complaint said he used his position on the board to “corruptly solicit and demand” cash in exchange for his influence.

He appeared at a brief hearing before U.S. District Magistrate Judge Malachy Mannion at 11:15 a.m. Tuesday and was released on his own recognizance. He declined to comment as he left the courthouse with his attorney, Scott Griffith, of Philadelphia.

Mannion scheduled a hearing for May 21 to determine whether there is sufficient evidence for the case to proceed. That hearing will be cancelled if prosecutors opt to present the case to a grand jury, which would decide whether to issue an indictment.

The complaint did not identify the person or persons who paid Dunn or the teachers or contracts that were involved in the scheme. That information is believed to be contained in an affidavit filed in support of the charges, but it was sealed by the court.

“I don’t even know what words I can use to describe how I feel about this,” school board member Maryanne Toole said Tuesday when told of Dunn’s arrest. “If Brian did something he shouldn’t have done, he has to pay the consequences.”

Height said Tuesday he had heard rumors that Dunn might be charged, but was still “shocked” to learn of his arrest.

Height and Toole each served on the board at the time the alleged kickbacks were reportedly made to Dunn. Each said they have not been interviewed by federal authorities and that they had no knowledge that anything was amiss in the awarding of contracts or the hiring of teachers.

“If I had any indication of something like this was going on, I surely would have said something to somebody,” Toole said.

The school probe became public two weeks ago when the FBI took the unusual step of asking any members of the public who had been required to pay money to obtain a teaching job to come forward. The agency made a second plea last week seeking any person who had to pay money to obtain a contract.

Federal authorities also obtained records, including school board meeting minutes, from the Wilkes-Barre Area and Pittston Area school districts as well as the Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technical Center. Several teachers from Wilkes-Barre Area School District have been interviewed by investigators.

U.S. Attorney Martin Carlson said he could not comment on whether any further arrests would be forthcoming from Wilkes-Barre Area or any others under investigation.

Carlson did say the investigation is continuing and that his office remains committed to “ensuring the integrity of the local government of Luzerne County.”

“That’s a commitment that’s total and absolute. It reflects the courage of individuals who come forward to provide information regarding wrongdoing,” Carlson said.

Dunn was first elected to the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board in 1997 and has won re-election every four years since. He previously served as board president. He opted not to seek re-election after his current term, which expires at the end of this year.

Dunn has also served as Wilkes-Barre Area’s representative on the Luzerne Intermediate Unit board of directors and the Joint Operating Committee of the Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technical Center, which is run by five districts: Wilkes-Barre Area, Pittston Area, Crestwood, Greater Nanticoke Area and Hanover Area.

The LIU provides a variety of special education services to the 12 districts its serves, each of which has a representative who sits on the agency’s board. LIU Executive Director Michael Ostrowski said Tuesday that no federal investigators have contacted the LIU.

Dunn’s wife, Jodie, is employed in the Wilkes-Barre district. In November 2007, she was hired as coordinator of electronic monitoring at the Career Technical Center. She was to receive a one-time stipend not to exceed $7,000 for services related to security swipe cards. Dunn was not present at that meeting and did not vote.

The federal charges are not Dunn’s first run-in with the law. In 2005 he was charged with drunken driving after police say he lost control of his car on a snow-covered roadway on South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre and struck a pedestrian who was on a sidewalk.

Tests showed Dunn’s blood alcohol level was 0.186. An adult driver in Pennsylvania is considered intoxicated with a level of 0.08 percent.

Dunn later entered the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program as a result of the charges. ARD allows a person to have his or her criminal record expunged if the person successfully completes the program.

Staff writer Mark Guydish contributed to this story.

FBI asks for help

The FBI has issued two requests for public help, one regarding possible payment for teacher jobs, and one seeking tips on payment to win district contracts. Those with information should call special agents Richard Southerton or Joseph Noone in the Scranton office at (570)-344-2404.