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Winning business owners thrilled at TL Readers’ Choice Awards presentations

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Fariborz Ghadar: The little hybrid might still be the right choice

During the time that I have been a resident of the Scranton area, I&#8217;ve watched Louis DeNaples&#8217; reputation dwindle to a low ebb.In August 1996, I came here to live where people generally thought well of him; he was even considered the major benefactor in Northeastern Pennsylvania.And though there were some missteps in his early career as an entrepreneur (as in the aftermath of Hurricane Agnes and its cleanup), he seemed to overcome that with a solid record of providing jobs in his wide range of businesses. In addition to helping the economy, he also was making generous donations to many organizations and institutions in the wider community.It would have been hard at this early point to argue the case DeNaples was, all the while, attempting to gain negotiable clout with his largesse. But in the 2000s we learn of a long history of enormous financial contributions to, and other doings with, politicians and the political process. Mount Airy Casino and the role of future U.S. Rep. Tom Marino are a testament to this. (For background, look in Matt Birkbeck&#8217;s splendid book &#8220;The Quiet Don.&#8221;)DeNaples&#8217; greatest gambit, the Keystone Landfill, enables us to look back now on all the money given and the power exerted as simply influence-buying (to get his own way to more wealth and power). When he talks about the landfill as &#8220;my family&#8217;s business,&#8221; he&#8217;s inferring that he is not asking for special favors.&#8220;Friends of Lackawanna&#8221; would beg to differ. They want a cleaner environment and fresher air for all the children and grandchildren.DeNaples wants something other, however, and that is the reason he is no longer a &#8220;favorite son;&#8221; he has instead become an &#8220;enemy of the people.&#8221;Richard J. YostSouth Abington TownshipLackawanna County

Letter to the Editor: Louis DeNaples loses favor with region’s residents