Federal Investigation of Schools

April 9, 2010

Height starts 5-month stint in penitentiary

By Mark Guydish mguydish@timesleader.com
Education Reporter
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Ex-Wilkes-Barre Area School Board president James Height began his six-month prison sentence Tuesday when he reported to the U.S. Penitentiary-Canaan, 20 miles east of Scranton, a prison bureau spokesman said.

Height resigned from the school board one week before the primary election in 2009, and agreed to plead guilty the day before the election. He entered his plea on May 29 and was sentenced March 9 of this year.

Height, 53, admitted he accepted $2,000 from an unnamed contractor seeking district business.

The original charges filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office also accused him of taking money in connection with a contractor obtaining work at the Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technical Center, where Height sat on the Joint Operating Committee that runs the center for five school districts, but that charge was dropped at the sentencing hearing.

During that hearing, the U.S. Assistant District Attorney, William Houser, said Height had been quick to cooperate with the ongoing corruption investigation and provided information that helped in several cases, particularly the success in getting Harveys Lake business man Richard Emanski to plead guilty to charges that he supplied and installed free carpeting in the home an unnamed Wilkes-Barre Area board member between Nov. 1, 2004, and Jan. 1, 2005. Emanski pleaded guilty Jan. 19.

Height’s quick cooperation convinced U.S. District Judge Thomas Vanaskie to reduce a potential sentence of 21 months down to six months in prison and four months under house arrest. Height was also fined $2,000 and must serve two years probation after the prison and house arrest terms are served.

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