Click here to subscribe today or Login.
Testimony of county leader’s father follows recent subpoena of ’04-’07 commissioner meeting minutes.
Greg Skrepenak, the father of Luzerne County Commissioner Greg Skrepenak, leaves the federal courthouse in Scranton Tuesday afternoon.
Don Carey/the times leader
Attorney Peter Moses, who represents Greg Skrepenak, the father of the county commissioner, leaves the federal courthouse in Scranton on Tuesday.
Don Carey/the times leader
The father of Luzerne County Commissioner Greg Skrepenak testified before a federal grand jury on Tuesday – on the heels of federal authorities requesting copies of county commissioner meeting minutes.
The request for records is the first indication the corruption probe that so far has focused on the judiciary and local school districts has now expanded to county government.
The senior Skrepenak, who is also named Greg, entered the grand jury room in Scranton at around 10:30 a.m. with his attorney, Peter Moses of Wilkes-Barre. Skrepenak left the courtroom around noon and quickly exited the courthouse without speaking to the media. He could not be reached for comment later.
The case before the grand jury was presented by Assistant U.S. Attorney William Houser and FBI agent Richard Southerton, who are among the lead prosecutors and investigators in the ongoing corruption probe that so far has resulted in charges against eight people.
Moses met with Houser for about 15 minutes following Skrepenak’s testimony. Moses said he could not comment regarding the nature of the testimony.
Federal authorities recently served a subpoena on the county seeking copies of commissioner meeting minutes from 2004 through 2007, sources said. Those years encompass Commissioner Skrepenak’s first term in office, when he and then fellow majority commissioner Todd Vonderheid voted for the controversial leasing of a Pittston Township juvenile detention center for $58 million over 20 years.
Former judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan recently pleaded guilty to accepting more than $2.6 million in kickbacks in exchange for favorable judicial rulings and other actions that led to the county’s use of the center. A federal judge last week rejected the plea agreement, leaving the resolution of the case in question.
Commissioner Skrepenak has not been accused of any wrongdoing. He did not return numerous phone messages seeking comment regarding his father’s testimony. In previous interviews, he said he had no connection to the corruption probe, and denied he ever received any perks or payments in connection with the juvenile center lease.
“Some people want to associate me so bad with this. People are reveling in the gossip,” Skrepenak said in February.
The senior Skrepenak also has not been accused of any wrongdoing. A retired PPL Electric Utilities lineman from Dallas, he has owned and operated Big Ugly’s bar/restaurant in Wilkes-Barre since December 2005.
He opened the restaurant as a means to display the collection of sports memorabilia of his commissioner son, a former NFL lineman. The commissioner had wanted to open the establishment, but could not own a liquor license because of his position in county government.
The restaurant is housed in a building owned by Michael and Arlene Pasonick, of Pasonick & Associates Inc. engineering company.
It’s not known if the senior Skrepenak’s testimony was related to any issues regarding the restaurant or county government. Grand jury investigations are secret and are not open to the public.
Commissioners Maryanne Petrilla and Stephen A. Urban said they could not comment, but vowed the county will cooperate with any investigation.