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W. Pittston Reinstates Fired Cop: New Council Rehires Joseph Campbell, Who Said His Firing Was Politically Motivated.

Posted on: Wednesday, 4 January 2006, 12:00 CST

By Kris Wernowsky, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Times Leader

Jan. 4--WEST PITTSTON -- The first order of business for four new council members hand-picked to run by Mayor Bill Goldsworthy: vote to rehire a police officer who claims he was fired for political reasons.

After a 20-minute executive session, the council voted 5-2 to reinstate officer Joseph Campbell, who was fired 11 months ago. Campbell's voice cracked as he was sworn in by Goldsworthy.

The former council fired Campbell by a 5-1 vote, saying he routinely used other police officers to cover parts of his shift while he worked part-time at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport. Campbell and Mayor Bill Goldsworthy cried foul, saying the move was political since many of the former council members, once allies of Goldsworthy, had become the mayor's political opponents.

"I'm just glad that it's over and done with," said Campbell, who will rejoin the police force Saturday.

Newly appointed council President Brian Thornton said the former council had no just cause to fire Campbell and that the legal cost of arbitration would hamper the borough.

The council also voted to place a recently hired police officer, Michael Turner, on furlough since the borough's 2006 budget allows for only three-full time officers. The rehiring of Campbell put the department at four full-time police officers. The council will hold a special session on Jan. 24 to amend its budget to reflect Campbell's reinstatement. In the last union contract that expired at the end of December, Campbell, a 23-year veteran of the police force, would have made more than $40,000 a year.

The mayor blasted the former council, and current Councilman Carl Rosencrance, saying their spending put the borough in the position where they would have to rearrange the budget. Rosencrance and Joseph DeLucca voted against reinstating Campbell.

"If we had that $700,000, maybe we wouldn't have to amend the budget and maybe we wouldn't have to furlough an officer," Goldsworthy said.

The outgoing council, including former council President Bill Rowe, spent $640,000 of the borough's reserves and left the new council with little money to work with, according to Goldsworthy. The money was spent mostly on improvements at the borough's fire station and the municipal building and on a new police squad car.

The mayor and the then-newly elected council members even tried to sue the outgoing councilmen, saying the late-term spending was malicious and done to put the current council in a bad fiscal position. The case was eventually dismissed in October.

Rosencrance said that putting officer Turner back in a part-time position could open the borough up to more legal wrangling.

"You're going to find yourself in more legal problems," Rosencrance said. "Good luck with your lawsuit."

Kris Wernowsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7329.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Times Leader

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Source: The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)

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