`baby Jesus' Kidnapped 
From W-b Public Square 
Annual Nativity Scene Missing 
An Important Player

Loretta Christie 
Nov. 20, 1992 
Loretta Christie, Of Main Street, Inkerman, Jenkins Township, Died Friday At 
Home.

Sunday, November 22, 1992 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1B/6B QUICK WORDS: MUSTO 





Thanks to his brother, Joe Musto is a lock for county judge &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It's a real longshot, but Joe Musto could be named the newest Luzerne
County judge just before the state Senate ends its 1992 session on Nov. 30 --
or maybe even this weekWhile Gov. Bob Casey has until the first week in
January to fill the vacancy on the court that was created with the retirement
of Judge Bernard Brominski, the Musto nomination and confirmation could be
rushed through in the Senate's final flurry of activity. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But even if the deal doesn't come down this week or just before Nov. 30,
Casey and the Senate absolutely won't allow it to run past the first week in
January. If they did, the court seat would go unoccupied until next year's
election. Nobody wants that to happen, especially state Sen. Ray Musto, Joe
Musto's brother and No. 1 backer, and the sitting county judges who would have
to pick up all the extra work. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Time, though, is very, very short but a Joe Musto appointment could happen
real quick if Ray Musto wants it to. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In any case, Joe Musto will be the newest county judge by the first week of
January at the latest. You can bet the farm on that. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Special Trial Court Nominating Commission -- the Quinn Commission --
last week interviewed only five lawyers, including Joe Musto -- for the
Brominski seat. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Unlike the stampede of 1989, that was a mighty skimpy field. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In 1989 there were close to 20 people who filed applications and were
interviewed by commission members, Joe Quinn, chairman; John Moses, Joe
Saporito, Madge Benovitz and Catherine Dougherty. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Lawyers who were interviewed then came away encouraged about their chances.
Each applicant was made to feel that he or she most assuredly had a very good
chance of getting the commission's recommendation to fill the seat that came
open after Arthur Dalessandro resigned because of income tax trouble. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But despite the apparent sincerity of the commission members who dutifully
carried out their mission, it very quickly became common knowledge all around
that Joe Augello had the appointment locked up. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ray Musto began to talk about what a wonderful guy Augello was. And, of
course, he is. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Musto didn't just run off at the mouth about Augello, however. He backed up
his support for Augello in the the only place it counted -- the state Senate
of Pennsylvania where he is a honcho. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And just as expected, Sen. Musto, as he always does, got his way in the
Senate. He was all that Augello needed. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The commission played out the interview game. It sent Augello's name and
four other names to Casey. Casey then nominated Augello, and presto, Augello
moved from his district justice's court in Pittston to Dalessandro's old
chambers in the courthouse in Wilkes-Barre. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 There he was, a shiny new judge in neatly cut and pressed black robes.
Thank you very much, Ray Musto. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It was, as they say, a done deal from the get-go. And what we have with
this latest court vacancy -- the Brominski seat -- is a repeat of 1989. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ray Musto plainly has everything under control once again. In fact, this
one no doubt is even more important to him than the Augello deal because it's
his brother who will end up with the brass ring. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 With the kind of political clout Sen. Musto can call up whenever he wants
to, and on behalf of whomever he wants to, you can understand why no more than
five lawyers even bothered to file applications for this latest vacancy. What
most lawyers who would like to be judges know is that they have no chance so
long as Ray Musto's brother wants that appointment. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 They know the nominating commission was just blowing smoke with those
interviews last week. They know it would have been a waste of time to file an
application. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The attitude among many would-be judges is, "What's the use?" For them, the
commission and the political game that is being played out is one big
turn-off. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 One of them, who had interviewed for the Dalessandro seat in 1989, put it
this way: "A lot of people don't think much of that commission." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And, folks, that's exactly the kind of sentiment that narrowed the field to
so few applicants this time around. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Power politics as crafted by Ray Musto is a work of art. There's no sense
trying to fight it. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Besides Joe Musto, these four lawyers interviewed with the commission for
the court spot last week: Charlie Bufalino, Mike Conahan, Joe Giovannini and
Tom Makowski. Those four names, and Musto's, went to the governor's office
during the week. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 By the way, pay for judges is likely to go up pretty soon. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In case you missed the story last week, The Associated Press reported there
is a bill in the state House of Representatives which would increase common
pleas court judges' salaries from between $80,000 and $82,500 to between
$99,500 and $102,000. The higher salaries would be for president judges of the
county courts. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Raises also have been proposed for district justices. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Salaries for them would go from between $26,500 and $38,000 to between
$48,000 and $55,000. District justices are paid on a scale that reflects the
size of the districts in which they serve. For instance, district justices
like Marty Kane and Mike Collins, who preside in Wilkes-Barre, would continue
to be paid at the higher levels. A district justice, say in Tunkhannock, would
be paid on the lower side of the scale. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Senior judges, under the provisions of the bill, would get $300 a day, up
from the current $250. Retired senior judges like Bernard Podcasy and Bernard
Brominski are in that category. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The two House committees that approved these raise proposals are the House
Judiciary Committee and the House Appropriations Committee. The
recommendations for the increases came from the state bar association.
According to the information supplied by the Associated Press out of
Harrisburg, the pay hikes would be covered by increasing court fees, such as
fines and filing costs. No taxpayer money would be used, the reports say. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Raises also have been proposed for the state's other court judges: Supreme,
Superior and Commonwealth, the Philadelphia Traffic Court and the Philadelphia
Municipal Court. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Associate Editor Bill Griffith's column appears every Sunday in the Region
section.

Thanks To His Brother, Joe Musto Is A Lock For County Judge 
It's A Real Longshot, But Joe Musto Could Be Named The Newest Luzerne County 
Judge Just Before The State Senate Ends Its 1992 Session On Nov. 30 -- Or 
Maybe Even This Week.

Thanks To His Brother, Joe Musto Is A Lock For County Judge It's A Real Longshot, But Joe Musto Could Be Named The Newest Luzerne County Judge Just Before The State Senate Ends Its 1992 Session On Nov. 30 -- Or Maybe Even This Week.