Two Luzerne County ethics complaints dismissed

Two Luzerne County ethics complaints have been dismissed, according to a status report released by county Controller Walter Griffith, who chairs the county Ethics Commission.

Complaint details remain confidential unless the matter results in a commission finding.

Under the County Council-adopted ethics code, complaints must be opened and initially reviewed by an outside enforcement attorney contracted by the commission.

Enforcement Attorney Qiana Murphy Lehman recently gave the commission a written status report on the complaints, which was released by Griffith.

According to her report, Murphy Lehman conducted a preliminary investigation of both complaints.

In the first matter, she reviewed submitted materials, additional public information and county policies and interviewed department heads regarding policies, it said. She also discussed the issues raised with legal counsel for the subject of the complaint, known as the respondent.

The preliminary inquiry determined “there was a reasonable basis” to believe the ethics code was violated.

“The violation was a technical de minimis violation regarding wording in certain county emails, and the respondent agreed to remedy the issue,” it said.

For the second complaint, Murphy Lehman said she reviewed the submitted materials, researched legal issues and interviewed the complaint filer, or complainant. She requested further information or evidence from the complainant, and nothing else was submitted, it said.

As a result, Murphy Lehman said there was no reasonable basis to believe the ethics code was violated.

Letters were sent to both the complaint filers and respondents in both matters to inform them of the case closures, it said.

Both complaints had been in limbo since June due to a lack of enforcement attorneys.

Murphy Lehman had resigned in May, and the other two attorney posts required by the ethics code were unfilled. Murphy Lehman agreed to return in September and was assigned both pending complaints.

The commission voted in October to retain Attorney Rachel L. James for the second enforcement attorney post.

Commission members agreed to keep publicly advertising the enforcement attorney post until all three positions are filled.

Enforcement attorneys must recommend whether complaints should be dismissed or upgraded to formal complaints heard by the commission. This separation of duties was imposed after critics questioned the legality of the commission both investigating and adjudicating cases.

Griffith said Monday a new correspondence has been sent to the commission that will be forwarded to James to unseal and review.

The five-member commission is filled by the county controller, district attorney, county manager or designee, and two council-appointed citizens — a Democrat and Republican.

Incoming county Controller Tim McGinley will be joining the commission when he takes office in January.

Ben Herring serves in the Republican citizen seat, and his term expires at the end of this month. Herring did not seek reappointment. County Council must appoint another Republican in early 2026.

Two Republicans have completed required public interviews to appear on the eligibility list for possible appointment: Michael Attanasio and Mark Robinson, according to county records.

Griffith said he will continue, as a citizen, to urge the commission to push County Council to address flaws in the ethics code.

“The code is clearly broken,” Griffith said, maintaining a strong ethics code was one of the reasons voters had approved the county’s home rule government structure that took effect in 2012.