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Area church group gathers to make quilts for homeless shelters

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Look Back: Estimated 2,500 people showed up for murder trial in 1922

<p>Veteran Luzerne County detective Richard Capitano has retired, creating a second vacancy in the department that falls under the District Attorney&#8217;s Office.</p><p>Detective Daniel J. Beky had died in October following a recent illness.</p><p>County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis said she recently hired Shawn Williams to fill Beky&#8217;s position and is in the process of selecting someone for Capitano&#8217;s position. Detectives start at $47,358 under their union agreement, she said.</p><p>Capitano retired Dec. 31 and was making $53.66 per hour, according to the county&#8217;s newly released monthly personnel report.</p><p><strong>Other DA hires</strong></p><p>Five new employees were hired in the District Attorney&#8217;s Office in December, the report said.</p><p>These workers, along with their hourly pay: Carl Frank and Shana Messinger, full-time assistant district attorneys, $25.44; James O&#8217;Malley, part-time gun violence reduction officer, $20; and Matthew Redick and Jason Zola, narcotics agents, $20.</p><p>Salavantis said the gun violence and narcotics positions do not provide benefits and are funded by grants or other outside revenue streams, with no impact on the general fund operating budget.</p><p><strong>County hirings</strong></p><p>In addition to the previously announced hirings of Assessment Director Kristin Montgomery and Assessor&#8217;s Appraisal Manager Michael Lavelle, 10 new workers were hired in other county offices last month.</p><p>These workers, along with their positions and hourly pay: Joseph Grochal, assistant public defender, $.44; Maria Hughes, Antonia Stinson and Amy Newhart, Children and Youth caseworker 1, $15.82; Sheri Kapitula and Georgene Marshallick, Aging agency alternate food service workers, $11.58; Tiffany McCary, Children and Youth social service aide, $14.14; Lisa Perillo, Children and Youth clerk typist, $12.68; Jennifer Seward, Aging alternate senior center manager, $13.91; and Joseph Swortz, Probation DUI program coordinator, $23.08.</p><p><strong>Departures</strong></p><p>Six workers resigned last month, including Drug and Alcohol administrator Steven Ross, the report said.</p><p>The county received 11 applications for this administrator position by the Jan. 2 deadline, the human resources department said last week.</p><p>The other December resignations: Brenda Albright, public defender clerk/stenographer; Lisa Calabro and Sherry Grenzberg, Children and Youth caseworkers; Joleen Gai, district attorney adult victim witness coordinator; and Nicole Litostansky, Children and Youth caseworker manager.</p><p>In addition to Capitano and assessment managers Anthony Alu and Rocco Amentler, eight workers retired last month: Mental Health/Developmental Services caseworker manager Grace Bradshaw and caseworker Charmayne Floryan; Aging Agency care manager Lynne Cronauer and case aide Kathleen Zgagowski; Children and Youth caseworker W. Thomas Gregory; prison sergeant Michael Rostkowski; budget/finance auditor Linda Whitehead; and 911 telecommunicator Danielle Shaw.</p><p>Five workers were terminated, the report said: 911 telecommunicator Brandon Tayoun, prison nurse Melissa Erickson and corrections officers Sean Boyer, Wanda Renee Jackson and Jennifer Lynn Malak.</p><p><strong>Litigation settlement</strong></p><p>Council may vote later this month to settle pending litigation against county Children and Youth involving the death of two of three boys in an October 2017 fire in Laflin.</p><p>The matter is on Tuesday&#8217;s county council work session agenda for discussion. The amount of the settlement was not released, although the administration&#8217;s written briefing said the payment will be covered by the county&#8217;s insurance carrier.</p><p>According to the administration: Deleon Major, administrator of the estates of fire victims Devon and Ezekiel Major, filed the legal action in federal court alleging the Children and Youth agencies here and in Philadelphia were negligent in placing the children in the care of their natural mother and/or failed to adequately supervise her to ensure her home was safe.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Luzerne County Courthouse </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/web1_courthouse.jpeg.jpg</photo0><caption0>Luzerne County Courthouse </caption0><photoCredit0></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>

Several personnel developments in Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office