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Sheriff Savokinas resigns
In a surprise move, Luzerne County Sheriff Michael Savokinas resigned Tuesday after only 20 months in office. He cited several reasons, including budget battles with the county commissioners. He recommended that his chief deputy run the office.
Clark Van Orden/The Times Leader
WILKES-BARRE – Luzerne County Sheriff Michael Savokinas said he felt he had no choice but to resign after being subjected to a “witch hunt” by county officials and certain media outlets he contends were intent on ruining his reputation.
Savokinas sent a letter to Gov. Ed Rendell notifying him of his resignation as sheriff, which was effective as of 4 p.m. Tuesday. Rendell could appoint an interim sheriff, but Savokinas specifically requested that the governor keep the seat open until the next election cycle and allow Savokinas’ chief deputy, Charles Guarnieri, to run the office.
In a letter addressed to citizens and the media, Savokinas said he felt his presence in office had become a distraction in the wake of several high-profile controversies that included the discovery of drugs in a sheriff’s vehicle and battles with commissioners over funding for his office.
“I do this after many weeks of soul searching, since one of the highlights of my law enforcement career has been serving the people of Luzerne County as their sheriff,” Savokinas in the letter. “In spite of this, I feel I can no longer do justice to my job without the cooperation of the current county commissioner leadership.”
Savokinas has been a lightning rod of controversy in recent months. In June, Savokinas came under fire after it was revealed he failed to report vacation time Guarnieri had taken to the county payroll department. The following month, county commissioners requested the FBI investigate an incident that occurred in April in which Savokinas and two deputies found cocaine in a sheriff’s vehicle used by Savokinas.
Savokinas said he was particularly troubled by media coverage of the drug incident.
Savokinas said he suspects someone planted the narcotics as part of a “political vendetta” against him. He noted he reported the incident to a county detective, even though he was not required to do so.
Despite that, he claimed some members of the media, whom he did not identify, used the incident to “drag my reputation through the mud.”
“When this story broke it was implied that I was a drug user. As the story circulated, I was forced to explain to my 11-year-old son that I do not use drugs,” he said.
Savokinas also cited numerous run-ins he has had with the majority commissioners, particularly Commissioner Chairwoman Maryanne Petrilla, who he says have continually interfered with his ability to run his office.
Savokinas noted his budget was cut by $200,000 before he took office, resulting in the layoff of 20 part-time and four full-time employees who he says were “vital” to maintain efficiency and safety.
“When I ran for this seat I wanted to change the office for the better, but it’s apparent that the majority county commissioners are more worried about budget cuts than safety and protection of county residents,” Savokinas said in the letter.
He also accused Petrilla of trying to undermine him when he opted to bid out legal advertisements for real estate tax sales run by his office. He also said Petrilla failed to assist him when he sought an audit after, he claims, his predecessor, Barry Stankus, had not turned over hundreds of thousands of dollars to the general fund from 2005 to 2007.
Savokinas said Petrilla had performed an audit on the sheriff’s office when she was county controller and had found “numerous errors along with sloppy and poor bookkeeping.” He said when he asked Petrilla for a forensic audit, she replied, “If you can find it in your budget, you handle the matter.”
Petrilla said Tuesday she didn’t recall having that conversation with the sheriff. She maintains commissioners have tried to help Savokinas’ office on numerous occasions.
“We have extended the olive branch to the sheriff on numerous occasions,” Petrilla said. “Our senior accountants spent weeks and weeks in the sheriff’s office to get books straightened out.”
As for the budget cuts, Petrilla said they impacted every office in the courthouse.
“It’s our responsibility to balance the budget. He didn’t accept those budget cuts,” Petrilla said. “We had numerous meetings with the sheriff and his staff … we did as much as we could to cooperate with his office.”
Stankus declined to address specific allegations Savokinas made about him. He said he had heard that Savokinas intended to resign, and that he was “curious to see the reason” for it.
“Let’s hope this is the end of it,” Stankus said.