The LuLac Edition #4101, July 2nd, 2019

THE BREATHTAKING ARROGANCE OF BILL COURTRIGHT

When I heard the news that Bill Courtright was being investigated by the feds, I wished my friend and frequent poster The Old Sarge aka Pete was around. The late Jim Petrie told me all about Bill Courtright and what a good guy he seemed to be. They played basketball together at one time in a league. “Good guy but deep down a politician”.
Well good guys can be politicians.
Some.
Courtright went on to become the Mayor of Scranton and he seemed to bring a workmanship Scranton needed after a series of two three term Mayors who were in some cases public and flamboyant. When he won election in 2013, he knew to the number the vote total. That’s a head counter which is always important in politics. He seemed like the Accountant who got the keys to the Captain’s deck and was finally going to steer the ship of the city correctly if not with great bombast.
There were skirmishes and conflicts but any Mayor had them. In 2017 Courtright faced off against his old political nemesis and won again. Not by the margin of 2013 but passable. He was on his way to term number two in the Electric City.
But the differential in campaign votes between ’13 and ’17 may have been his undoing. The reason is because Courtright was playing hard ball right after his Inauguration Day. Vendors with the city were put on notice that you had to play ball to get contracts. In some cases Courtright instructed City Department heads to stop work. It was like something you’d see on The Soprano’s. There was no subtlety to it. He traded his influence for personal perks including use of a beach property, carpentry at a karate club he owns and landscaping at his home.
Courtright brought attention to himself and disgrace to his city by a hubris that even the Greek gods could never comprehend.
That is what makes all of this breathtaking in its arrogance and stupidity.
Was he that arrogant to think he was special and immune from the Feds? With politicians, the feds don’t have favorites. Did he think his Accountant looks belied a sense of trust that people would give him a pass? And how about the money in the envelopes in hs safe? I mean you get enough bag men, sooner or later they are going to talk. Plus the city vendors who rely on work to feed their employees, you think they were going to sit still for this?
The bottom line here is Bill Courtright started out as a crook and decided to stockpile that lack of integrity through his term and into the next.
Until he was stopped.
Bill Courtright plead guilty to his crimes today in Williamsport. He saved money on lawyers that’s for sure. On this day Courtright finally told the truth. After 5 years of obfuscating and lying, well, that plea that just might be the most accurate assessment of his time in office.