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By DAVID WEISS dweiss@leader.net
Tuesday, January 25, 2000 Page: 1A
WILKES-BARRE – A Luzerne County prison nurse and a guard will be disciplined
for their involvement in an NFL football betting pool that involved 23 other
employees, officials said.
Nurse John Burke will get a three-day unpaid suspension and guard Anthony
Piontkowski will be issued a written warning this week, according to county
officials.
Two of Burke’s children, who are not prison employees, also participated
in the football pool, according to a memo from acting chief county Solicitor
James Blaum to the prison board.
The discipline stems from a pool that was uncovered in November when a
Luzerne County Correctional Facility lieutenant discovered Piontkowski typing
point standings on a nurse’s station computer, officials said.
Piontkowski was in the nurse’s station waiting for a prisoner who was
receiving medical treatment.
The participants paid $5 per week but only $1 was actually wagered. The
other $4 went to a Christmas party fund. Those contributions have been
returned, Blaum said. The winner of the weekly pool won $27 for picking the
most winners.
The discipline was based on an internal investigation conducted by Deputy
Warden Rowland Roberts and Blaum’s recommendations.
“There was no opposition to what was presented,” Blaum said after Monday
morning’s Prison Board meeting.
Roberts said prison administrators expect to level the sanctions within the
next two days in accordance with Blaum’s recommendations.
Burke and Piontkowski may file a grievance regarding the decision, but
Blaum said he feels the county is “on very solid ground.”
Both violations were the lowest possible offense, according to Blaum. He
said Burke received the suspension because it was his second offense in the
past three years. The details of that offense could not be determined.
Piontkowski had no prior offenses during that time, Blaum said.
Roberts said none of the other employees involved will be punished because
it is not illegal to belong to a betting pool. He said employees have been
spoken to about operating such pools at the prison.
Operating a pool can be illegal, Blaum said, but participating in one
isn’t. “Under prison policy, if anyone is convicted of a crime, they are
subject to immediate dismissal.”
Roberts said he didn’t believe the pool was illegal because no single
person was “making monetary gains.”
Roberts said the pool was initiated to fund a Christmas party and it began
through the guards socializing at Antonio’s Pizza on North River Street.
No money was ever exchanged on prison grounds and no other evidence was
uncovered that showed other LCCF property was used in the pool, Blaum states
in the memo.
District Attorney David Lupas could not be reached Monday to comment about
a possible criminal investigation.
Call Weiss at 829-7242.