web1_TTL013116CandlelightMemorial1.jpg

After 10 years, family of Patricia Moreton continue to call for justice

web1_wilkesmanhattanville03.jpg

Emphatic second half lifts Wilkes basketball to third straight win

For the umpteenth time since January 2009, we&#8217;re asking you, pleading really, to report any credible information you have about public corruption in Northeastern Pennsylvania to the FBI.Kickbacks to government officials from contractors.Bribes passed to school board members.Elected officials&#8217; misuse of authority.Disregard of a danger to public safety (&#224; la Flint, Michigan).Embezzlement.Seven years ago this month, the stunning announcement from federal prosecutors that two Luzerne County judges had illegally profited from a deal with a privately run juvenile detention center shook area residents&#8217; sensibilities. How could the justice system here have become so badly broken without detection by people close to the courts?&#8220;It&#8217;s time for knowledgeable sources in and out of the courthouse,&#8221; our editorial published that week stated, &#8220;to do more than spark gossip at lunch counters and office cubicles. Instead, tell what you know to investigators with the Internal Revenue Service or Federal Bureau of Investigation.&#8221;Turns out, there was considerably more dirt to reveal than most any of us realized. Egregious as it was, the &#8220;kids for cash&#8221; scandal represented only part of an ugly pattern.A corruption crackdown throughout the region, and spanning several years, uncovered and successfully prosecuted dozens of people &#8211; judges, county commissioners, school officials, state senators, businessmen and others &#8211; who not only abused their posts for profit, but in the process betrayed their neighbors.Was every miscreant caught in the sweep, every scheme squelched?Unlikely.Might new get-rich-quick rackets have arisen lately?Sadly, maybe so.That&#8217;s why we have continued for more than half a decade to periodically publish the phone number of the Federal Bureau of Investigation&#8217;s Scranton office: 570-344-2404. The office&#8217;s agents cover activities occurring in Luzerne, Lackawanna, Carbon, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties, according to an online directory of the <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/philadelphia/contact-us/territory-jurisdiction#scranton" target="_blank">FBI&#8217;s eastern Pennsylvania offices</a>.We spotlight the FBI&#8217;s contact information again today as a public service, a reminder of our region&#8217;s past transgressions, maybe even as a collective wish.Do the right thing. Please.<div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>Got dirt?Report specifics about suspected public corruption in Northeastern Pennsylvania to the Federal Bureau of Investigation&#8217;s Scranton office: 570-344-2404.</factboxMeta></div>

Our Opinion: Make the right call, NEPA; report suspected corruption to FBI