Barton J. Weidlich
Guesto authorized security pass for felon
Former County Manager/Chief Clerk Sam Guesto authorized the security pass that allowed Pittston businessman/convicted felon Barton J. Weidlich special access to the Luzerne County Courthouse, county officials said Tuesday.
Guesto ordered the county security office to provide a "contractor's pass" for Weidlich, whose construction company, JPW Construction Management Inc., began performing odd jobs for the county in July 2006, security chief Basil Soroka said.
Guesto authorized the pass for Weidlich, who spent 68 days in prison for a March 1995 cocaine arrest in Parsippany, N.J., without requiring him to undergo a background check required for county employees.
"There's a background check we do on employees, that's why employees get the pass," county Commissioner Chairwoman Maryanne Petrilla said. "People should not be given a pass without a background check."
Weidlich's security pass, a credit card-sized piece of plastic bearing his name and photograph, allowed him to bypass courthouse metal detectors, enter the building on weekends and use a prisoner transport door on the courthouse basement level, Soroka said.
"Guesto shouldn't have given him the pass," county Commissioner Stephen A. Urban said. "He didn't fit the profile of being an employee. Contractors aren't supposed to have access to the courthouse on weekends."
At least one other construction contractor has a security pass, as well as contractors who work on the courthouse elevators and telephone systems on an emergency basis, Soroka said.
Guesto authorized a security pass for at least one other person prior to his January 2008 resignation from the county manager/chief clerk position, Soroka said.
Guesto could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Federal prosecutors charged Weidlich last Friday with obstruction of justice stemming from an ongoing investigation into Luzerne County corruption.
County Solicitor Vito DeLuca said he and County Manager/Chief Clerk Doug Pape met Monday to discuss reforms to the security system, including a program of cross-referencing a list of current county employees with the list of passes that have been given out by the security office.
"One of the options is to immediately deactivate the passes and start collecting them," DeLuca said
The security office has issued more than 5,000 passes, mostly to county employees, since it was established in 2001. The office has also issued passes to a number of attorneys and property title searchers, Soroka said.
Depending on the level of clearance, the security passes allow access to non-public county offices, a courthouse annex, the Penn Place and Bernard C. Brominski buildings and the commissioners' offices on the first floor of the courthouse.
Following Guesto's resignation, Petrilla asked the security office to begin purging security clearances for non-employees, including Weidlich. In the process, some records documenting Weidlich's use of the pass were deleted from a security computer system, Soroka said.
Weidlich's JPW Construction Management Inc. received more than $53,000 from July 2006 to December 2008 for various odd jobs, such as rearranging and installing desks, installing and removing doors, constructing walls and painting floors.
Weidlich's Roadside Advertisements Inc. received more than $63,000 for providing billboard and bench advertising, but fell out of favor with county officials after the company filed two lawsuits in September 2008 alleging the Luzerne County Convention and Visitors Bureau failed to honor advertising contracts and owes the company more than $168,000.
Last month, federal agents seized Guesto's county records from a building Weidlich owns in Pittston.
"Weidlich should never have been able to come in here, unescorted, without going through security," Urban said. "But again, Guesto acted like a strong man."
