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THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2011
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THE TIMES LEADER
Powell fights court over default ruling
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also present a specific plan to cut the staggering national debt and to pay for the cost of his new short-term economic ideas. His version will challenge the new “supercommittee” of Congress to go beyond its goal of $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction. Confirming the deficit-reduction part of his plan directly, Obama told a rural town hall crowd in Illinois on Wednesday: “I don’t think it’s good enough for us to just do it part way. If we’re going to do it, let’s go ahead and fix it.” Obama’s major economic speech will come right after the Sept. 5 Labor Day holiday. Republicans were underwhelmed. Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, said via Twitter that Obama could scrap the speech and just hand over a detailed plan to Congress. “Seriously, just drop it in the mail. Podium not required,” Buck’s tweet said. Obama has been previewing his line of attack for the upcoming presidential election. “My attitude is, get it done,” he said in one Iowa town hall on Monday. “And if they (lawmakers) don’t get it done, then we’ll be running against a Congress that’s not doing anything for the American people, and the choice will be very stark and will be very clear.” In Illinois on Wednesday, Obama is likely to touch on his economic plans during the final leg of a campaign-themed Midwest bus tour. Republican White House contender Mitt Romney, campaigning in New Hampshire, needled
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Partners Inc. of Lancaster. Matthew Bellis, commercial Realtor for NAI, confirmed the listing and said the current tenant – R/C Movies 14 – will remain as per its lease that runs through 2026. “The theaters have been very successful and the operator will remain,” Bellis said. “My client feels it’s time to liquidate and move onto other ventures. My client is a development company and no longer interested in holding onto the property.” More than 500,000 people have patronized the theaters each year since they opened in 2006. Vonderheid said the offering is an attempt to retire about $8.5 million in bank debt owed by the chamber. The complex cost $31
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The animal cruelty counts were leveled as third-degree misdemeanors, which carry a maximum sentence of a year imprisonment. Prior offenses The charges were misdemeanors rather than summary charges because this incident wasn’t the first time Kulpon faced charges related to animals. In 2006, Kulpon faced animal nuisance charges and was ordered by District Judge Joseph Zola to turn over more than 50 cats from the same home. In 2007, she was found guilty
www.timesleader.com
Vision Holdings LLC, a defendant in ‘kids for cash’ lawsuits, had no attorney.
By TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER tmorgan@timesleader.com
AP PHOTO
President Barack Obama greets people Wednesday as he visits the Whiteside County Fair in Morrison, Ill., during his three-day economic bus tour.
Obama for showing up with too little and too late on the economy. “But we appreciate the fact that he’s going to devote some time to it,” Romney said. “Not just going to be on the bus tour, not just going to be vacationing in Martha’s Vineyard, but giving some thought to the American people.” Meanwhile, Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor prodded Obama to work with them. In an opinion piece published in USA Today, they focused on cutting taxes, easing regulations and finding new energy sources, and said GOP jobs bills now languish in the Democratic-led Senate. White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer confirmed Obama would release a
package of economic initiatives and push Congress to act on them in early September. The official who disclosed details on Obama’s jobs and deficit plans spoke on condition of anonymity because Obama has not yet disclosed them. No final decisions on the economic package have been made. Seeking re-election in a dispiriting economic time for the nation, Obama’s rollout plan allows him to come into September swinging after one of the roughest periods of his presidency. The unemployment rate is at 9.1 percent. No president in recent history has been re-elected with a jobless rate nearly that high. Obama’s economic team has been hashing out the new package since he and Congress struck
a last-minute debt deal in late July to prevent a debilitating government default. As president, Obama is under unparalleled pressure to start showing more economic progress. His own job is expected to depend on it. Nearly 14 million people are unemployed. The administration official would not offer details about the tax cuts Obama is likely to propose for the middle class. They are expected to be separate from the extension of the payroll tax cut for employees that Obama has lobbied for by the day. Obama also has promoted a familiar list of other ideas, including patent reform and three major trade deals. And he has pushed for longer benefits for the chronically unemployed.
