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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Mayor Tony George said Monday he believes he did nothing inappropriate when he accepted a free ticket for a baseball game last week from an attorney who is a member of two organizations that have ties to the city.</p><p>George&#8217;s cousin and adviser, attorney John Moses, hosted him at a Philadelphia Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday. Wilkes-Barre City Attorney Tim Henry joined them for the afternoon game against the San Francisco Giants.</p><p>Moses sits on the boards of directors at Highmark Inc., the Blue Cross/Blue Shield health insurance provider for the city, and at First National Community Bancorp Inc., the Dunmore-based bank that does business with the city. He also contributed $600 to George&#8217;s campaign for mayor last year.</p><p>George said he believes there was nothing inappropriate about him accepting the free ticket because Moses does not directly handle city business.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think John does anything with the city,&#8221; George said.</p><p>When contacted by phone Monday and asked about the baseball ticket, Moses said, &#8220;I&#8217;m not going to talk about it.&#8221;</p><p>A possible ethical issue regarding the free ticket was recently brought to the Times Leader&#8217;s attention. The face value of the ticket is unknown.</p><p>This past spring, the city hired Moses&#8217; son, attorney Pete Moses, for legal work, and Pete&#8217;s law firm &#8212; Moses &amp; Gelso of Wilkes-Barre &#8212; was paid $6,120 to represent the city in a labor issue with the Wilkes-Barre Police Benevolent Association.</p><p>Last month, the City Council approved moving money to the First National Community Bancorp and closing out six checking accounts due to an estimated $1,200 in monthly fees assessed the city by Citizens Bank. FNCB was among eight banks that responded to a request for proposals and offered a 0.5 percent interest rate, as well as no monthly fees.</p><p>The mayor has relied upon John Moses&#8217; assistance in the past, but at no cost to the city.</p><p>The mayor previously said he consulted with him about the possibility of putting medical students on Trans-Med ambulances providing backup assistance in the city. George had said he reached out to Moses because he is a member of the board of trustees of The Commonwealth Medical College in Scranton and had &#8220;the pull to get the ball started.&#8221;</p><p>When informed by a reporter Monday that George had attended the baseball game, City Council Chairman Bill Barrett said he was unaware of the situation and wondered if George&#8217;s position was a factor in him getting the free ticket.</p><p>&#8220;I guess the big question is: Would this have happened if he was not the mayor?&#8221; Barrett asked.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">George </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL050416tony-george1-cmyk-4.jpg</photo0><caption0>George </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 @TLJerryLynott.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Wilkes-Barre mayor says he did nothing wrong in accepting free ticket