Posted on 09/16/2009 6:36:53 AM PDT by Born Conservative
Frank Pizzella Jr. on Tuesday became the third Wilkes-Barre Area School Board member and the second sitting board president to be charged with corruption in five months.
A federal grand jury handed down an indictment claiming that, in 2004 – before he was on the school board – Pizzella acted as both go-between and facilitator when a school board member got a $5,000 bribe to help hire someone as a teacher.
The indictment reads like a mini spy novel without names, other than Pizzella’s. It outlines an alleged “conspiracy” that took place between Jan. 2, 2004, and Dec. 2, 2004, and refers to an “unindicted Board of Education member” and three “unindicted co-conspirators”: a person trying to get a teaching job, his or her spouse and father-in-law (the spouse’s father).
According to the indictment, Pizzella told the person seeking work that a teaching job could be obtained by “making a corrupt payment of $5,000” to the unnamed school board member. The father-in-law loaned the money, giving it to Pizzella, who took it to the board member. The person was then hired as a full-time teacher, and the loan was paid back to the father-in-law through several installments.
The indictment did not name other board members. The nine board members in 2004 were four veterans – Charles Luce, Brian Dunn, John Corcoran and James Height – and five newcomers who won election to the board in 2003: Dr. James Susek, James Fisher, Teresa McGuire, Maryanne Toole and Brian O’Donnell.
Of those nine, only McGuire, Toole and Fisher remain active members. Since he was charged with corruption in April, Dunn has neither attended board meetings nor resigned. Luce lost his re-election bid in 2005 to Height. Corcoran resigned after winning the job of Luzerne County coroner in 2007. O’Donnell did not seek re-election in 2007. And Susek lost his bid for re-election the same year, to Pizzella.
Contacted Tuesday evening, Toole said she “couldn’t believe it” when she heard that Pizzella had been indicted. Noting she had joined the board in December 2003, she said she had no idea which teacher hired that year allegedly paid for a job as claimed in the indictment, or which board member allegedly took the bribe.
Susek said he was also surprised at the allegation of a bribe, and that he had no idea which teacher could have been involved. He said he knew nothing about the alleged bribe. He did note that Pizzella had helped Dunn in one of his elections.
Susek also said that he intends to make another run for a board seat in the next election, which would be in 2011.
Current board member Lynn Evans, who has not attended recent meetings because she is recovering from surgery, said she was “shocked and surprised” at the indictment, and that she had no idea who was involved in the alleged bribe.
Pizzella has been a local political figure for years and won a seat on the school board in 2007. He has presented himself repeatedly as a reformist determined to save the district money by rigorously questioning construction projects, holding contractors accountable and getting as much work as possible done by in-house staff.
At a work session Monday, he spent considerable time going back and forth with project manager Michael Kryzwicki of the Apollo Group Inc. over details of several projects collectively costing more than $100,000.
“I will say this about Frank,” Toole said Tuesday, “he has contributed to the board a lot. He brings a lot to the board, especially coming from the construction industry. He’s been able to help us save money on several of the projects going on.”
Superintendent Jeff Namey, who also said that he was surprised at the indictment and that he didn’t know who was involved in the alleged bribery, agreed. “He’s done an excellent job.”
Despite the fact that one-third of the board has been charged with corruption since April, no one interviewed said they would be proposing changes in district hiring practices, though Namey did said this latest indictment could change that attitude. “Obviously, there are significant issues, and we need to perhaps explore different ways of doing things.”
Any changes, he added, would be up to the board.
The board has no written policy, and board members in the past have said that each member gets a chance to recommend someone to be interviewed for teaching positions.
Pizzella became school board president when then-president James Height abruptly resigned May 12 without explanation. Height subsequently was charged with corruption and pleaded guilty.
Height’s charges came less than a month after Dunn had been charged on April 21. A preliminary hearing was scheduled but postponed repeatedly, with the latest postponement coming Tuesday, when the hearing was pushed from this Thursday to Nov. 17.
Pizzella did not return calls seeking comment. Attempts to reach other board members, current and from 2004, failed.
Those who were reached all said the district needs to move forward.
“I just wish this whole thing would come to an end so that we can get on with everything that needs to be done,” Toole said.
My bad; he facilitated a bribe for a teaching job.
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