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By JENNIFER LEARN Times Leader Staff Writer
Sunday, October 27, 1996 Page: 1
HAZLE TWP. — Hazleton Area School District employee Andy Benyo said it all
started with a political triangle.
He said he’s been treated unfairly by the district since 1994 because his
boss, Geraldine Shepperson, is the sister of state Rep. Thomas Stish,
R-Hazleton. Benyo, district buildings and grounds superintendent and a
township supervisor, said Shepperson started mistreating him in 1994,
contending he did not do enough to help Stish, then a Democrat, get votes in
Hazle Township.
Benyo made the allegation in a discrimination complaint filed Oct. 17 with
the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.
The complaint paints Shepperson as a cursing, vindictive boss who used
unethical — and illegal — means to get back at Benyo.
Stish, now a Republican seeking re-election, said he “has no knowledge of
any such complaint,” declining further comment. Shepperson said the complaint
is “full of lies,” and she said she has documentation to prove it.
She declined comment on specific allegations because the complaint is a
legal matter. She referred comment to Pittsburgh attorney Bruce Campbell, who
is handling the complaint for the district. Campbell also is the district’s
chief negotiator in teacher contract negotiations.
Benyo, who was hired as the district’s maintenance head in 1993, went on
sick leave Aug. 28 because of a medical condition his lawyer said was caused
by the stress of actions by Shepperson and board member Ken Temborski.
District officials have called for Benyo’s firing at public meetings,
saying he is not doing his job.
Benyo said Shepperson swore at him and threatened him in November 1994
because Stish had a “poor showing” of votes in the township.
“The conduct of Dr. Shepperson was for her own personal benefit and for the
benefit of her brother (state Rep. Tom Stish) in his bid for re-election to
the state House of Representatives,” the complaint says.
Stish won re-election as a Democrat in November 1994 by 431 votes out of
the more than 15,000 cast. Township officials did not have a breakdown of the
state representative vote tally in the township.
“Since then, she has taken every opportunity to hurt him psychologically,”
the complaint said.
The complaint says Benyo was a victim of discrimination because of age, sex
and retaliation. Benyo is 51. A source gave The Times Leader a copy of the
complaint on the condition of anonymity.
The complaint says Shepperson:
Allowed a board member to govern Benyo’s day-to-day activities, including
ordering Benyo to do “illegal acts,” pad bills, have his “friendly supplier”
pad bills, have him purchase materials without a purchase order and have his
maintenance people work overtime when it was unnecessary. The complaint does
not name the supplier.
Received complaints from Benyo, but she took no action to limit the board
member’s activities or document the authority of the board member. She also
allowed Temborski to “intimidate, harass, insult and embarrass” Benyo.
Sometimes the complaint names Temborski, and other times it only describes a
board member.
Did nothing when Benyo told her in July that a board member had been trying
to circumvent the bidding process to give his friends contracts . Benyo
refused to accommodate the board member — he is not named in the paperwork —
which caused “friction, further intimidations and harassment” toward Benyo.
Told Benyo to resign so that she can put her friend, Vincent Zola, in his
place. Zola, who is under age 40, “has been given favored treatment by
Shepperson.”
Shepperson arranged a position for Zola as security director and
“engineered” a position for him as part-time teacher. She gave him a vehicle
to drive in as acting buildings and grounds superintendent instead of
assigning the job to the assistant superintendent of buildings and grounds,
Joe Cortese.
Cortese declined comment.
Approached Benyo during school hours on school property in May 1995 and
said Benyo was “up to something.” She accused Benyo of not doing his job and
of initiating political activity against Stish.
Scrutinized Benyo but did not scrutinize other supervisors who performed
about the same or less adequately. Examples he cited: prohibiting Benyo from
authorizing overtime, taking away Benyo’s work vehicle and requiring him to
log what he did “every minute of his work day.”
Ordered Benyo to use his position as a township supervisor to order the
township building permit officer to issue building permits for two school
renovation projects in the township in the spring of 1996.
Ordered Benyo to put Clarence Sabo on the maintenance hiring list in March
1996 because “a school director wanted him put on the list.” Benyo’s job
description requires he recommend all candidates who are hired, and Benyo was
under an order not to hire any employees because of a previous report that the
school district was overstaffed.
Reached Friday, Sabo said he did not push any district officials to hire
him for a maintenance job at the high school, and he said he has no relatives
or friends on the board.
Allowed Temborski to order a janitor to drain a swimming pool at Valley
Elementary in July 1996, even though Benyo warned the draining would cause
extensive damage to the pool. Temborski’s decision caused “embarrassment,
inconvenience, delay, extra expense to the district,” the complaint said.
Allowed Temborski to order that the soccer field at the high school seeded,
even though Benyo said the seeding was under contract to an outside agency.
Benyo and Temborski fought, although the complaint does not say whether the
altercation got physical.
Allowed Temborski to order Benyo to discipline five men at Hazleton Junior
High for not shoveling enough snow, even though it was later determined that
the men had done an adequate job.
Confronted Benyo in May 1995 because she said a fellow township supervisor
had been calling school board members to fire her. “Shepperson used vulgar
language, embarrassed complainant (Benyo) in front of others and used her arm
and finger to express her contempt for the situation.”
Ordered Benyo to stop going to the Freedom Club, a men’s club, because
members talked about the School District. That order discriminated against
Benyo’s right of free speech and association, the complaint said.
Ordered Benyo not to associate with former Buildings and Grounds
Superintendent Ernest Serafine. She also ordered Benyo and his assistant, Joe
Cortese, not to travel together or have lunch together. When asked why, she
said, “You are always together.” Serafine could not be reached for comment.
A Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.
spokeswoman said she needs several weeks to process new complaints, and she
had no record that Benyo’s was filed.
Benyo and his attorney, Theodore Laputka, could not be reached for comment.
Campbell said he does not think the complaint proves Benyo was a victim of
discrimination.
“His complaint is basically an attack on the superintendent and has nothing
to do with his rights,” Campbell said.