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Agnes ``babe'' Konopka

By TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER tmorgan@leader.net
 Friday, January 24, 2003 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





HARVEYS LAKE - As many as 205 criminal and traffic citation cases could be
challenged because of questions about the accreditation of four-year Police
Department veteran Charles Musial, court records show. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 That figure represents 35 criminal cases that include drunken driving and
burglary charges, 58 nontraffic citations, such as disorderly conduct, and 112
traffic violations, according to records complied by District Justice James
Tupper. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The validity of Musial's arrests came under question after the revelation
Wednesday that he never obtained certification from the Municipal Police
Officers Education and Training Commission in Harrisburg. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Officers are required to be certified to carry a weapon and enforce state
laws and moving traffic violations, said Maj. Richard Mooney, the commission's
executive director. Without it an officer has no more power to make an arrest
than a lay person, Mooney said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The borough maintains Musial was qualified because he completed training
under Act 120, the state law that mandates police training. But Mooney said
the training itself was not sufficient for certification. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Mooney said a department also must show the officer passed a physical and
psychological exam, provide proof a background check was completed, show the
officer qualified with a weapon and completed first aid and CPR training. The
commission never got that proof for Musial, he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As the borough and commission argue the point, prosecutors and defense
attorneys are faced with a legal quagmire. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Jonathan Blum, an attorney with the Luzerne County Public Defender's Office
who handles Back Mountain cases, said he's reviewing cases to determine
whether challenges to arrests and convictions should be filed. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The biggest problems for prosecutors involve pending cases, Blum said.
Should Musial's arrests be deemed illegal, Blum said prosecutors would have to
drop the charges or try to have another officer take over the case and
rearrest the defendant. That would raise a host of legal challenges. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Robert Prescott, a defendant in one of Musial's cases, said he definitely
plans to challenge his arrest. Prescott was charged with resisting arrest and
disorderly conduct in a disturbance with neighbors outside his home in June.
His case is scheduled for trial in March, but Prescott said he expects it will
be dropped. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``This guy was nothing more than a private citizen they gave a gun, badge
and vehicle to,'' Prescott said. ``I don't see how (the district attorney) can
continue with the charges. They read `Officer Musial, being a duly sworn
officer of the commonwealth,' and he wasn't a duly sworn officer.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For cases that have been resolved, Blum said challenging the case might not
be worth the risk, especially if more serious charges were dropped as part of
a guilty plea. In those cases the threat of rearrest remains. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``If they want, they can try to challenge the results of the plea, but it
might not be in their best interest do so because it might bring back the more
serious charge,'' Blum said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Blum said most of the traffic citations cases also would not be worth
challenging because the cost of paying an attorney to challenge the case would
far exceed the fine the person paid. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

205 Cases Involving `officer' At Risk 
A Veteran Harveys Lake Police Officer's Lack Of Certification Raises Questions
For Prosecutors And Defense Lawyers.

205 Cases Involving `officer' At Risk A Veteran Harveys Lake Police Officer's Lack Of Certification Raises Questions For Prosecutors And Defense Lawyers.