Pocono News Section

Courthouse Probe Continues

Courthouse Probe Continues - Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 11:59PM EST

Wednesday, Nov 18, 2009 @ 11:59pm EST
Shakeup inside the courthouse.
In one corner, FBI agents raid the office of fired Human Resources Director Doug Richards.
In another, Judge Michael Toole announces a sudden vacation amid a white hot judicial scandal.
With the court system down a handful of judges, and a growing backlog of cases, sources could only speculate why a judge would hastily back away from his caseload.
Nobody answered at Toole's South Wilkes-Barre residence.
And mere doors away.
Doug Richards wasn't home, according to the baby sitter.
Richards has been silent on contracts that sources claim originated from his office.
We're told the FBI picked up those documents Wednesday.
Richards first made waves with other county leaders two years ago.
The Luzerne County debit card records show the good times.
A nearly 900 dollar Las Vegas dinner.
Plenty of bar tabs.
A strip club bill.
The charges run on for six pages.
In 2007, Richards called the debit card sham ashame.
But a new round of federal charges has renewed scrutiny of the debit card scandal.
Last week, a former county official and debit cardholder Bill Brace agreed to plead guilty to federal charges.
It was all over a 15-hundred dollar suit that he supposedly got in new york city in 2007 or 2008 in gratitude for his help with a county contract.
What's unclear, was the suit received during one of a few junkits to the big apple by Luzerne County officials including Commissioner Greg Skrepenak.
He hasn't returned repeated messages for comment Including a hand-delivered one to his office secretary.

Judge Toole has not been charged with any wrongdoing.