Anonymous photo raises ethical queries- Joe Butkiewicz OPINION

What’s a picture worth?

A thousand words? A reputation? A life, a livelihood? Fairness?

An anonymous letter sent to media outlets in Luzerne County this week made allegations against Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr.

With the letter was a snapshot. It is a sensational image, not because of the lighting or composition but because of context.

In the picture are Olszewski alongside Forty Fort attorney John Kennedy, and convicted drug dealer Ronald Belletiere alongside then president judge Michael T. Conahan. The picture is in the Jupiter, Fla. condo owned by the wives of now former judges Conahan and Mark Ciavarella. Those two judges pleaded guilty on Feb. 12 to charges of depriving the public of their honest services and tax evasion. Their plea agreement was subsequently rejected and they withdrew their guilty plea.

The Times Leader received the photo in the mail on Wednesday. Several editors and reporters discussed the photo at length and we decided not to publish the image, in part because there was very little new information provided by the photograph.

This newspaper has previously reported that Olszewski traveled to the Florida condo in 2005. We have reported his explanation of the circumstances. We asked him to provide proof of payment for the private jet flight he took there, which he did.

The Times Leader has also published numerous stories about the ownership of the condo, Belletiere’s drug record and his name being on the permanent condo guest list as well as his close relationship with Conahan.

We had previously asked and reported whether other sitting judges had been at the condo. All said no except for county judges Olszewski Jr. and Michael Toole. We asked the question of all judicial candidates running for two open seats in the November election. All said they had not been there.

We had not reported Olszewski was at the condo at the same time as Belletiere. That was an important detail I wanted very much to publish. However, revealing it around this photo seemed unfair.

At the time Olszewski visited the condo, Conahan, who was president judge, was charged with nothing.

Should Olszewski — a former assistant district attorney, then district attorney, and political veteran — have remembered Belletiere’s name and reputation? I think yes, though Olszewski said he didn’t make a connection until after the trip.

Should judges be careful about the company they keep? Yes. We should all be careful about that.

Which brings us to the anonymous letter and snapshot. Ask yourself who would have this photograph? Who would send this letter and why?

People have an agenda when they send information to be published. Usually it is innocent. They want to mark an occasion, publicize their bake sale, or take credit for a project. Clearly the anonymous letter was an attempt to undermine Olszewski’s retention vote in the Nov. 3 election.

By publishing it, the media becomes a part of — a tool of — an anonymous attempt to scandalize Olszewski.

It wasn’t new. It wasn’t fair. We decided not to compromise The Times Leader.

It is a standard here that we expect of the courts and government we scrutinize. I want to be confident good, honest and fair judges are elected to the court in Luzerne County.

Some of you will certainly disagree. Just as we question the motives of everyone, you can question us.

We can only prove ourselves by continuing to aggressively report all aspects of this story accurately and fairly.