Ex-Carbon clerk sentence sends stern warning

Who is the real Bill McGinley?

Is the former Carbon County clerk of courts a man worthy of our sympathy, a person who sentencing judge John L. Braxton of Philadelphia characterized as not a bad person but one who made a mistake?

Or is McGinley an official who shockingly violated the public’s trust by embezzling more than $44,000 (that we know of) to feed a gambling habit and who had on several occasions rebuffed attempts by other county officials to straighten up by telling them to butt out, that he is answerable only to the electorate?

Around the courthouse, both feelings, sometimes simultaneously, get expressed, because it is sad when a longtime public servant goes off the rails, even one who is often described as a “nice guy.”

Ironically and unfortunately, a similar scenario is playing out in Schuylkill County where former clerk of courts Stephen Lukach Jr. of the Lake Hauto section of Nesquehoning is awaiting sentencing on federal charges, with prosecutors saying that he stole funds from several court accounts then tried to cover his tracks. They said he used the money to make car payments and pay for other expenses for himself and family members.

Lukach pleaded guilty to fraud charges in exchange for federal prosecutors’ dropping of other charges. Sentencing had been scheduled for the week of Nov. 11 but was postponed, and county officials said they are awaiting word from federal prosecutors on a new date.

Lukach faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison and $500,000 in fines, although most expect that the 69-year-old former official will receive jail time of five years or less.

Some of the similarities between McGinley and Lukach are striking. Both are longtime Democrats who served in their respective capacities for more than a quarter-century and who handily won re-election six or seven times.

Both had hoodwinked other county officials and co-workers and resisted behind-the-scenes demands that they clean up their offices. Both quit before their terms ended when law enforcement began closing in. McGinley left in 2018, while Lukach resigned in 2014.

McGinley, 61, of Jim Thorpe, was sentenced earlier this month to one to three years in state prison. He is scheduled to begin his prison term on Dec. 2 when he reports to the county facility in Nesquehoning from which he will be transferred to a state prison.

McGinley has paid back the money he stole plus an additional $7,500 to cover the cost of a forensic audit ordered by the county commissioners.

He also has lost his county pension, and the commissioners want McGinley to return about $70,000 in interest payments on the pension that he has received over the years.

On top of the prison sentence, Judge Braxton ordered McGinley to pay a $25,000 fine, which Braxton will allow to be used toward the interest payment.

An exact figure has not been released publicly on how much Lukach is alleged to have embezzled. Investigators say it is “thousands of dollars.” Prosecutors in both cases concede that the real amount could be even more than investigators were able to verify.

What has not been addressed in any meaningful way, however, is the outlay of thousands of taxpayer dollars to clean up the chaos that occurred in the wake of these clerks’ actions. The offices have been working on backlogs and trying to sort things out for more than 18 months in Carbon, even longer in Schuylkill.

Adding to the challenges, there will be another administrative change in the Carbon office since Francine Heaney, the Nesquehoning Democrat who was appointed by Gov. Wolf and confirmed by the state Senate to fill part of McGinley’s term, lost her bid for re-election in this month’s general election.

This means that Republican Tyra Boni of Lehighton will take over the office in the new year for the remaining two years of McGinley’s term. Since the change involves political parties as well as the office-holder, it could mean that personnel in the office might change, too. While not always the case, it has been known that jobs in row offices are doled out to party loyalists.

Boni is first deputy in Carbon’s Register of Wills office under Republican Jean Papay. During her campaign, Boni promised sound management, integrity, transparency, cross-training and team unity.

Heaney, who lost by just 100 votes in the Republican sweep of all contested row offices, criticized the official count. Some encouraged her to seek a recount, but such a move is expensive and rarely succeeds, and Heaney did not petition for a recount by the Nov. 25 deadline.

Meanwhile, in Schuylkill, Republican Clerk of Courts Maria Casey, who was elected in 2015 after Lukach’s departure, easily won re-election this month over Democrat Ronald Pellish with 60% of the vote.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com