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Wilkes rescinds degree awarded to Bill Cosby

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Bonnie Arnone named manager of Forty Fort Borough

<p>Prosecutors dropped 37 charges against Stanley Strelish and the suspended head of the Luzerne County Transportation Authority received five years probation Thursday for his guilty pleas to five felonies related to the &#8220;ghost rider&#8221; scandal involving the public bus service.</p><p>Dauphin County Judge William Tully also ordered Strelish, 61, of Laflin to pay a $5,000 fine and perform 100 hours of community service.</p><p>The state Attorney General&#8217;s Office prosecuted the case and handled the plea deal that left five of seven counts of tampering with public records on the table. Six counts of the most serious charge, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, a first degree felony carrying a maximum 20-year prison sentence, were dropped along with conspiracy, theft by deception, two counts of tampering with public records &#8212; all third degree felonies with a maximum prison sentence of seven years &#8212; and misdemeanor charges of unsworn falsification, false swearing and obstructing administration of law.</p><p>&#8220;We thought that this was the appropriate outcome given that the defendant had no prior criminal history and he didn&#8217;t personally benefit from the alleged fraudulent acts,&#8221; said Jeffrey Johnson, a spokesman for the AG&#8217;s office in Harrisburg.</p><p>How the plea and sentence would affect Strelish&#8217;s status with the LCTA was unclear. Johnson said the plea did not contain any conditions that Strelish resign or be terminated.</p><p>Norm Gavlick, interim executive director of the LCTA, said he anticipates that the board will act once it receives official confirmation of the sentence.</p><p>&#8220;At this point our board hasn&#8217;t done anything yet,&#8221; Gavlick said.</p><p>A call to attorney Joseph Blazosek, solicitor for the LCTA, was not immediately returned.</p><p>Still pending is the related case of Robb Henderson, 59, of Exeter, who was suspended from his position as operations manager when charges in the case were filed last year.</p><p>A docket entry Thursday indicated deputy Attorney General Bernard Anderson filed a stipulation with accompanying exhibits.</p><p>The charges resulted from a grand jury investigation and presentment last year surrounding passenger counts that increased soon after Strelish and Henderson took on management positions. The June 2014 presentment said the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation first noticed &#8220;dramatic increases&#8221; in senior ridership in 2007. Ten LCTA employees and several officials testified before a grand jury that determined Strelish and Henderson directed drivers to inflate the ridership numbers &#8220;by both direct orders and training, and by subtle pressure.&#8221;</p><p>PennDOT notified the LCTA in January 2014 that $3.16 million in funding would be withheld. The figure was based on six years of inflated ridership. The LCTA negotiated with the state over repayment of the money.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Strelish </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_Strelishuse1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Strelish </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLNews</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Suspended LCTA head Stanley Strelish sentenced to probation in ‘ghost rider’ case