web1_TTL073115deerflowers.jpg

Names released in fatal crash in Wilkes-Barre

web1_Sid-Michaels-Jim-Miller.jpg

State Rep. Sid Michaels Kavulich, former sportscaster, died

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A police officer terminated last year for sending an alleged threat in an email to city officials has been reinstated to the force.</p><p>Officer Dan Duffy was scheduled to return to duty Tuesday, almost a year to the day of his termination on Oct. 18, 2017.</p><p>City Administrator Ted Wampole confirmed Duffy&#8217;s reinstatement, but limited his explanation to say, &#8220;The grievance was resolved.&#8221;</p><p>Duffy, an instructor at the Lackawanna College Police Academy and former Scranton police chief who joined the city&#8217;s force in 2014, sent the email in his role as vice president of the Wilkes-Barre Police Benevolent Association and in defense of a fellow officer at a time when the union had regular disputes with former chief Marcella Lendacky over her management of the department.</p><p>The email sent Sept. 16, 2017, said, &#8220;Your failing to act on a &#8216;problem laying in wait&#8217; may be a costly one, both tangibly and intangibly. It is a matter of time (sic) someone will need to answer for this.&#8221;</p><p>Wampole and Mayor Tony George took the email as a threat, but no criminal charges were filed against Duffy.</p><p>The firing also led to a federal lawsuit filed by Duffy and Sgt. Phil Myers, president of the PBA that is still pending.</p><p>A message left with Duffy on Tuesday was not returned.</p><p>Speaking for the PBA, Myers confirmed Duffy&#8217;s reinstatement and said &#8220;We&#8217;re happy that he&#8217;s back to work.&#8221;</p><p>Labor relations between the rank-and-file officers and the administration further frayed with Duffy&#8217;s departure and led city council to call for outside help to intervene. The Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association conducted an independent review earlier this year and concluded neither Lendacky and then Commander Ron Foy had the professional qualifications to serve in the top-level administrative posts that the mayor appointed them to.</p><p>Lendacky retired in June with a yearly pension of $73,645. The mayor eliminated Foy&#8217;s position and demoted him to his previously held position of detective.</p><p>The mayor attempted fill the chief&#8217;s post, but in June put the search on hold after negotiations stalled with the two finalists. Since Lendacky&#8217;s retirement Commander Joseph Coffay has been running the department.</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/2018/10/web1_Dan_duffy-4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dan Duffy is seen speaking at Lackawanna College Police Academy graduation exercises in 2012. Duffy has been reinstated to his job with the Wilkes-Barre Police Department. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_Dan_duffy-4.jpg</photo0><caption0>Dan Duffy is seen speaking at Lackawanna College Police Academy graduation exercises in 2012. Duffy has been reinstated to his job with the Wilkes-Barre Police Department. </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader file </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>City administrator: &#8216;The grievance was resolved&#8217;</subheadMeta></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>

Fired Wilkes-Barre Officer Duffy reinstated