web1_114919523-180e73cf97d942a8a9156f6996620d9b.jpg

Wolf seeks cuts, revenues to plug $3B budget gap

web1_heartbeat-163709_960_720.jpg

Baby To Be 3D open house is Feb. 10 in Plymouth Twp., portion of proceeds to benefit Children’s Heart Foundation

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The fate of a former Luzerne County prison counselor, city council candidate and Wilkes-Barre Area School Board president convicted of extorting inmates and trading firearms for drugs will be determined inside a federal courtroom later this month, according to court documents filed Tuesday.</p><p>Louis Elmy, 52, of Nicholson Street in Wilkes-Barre, will be sentenced on federal firearm and extortion charges Feb. 21 at the William J. Nealon Federal Building in Scranton.</p><p>The former prison worker admitted to doctoring court orders in a bid to extort money from inmates during a plea hearing in July, but his sentencing date remained unknown until Tuesday.</p><p>The scheme was allegedly fueled by a drug addiction, prosecutors said at the time.</p><p>Prosecutors said Elmy, while acting in his official role as a work-release counselor at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in Wilkes-Barre, extorted &#8220;money and other items of value from work release inmates in exchange for giving them special privileges and unauthorized furloughs.&#8221;</p><p>Elmy, prosecutors said, created phony court orders that had judges&#8217; signatures physically pasted on them from older orders, then photocopied the fraudulent order for the file so the paperwork appeared legitimate. The scheme was allegedly carried out for nearly three years, beginning in November 2013 and concluding following Elmy&#8217;s arrest on drug and weapons charges in February 2016.</p><p>The inmate paid Elmy between $50 and $200 over the course of several weeks in exchange for unauthorized time outside work release hours as well as other privileges, according to court documents, and also helped Elmy obtain crack cocaine.</p><p>When Elmy&#8217;s addiction grew too costly, prosecutors said at his plea hearing, he turned to selling guns to dealers to obtain the drug. In one instance, Elmy sawed off the barrels of two shotguns to make the weapons more enticing to the buyer, prosecutors said.</p><p>Elmy, who was employed by the county for nearly 20 years, was suspended from his job at the prison after the charges surfaced and has since resigned. He served on the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board from 2012 through 2015.</p><p>During a failed campaign for a city council seat in 2015, Elmy vowed to work with law enforcement to battle drug pushers.</p><p>He said his goals included building strong relationships with federal, state and local law enforcement to &#8220;combat the out-of-control drug trade&#8221; in Wilkes-Barre neighborhoods, he said.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_louis_elmy2_faaCMYK-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Louis Elmy leaves the federal courthouse in Scranton after pleading guilty to extortion and firearms charges in July. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_louis_elmy2_faaCMYK-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Louis Elmy leaves the federal courthouse in Scranton after pleading guilty to extortion and firearms charges in July. </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams | for Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Dolinsky</p><p>jdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Louis Elmy to be sentenced this month on federal firearm, extortion charges