million to build, and was paid for by a combination of public and chamber funding. “The intent is that the potential sale of that one property would clear us of back debt and free up some cash flow for the balance of the retail space,” Vonderheid said. “We agreed to test the market to see what opportunities present themselves.” Vonderheid said he is not aware of any offers being made on the property. “I think we’re a long way from that,” he said. The solicitation put out by NAI lists the sale price at $8.5 million for 77,089 square feet. It noted that there are 1,170 attached parking spaces available with surrounding retail space and condominiums that also could be purchased. NAI also is listing for lease a 7,418-square-foot two-level restaurant space at the corner of East Northampton and South
Washington streets in the complex. Carlsberg Properties bought the retail portion of the development in December 2008, assuming an $8.4 million mortgage issued by a consortium of 10 banks to a company set up by the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry. In the bankruptcy filing, Geary, 67, of Manhattan Beach, Calif., listed debts of $39.3 million and assets of $724,984. He stated his monthly income was $3,871 with $2,454 of that coming from Social Security. He also stated that at the time he filed for bankruptcy he was unemployed. Geary was accused of misappropriating $1million from a similar development in Florida. In April, the California Department of Real Estate, citing financial improprieties, issued an order prohibiting Geary and Carlsberg Realty (Maryland) Inc. from doing work that requires a real estate
broker license. There have been no similar allegations regarding University Corners. In the bankruptcy filing, Geary listed $293,000 owed to the chamber. Geary has not responded to past requests for comment. A listed telephone number for Carlsberg was out of service on Wednesday. The theaters occupy the largest amount of leased commercial space in University Corners at more than 77,000 square feet, nearly 80 percent of the leasable space is occupied and three letters of intent are in place for other storefronts, Vonderheid said in July. He said the property can survive with the remaining vacancies, but the goal is to fill all the storefronts. The 30,000 square feet of upper-level space that houses 21loft condominiums was sold in 2008 to Susquehanna Real Estate, an unrelated company.
of animal cruelty charges filed by Kline Township police in Schuylkill County. A day or two before the 60 cats were confiscated, Moran said Kulpon turned over about 20 cats she had been keeping in a hotel room in Sugarloaf Township. In addition to the animal cruelty charges, Kulpon also was cited with city health code violations by Hazleton Health Officer Mark Thompson. She was cited with failure to provide proof of rabies vaccinations, failure to register pets, declaration of nuisance and failure to maintain the interior of a structure. The goal of the SPCA, Moran said, is to have a judge forbid Kulpon from keeping any cats “for a good period of time.” At one time, Pennsylvania
courts found it unconstitutional to restrict animal ownership, but state law now allows restrictions because the courts realized that such animal cruelty problems were putting financial burdens on shelters and municipalities, Moran said. Moran said Kulpon should be held accountable for her alleged actions, but she also hopes that “there will be some psychological or social assistance available to her.”
“looking for control at a time in their lives when there is a loss of control. In their minds, they think they’re rescuing these animals and doing a good thing. But it’s a distorted perception, a distorted thinking framework that goes along with it. They can’t pay attention to the physical and health needs of all those animals.” The Times Leader first reported on Kulpon in 2002, when she announced plans to open a “no-kill shelter” in the Hazleton area. A former Hazleton Animal Shelter volunteer, Kulpon had said then she wanted to offer an alternative to euthanasia for unwanted animals. She began a local chapter of 4 Paws Spay and Neuter Program in 2005, but the no-kill shelter never materialized.
Not so fast… A woman charged with robbing an elderly man and taking money from an elderly woman was sentenced Wednesday to at least one year in the county jail.
