Pocono News Section

Concerns Grow Around Hazleton Halfway House

Concerns Grow Around Hazleton Halfway House - Monday, January 11, 2010 at 5:50PM EST

Reported by: Andy Mehalshick
Monday, Jan 11, 2010 @ 05:50pm EST
HAZLETON, LUZERNE COUNTY -- It's an I-Team exclusive. A halfway house in Hazleton is under scrutiny after one of its clients was arrested.

It's called Min-Sec. It's a facility that's supposed to rehabilitate and help convicts get back into main stream life again. But some who live and work near Min-Sec say they live in fear.

Clients of Min-Sec, a minimum security halfway house for people convicted of crimes, have been involved in several high profile crimes. One client was even the victim of a murder.

City officials and people in the downtown area want answers, namely is that really the place for a halfway house?

Min-Sec is located in the upper floors of the Altamont Building in Center City. It's been here since 2008. It is a halfway house for some 170 people convicted of crimes, many of them serious crimes.

Very few people even knew it was in this building until several high profile crimes occurred. The most recent was last week when Russel Ryder admitted to smashing into a Broad Street convenience store. He was also charged with several other break-ins in the city.

In recent months one Min-Sec client was picked up in Hazleton and later murdered in Scranton. Another client was the victim of a shooting. Yet another was busted on theft and drug charges.

Joe Scarcella owns a tuxedo and dry cleaning store. He wants answers. ÒI can't believe people in our zoning board were given full information when they applied for this. Something is missing. Somewhere along the line I think our zoning board was sold a bill of goods," he said.

The I-Team talked with the director of Min-Sec in Hazleton. He said he could not even acknowledge that the place exists because of federal privacy laws. He said he would pass our questions to his higher ups in another part of Pennsylvania.

The I-Team obtained letters from Hazleton Zoning to Min-Sec officals demanding a walk-through to check out the place. Min-Sec said it would get back to the city. That was in November and thereÕs still no walk-through for city officials.

Donna Palermo is head of the Chamber of Commerce. ÒWe've had some concerns of the business people, people loitering from the facility. The crime issue naturally is a major concern, the perception of crime is stressful and a major concern."

Min-Sec is privately owned. It contracts with state and federal prison systems. The city wants to make sure it has the security needed to keep the people near the building safe and to monitor their residents.