Ruggiero aims criticism of OYFS warrant at Powell, who defends search

Dec. 2—The Lackawanna County District Attorney's Office approved a search for records at the Office of Youth and Family Services one month ago out of concern for how the agency places children and reports potential abuse, according to an exchange of letters between county officials.

District Attorney Mark Powell stated his reasoning in a reply to criticisms leveled by county solicitor Frank Ruggiero, who wrote a letter to Powell on Nov. 7 taking aim at how the police handled the search of the county agency five days earlier.

"My office or SPD will not be dictated to as to how to conduct a criminal investigation," Powell wrote.

Scranton police served a warrant on the office Nov. 2 and seized a hard drive in a search for records tied to the care of the three juvenile children of Roseanna Chalus-Glover, who was found dead Oct. 26 in their apartment at 849 Capouse Ave. The children were ages 9, 10 and 13.

The apartment was filthy and strewn with feces, the police said in stating probable cause for the search, a legal threshold required for approval. The children had no clean clothing and there was no food save for what was spoiled and rotten on the stove. City housing inspectors condemned the residence.

The children were assigned caseworkers from the OYFS over the years, but the children indicated they never met their current one.

One child had numerous self-inflicted wounds but received no mental health services. They did not attend school and the police department had a "long history" of reports they were being neglected, Powell wrote.

The agency tried to place the children with a family member who one child accused of sexual abuse and with their adult sister, who Powell wrote has a history of drug overdoses, suicide attempts and police contacts.

"SPD has the prerogative and obligation to investigate this matter when the safety of children is at risk," Powell wrote.

No charges have been filed. Ruggiero said the county is cooperating and will continue to do so. The investigation will clear the agency and those named in a search warrant, he said.

Investigators sought the communications of caseworkers and supervisors assigned to the family, as well as a log of complaints the agency received from outside sources. The two detectives and a uniformed officer wore their sidearms as they served the unannounced warrant.

Sheriff Mark McAndrew said the carrying of weapons inside a county building violated policy, which he said his office discussed with the police department. Ruggiero criticized it as "unnecessary."

"The issuance of this warrant and the serving of the same was done so with only one desired effect," Ruggiero wrote.

County Commissioner Debi Domenick said Friday she believed that intended effect to be "shock value and potentially intimidation."

"We could have done what needed to be done in a more simplified way without breaking policy and without causing our employees to be intimidated and uncomfortable," Domenick said.

The county commissioners were among those copied on the letters. Commissioner Chris Chermak said he has not seen the correspondence and knows nothing about the case. Attempts to reach Commissioner Jerry Notarianni were unsuccessful.

Police Chief Thomas Carroll said the officers acted appropriately.

"We do not take the personal safety of our officers for granted when serving search warrants," Carroll said.

In the days that followed, detectives sought to speak with case workers as potential whistleblowers, which Ruggiero wrote was "concerning" because a worker reportedly felt threatened if they disagreed with a detective's request.

"These people are not criminals," he wrote to Powell. "They are some of the most mission-focused, hardest-working child welfare workings in the Commonwealth who exemplify a practice that has ensured the safety, rights and dignity of all citizens in the County."

In an interview Friday, Ruggiero reiterated his defense of the agency and its caseworkers and noted there were multiple agencies who became involved with the family at the center of the probe, including the police.

Ruggiero told Powell he will assume representation of the agency and its case workers "until or unless circumstances arise which may preclude" him, a position Powell replied he found odd for the county solicitor.

"My intent is to make sure the agency is protected," Ruggiero said.

Powell said that Ruggiero representing the office and its case workers would present a conflict of interest. Should someone be charged, Ruggiero said he would not represent them in that capacity.

In his letter to Powell, Ruggiero wrote there should be "no further discussions and/or communications" between the police and anyone at OYFS unless Ruggiero's office is apprised and they have the ability to be represented.

Neither Ruggiero nor personal counsel will determine when police choose to contact someone in the course of a criminal investigation, Powell told the solicitor.

"If your assertion is correct that 'these people are not criminals,' I would expect them to cooperate with the investigation and not be discouraged from being whistleblowers to report criminal activity by OYFS," Powell wrote.

Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9100, x5187; @jkohutTT on Twitter.