`murder In The First' Sentences Audience To Dreary Experience

By JEFF WALSH; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Friday, January 20, 1995 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A 





WILKES-BARRE -- Three Democrats who support the party switch of Tom Stish,
R-Hazleton, have been allowed by a court order to intervene in the civil case
against him. They plan to ask that the case be dismissed. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Prior to this intervention, the suit only represented three Hazleton
Democrats who oppose Stish. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The order signed Tuesday by Judge Gifford Cappellini of the Luzerne County
Court of Common Pleas lists Joseph Fay, Ernest Serafine and Anna Scatton --
all of the Hazleton area -- as supporting Stish. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Stish, 44, ran as a Democrat in the November election, and then switched to
the Republican party six days after his victory. That switch gave Republicans
control of the state House of Representatives. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Messages left at Stish's Hazleton office were not returned Thursday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Joseph Cosgrove, an attorney for the three angry Democrats in the 116th
District, said that he opposed the intervention, but it doesn't change his
case. His clients are challenging the election results, arguing the loyal
Democrats who voted for Stish would not have done so had they known he would
switch parties. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Cosgrove likened this new turn of events to a plane crash in which some
passengers sustain injuries. He said it would be like allowing passengers who
were uninjured in the crash to say that they thought the flight was fine. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "That simply ignores the damage that has been done to other individuals,"
Cosgrove said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Cosgrove said he hasn't decided if he will appeal the intervention order. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The petition of Fay, Serafine and Scatton says they do not feel they were
defrauded by Stish's switch, and that he didn't fraudulently misrepresent
himself during the election. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A motion to dismiss the case against Stish was attached to their petition,
which states the court doesn't have jurisdiction to remove him. They argue
that only the state House of Representatives can remove him. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Stish was appointed this week to the House Appropriations Committee, one of
the most powerful committees in the legislature. It oversees the state budget
and finances and approves all spending measures. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "This will be a great opportunity to advance my ideas for reducing
government spending and cutting job-crushing taxes," Stish said in a press
release Thursday. "I will be in a stronger position to fight for our fair
share of state funds, particularly when it comes to competing with cities like
Philadelphia." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Stish made reference to his party switch in Thursday's press release. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "As a Democrat, I was chastised for my views," Stish said. "As a
Republican, I am at the forefront of my party's effort to get government off
the taxpayer's back." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Stish was reappointed to the House Liquor Control Committee and named
Chairman of the Subcommittee on Licensure. He also was appointed to the House
Education Committee and the State Government Committee. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tom Stish &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

3 Democrats Seek Dismissal Of Stish Case