W-b Woman Becomes Spotter In Winston Cup

Aaaa King Has Record Showing 
It Was A Record-setting Weekend At The 11th Annual Piaa Football 
Championships.

Tuesday, December 15, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





WILKES-BARRE- Hours after he learned he won't be charged with drunken
driving, Frank Crossin told the media he wants to put his much-publicized Aug.
17 crash behind him. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But he refused to answer one question: How much did he have to drink before
he crashed?. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "I don't believe that's of any relevance here today," he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Attorney General Mike Fisher said Monday there is "insufficient evidence"
to file drunk driving charges against Crossin, a longtime Luzerne County
commissioner. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We can now finally put this unfortunate matter behind us," Crossin said
during a news conference in the commissioners' meeting room. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Still, minutes later, he said he might be filing a lawsuit. He said he
plans to discuss taking legal action against Harry McCarthy, the city
emergency medical technician who said Crossin was "liquored" when he tried to
treat the commissioner at the crash scene. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Reached late Monday night, McCarthy said he's not surprised by the
decision, but still believes he was a witness to a crime. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 McCarthy said he, Crossin, and "our creator" know the truth. He added that
it's important to note that a lack of evidence to prosecute is "not an
admission of guilt or innocence." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As far as the lawsuit comment by Crossin, McCarthy said "you can't get
blood from a stone." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Crossin still says he wasn't drunk. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I've stated all along that I was taken ill, and I maintain that," said
Crossin, who has admitted having a few drinks before the crash but has never
been specific. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "And I believe I want to thank the officers involved for the help and the
effort they put forward that evening. And it's just unfortunate that these
things occur when you're in public life." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The thanks went to the very officers who were disciplined for mishandling
the crash investigation. No one at the scene tested Crossin for drinking. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Wilkes-Barre Police Chief William Barrett said his department will accept
the decision and considers the case closed. "I had a duty to bring as much as
I could forward." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Nearly four months have passed since Crossin ran his car into the base of a
light pole at the Toys R Us parking lot on Kidder Street, and all along,
Barrett has acknowledged obvious problems in prosecuting the case. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He said he hasn't had a lengthy discussion about the Attorney General's
reasoning but believes Fisher worried about the strength of the case and
whether it would be fair to Crossin to prosecute without a sobriety test. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Barrett said he believes the Attorney General's office considered that
every driver should have the right to take such a test to prove they are not
drunk. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Former city police officer Richard Harding noted on an incident report that
Crossin had an odor of alcoholic beverage after being found sitting in his
car. But Harding also noted that he felt the commissioner was not intoxicated. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Harding was later fired for mishandling the case. Two other officers were
suspended for 10 days without pay. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Barrett said Crossin has tried to explain away his actions the night in
question by saying he was taking medication. "The issue was raised that
medication could have caused a reaction," Barrett said, though he didn't have
other details, including the type of drug or Crossin's illness. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Crossin noted at the news conference that his lawyer, John Moses, provided
the Attorney General's office with details about the medication he was taking. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Fisher said he made the final decision, with consultation from staff
members. He informed Barrett Monday morning along with Moses. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "This was a case where evidence existed with various eyewitnesses, but we
felt the evidence was insufficient. We needed some substantiation," Fisher
said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Fisher said he and his staff did not interview Crossin during the
investigation, preferring instead to rely on a State Police investigation. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The 13-day State Police investigation, which cleared the three Wilkes-Barre
officers of any criminal wrongdoing, "reasonably concluded" Crossin was drunk. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Barrett was not sure whether the State Police investigation would become
public. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Crossin repeated Monday that he "neither asked for nor received special
treatment" from police that night. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 State Police Sgt. Richard Krawetz said Monday it would be "highly
inappropriate" to comment on another agency's investigation. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Barrett said repeatedly during the past months that the state police
investigation uncovered evidence of drunken driving. Barrett also became
personally involved in following up by meeting with witnesses. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Asked Monday if he believes, from all he knows, that Crossin drove drunk
Aug. 17, the chief declined to answer directly. "I feel there was enough
information that we had to at least go forward with it. I'm not going to say
whether I think Mr. Crossin was or was not drunk." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Barrett said he appreciates the work of the Attorney General's office and
"respects their decision," adding, "I know that they did quite a bit of work
and looked at it from a lot of different perspectives." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Would the department consider seeking another opinion? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "These charges would have to be approved by a prosecutor and Luzerne
County's prosecutor determined he couldn't handle it," Barrett said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Luzerne County District Attorney Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. removed his
office from the case in September because of a conflict of interest. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "There's no misunderstanding that we in Wilkes-Barre Police department did
err initially," Barrett said, "and it's awful difficult to pick up the pieces
and run with it." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It shouldn't have happened the way it did." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Asked if he is disappointed in Fisher's decision, Barrett said: "The whole
thing was disappointing to me right from the beginning. ... There were a lot
of victims here in this. Disappointed? I don't know if I'm disappointed or
not. There were a lot of mistakes here." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Barrett said he would not release the state police investigative report in
the case because police officers, including Harding, are fighting their
discipline. "Some of this material is relevant to any appeals the officers
might have." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The cases against the officers are headed toward arbitration, with no date
set. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Despite relief that the criminal investigation is over, Crossin said he
still feels badly for the officers involved. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Well, I believe that's an unfortunate situation. I can't believe that it
went that far," Crossin said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Referring to the arbitration, he added, "Hopefully, through the process as
this has taken place, justice will prevail in that instance also." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 John Decker covers crime. Contact him at 829-7237. Dave Iseman is daily
editor. Contact him at 829-7176. Jean LaCoe covers social issues. Contact her
at 829-7155. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Times Leader/FR

Ag Will Not Charge Crossin `insufficient Evidence' Citedby John Decker, David Iseman And Jean Lacoe Times Leader Staff Writers