Pennsylvania category, Page 230
Authorities: Lackawanna County worker was accessing child porn
SCRANTON — Authorities say a county worker in Pennsylvania used county-issued equipment to access child pornography. The Lackawanna County district attorney’s office says Theodore Karampilas faces nearly 100 counts of possessing and disseminating child porn. It wasn’t known if the 41-year-old Scranton man has retained an attorney. County officials say...
Police: Scranton woman admits to having sex with 14-year-old boy
A Scranton woman faces charges after police investigated reports about her having sex with a 14-year-old boy. After initially denying the accusations, Leanora Propes, 39, 529 S. Third Ave., admitted to police she had intercourse with the victim, investigators wrote in charging papers. Her boyfriend, Glenn James Marr, 34, is...
$38 million of cocaine seized at Philadelphia port
PHILADELPHIA — U.S. customs officials say drug dogs have sniffed out Philadelphia’s largest seizure of cocaine in more than two decades inside a shipping container. Local, state and federal law enforcement officials said Thursday that 450 bricks of cocaine were found inside 13 duffel bags. Customs and Border Protection’s Area...
PA Turnpike Commission ‘on the path to bankruptcy,’ auditor general says
The Pennsylvania Turnpike is headed down the “road to ruin,” state officials warn. Turnpike Commission CEO Mark Compton stood stony-faced Thursday next to Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, said the cross-state toll road is “on the path to bankruptcy” absent legislative action. It’s not corruption or mismanagement, but rather Act 44...
Pennsylvania lawmakers attempt to head off transportation funding problems
A state lawmaker announced Wednesday that she will lead an effort to address Pennsylvania’s looming transportation crisis and the possible $50 million annual revenue loss for the next three decades. Pennsylvania Senate Transportation Committee Chair Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, said during a news conference at the Capitol that the funding challenges...
Pa. mother describes role in daughter’s murder, dismemberment
PHILADELPHIA — In a calm, emotionless voice, Sara Packer described watching her boyfriend murder her 14-year-old daughter, Grace, in 2016. She admitted to participating in the crime — the kidnapping, rape, killing, dismemberment and disposal of an adopted child she said she thought of as “a nonentity.” Packer said she...
One dead in officer-involved shooting at State College apartment complex
A State College police officer shot and killed a man Wednesday at the Marvin Gardens apartment complex on Old Boalsburg Road in the borough, authorities said. The name of the deceased wasn’t immediately released. Borough and Pennsylvania state police rushed to the residential property around 2 p.m. as nearby public...
Reading Eagle files for bankruptcy protection, seeks buyer
READING — The family-owned company that has published the Reading Eagle newspaper for more than 150 years is filing for bankruptcy protection and seeking a buyer. The Reading Eagle Co., whose other properties include news-talk radio station WEEU and a weekly newspaper, said Wednesday it will continue to publish and...
Pennsylvania hunters set 14-year record for deer harvest
Pennsylvania hunters posted their highest overall deer harvest in 14 years in 2018-19, but the buck harvest seemed to take a hit because of bad weather on opening day, the Pennsylvania Game Commission said. The game commission said hunters killed 374,690 white-tailed deer during the 2018-19 hunting season, which closed...
Penn State to collect $733K from Jerry Sandusky’s defunct charity
HARRISBURG — Penn State will collect hundreds of thousands of dollars left over from the defunct charity for youth founded by convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky, settling claims from a threatened civil lawsuit. The university and the state attorney general’s office both confirmed this week that an agreement was reached...
Pa. House votes for tougher public pension forfeiture rules
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania state lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to make it harder for officials and government employees convicted of crimes related to their jobs to retain their public pensions. The state House voted 194 to 1 to approve legislation that applies the pension forfeiture law to state and federal felonies...
Former Gov. Dick Thornburgh officially retires from K&L Gates
Former U.S. Attorney General and Pennsylvania Gov. Dick Thornburgh has officially retired, according to K&L Gates, the global law firm where he began his career. K&L Gates “wishes its longtime partner … well in his retirement,” the firm said in a news release. Thornburgh, 86, began his legal career as...
