Luzerne County Judges

Son backs mom’s account of incident at residence, paperwork says

By Steve Mocarsky smocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
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PLYMOUTH TWP. – Luzerne County Senior Judge Charles Joseph Rehkamp on Sunday was arrested on assault and harassment charges.

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Luzerne County Senior Judge Charles Joseph Rehkamp is led into District Justice Donald Whittaker’s office in Nanticoke Sunday evening. After his arraignment, Rehkamp was released on his own recognizance.

Aimee Dilger/the times leader

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District Judge Donald Whittaker issued an arrest warrant for Rehkamp, 61, early Sunday after state police at Wyoming responded to a reported assault at Rehkamp’s residence on West Mountain Road in Plymouth Township Saturday night, state police said.

According to court papers, Trooper Matthew Slacktish responded to Rehkamp’s home at about 8:56 p.m. and interviewed Rehkamp’s wife, Valerie, who told him that she and the judge returned from dinner at about 8:15 p.m. and that she told her husband that he had not acted appropriately at dinner and asked him to sleep elsewhere for the night.

Valerie Rehkamp told police her husband pushed her down and started to choke her, she screamed and told him to leave, according to the paperwork.

The judge then allegedly confronted his wife’s son, Lee Elliot Egenlauf, of the same address, and left the home in his dark blue Ford Crown Victoria in an unknown direction. Valerie Rehkamp added that the judge had been drinking that night, the paperwork said.

Egenlauf backed up his mother’s account in an interview with police, adding that the judge entered the residence after his mother told the judge not to. He told police the judge entered a bedroom, his mother followed, and he heard yelling and arguing.

Egenlauf said his mother left the bedroom, the judge followed her, and the two began arguing in front of him. He told police the judge then pushed his mother down, “slamming her into the chair,” placed both hands on her neck and began choking her, according to the paperwork.

Egenlauf told police that he got between the judge and his mother, told the judge to leave, and he did.

Slacktish stated in court papers that he observed red marks on Valerie Rehkamp’s neck that were consistent with the information she provided.

Luzerne County District Attorney Jacqueline Musto Carroll said the judge turned himself in to state police sometime before 6 p.m. Sunday. He was charged with a misdemeanor count of simple assault and a summary count of harassment.

He was arraigned before District Judge Donald Whittaker, who released him on his own recognizance with the conditions that he not have any contact with his wife and that he not leave the state.

Whittaker set Rehkamp’s preliminary hearing at 10 a.m. on Jan. 26 in his courtroom in Nanticoke.

It remains unclear whether Rehkamp will continue to serve on the bench pending the outcome of his hearing, and how the charges against him will impact his role as presiding judge in a capital murder case.

Rehkamp had been assigned to hear the case of Donnell Buckner, 34, who was charged with shooting his estranged wife, Kewaii Rogers Buckner, in the couple’s home on Lehigh Street in Wilkes-Barre on March 29. He was also assigned to the high-profile homicide case of Hugo Selenski, 36, who is charged with the homicides of Michael Kerkowski and Tammy Fassett in 2003. Police said their bodies were unearthed on Selenski’s property in Kingston Township in June 2003.

Luzerne County President Judge Thomas Burke said he would consult with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts on Tuesday regarding the charges against Rehkamp and his possible suspension or removal from the bench.

“I don’t believe all crimes are treated in the same manner. There may be some differentiation in felony charges versus misdemeanor charges. Ultimately, that decision is up to the AOPC and the Supreme Court,” Burke said.

However, assuming the AOPC and Supreme Court decided Rehkamp could continue to serve on the bench, Burke said the decision of whether Rehkamp will continue to serve on the bench in Luzerne County falls on his shoulders.

Burke said Rehkamp’s arrest was “very disappointing news. … He has been a hard worker and has made a valuable contribution to our courts in Luzerne County during the past couple months that he has worked in Luzerne County.”

In addition to the Buckner case, Rehkamp had been assigned a few other cases that previously had been assigned to former county judge Michael Toole.

Toole had submitted his resignation to Gov. Ed Rendell on Jan. 8 after pleading guilty last month to honest services fraud and a tax offense. Prosecutors say Toole deprived the public of his honest services when he failed to reveal that he had secret communication with an attorney, with whom he had a financial relationship, regarding an arbitration case the judge presided over.

Toole was also charged with tax evasion for failing to report on his income tax return a $30,000 fee he received for referring a case to a different attorney.

Even if the decision is made to suspend Rehkamp from the bench, Burke said newly elected county Judges Tina Polachek Gartley and William Amesbury returned from judge school last week and “will be completely available to carry out court assignments.”

Steve Mocarsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7311.