Piazza’s mail fraud: 6 months

SCRANTON – A former area school employee who admitted taking at least $16,600 in kickbacks from Intellacom Inc. was sentenced to six months in prison Wednesday, but the fate of others who took part in the scheme remained unclear.

Jeffrey Piazza, 33, of Jenkins Township, pleaded guilty in December to one count of mail fraud for conspiring with others to inflate the price of technology equipment sold to the Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technical Center, where he worked as attendance coordinator. Piazza was then paid a kickback based on the inflated price, prosecutors say.

The identity of the other people had remained secret from the public until Wednesday, when U.S. District Judge James Munley revealed the vendor to be Anthony Trombetta of Intellacom Inc., a firm that has done business with numerous area school districts and colleges.

Munley said Piazza, who once worked as technology coordinator, recommended in 2006 that the school purchase of six “smartboards” – a computer interactive white board – from Trombetta at a cost of $10,000 each. Piazza was paid a kickback of $2,500 for each item.

To conceal the source of the income, the money was funneled to Piazza’s wife at the time, Michelle McCabe Piazza, Munley said. The couple falsely reported that the payment was for training she conducted for school staff on behalf of Intellacom, Munley said.

Munley pegged the amount paid through Michelle Piazza, who now uses her maiden name McCabe, as $16,600. He did not elaborate in court as to why that figure does not match the amount in kickbacks paid for the smartboards.

Neither Trombetta nor Michelle McCabe had been charged with any crime as of late Wednesday afternoon.

Asked if any charges were forthcoming against either person, Heidi Havens, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s office, said the office had no comment.

Michelle McCabe has been employed as Director of Substance Abuse Education Institute for Luzerne County Community College since 2007. Her current salary is $44,263. She did not return phone messages left at work or on her cell phone.

Paul Halesey, president of LCCC’s board of trustees, said Wednesday that he was not aware Michelle McCabe had been implicated in the vo-tech case until told by a reporter. Halesey said the board would have to discuss the matter with its solicitor before deciding if any employment action should be taken against her.

Trombetta has long been rumored to be connected to the Piazza case and other investigations. FBI agents are known to have seized records related to the company from several districts, including Wyoming Valley West, Pittston Area and the Luzerne County Community College.

On Tuesday, Dan Mortensen, an official with Valley Forge Christian College, confirmed Intellacom is the company that is alleged to have paid kickbacks to Craig Stirling, a former employee who was charged with accepting kickbacks from a computer vendor.

At the sentencing hearing, Munley lamented the “culture of corruption” that has permeated Luzerne County. Jeffrey Piazza is among 26 people who have been nabbed in the ongoing corruption probe to date.

Sentencing guidelines called for a sentence of 10 months in prison. Piazza’s attorney, Christopher Caputo, sought a lesser sentence based on Piazza’s background, character and cooperation with the government.

“He never made excuses for his behavior. He never tried to say ‘everyone else was doing it’,” Caputo said.

Caputo said Piazza also deserved credit because he had voluntarily “walked away” from his job as an attendance coordinator. Piazza resigned from the position in November, several weeks before his arrest.

Addressing Munley, Piazza, the son of former Wyoming Valley West superintendent August Piazza, expressed remorse for the shame he has brought his father and other family members. He never directly apologized for the crime, however.

Piazza was allowed to remain free pending his surrender date, which is scheduled for April 29.

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Federal Investigation of Schools

Piazza’s mail fraud: 6 months

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