Pa. National Guard members deploying to Poland
About 500 members of the Pennsylvania National Guard are preparing to deploy to Poland this spring, according to the state department of military and veteran affairs. Those members assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment will be mobilized there as part of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence mission, according...
Cheyney trustees fined for missing financial disclosures and back dated filings
The Pennsylvania Ethics Commission on Monday announced it has fined a pair of Cheyney University of Pennsylvania trustees $500 each for failing to file financial disclosure forms for years and then back dating current forms to make it appear they had complied with the law in prior years. Authorities discovered...
Former IUP dean fined for ethics violation received $290,000 discrimination settlement from university
The Pennsylvania Ethics Commission last week fined a former Indiana University of Pennsylvania administrator $3,000 for repeatedly hiring her son’s firm for university business and neglecting to file accurate financial disclosure statements, actions deemed technical violations of the state Ethics Act. But former IUP Associate Dean of Student Affairs Carolyn...
Pennsylvania prisons to implement system-wide tobacco ban
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s prison system is banning all tobacco products inside every facility’s secure perimeter, starting July 1. Corrections Secretary John Wetzel announced the new policy Monday, citing the success of existing tobacco prohibitions in three state correctional institutions and Quehanna Boot Camp. After July 1 all tobacco products in...
Potholes prove costly for Pa. drivers
Pennsylvania’s ubiquitous potholes cost taxpayers more than $63 million last year, transportation data show. In Southwestern Pennsylvania, those costs were more than $11 million. Contrary to popular perception, fixing potholes is a year-round job. And if a season existed for these pesky road craters that wreak havoc on the asphalt...
Cases of the mumps at Temple University increases to 46
PHILADELPHIA — Health officials say there are at least 46 cases of the mumps at Temple University and three others from surrounding counties, the most cases in the city since 2010. That’s up from 16 cases reported last week. The Department of Public Health for Philadelphia said Friday it recommends...
Pennsylvania Lottery celebrates 47 years since first drawing
It started as a 50-cent weekly game offering a chance at a $50,000 top prize, with occasional chances to become a millionaire. Forty-seven years since the first Pennsylvania Lottery drawing was held, the Lottery pays out billions each year and rakes in billions more, with proceeds benefiting older Pennsylvanians, according...
Penn State Extension Agronomy Guide is farmer’s ‘bible’
The biennial Penn State Extension Agronomy Guide has become a bible of sorts for farmers. The 2019-2020 edition is now available for purchase in print ($35) or as a digital download ($15), according to Penn State Extension. A bundle that includes both versions can be purchased for $45. The 478-page...
Ohio governor wants nearly $1B for Lake Erie, waterways
TOLEDO, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine wants to spend nearly $1 billion on water quality projects to clean up toxic algae in Lake Erie and protect other lakes and rivers throughout the state. The money would come out of this year’s new state budget, which DeWine will reveal Friday, and...
State Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit recognized for its work
The U.S. Inspector General has nominated the Pennsylvania Office Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for an excellence award. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced the nomination Wednesday. “Our robust Medicaid Fraud Control Unit works hard every day to root out fraud, neglect, and abuse in the Commonwealth,” Shapiro said...
Deportation looms for convicted ‘Real Housewives’ husband
NEWARK, N.J. — The husband of one of the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” reality TV stars has been released from federal prison and is waiting to see if he’ll be deported back to Italy. An attorney for Joe Giudice says he’s been sent to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement...
Pennsylvania drug gang blamed for homicides; 8 indicted
READING — Prosecutors have announced the federal indictment of eight alleged members of a violent drug organization blamed for as many as eight homicides in one Pennsylvania community. U.S. Attorney William McSwain says a drug gang called “Trinidad DTG” distributed methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl and cocaine in the Reading area. McSwain...
7 file papers to run for 2 Pennsylvania Superior Court seats
HARRISBURG — Four Democrats and three Republicans have filed petitions to get on primary ballots for a seat on Pennsylvania’s mid-level appellate court that handles civil and criminal appeals from county courts. Filings were due Tuesday for the May 21 primary for two open Superior Court seats. Democrats filing include...
