Skrepenak payout prompts policy change

The release of former Luzerne County Commissioner Greg Skrepenak’s pension contributions has prompted county officials to pass a policy outlining a procedure that must be followed before such checks are issued.

The county Retirement Board had voted in December to return $17,332 that Skrepenak had paid into the pension fund, but only if the county received confirmation that no restitution was owed because of the federal charges against him.

County pension coordinator Rick Hummer released the check to Skrepenak in January, based on a letter from Skrepenak’s attorney, Peter Moses, that no restitution was owed.

But county Commissioners Maryanne Petrilla and Stephen A. Urban, who sit on the retirement board, have objected, saying that confirmation was supposed to come from federal prosecutors, not Skrepenak’s attorney.

Hummer said the board never specified that confirmation had to come from federal officials because he would have followed that directive. Board Solicitor Donald Karpowich said he made that clear at the January meeting. An audio recording of the meeting failed.

Skrepenak ended up receiving $12,892.30 after taxes. Karpowich said the county could go after Moses if it’s determined that Skrepenak owes restitution and does not pay. Skrepenak pleaded guilty to accepting a kickback from a contractor who benefited from a tax-forgiveness program and is awaiting sentencing.

Petrilla and Urban said during Tuesday’s meeting they might call an executive session to discuss possible disciplinary action over Skrepenak’s payment. They said nobody can attest that Skrepenak won’t owe restitution, because he has not been sentenced.

The board – which includes the three commissioners, controller and treasurer – voted on a policy Tuesday that says no funds will be disbursed until authorities have established that no money is owed to the government.

The authorities who may make that determination include the state auditor general and attorney general, the county district attorney, a county judge, a federal prosecutor or a federal judge.

The county is still holding $17,854 in pension contributions made by former county human resources director Doug Richards because of a lack of confirmation that no restitution is owed. Richards was charged with bribery as part of the federal corruption probe.

The board also voted Tuesday to deny former jury commissioner Gerald Bonner’s request to receive a $132 monthly pension.

Bonner was a member of the Luzerne County Housing Authority Board, and pleaded guilty to charges he was the go-between when a contractor reimbursed $1,400 to fellow housing authority board member William Maguire for a trip to Florida.

The law prohibits the payment of a county pension to someone who pleads guilty to a federal offense if the offense somehow relates to the county office.

The board agreed to give Bonner contributions he made to the fund, without interest, but only if the federal court or prosecutor’s office confirms that no restitution is owed.