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WILKES-BARRE — Fear for her safety and reputation before she retired as police chief were not the only reasons Marcella Lendacky demanded an investigation of an alleged threat against her.
Lendacky’s former boss Mayor Tony George said he thought she would sue the city if nothing was done.
George offered his take during a deposition last year as a defendant along with Lendacky and former commander Ron Foy in a lawsuit filed against them by the leaders of the Wilkes-Barre Police Benevolent Association. That suit alleged retaliation for the union leaders’ criticism of the management of the department.
A portion of the mayor’s sworn testimony came to light via a filing this week in the pending federal suit. The filing was made by attorneys for the defendants in response to complaints by the plaintiffs over scheduling depositions.
When asked by plaintiffs’ attorney Mark Frost what led to the independent investigation of the alleged threat, George said: “I think it was that because she’s retiring, and I think there was a threat of a lawsuit if we didn’t do anything.”
Frost pressed further for clarification from George if he thought it meant “that you could be having possible exposure, that is you or the city?”
“Right,” George replied.
The investigation done last year by attorney Alexia Blake of Scranton at a cost of $7,782 concluded there was no personal threat by Sgt. Phil Myers, president of the PBA and one of the plaintiffs along with Officer Dan Duffy, PBA vice president. Blake also determined Myers’ statement that he was “not done with her yet” did not contribute to “a gender-based hostile environment.”
By the time Blake finished her investigation and delivered her findings to the city July 30, Lendacky had retired from the position George appointed her to in March 2016.
Lendacky, 59, served in the police force for 29 years and retired June 3 with an annual pension of $73,645.
Lendacky left in the wake of a report in March 2018 by the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association that stated she and Foy lacked the professional qualifications for the senior level management positions in the department. City council approved the hiring of the Harrisburg-based PCPA at a cost of $26,212 to resolve the discord between the police union and the department’s administration.
Lendacky did not return a call for comment Thursday.
The mayor later eliminated the commander job and demoted Foy, 52, to his former position of detective.