Gasgate Letter to Luzerne County Manager Robert Lawton
Disclaimer: Letters to the Editor express the opinion of the writer and are not necessarily the opinion of WBIG ownership, management or staff.
Good Day, Mr. Lawton:
The Wilkes-Barre Taxpayers Association is wondering what is being done with the City of Wilkes-Barre missing gas investigation that is currently being handled by our district attorney.
As you might recall, our mayor was pictured in the Times Leader newspaper recently actually pumping gas into his private SUV. What more evidence does the D.A. need? Nowhere in the mayor’s elected official contract does it state that we are to pay for his gas, and as a reminder, the man operates a real estate business.
He is on the road quite frequently, so how do the city taxpayers calculate what portion of his “taken” gas is even consumed on city business versus his real estate business? And regardless of either nonsense defense excuse, he hadn’t any right to take even one gallon, let alone unknown gallons.
We want those who stole gas to stand in judgment for their misdeeds.
It has cost us—the taxpayers of Wilkes-Barre—over $27,000 in PA Dept. of Revenue liquid fuels fines. Are we to pay for the theft and/or missing gas as well as the fine, while the mayor walks away scot-free?
We would like to know how much Luzerne County taxpayer money has been spent to this point on the missing gas investigation. We surely feel that the mayor should reimburse the county taxpayers for the cost of the entire process, because here again, we are paying for it.
Our association won’t allow the investigation to be trashcanned.
I ask that you inquire—as the manager of our county—into monies in all departments, and that includes the county district attorney’s office, for specific answers.
We have waited long enough. Stealing gas is a criminal offense, regardless of who is involved. If you or I did it we would have been arrested on the spot.
I thank you for your interest in this matter of importance. Should you ignore my request for updates on the investigation you can expect that the members of our group will be at the next county council meeting publicly asking questions, especially concerning the costs absorbed by ALL involved.
Regards,
Linda Urban
Member, Board of Directors, Wilkes-Barre
Taxpayers Association
