Luzerne County Judges

September 18, 2009

Judge agrees to release gasoline case transcript

Claiming they were “strong armed” by Ciavarella, plaintiffs want it to gain insight into what happened.

By Sheena Delazio sdelazio@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
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WILKES-BARRE – A Luzerne County judge on Thursday agreed to unseal a transcript from a 2007 hearing in which plaintiffs in an eight-year-old case allege former county Judge Mark Ciavarella “strong armed” them into taking settlements.

Judge Joseph Musto said Thursday that he would unseal the May 2007 transcript, with the exception of the amount of settlements made, to plaintiffs in the case.

The case, which includes more than 1,000 plaintiffs, involves the former Tranguch Tire and Service Center on Church Street in Hazleton.

Plaintiffs claim they were sickened after hundreds of gallons of gasoline leaked into the ground, causing them to become ill with diseases, including cancer.

Officials have estimated that about 50,000 gallons of gasoline seeped into the ground in the area since 1990 or earlier.

The plaintiffs asked in recent weeks to see the document because, they stated, they believed Ciavarella forced them into accepting settlements, and then were dropped by attorneys representing them.

Hazleton residents Frank Tarantino and Peter Melnick, who are representing themselves in the case, said they wanted the document to better understand what happened at the hearing before proceeding to trial.

Tarantino and Melnick have both previously said Ciavarella’s comments at the hearing needed to be reviewed and discussed.

“If it walks like a bum and talks like a bum, it’s a bum,” Tarantino said, citing a federal corruption probe in Luzerne County that includes Ciavarella. “And (Mark) Ciavarella is a bum.”

A federal indictment filed last week accuses Ciavarella and fellow former Judge Michael Conahan of receiving $2.8 million in improper payments in exchange for actions that benefited two privately owned juvenile detention centers. The men earlier this year had entered guilty pleas to accepting the money. The indictment was filed after the former judges withdrew their guilty pleas on Aug. 24 after a federal judge rejected the pleas.

Several of the cases settled at that hearing in which defense attorneys said they felt they were excellent settlements. Those cases that did not settle, including Tarantino’s and Melnick’s, will be heard at a trial scheduled to begin in early November.

Tarantino and Melnick asked Musto for several court documents Thursday. The judge replied they must do it by filing a motion to request the information, including a study done by the University of Pittsburgh concerning the case.

Musto said he would not undo all of Ciavarella’s prior rulings in the case, but that he would proceed in an orderly fashion through motions that are normally filed by attorneys.

“At the end of this trial, the attorneys get to go home,” Melnick said. “I’ve got to go back to the gas spill.”

The plaintiffs asked in recent weeks to see the document because, they stated, they believed Ciavarella forced them into accepting settlements, and then were dropped by their attorneys.

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