Judge on indefinite leave with $124,000 salary

The sorry saga of Monroe County Judge Mark Pazuhanich keeps rolling along. The latest development is the accused child molester, doing the first right thing since his arrest on charges at a Hilary Duff concert in early December in Wilkes-Barre, finally decided to seek a leave of absence from the bench and remove himself from the county courthouse. The thought that he should never have taken his seat in the first place is for another time.

This is not the end of the story. Pazuhanich was granted his leave of absence, but he will still collect his salary, which is a little more than $10,000 a month.

While there is some celebration that his presence is gone from the courthouse, there is still a good deal of outrage over the fact that now he will be receiving a salary without having to bother even unlocking his office door every day.

An individual making $124,000 a year in Monroe County shouldn't expect much sympathy when he does not have to make an effort to show up at his job five days a week. Salaries in these parts, in 99.9 percent of the cases, don't come close to that kind of dough. There are a good many families who are working two and three jobs and their combined income doesn't come close to what Pazuhanich is making. And that is cause for resentment. While some are happy to see Pazuhanich gone from the courthouse, there is a widely held opinion that he should be gone without his handsome salary.

One good thing does come from the leave of absence: At least his colleagues will not have to tread lightly around him and will be spared the embarrassment of having to acknowledge his presence. There is no question that the five judges in good standing have heaved a collective sigh of relief since Pazuhanich departed the premises last Tuesday. His presence was, without question, a stain on their good reputations, and civility between the judges and Pazuhanich must have been sorely strained, although each of the five have the good manners not to show it.

So for now, the bucks keep rolling into Pazuhanich's bank account, and that must make his Philadelphia lawyer real happy. It is not likely that the fellow the judge hired to defend him against the heinous charges of which he stands accused would be very happy knowing that his client's bank account was bare.

About the only good news for the judge that came out of the controversy last week was the fact that, since he put his black robe back in mothballs, at least for the time being, the Monroe County Bar Association will apparently not pursue its intentions to petition the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for Pazuhanich's removal from the bench. That brings a collective sigh of relief to another group: the lawyers who might have to deal with the judge should he miraculously be cleared of the criminal charges.

Attorneys tend to get a bit skittish when it comes to doing something against one of their brethren, and for many years Pazuhanich was indeed a brother. The thought of putting their names on a petition to have him removed from the bench probably brought a whole slew of night sweats to a good many of the local lawyers. Now they won't have to bother and their skirts, at least in this instance, will remain clean.

Lest anyone think ill of the bar association and its members' position on Pazuhanich, it should be remembered that, of the three candidates going into last spring's primary election, the former district attorney received the lowest rating in the ethics category from his colleagues. In a way, it is a shame that their real feelings weren't made a little more public and more in-depth than that, but that was not what they were charged with doing. Obviously, they knew more about his character than the average voter since they had dealings with him in the past.

As for the cynics who might be tempted to feel that the Pazuhanich story is over, they could not be more wrong. He still must face a trial on the molestation and public drunkenness charges. And he could still face sanctions imposed by the almost-inert state Judicial Conduct Board, which has allegedly been investigating Pazuhanich's case since that fateful night he was arrested. How much more investigating it must do is left to one's imagination. If it continues its probe at the same pace it has used up to this point, a final finding might be forthcoming by the time humans set foot on Mars. "Vigorous" is not the adjective one might use to describe the Judicial Conduct Board's investigation in this case.

This public official is merely putting himself out of the public eye. Once this blows over he will be elevated to the State Supreme Court. This man, being a criminal, has a brilliant future ahead of him in America 2004 A.D.

No offense to Poconites, of which I was one in our summer home years back, but the white trashiness label is being replaced by the "Insane White Trash" label.

Too many stories are making their way out of your badlands. Bodies in freezers, on the take politicians, explosively decapitated pizza guys, baseball teams with no owners, Adelphia, Rodham Brothers all nighters banging the neighbors wife, Realestate scams, etc......

Long term meth symptoms are beginning to show.

In most states, judges' salaries can't be terminated unless they're actually found guilty of something. It's that whole "judicial independence" thing.

In the great and just Commonwealth of Pennsylvania a judge can be suspended without pay after charges are filed -- His Molestorness can only be removed if found guilty.

He has been charged. The victim (10 year old girl), has already faced her accuser at a preliminary hearing and the judge found sufficient evidence to send the matter to a jury.

Can't see why a suspension without pay is not invoked here. He could always receive back-pay with interest if acquitted. Gasp! Couldn't be politics?