Ex-PA director Oliveri sentenced

SCRANTON – Former Pittston Area school board member director Joseph Oliveri admitted Monday that he was wrong to accept $1,500 from a contractor who did business with the district, but he continued to insist he did not realize that at the time.

“I honestly didn’t think I did anything wrong,” Oliveri told U.S. District Judge Thomas I. Vanaskie, moments before Vanaskie sentenced Oliveri to 12 months and one day in prison and a $3,000 fine.

Oliveri, 52, of Hughestown, was charged in August with corrupt receipt of a reward for official action. Federal prosecutors said he accepted the money as a reward for helping the contractor, whom authorities have not identified, obtain a contract within the district. The money was paid to him in cash in the parking lot of the Burger King restaurant in Pittston in January 2009.

Addressing Vanaskie, Oliveri admitted the money did influence his decision regarding the contractor to “some respect.” But he denied that he exerted influence on other board members to support the contractor.

He also noted he did not directly benefit from the payment. The money was used to pay for a Christmas party at a relative’s restaurant that was held for employees of the Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technology Center, according to federal prosecutors. Oliveri was Pittston Area’s representative on the center’s joint operating committee for part of his tenure.

Oliveri’s attorney, Paul Walker, said Oliveri was looking for a way to pay for the Christmas party and asked another school board member what he should do. That person recommended Oliveri approach several vendors who did business with the district to see if they would contribute. Walker said the first vendor Oliveri approached agreed to pay the full tab.

“He actually had good motives,” Walker told Vanaskie. “Mr. Oliveri did not realize the gravity of what he was doing.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Houser confirmed Oliveri’s and Walker’s versions of how the case unfolded. Oliveri’s actions were indicative of the “culture of corruption” that has permeated Luzerne County government, Houser said.

“It seemed like everyday business to accept things you shouldn’t accept as a public official,” Houser said in court.

Oliveri, who was employed as a deputy sheriff with Luzerne County, served on the Pittston Area School Board from 2005 up until his resignation in August.

He was accompanied to the hearing by nine people. A woman who was among the group broke down in tears as Vanaskie read the sentence. She and others declined to comment after the hearing.

The sentence was within the guideline range, which called for a sentence of 12 to 18 months. The guidelines are advisory, however. Vanaskie could have sentenced Oliveri to less time, or up to the maximum for the offense, which is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

In setting the sentence, Vanaskie acknowledged that Oliveri did not benefit directly from the payment. But he said Oliveri should have known better.

“It’s very perplexing to me. You asked for advice (from another school board member) and followed that advice. That should have sounded immediately wrong to you,” Vanaskie said. “It’s not only the law. Morals say it’s not right to accept money under those circumstances if the person is doing business with the school district.”

Oliveri is among 23 people, including seven area school officials, who have been charged in connection with the corruption probe. He is the second person from Pittston Area to be charged. Former superintendent Ross Scarantino pleaded guilty and was sentenced in October to 12 months in prison for accepting money in exchange for helping a contractor obtain business with the district.

Speaking after the hearing, Walker acknowledged Oliveri committed a crime, but said Oliveri’s action was the result of ignorance, not an intent to defraud the public.

“This guy is not the guy who exemplifies corruption in Luzerne County. He is a decent, hard-working guy. He was a little naive in his approach to his position” on the school board, Walker said. “He clearly was not a guy who was a player.”

Prosecutors have declined to identify the contractors involved in either Scarantino’s or Oliveri’s case. Federal agents seized records from Pittston Area last year regarding work performed by Intellacom, a computer company in Plains Township, and King Glass and Paint in Swoyersville.

Oliveri made a motion in April 2007 to award a no-bid contract with Pittston Area to Intellacom that was worth nearly $270,000. Intellacom’s owner, Anthony Trombetta, has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

Vanaskie allowed Oliveri to remain free until he begins serving his sentence. He was ordered to turn himself in by March 2.