The LuLac Edition #1040, Dec. 17th, 2009

PHOTO INDEX: COMMISSIONER GREG SKREPENAK IN HAPPIER TIMES PRESIDING OVER THE LUZERNE COUNTY COURTHOUSE.

PENALIZED

Greg Skrepenak former football star, and twice elected Luzerne county commissioner signed a plea agreement with the feds and will resign from office shortly. Skrepenak was elected in 2003 with Todd Vonderheid as the new Democratic majority. He promised transparency in government as well as integrity in filling county wide positions. This has been long rumored. Skepenak is the 23rd person to be charged in this probe. Skrepenak had come under fire for the use of debit cards and his selection of cronies who did not serve him well in the positions he appointed them. The first report came from the Times Leader OnLine. What struck me were the 22 comments that appeared on the story. People seemed to be gleeful about the demise of the big man.
Skrepenak at one time had life knocked. He was an Athletic Director at Crestwood High pulling down $75,000 and also had a few media sidelines he was involved in focusing in on his former football glory days. Why he entered the political fray is anyone’s guess. Skrepenak was known as an anti drug crusader. I first met him in 2004 at the Market Street bank in Wilkes Barre, formerly the Station. I was in line and felt a huge presence hovering over me. I turned and realized it was the newly minted county commissioner. I was struck by the fact that I came up to his navel. However I engaged him in a conversation about education. He was enthusiastic about supporting learning activities for the young people of the area and said that learning based agencies needed to be funded more. At the 2007 Commissioner debate for Commissioner hosted by the League of Women Voters Skrepenak was skillful, articulate and showed he had a grasp of county government issues so much so that it seemed to be that he dominated the forum. Upon election, he and his running mate Mary Anne Petrilla had a split on personal issues. The Luzerne County Court en banc will choose his successor. The Third Class County Code has only two stipulations for the job. (1). The replacement must have been a member of the same Party at the time Skrep was elected, not at the last election (Nov 09). 2. He must be a member of the same Party. It does not stipulate any time requirements just that the person must be of the same Party. Names already being floated about as possible Democratic successors are former County Commissioners Frank Crossin Junior, Frank Trinisewski Junior (who was on the air today with WILK’s Sue Henry expressing his outrage over the Christmas decorations), former Trinisewski and confidant Attorney Charhles Bufalino (father of Democratic party chair Mark Bufalino and a respected lawyer) Wil Toole, a candidate for Controller in Luzerne County who reportedly changed his registration back to the Democratic Party, West Side Funeral Director Phil Boyle, former Democratic Controller candidate and party finance man Bob Morgan and recently elected Wyoming Area School Board member Gil Dominck. Those are the names being floated but I’m sure more will come in the days ahead.
Meantime the once promising political career of Gereg Skrepnak has been stopped at the goal line similar to the way the big lineman usaed to stop NFL running backs in his heyday with the Oakland Raiders.
Here's a link up to Pittston Politics: http://www.pittstonpolitics.com/