Luzerne County Community College students have earned recognition for outstanding academic achievement during the fall 2015 semester.

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Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band coming to the F.M. Kirby Center in June

<p>PLAINS TWP. &#8212; Prosecutors announced this morning that they have withdrawn local criminal charges against Richard Pieri, a former nurse who had been charged with a number of offenses after <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/515090/nurse-accused-of-aiding-in-emergency-surgery-at-wilkes-barre-veterans-administration-medical-center-while-under-the-influence-of-alcohol" target="_blank">he was allegedly caught drunk on the job at the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center.</a></p><p>Pieri&#8217;s legal woes, however, seem to have only just begun, as Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis said she expected the case to be adopted by the U.S. Attorney&#8217;s Office for federal prosecution. She declined to elaborate.</p><p>Pieri had been charged with misdemeanor counts of of reckless endangerment, DUI and public drunkenness, all of which were withdrawn this morning during a preliminary hearing before District Judge Joseph Spagnuolo.</p><p>Pieri&#8217;s attorney Shelley Centini, declined to comment at the hearing. Pieri also declined to comment.</p><p>Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center spokesman William Klaips deferred comment to the U.S. Attorney&#8217;s office.</p><p>Pieri&#8217;s charges stemmed from a Feb. 4 incident in which Pieri allegedly staggered into the hospital and struggled through his duties before aiding in the procedure. Pieri was responsible for prepping and retrieving the patient, preparing surgical materials inside the operating room, documenting the procedure and monitoring the subject&#8217;s vital signs, according to the affidavit.</p><p>Video surveillance obtained by police allegedly shows Pieri emerge from his Honda Ridgeline truck and collide with a concrete barrier while walking into the medical center just before midnight. He nearly falls after stumbling several times, the affidavit says.</p><p>A physician&#8217;s assistant claimed Pieri was &#8220;definitely not himself&#8221; that night, the affidavit says. He allegedly grew agitated after having difficulty logging onto a VA-issued computer and entered incorrect time stamps into the computer that documented the time the operation began and concluded.</p><p>The patient, who has not been identified, was readmitted to the hospital after the procedure due to stomach pains, the complaint says.</p><p>Asked during an interview with police why they would want to question him, Pieri allegedly said, &#8220;I guess it has something to do with me being drunk on call.&#8221;</p><p>Pieri later told police he consumed approximately four or five beers while playing slots at Mohegan Sun Pocono casino and had forgotten he was on call when his pager went off advising him of the surgery. He allegedly admitted to police he knew he wasn&#8217;t supposed to be part of a surgery while intoxicated.</p><p>Pieri had been licensed as a registered nurse since March 1979 without any disciplinary actions, but state officials announced earlier this month that <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/local/518113/state-officials-suspend-richard-pieris-nursing-license" target="_blank">Pieri&#8217;s nursing license was temporarily suspended</a>.</p><p>Pieri <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/local/517934/richard-pieri-nurse-accused-of-assisting-in-surgery-while-drunk-resigns-from-va" target="_blank">resigned from the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Hospital</a> about a week after the original charges were brought against him.</p><p>The incident in February wasn&#8217;t Pieri&#8217;s first brush with the law. In October 1985, Pieri <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/local/517658/va-nurse-pieri-accused-of-assisting-in-surgery-while-drunk-has-troubled-past" target="_blank">was charged in the hit-and-run death</a> of 65-year-old veteran George Knorr near the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center.</p><p>Pieri was charged with an accident involving death or personal injury &#8212; a misdemeanor carrying a maximum penalty of a $2,500 fine and/or a year in jail. Township police considered lodging a charge of vehicular homicide or manslaughter, but they determined the death was not the result of gross negligence, an officer had told the Times Leader.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Richard Pieri, 59, leaves District Judge Joseph Spagnuolo's office after his preliminary hearing on Tuesday. Travis Kellar | Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_IMG_2047-5.jpg</photo0><caption0>Richard Pieri, 59, leaves District Judge Joseph Spagnuolo's office after his preliminary hearing on Tuesday. Travis Kellar | Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta></subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Travis Kellar</p><p>tkellar@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

DA drops local charges against former VA nurse Richard Pieri in light of likely federal prosecution