Simple solution
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share thisMultiple revelations of inexcusable corruption among some local public officials also have cast a light on a related problem. Public bodies have had to determine whether convicted officials are entitled to their pension and other benefits.
As a practical matter the answer is that they are not entitled to benefits. But, as a legal matter, it's not always that simple.
The Pittston Area School Board came up with a good solution this week, in naming a replacement for former Superintendent Ross Scarantino.
Mr. Scarantino pleaded guilty last month to accepting a $5,000 payment from a district vendor in February 2008, in exchange for influencing the board's decision on a contract.
The board formally fired Mr. Scarantino on Monday. In the process it agreed to a one-time payment for accumulated time in exchange for Mr. Scarantino's forfeiture of more than $300,000 worth of other benefits.
Then, the board named interim Superintendent George Cosgrove to replace Mr. Scarantino. The new contract provides that all benefits will be denied should Mr. Cosgrove be charged with a crime - a provision to which he readily agreed.
What honest candidate for a superintendent's job would disagree? School boards should make such a clause a standard feature of contracts in order to avoid post-dismissal lawsuits and to provide deterrence against corruption.
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