Federal Investigation of Schools

April 29, 2009

Intellacom, its no-bid work also at LCCC

Embattled PA official Scarantino on board at college at time of work in ’07.

By Mark Guydish mguydish@timesleader.com
Education Reporter
Mark Guydish on Facebook   |   @TLMarkGuydish on Twitter

NANTICOKE – The company that did no-bid security system work at Pittston+Area+School+District%22>Pittston Area School District in 2007and is now part of a federal probe there did very similar, no-bid work at Luzerne County Community College the same year. Pittston Area Superintendent Ross Scarantino was LCCC Board of Trustees Chairman at the time.

Scarantino has been charged with accepting bribes in exchange for awarding contracts. He was seen in the federal courthouse in Scranton on Tuesday, accompanied by attorneys Frank Nocito and Philip Gelso. The men spent about two hours at the courthouse before exiting at around 1:15 p.m.

Neither Scarantino nor the attorneys would comment on why he was there or whether he is cooperating with authorities. The men were seen exiting the second floor of the courthouse, which houses the offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the lead agency in probes of Luzerne County Courthouse and area school districts.

Federal investigators obtained records from Pittston Area, including information on work done by Intellacom. Part of that work was a nearly $300,000, no-bid contract awarded in April, 2007 to install a new security camera system. Board meeting minutes list that project as a state contract that allows districts to “piggyback” on purchases, but the agency that runs that program said the Pittston Area purchase orders never came through its system.

A review of LCCC records shows that Intellacom got a similar contract around the same time for “Off Campus Closed Circuit Television” work at LCCC locations in Hazleton, Kulpmont, Shamokin, Berwick and Wilkes-Barre. College records show Intellacom made a proposal dated March 26, 2007 for equipment, installation and service at a total cost of $191,001. Scarantino was board of trustees president at that time.

No one has accused Intellacom of wrongdoing. A person at the company has said the owner, Anthony Trombetta, will not comment on the investigation. LCCC President Thomas Leary said Tuesday that, to his knowledge, federal investigators have not contacted the college or sought records.

Leary also said the Intellacom contract was terminated this year when the company failed to provide promised service “in a timely manner.” He said the college currently has no contracts with Intellacom.

A letter dated Jan. 16 from Leary to Trombetta says the company was “in breach of contract dated Mach 27, 2007,” and notes that, “On April 4, 2008, Intellacom sent an invoice to the college including a charge in the amount of $14,885 for the Remote Monitoring system. The Remote Monitoring System was never installed, and no services with regard to this item were ever rendered.”

LCCC records show the $14,885 was included in an invoice totaling $149,687, and that the business office rejected the $14,885 portion but approved payment of the rest.

The Intellacom security system contracts at both Pittston Area and LCCC were supposed to be deals made through the “Pennsylvania Education Purchasing Program for Microcomputers,” or PEPPM, coordinated by the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit. The CSIU awards statewide contracts through a sealed competitive bid process, and districts and other government entities can piggyback on those bids, thus avoiding the time and cost of seeking and reviewing bids locally. The program was set up by the state 27 years ago. It has been made available in other states since then.

Intellacom is listed as an authorized reseller of Bosch security systems on the PEPPM Web site. An official at CSIU said Tuesday that the Pittston Area purchase order for its security system, listed in the school board meeting minutes as “PEPPM State contract No. 1” never came through the PEPPM system.

Records for the LCCC security system deal are not as clear about involvement in PEPPM. A letter from Trombetta to LCCC dated April 3, 2006 regarding a similar system installed at the main campus in Nanticoke says the deal was “with pricing as per the Pennsylvania State PEPPM Contract,” but does not explicitly call it as a state contract. Another letter dated April 4, 2006, from a company called Anixter, Inc. advises LCCC that Anixter “holds the PEPPM Pa. state contract for the Bosch Security Surveillance hardware proposed by Intellacom,” and that Intellacom “will be acting as agent for Anixter.”

Leary said on Tuesday that the Intellacom contract in 2007 “was originally awarded under PEPPM and was done following procedures as outlined under that consortium.” It was not bid out, but the college “sought quotes from regional companies and a determination was made that Intellacom was the company that had the experience at the time to do the work that needed to be done.”

Leary said there was no college record showing that the actual purchase order was submitted to PEPPM at CSIU, but added that he was not sure if that would be required, since the college was getting the PEPPM price and working with a company that was an authorized reseller in the PEPPM system.

Records obtained by The Times Leader show LCCC was dealing with Intellacom since at least 2003, and Leary said he believed the company has done work for the college since about 2001. That work involved computer repair and maintenance, and never totaled more than $9,000 annually before the security system deal in 2006.

The records show the annual totals were $2,980 for 2003-04, $8,007 for 2004-05, and $5,396 for 2005-06. Payments for repairs and maintenance remain relatively low in the following three years: $5,396, $8,040, and $7,698 respectively

The on-campus security system cost $190,435, with a change order adding $46,980. The off- campus system totaled $179,116, with another $9,933 for a service agreement.

Pittston Area has similarly dealt with Intellacom for years for computer purchases and maintenance. School board meeting minutes show that several members repeatedly questioned the amount of work going to Intellacom and the cost.

Along with Pittston Area, investigators have obtained records from Wilkes-Barre Area School District and Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technical Center. The center is run jointly by five districts, including Pittston Area and Wilkes-Barre Area. Wilkes-Barre Area School Board member Brian Dunn has been charged with accepting money in exchange for contract work and jobs.

Times Leader staff writer Terrie Morgan Besecker contributed to this story.

No one has accused Intellacom of wrongdoing. A person at the company has said the owner, Anthony Trombetta, will not comment on the investigation.

Mark Guydish, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7161

Tweet	Follow @TLnews

Send Question or Remark to the Publisher