Federal Officials Announce the Filing of a Criminal Information Charging Former Luzerne County Commissioner with Corrupt Receipt of a Reward for Official Action

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 an Information was filed today charging Gregory Skrepenak, who resigned yesterday as a Luzerne County Commissioner, with 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, is alleged to have accepted a reward of $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.

According to U.S. Attorney Pfannenschmidt, Mr. Skrepenak is the 23rd person charged with criminal conduct since late January of this year in an ongoing investigation targeting public corruption in northeastern Pennsylvania.

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.

An Indictment or Information is not evidence of guilt but simply a description of the charge made by the grand jury and/or United States Attorney against a defendant. A charged defendant is presumed innocent until a jury returns a unanimous finding that the United States has proven the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt or until the defendant has pled guilty to the charges.