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Grand jury indicts county jury commissioner on extortion allegations.
Luzerne County Jury Commissioner Gerald Bonner, who also is a county Housing Authority board member, allegedly used his influence to help a business owner obtain contracts.
Times Leader file photo
The Luzerne County Housing Authority became the latest public entity to be ensnared in the ongoing federal corruption probe as charges were filed Tuesday against Gerald Bonner, one of its board members.
Bonner, a Luzerne County jury commissioner, was indicted by a grand jury for allegedly helping another board member, who is not identified, extort less than $5,000 from a business owner who had contracts with the housing authority.
According to the indictment, Bonner, 66, of Mountain Top, and the other board member, who has not been charged, used their influence on the board to help the business owner, who also is not identified, obtain the contracts. The cash was paid to Bonner, who then turned the money over to the other board member.
Bonner has served as a jury commissioner, an elected post, since 1997. In a press release, county President Judge Chester Muroski said he would ensure Bonner does not take part in any jury selection functions, but that he was powerless to remove him from office or take disciplinary action because Bonner is an elected official.
Should Bonner resign as a jury commissioner, Muroski would appoint someone to fill the vacancy. The appointee would have to be registered in the same political party as Bonner, who is a Democrat.
The charges against Bonner are the latest to rock the county in an ever-expanding corruption probe that has now nabbed 12 defendants. The indictment is the first to involve a county office.
The indictment does not specify the nature of the bribe, but a source familiar with the investigation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the probe has focused on a trip several housing authority members took in January to attend a conference.
Four people serve on the authority board in addition to Bonner. Three board members who could be reached Tuesday denied any involvement in the case. The fourth board member, William Maguire, did not respond for requests for comment.
Authority members Frank “Buddy” Hoedl and Louis Goeringer denied any involvement through authority Solicitor Bruce Anders.
Board member Robert Pipech said he was not involved.
“I did not take any money. You can bet your bottom dollar on it,” Pipech said.
Maguire could not be reached for comment. No one answered the door at his Mountain Top home Tuesday afternoon and he did not respond to a note left by a reporter. Bonner also did not return a phone message or respond to a note left at his home.
Maguire attended a National Leased Housing Association conference in Florida in January along with three other authority representatives, but he is the only one who has not submitted a travel report and receipts to obtain reimbursement, according to authority records.
Authority Director Dave Fagula said the trip was budgeted and authorized. The authority spent $2,548 for Fagula to attend, $2,425 for Hoedl and $3,488.91 for Bonner, records show. Those expenses include registration, air fare, lodging, meals and rental vehicles.
The conference was at the Sanibel Harbour Resort in Fort Myers. The authority paid $525 for Maguire’s registration but nothing for his travel, lodging and meals, records show.
Maguire, a retired Wilkes-Barre police detective captain and former county employee, was appointed to the authority in 2003. He worked as county emergency management municipal coordinator from February 2006 until he resigned in November 2007.
County commissioners appoint authority members, though commissioners have no other direct control over authority operations.
Commissioner Chairwoman Maryanne Petrilla said she had not received any authority board member resignations as of Tuesday afternoon.
The authority oversees much of the county’s low-income housing, including Section 8 vouchers that allow about 1,100 families to live in privately owned rental units. The authority also operates 1,352 apartments in 22 federally funded housing developments throughout the county. The county has had a steady waiting list for both programs.
Authority members are not paid.