Former Luzerne County Commissioner Pleads Guilty to Corrupt Receipt of a Reward for Official Action

January 28, 2010 - Dennis C. Pfannenschmidt, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania; Janice Fedarcyk, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Don Fort, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division; and Mary Mitchelson, Acting Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General jointly announced today that former Luzerne County Commissioner Gregory Skrepenak, pled guilty before Federal Judge Richard P. Conaboy to corrupt receipt of a reward for official action. The charge carries a maximum possible penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Mr. Skrepenak, age 39, of Jenkins Township, pled guilty to accepting a reward valued at $5,000 in connection with support provided by Mr. Skrepenak to a resolution adopted by the County Commissioners to facilitate the creation of a Tax Increment District. This case is part of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, and the United States Department of Education and is being prosecuted by a team of federal prosecutors led by Senior Litigation Counsel Gordon Zubrod and includes Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Houser, Michael Consiglio, Amy Phillips, and Criminal Division Chief Christian Fisanick. Pfannenschmidt praised this team of investigators and prosecutors for their tireless efforts on behalf of the people of northeastern Pennsylvania. Anyone with information is asked to call the public corruption task force toll free at 1-866-996-4320.