Talk to us, Tony, about the Trombetta we should know Mark Guydish Commentary

ANTHONY TROMBETTA remains the most invisible man mentioned in this Our Age of Endless Corruption. The saga makes a John le Carre novel sound simple.

In 2009, the FBI asked Pittston Area School District for, among other things, records regarding Trombetta’s computer company Intellacom. Our newspaper’s review of those records showed Intellacom had done no-bid work through a state program, but the paperwork had never gone to the agency overseeing the program.

Superintendent Ross Scarantino and school board member Joseph Oliveri ultimately admitted to taking bribes for helping an unnamed company get district business.

The FBI visited Luzerne County Community College in Nanticoke; we found no-bid work by Intellacom there, awarded while Scarantino sat on the college’s board of trustees.

The FBI visited Wyoming Valley West School District; we found no-bid work by Intellacom.

A Butler Township resident working for a college near Philadelphia admitted he took kickbacks from a computer company that sold the school equipment. A college official there confirmed the company was Intellacom.

Jeffrey Piazza pleaded guilty to a similar scheme at Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technical Center (he was tech coordinator); we found Intellacom deals there.

Luzerne County Commissioner Greg Skrepenak and County Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Allen Bellas separately pleaded guilty to accepting a bribe in exchange for helping a developer get a tax break. No company was named, but Insignia Point, a development by Trombetta’s Terra Firma company, was the only one that matched details in court papers.

Piazza had worked at Portafino, a restaurant Trombetta opened with the help of a county loan. Oliveri’s son had worked for Intellacom. Skrepenak and Piazza owned homes in Insignia Point.

Through it all, Trombetta has never been accused of wrongdoing by law enforcement.

His businesses, on the other hand, turned into recurring train wrecks. Portafino went belly up and Trombetta defaulted on the county loan. Intellacom disappeared from its offices and the landlord sued for missed rent. Terra Firma and other Trombetta companies defaulted on a bank loan.

Sources said that Trombetta had opened another business called iConfidential. The website says it offers online storage and security, but makes no mention of owners. A search of state corporation records online likewise sheds no light on the owners.

When I recently got another tip that iConfidential had disappeared from office space in the Waterfront development in Plains Township, I used the company’s website to send a query. The reply: “There isn’t a location currently. We have people in NEPA and New York City that work on our website. It’s an online business. No, Tony Trombetta isn’t a principal owner of iConfidential.”

Technically true. I paid to get incorporation documents from the state. They were signed by Janet Trombetta.

When I stopped by the Waterfront office complex to look for any remnants of iConfidential, I ran into property owner Ross Spengler. The amiable developer chatted for a spell, noting the company had rented a suite for one year. The lease was under Janet’s name, but Spengler said he dealt with Tony.

While he had read the news articles about the man, Spengler said that, strictly from personal experience, “that’s not the Tony Trombetta I knew … he was always straight with me, always paid his rent on time.”

So now we have a tale of two Tonys: the mystery man and the model tenant. I’ll make an offer. Come forward, be seen, tell your side of the story.

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