Includes cases from Greater Pittston area
SCRANTON — Court clerks who staffed the courtroom of Lackawanna County Judge Michael J. Barrasse on Monday definitely earned their pay.
Eileen Marie Miner, 70, owner of Thompson Tours on Atlantic Avenue, West Pittston, pleaded guilty to 38 separate counts of theft in 38 different criminal cases filed by police departments, detectives and the Pennsylvania State Police at Dunmore in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Northampton and Centre counties in 2024 and 2025.
Collectively, Miner was charged with deceiving at least 38 people or couples who booked vacations through her travel agency.
Ten of the 38 cases are from Luzerne County and were transferred to Lackawanna County Court.
Those 10 cases were filed by police departments in Duryea, Edwardsville, Hanover Township, Kingston, Pittston Township, Wyoming Area Regional and Pittston Township.
Below are five of the 10 cases from Luzerne County:
• A couple from Hanover Township reported they paid Thompson Tours a total of $2,878 for a five-day Canadian bus trip in October 2024. Just days before the start of the trip, Miner sent an email to the couple that their bus trip was canceled and never sent a refund. The couple further paid for travel insurance that Miner never purchased.
• A couple from Duryea reported they paid Thompson Tours $2,768 for two bus tickets for a trip to New England with a departure date of Oct. 11, 2024. A few days before leaving for the trip, Miner sent an email that the trip had been canceled and never refunded the money.
• A man from Edwardsville reported he booked a trip to Germany and Austria for November/December 2024 and made two payments totaling $7,780 in July. When the man learned Miner had been arrested by Scranton City police, he learned he had been deceived.
• A woman reported to Wyoming Area Regional Police that she booked a trip to Italy for October 2022 and paid a deposit of $1,200. When the woman needed to cancel the trip, she requested but never received a refund.
• A couple filed a complaint with Wyoming Area Regional Police that they paid Miner $7,340 for tour of Switzerland in July 2024 but never received airline tickets or information about the tour.
Prosecutors in Lackawanna County withdrew multiple counts of deceptive business practices, receiving stolen property, criminal use of a communication facility, theft and access device fraud against Thompson.
Thompson was released into a rehabilitative facility after Monday’s court proceeding in Lackawanna County Court, according to court records. A sentencing date has not been scheduled.
