Lackawanna County commissioners possibly violated state Sunshine Act in private authorization to spend taxpayer money on criminal defense lawyers for OYFS staffers, open meetings expert says
Jul. 25—Lackawanna County commissioners may have violated the state's Sunshine Act by privately authorizing the spending of taxpayer money on criminal defense lawyers for four Office of Youth and Family Services staffers, an open meetings expert said.
Commissioners Jerry Notarianni, Chris Chermak and Debi Domenick authorized the county last week to pay the four attorneys a flat fee of $10,000 each for work performed for four OYFS employees facing child endangerment charges.
The authorization was in private and made under the commissioners' "executive authority" to handle a legal matter, general counsel/acting solicitor Donald Frederickson said. Chermak and Notarianni met in person and Domenick joined by phone, he said.
Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, said the officials certainly can deliberate privately but must make decisions in the open.
"Decisions on agency business have to be done at a public meeting," she said.
Last month, Scranton police and county detectives arrested caseworkers Amy Helcoski, Erik Krauser, retired caseworker Randy Ramik and supervisors Sadie Coyne (O'Day) and Bryan Walker. They five are accused of endangering eight children in three separate cases by ignoring their wretched, potentially dangerous living conditions, injuries, and lack of food, medical care and schooling.
The commissioners authorized payment to attorneys representing Helcoski, Krauser, Coyne and Walker because they are county employees who acted within the scope of their employment, Frederickson said. The county offered to pay for Ramik's defense but he did not respond.
The commissioners did not want to "abandon" employees charged with crimes related to their work, Frederickson said earlier this week.
The decision to foot the bills, at least through the preliminary hearing, was not made with a formal vote, though Frederickson did acknowledge the commissioners agreed to authorize payment.
"That sounds like a decision on agency business to me," Melewsky said.
Attempts to reach Frederickson in response to Melewsky's concerns were unsuccessful, as were attempts to reach Notarianni, Domenick and Chermak.
The taxpayer-funded defense attorneys are: Matthew Comerford, representing Coyne; David Solfanelli, representing Helcoski; Terrence McDonald, representing Krauser; and Robert Trichilo, representing Walker.
Frederickson said he did not believe the county paid the attorneys yet.
Lackawanna County Judge James Gibbons will hear arguments Sept. 1 on a defense motion to dismiss the cases.
A preliminary hearing date is not yet scheduled. Should a district magistrate decide enough evidence exists to warrant a trial, the topic of legal bills will have to be revisited, Frederickson said.
Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9100, x5187; @jkohutTT on Twitter.
