Federal Officials Announce the Filing of a Criminal Information Charging a Pittston Man as Part of an Ongoing Public Corruption Investigation

June 18, 2010 - Dennis C. Pfannenschmidt, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania; Janice Fedarcyk, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Troy Stemen, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division; and Kathy Tighe, Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General jointly announced today the filing of a criminal information pursuant to an ongoing investigation targeting public corruption in northeast Pennsylvania.

Barton Weidlich, age 41, of Pittston, Pennsylvania, is charged with obstruction of justice. It is alleged that Weidlich attempted to interfere with a grand jury investigation.

The charge carries a maximum 20-year term of imprisonment, a fine of $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release.

According to U.S. Attorney Pfannenschmidt, to date, 30 individuals have been charged with criminal conduct since late January 2009 in the ongoing investigation.

This case is part of an ongoing investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service and the United States Department of Education and is being prosecuted by a team of federal prosecutors led by Senior Litigation Counsel Gordon Zubrod and includes Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Houser, Michael Consiglio, Amy Phillips, John Gurganus and Criminal Division Chief Christian Fisanick. Pfannenschmidt praised this team of investigators and prosecutors for their tireless efforts on behalf of the people of northeastern Pennsylvania. Anyone with information is asked to call the public corruption task force toll free at 1-866-996-4320.

An Indictment or Information is not evidence of guilt but simply a description of the charge made by the Grand Jury and/or United States Attorney against a defendant. A charged Defendant is presumed innocent until a jury returns a unanimous finding that the United States has proven the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt or until the defendant has pled guilty to the charges.