Former Wilkes-Barre Area School District Board of Education Member Sentenced to Six Months in Federal Prison for Accepting a $2,000 Cash Reward

Dennis Pfannenschmidt, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced that James Height, 53, of Wilkes-Barre, a former member of the Wilkes-Barre Area School District Board of Education, was sentenced to six months in federal prison today by U.S. District Court Judge Thomas I. Vanaskie for accepting a $2,000 cash reward from a contractor in connection with support Height provided to the contractor in connection with the contractor obtaining a contract with the Wilkes-Barre Area School District.

Judge Vanaskie also ordered that Height serve an additional four months under house arrest, that he pay a $2,000 fine, and that be placed on supervised release for two years after serving his prison sentence. Height must also pay a $100 special assessment.

In announcing the latest developments in this public corruption probe, Pfannenschmidt stated: “We are again gratified by the fair and appropriate sentence imposed today by Judge Vanaskie. School officials who abuse their power for their own self-interests not only break the law, but they break the oath they took to promote the education and well-being of children.”

This case is part of an ongoing investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service 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. U.S. Attorney Pfannenschmidt praised the agents and prosecutors for their continued efforts in this ongoing investigation.