`nutcracker' Enlivens The Holiday

Alex Wrobleski 
Dec. 17, 1994 
Alex A. Wrobleski, 73, Of North Gates Avenue, Kingston, Died Saturday In 
Nesbitt Memorial Hospital, Kingston.

By MITCH MORRISON; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Wednesday, December 21, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





WILKES-BARRE -- The man behind the burger counter was slight and balding. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 You'd never guess he'd been arrested more than 30 times. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; District Attorney Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. thought he was in jail, not out
on a court-approved work-release program, flipping burgers by day, sleeping in
a county prison cell at night. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But when 34-year-old James Dormio asked a Luzerne County judge Tuesday to
let him go home six months before his sentence was up, Olszewski had a
surprise for him: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Seventeen well-dressed cops from the state attorney general's office and at
least four municipalities strutted into the courtroom. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Each had arrested Dormio in the past 16 years. Each wanted Dormio to stay
in jail. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "He is a threat to the public," Olszewski said after the hearing. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Luzerne County Judge Gifford Cappellini said Dormio couldn't go home but
could continue working. It was up to the state parole board to consider
amending Dormio's sentence, he ruled. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Afterward, some law-enforcement officials shrugged their shoulders,
satisfied with their victory against a man they say has toyed with the system
to stay out of jail. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dormio, of Kingston, pleaded guilty in June 1993 to breaking into a home
and stealing $1,600 in cash. His sentence of almost two years expires next
June. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Police say they expect to see Dormio again. Their prediction is based on
Dormio's rap sheet, which reads like a grocery list -- burglaries, drug
possession, retail theft, forgery, corruption of minors. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dormio, who described himself as a "hardcore dopehead" in an interview two
years ago, has been arrested more than 30 times. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "This guy should not be allowed to get out of jail until his full sentence
is complete," argued Mike Nast, an assistant district attorney. "Dormio has
used the system's programs to stay out of jail. He gets arrested a lot, but he
doesn't like to be in jail." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dormio pleaded guilty to 52 criminal counts in June 1989. Shortly after
that, he tried to escape from the Luzerne County Correctional Facility with
several other inmates. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Three weeks before his prison sentence expired in 1992, Dormio broke free
again, not returning to prison from work release. He was caught four days
later after making taunting telephone calls to police and the media while on
the lam. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dormio wasn't the only one targeted Tuesday by Olszewski and Nast. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In recent months, Dormio's attorney, James Geddes Jr., has asked the county
court to permit Dormio to leave prison during the day without security escort
to attend therapy at Wyoming Valley Alcohol &amp; Drug Services, Choices, and to
work at a Kingston drive-through restaurant. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 All with the court's permission. All without Olszewski's knowledge. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "That's outrageous," Olszewski said after the hearing, during which he
launched into a tirade against Geddes. "I should have been presented with
those petitions." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Cappellini agreed that Geddes should have provided notice to Olszewski. But
the judge did not discipline Geddes. Geddes said he was not required to notify
Olszewski on three of the four petitions. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The therapy was part of his sentence," Geddes said, adding, "I thought I
dropped (a petition) off" at the district attorney's office for the
work-release request. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Later on Tuesday, Geddes said he was optimistic Dormio, who did not testify
in court, had licked his drug habit and would stay out of trouble upon
completion of his sentence. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "One would think he has to be tired of going back and forth to prison,"
Geddes said. "Then again, I'm his attorney, not his counselor." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 James Dormio &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Back-and-forth Inmate Seeking Early Out Told To Stay Put 
Angry District Attorney, Who Says He Never Knew 
James Dormio Had Been 
Granted Work Release, Among 
Many Who Argued Against Early-release Bid

Back-and-forth Inmate Seeking Early Out Told To Stay Put Angry District Attorney, Who Says He Never Knew James Dormio Had Been Granted Work Release, Among Many Who Argued Against Early-release Bid