Recurring theme Gray, the psychologist, said Kulpon’s alleged repeated behavior sounds typical of a hoarding-related disorder. “If this is a recurring theme with her, it’s going to get progressively worse,” she said. Gray said most hoarders are
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SCRANTON – Attorney Robert Powell is seeking to overturn a default judgment entered against one of his businesses that remains as a defendant in the “kids for cash” lawsuits filed in federal court. Attorneys for the juvenile plaintiffs filed a motion last week seeking judgment against Powell’s company, Vision Holdings LLC, after the corporation failed to secure an attorney to represent it in the case. Powell and Vision Holdings are among the defendants that remain in a class-action lawsuit filed by juveniles who allege they were wrongly incarcerated by former Judge Mark Ciavarella as part of a scheme to increase occupancy at the PA and Western PA Child Care juvenile detention centers that were once co-owned by Powell. Federal prosecutors allege Vision Holdings was one of several companies that were utilized by Ciavarella and his one-time codefendant, former Judge Michael Conahan, to disguise the source of kickbacks Powell paid them. Under federal law, a corporation must be represented by legal counsel in a civil case. Failure to secure counsel can be a basis for the plaintiff to seek judgment
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court process, which would entitle them to receive $125 per hour, the current federal rate for court-appointed attorneys. Under federal and state law, defendants declared to be indigent are entitled to have a taxpayer-funded attorney appointed to represent them. In a previous interview, Ruzzo said any appointment would cover legal work only for the appeals process. It would not be retroactive to compensate the attorneys for work they performed prior to or during Ciavarella’s trial. The request to be court appointed, as well as to declare Ciavarella indigent, will be investi-
against the corporation. Vision Holdings had been represented attorney Mark Sheppard, but he and other attorneys with his firm withdrew from the case in June based on Powell’s inability to pay them. The court gave Powell 30 Powell days to find new counsel, but he failed to do so. That prompted the federal clerk of courts to enter a judgment against Vision Holdings on Aug. 10. The judgment means the corporation would be precluded from offering any defense to the case. Jane Sebelin, an attorney for Powell, filed a motion Tuesday seeking to set aside the judgment. Sebelin says Powell had worked diligently to find new counsel to represent him, but was hampered by the notoriety of the case and publicity regarding his financial troubles. Sebelin noted she has now been retained to represent Vision Holdings in the litigation. She asks a judge to set aside the judgment, arguing that no harm will be done to the plaintiffs given the short period of time that Vision Holding was without representation. The motion will be reviewed by U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo, who will issue a ruling at a later date.
S T I L L I N P H I L LY According to the federal Bureau of Prisons website Wednesday night, ex-Judge Mark Ciavarella is still being held at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia until the bureau determines where he will serve his sentence.
gated by court officials. The final decision will be up to U.S. District Judge Edwin Kosik, who presided over the trial. Ruzzo and Flora are each currently employed by the Luzerne County Public Defender’s Office. Their compensation for those positions does not cover legal work they perform in federal court. Both men took a leave of absence, without pay, from the Public Defender’s Office during Ciavarella’s trial.
2 ex-Perzel aides plead guilty in state’s corruption case probe By PETER JACKSON Associated Press
HARRISBURG— Two former aides to one-time state House Speaker John Perzel on Wednesday entered the first Republican guilty pleas in a legislative corruption case that revolves around the alleged illegal diversion of millions of taxpayer dollars into political campaigns. At a hearing in Dauphin County court, Samuel Stokes, Perzel’s brother-in-law, pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy and conflict of interest. Former Perzel campaign aide Don McClintock pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy. Under agreements with the attorney general’s office, both men
are required to cooperate with prosecutors in the consolidated trial of the other Republican defendants that is scheduled to start Sept. 12. Paul Towhey, one of two former Perzel chiefs of staff charged in the case, is scheduled to enter a guilty plea Friday. Barring any additional plea deals, that leaves six defendants to stand trial together, including Perzel, a Philadelphia resident, and another former high-ranking state representative, Brett Feese of Lycoming County. A 10th GOP defendant, former Perzel aide John Zimmerman, is charged with hindering apprehension, obstruction and conspiracy. His case is being prosecuted separately.