Jeff Horvath
The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
SCRANTON — Lackawanna County Commissioner Laureen Cummings blames state Attorney General Josh Shapiro and his office for the county’s $500,000-plus legal expenses stemming from a statewide grand jury probe into sex abuse at the county jail.
Legal bills from the ongoing probe total about $556,000, county Controller Gary DiBileo said at Wednesday’s county commissioners meeting. Much of that total was billed by Myers, Brier & Kelly of Scranton, a firm the county hired to work with the state attorney general’s office to determine which of more than 13 million emails seized from the county’s server during a Sept. 21 raid might be pertinent to the ongoing probe.
Calling the raid unnecessary and a “side show,” Cummings argued the county voluntarily would have provided state investigators with the information they sought and noted that county officials referred the prison matter to the AG’s office in the first place.
“I think it was ridiculous, and that half a million dollar cost is the direct result of that AG coming in here and pulling all those records that they didn’t have to take, they didn’t even need,” Cummings said. “So if you want to complain about the cost to your county, go complain to the AG’s office because that’s who created that cost.”
Joe Grace, spokesman for the state Office of Attorney General, responded to Cummings’ criticisms in a written statement:
“Beginning in early 2017, the Office of Attorney General began a comprehensive investigation of institutional sexual abuse inside the Lackawanna County Prison. The investigation included a search warrant that was executed at the prison for documents and computer files. This was done to ensure that essential evidence was not tampered with or destroyed. Seven prison guards are now facing felony charges for sexual abuse of female inmates.”
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©2018 The Times-Tribune (Scranton, Pa.)