Watching Weather A Full-time Job 
Whether Teaching 
At Psu Hazleton Or 
Working As A Television 
Forecaster, Jon Nese 
Can't Get Enough 
Of Mother Nature

Arcade Fire Ruled Suspicious By Police

By DAVID J. RALIS; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Saturday, January 31, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





WILKES-BARRE- Construction manager Guy Serpico suspects the political
contributions of a rival firm's owners cost his company the chance to compete
for a $260,000 county parking garage contract. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Luzerne County Commissioner Frank Crossin denies the allegation, but said
he is planning to retaliate against Serpico anyway because he spoke out. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He was so angered by the suggestion the contract was awarded improperly
that "if I have anything to say about it, he'll be shut out of any (county)
business in the future. I don't buy sour grapes." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Serpico anticipated that reaction. "I'm not saying this because I want it
to sound like sour grapes. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I am a little disappointed that the (contract) was not put out to bid. I
felt that an opportunity to bid on it would have been an opportunity to save
the county money. It's the way business ought to be conducted." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But that isn't what the commissioners did. They awarded the contract to
supervise construction of a $4.8 million parkade to Apollo Group Inc. last
week without first seeking proposals from other companies. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Because they were seeking a professional service, the commissioners were
not legally required to use competitive bidding before awarding the contract. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Crossin said the commissioners did not need to see other proposals because
they are "comfortable" with Apollo, despite problems with a previous job the
company did for the county. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Serpico surmises the work was handed to Apollo because its owners and one
employee contributed at least $3,375 to the commissioners' campaign coffers
since 1995. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Obviously it worked," said Serpico, when told of the political
contributions. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Crossin and Commissioner Joseph "Red" Jones said Apollo's donations didn't
make any difference. "I can tell you unequivocally there were no promises made
to Apollo," Jones said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As one of two Democrats on the board, Crossin has a lot of say in who gets
hired. That's because the state Supreme Court ruled in 1995 that a
construction manager, like a lawyer, is a professional service and the
commissioners may pick whomever they want and are not bound by the lowest
bidder. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 However, the commissioners "possibly could have gotten a better value for
taxpayers" if they did bid the contract out or at least make the hiring
process competitive, said Barry Kauffman, executive director of Common Cause,
a statewide political watchdog group. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Serpico, 63, agreed. He said that's why he is speaking out, even though he
knows it could cost him future county contracts. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The architect will be reminded of that every day he works. From the window
of his North Main Street studio, Serpico can see the courthouse rotunda dome
for which he designed repairs a dozen years ago. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A Republican, Serpico said he has made campaign contributions to Democratic
and Republican commissioners during the years. "But I didn't make a
contribution with the idea of getting something back. That's wrong." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Serpico said the contributions made by Apollo's owners and an employee
"play on your mind. I don't know on what basis they got the (garage) project." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Election records show Angelo and Leroy Answini gave a total of $2,700 to a
campaign committee benefiting Crossin and Commissioner Tom Makowski during the
last three years. It represents less than half of 1 percent of the $604,716
their committee raised. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At the same time, Thomas Yoniski Jr., Apollo's safety coordinator, and his
wife, Jane, contributed a total of $675 to a committee supporting Jones, a
Republican. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Jones said Yoniski is "my neighbor and one of my closest friends." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Phone messages left at Apollo's Wilkes-Barre office throughout the week
were not returned. Makowski also did not return repeated messages. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The commissioners made no mention of the contributions before voting
unanimously to hire Apollo at last Wednesday's public meeting. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Jones said the company was hired because "We have a great working
relationship with Apollo." Crossin said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 That relationship includes Apollo's work as construction manager for the
county's 911 center in Hanover Township. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The building, which cost $2.2 million, was completed nearly a month late.
But the county's contracts with Apollo and the building's general contractor
did not require either company to pay additional costs the county incurred
because of the delay. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "If they had a less than perfect experience with this company recently, it
would have behooved them to at least explore other options," said Common
Cause's Kauffman. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 County Engineer Jim Brozena said the

Crossin Threatens To Blackball Contractor 
Commissioners Deny 
Political Contributions 
Influenced Their Decision 
In Awarding Of Contract 
For County Parking Garage 
Without First Seeking Bids

Crossin Threatens To Blackball Contractor Commissioners Deny Political Contributions Influenced Their Decision In Awarding Of Contract For County Parking Garage Without First Seeking Bids