Dunn says he’s guilty of bribe

SCRANTON – Eight months and at least five hearing postponements after charges were filed, former Wilkes-Barre Area School Board member Brian Dunn stood before a federal judge Wednesday and said “Guilty, your honor.”

During the delay between charge and plea, Dunn’s term on the school board expired, one aspect of the original charges melted away, and an addendum to his plea agreement was created and sealed from public view.

Dunn pleaded guilty to accepting a $5,000 bribe from the relative of a person who got a teaching job in the district, a transaction that took place between June 1 and Oct. 1 of 2005.

“I made a mistake and I am deeply sorry for the embarrassment I caused my family and my friends,” Dunn told U.S. District Judge Richard Conaboy.

The original criminal complaint filed April 21 claimed Dunn had accepted “tens of thousands of dollars in cash” to influence both hiring and awarding of contracts, but there was no mention of contracts in the plea entered Tuesday.

U.S. Attorney William Houser said he could not comment on the details of the plea. Nor could he comment on an addendum to the plea agreement he mentioned during the hearing that was sealed. Dunn’s case is checkered with orders to seal. The docket includes a sealed affidavit and at least two other times when documents were sealed.

Dunn spent long stretches alone outside the courtroom before and after the hearing, his attorney Scott Griffith appearing at his side during the session at which Conaboy quizzed Dunn to make sure he understood the consequences of the plea. During that questioning, Dunn, 49, noted he has no education beyond a high school diploma, is separated from his wife, and that 22 years spent working for the state Department of Revenue was pretty much his full resume other than some part-time work prior to that.

Dunn noted he already resigned from the Department of Revenue as required by the plea agreement. He had been placed on unpaid leave the day the charges were announced, a result of a strict ethics policy in place in the department.

The plea agreement also requires Dunn to resign from the school board within 10 days, a mandate made moot by the long delay in entering the plea. Dunn remained on the board since April but never attended a meeting, and could not seek re-election under new rules for Department of Revenue employees. His term expired the first week of December, so he was off the board before the plea was entered.

During the hearing, Houser noted federal guidelines suggest Dunn’s sentence be toughened because the money he took was $5,000 or more and he committed the act in his capacity as an elected public official, but that some leniency was allowed thanks to his cooperation in the ongoing corruption investigation. The bottom line: The U.S. Attorney is recommending 21 to 27 months in prison with a fine ranging from $6,000 to $60,000. The final decision is up to the judge, who is not required to follow the sentencing recommendation in the plea agreement, but cannot exceed the maximum sentence of 10 years and a $250,000 fine.

Conaboy set the deadline for a pre-sentencing report at Feb. 9. The two sides then have 14 days to file objections to that report. Sentencing is tentatively set for March 16 at 10 a.m.

Dunn entered his plea before a scant audience comprised mostly of media and attorneys, though fellow board member Christine Katsock attended. Afterwards, she said that she was there “as a concerned party” and declined further comment, as she has throughout the federal investigation.

Charged on April 21, Dunn was the first of three Wilkes-Barre Area board members facing corruption allegations. Former Wilkes-Barre Area Board president James Height was charged May 18 and pleaded guilty May 29 to charges he accepted $2,000 in connection with supporting a contractor seeking district work. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 26. Current board president Frank Pizzella Jr. was indicted Sept. 15 for allegedly passing a bribe to a sitting board member from the relative of a person seeking a teaching job in 2004, before Pizzella was on the school board. Pizzella has insisted he is innocent and remained on the board, where he was re-elected president at the Dec. 7 reorganization meeting.

Pizzella’s case is strikingly similar to Dunn’s. In both, a relative of a teaching candidate seeking a job paid $5,000 to a board member, authorities say. But Pizzella’s alleged involvement as the conduit for the bribe occurred in 2004, according to federal paperwork, while Dunn accepted the bribe in his paperwork in 2005.

Along with the three Wilkes-Barre Area Board members accused of corruption, three other people from three other school boards have been charged.

Pittston Area board member Joseph Oliveri was charged Aug. 11 with accepting a bribe for influencing the awarding of district contracts, and pleaded guilty Aug. 25. Anthony Spinozza of Hanover Area School Board was charged on Oct. 21 with accepting a bribe for influencing awarding of a contract, and pleaded guilty Oct. 26. Wyoming Valley West board member Allen Bellas was charged Oct. 15 on allegations unrelated to the school board. Federal agents accused him of accepting a bribe in his capacity with Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority. He has agreed to plead guilty.

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Federal Investigation of Schools

The former Wilkes-Barre Area School Board member faces prison and a fine.

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