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<p>Daniel Hughes is Luzerne County&#8217;s new coroner, county Manager C. David Pedri announced Friday.</p><p>The position opened because William Lisman recently retired. Lisman was the first coroner hired since the county&#8217;s January 2012 switch to home rule, which made the coroner an appointed post instead of an elected one.</p><p>Hughes had been hired as chief deputy coroner in February 2017, at a salary of $48,000, and previously worked as one of numerous contracted funeral directors who assist the office as deputies.</p><p>The coroner position was advertised at a salary range of $48,000 to $52,000, drawing six applicants.</p><p>Hughes will be paid $51,000 as coroner, Pedri said in a release.</p><p>Pedri said he believes Hughes has the &#8220;experience, training and attitude needed to succeed in this position,&#8221; citing Hughes&#8217; 18 years working for the office.</p><p>&#8220;Over the years, Hughes has displayed great passion and commitment to his duties and has proven to be the best candidate for this position,&#8221; Pedri said in the release. &#8220;I am optimistic about the future of Luzerne County&#8217;s Coroner&#8217;s Office with Dan Hughes in this position.&#8221;</p><p>Efforts to reach Hughes on Friday were unsuccessful.</p><p>In his new role, Hughes plans to move to a paperless system to enhance efficiency. He also intends to revise the rules for solicitation of the deceased and ensure ethics training for all employees and independent contractors, the release said.</p><p>The county has an ethics code ban specifically for coroners and deputy coroners prohibiting them from soliciting, discussing or accepting business for their funeral home while engaged in county business.</p><p>Brian Leffler, who owns Kniffen O&#8217;Malley Leffler Funeral &amp; Cremation Services, had advised against the hiring of any funeral director as the next coroner, according to a letter he sent to Pedri and other county officials through his attorney last month.</p><p>Prepared by Attorney Jason G. Benion, of Harrisburg-based Post &amp; Schell, this communication referenced and included a previous letter Leffler sent to county officials in January expressing concerns about his allegation that Hughes used &#8220;his office for private benefit by steering business to his funeral home.&#8221;</p><p>Pedri has said he referred the matter to the county&#8217;s law division and human resources department for their review.</p><p>Hughes has said &#8220;anybody can make allegations about anything.&#8221;</p><p>&#8221;As far as the truth of the allegation, that&#8217;s a whole other story,&#8221; he has said.</p><p>Benion&#8217;s letter said funeral directors would have &#8220;unavoidable conflicts of interest&#8221; serving as coroner because most, particularly those at small funeral homes, are &#8220;inherently unable to meet the requirements of the position given their outside employment.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;The opportunity and incentive for a funeral director to abuse the coroner position for personal gain is simply too great to place any funeral director in that role. Indeed, the appearance of impropriety alone is enough to be disqualifying,&#8221; it said.</p><p>Lisman had experience as both a funeral director and deputy coroner, but he ended his work as a third-generation overseer of his family&#8217;s funeral home in 2009.</p><p>The county personnel policy also contains a provision governing any outside employment. It says workers must obtain clearance from the county verifying the outside work won&#8217;t interfere with their county job. Prohibitions include second jobs that would prevent county employees from working beyond normal working hours in emergencies or peak work periods or require them to work during county business hours.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Dan Hughes removes a body from a home in 2018. Hughes, then deputy Luzerne County coroner, was named coroner on Friday, succeeding William Lisman, who retired. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_TTL0724418homicide1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Dan Hughes removes a body from a home in 2018. Hughes, then deputy Luzerne County coroner, was named coroner on Friday, succeeding William Lisman, who retired. </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader file photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>