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Our Opinion: Artistic talent of region’s residents runs deep – and deserves recognition

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Secret Service agent shoots armed man outside White House

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Robert J. Kulick, a reputed mob associate known for his role in the Luzerne County judicial corruption scandal, died last week at age 67.</p><p>Kulick, a Pittston native and longtime Bear Creek township resident, passed away at Timber Ridge Health Care Center on May 12, according to an obituary notice sent to the Times Leader.</p><p>Kulick might be best known for his cooperation with prosecutors in exposing a case-fixing scheme involving former Luzerne County judges.</p><p>Following subsequent legal proceedings that included Kulick&#8217;s testimony, judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan both received lengthy prison sentences.</p><p>According to Times Leader archives, Kulick was an associate of William D&#8217;Elia, then the reputed boss of the Bufalino crime family and a friend of Conahan.</p><p>In 2011, Kulick was released from prison after serving just 17 months of a 37-month sentence for illegal possession of firearms, in part because of his cooperation. The court also cited previous judicial error in determining the length of his sentence.</p><p>During his incarceration, Kulick admitted to having a severe problem with alcoholism, and voluntarily enrolled in an intensive treatment program.</p><p>At the time, his attorneys said Kulick had volunteered to tutor other inmates and had participated in a gardening program.</p><p>&#8220;The last 17 months have been life-changing for me,&#8221; Kulick said in 2009. &#8220;I realized how much I love my sobriety, how much I love my family and how much I am loved by my family.&#8221;</p><p>Kulick&#8217;s however, seemingly relapsed into his addiction in the last several years, and was in the midst of a divorce filed in 2011 from wife Michelle, who he had married in 1992 and with whom he had several children.</p><p>Kulick had served as a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Daniel J. Flood during the latter&#8217;s federal trial on bribery, conspiracy and perjury charges in 1979, speaking in Flood&#8217;s stead when he stepped in as chairman of the appropriations subcommittee for labor, health, education and welfare.</p><p>Kulick&#8217;s obituary was brief, and said a Mass of Christian burial will on Saturday at St. Therese Church, Shavertown.</p>
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<div class="neCaption">Kulick </div></div><div class="metaInfo">https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_kulick.jpgKulick </div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><p>By Geri Gibbons</p><p>ggibbons@www.timesleader.com</p></div><div class="metaInfo"><p>Reach Geri Gibbons at 570-991-6117 or on Twitter @TLGGibbons</p></div>

Robert Kulick, alleged mobster and witness in Conahan and Ciavarella case, dies at 67