Last week, Lamont McClure was the sole NO vote to a Ron Angle resolution urging the quick confirmation of Leonard Zito's appointment to the Northampton County Court of Common Pleas. Despite McClure's refusal to endorse, the state senate confirmed Zito.Guess Lamont is not quite so powerful as he thinks.
This morning, Attorney Zito will be anointed with oil and handed his judicial sceptre. A bright and capable lawyer, this Bangor advocate be an excellent addition to the bench. But now that Lenny is floating on black robes, he can no longer serve as Northampton County Council Solicitor. Who will replace him?
That's where McClure's NO vote is very telling. You see, he wanted his wife, an assistant DA who is terrified of a courtroom, to be sitting on that bench this morning. In fact, McClure wanted to be rid of Zito completely. Lenny had this annoying habit of following the law instead of telling McClure exactly what he wanted to hear.
Now, Lamont finally has his chance to get a YES man. He, Joe Long and Charles Dertinger are lobbying other council members to appoint the son of James G. Petrucci, a New Jersey attorney and mega developer, to the vacancy. If that's unacceptable, they'll settle for Don Russo, a Bethlehem lawyer who at one time hosted a Democratic talk radio show featuring people like Joe Long, Charles Dertinger and Lamont McClure as guests.
Who Northampton County Council selects as its next lawyer will speak volumes about who is in control of that dysfunctional body.
I know one thing. You won't see any "low hanging fruit." No gay attorney for Charles Dertinger.
15 comments:
Sounds a lot like how they selected Sam Bennett... they just went down the list of lap dogs.
BRING BACK SPIRK.
Boonie, Council should hire you.
Bernie,
I think you are getting your Petruccis and your Perruccis confused. I think they want Michael Perucci's son. As in Florio Perucci, the local law firm.
Petrucci is the guy who built the Lowe's project in Bethlehem.
http://www.jgpetrucci.com
http://www.florioperrucci.com/index.html
Christian Perrucci would be a good solicitor. He is a good young attorney.
And think of the pipeline to campaign contributions, oh my!
Sprik!! Sprik!!
Jack Spirk is a knowledgable attorney who served under Reibman. He is highly qualified. But because he is Bethlehem's solicitor, he should not represent council. I really think we need to get away from hiring attorneys who represent municipalities within the county. We do have attorneys who serve the administration and acts as municipal solicitors elsewhere. That practice started with Reibman. It needs to be phased out, not encouraged.
It started under Seyfried you twit. Christ, O'Hare you can at least try not to be so biased. If you check the current crew you will see Stoffa brought in Spadoni. Beth. City Council, kept Backenstowe and others.
Your hero could have dumped the double dippers but then so is Stoffa a multiple dipper.
Try to be fair O'Hare.
If mistaken about when the practice started, I'll gladly admit it, but I don't think it started until Reibman took office. I don't believe ass't county solicitors should act as solicitors for other municipalities w/in the county. The HRC prohits the solicitor from doing so, and should be interpreted to apply to assistants as well. I am well aware that some of the current ass't county solicitors are also municipal solicitors. As I said, the practice needs to be phased out, not encouraged. I have actually blogged about this before. Yes, Stoffa kept some of these attorneys. Backenstoe and Spadoni, two very good lawyers, are my friends. If I were King, I would still have asked them to resign.
Bernie, does Perrucci represent any other municipalities ?
His father has his hands in everything, from Bethworks to all kinds of major business deals throught the LV. If Perucci weants to be a municipal solicitor, let him do so in areas where his father does not have som nay fingers in the pie.
A personal attack concerning my contention about Reibman being the first exec to hire municipal solicitors as ass't cvounty solicitors, has been deleted. If you want to claim it occurred under Seyfried, that's fine, but there is not need for personal attacks. Name who Seyfried hired who also acted as a municipal solicitor. I don't think it's true. Morover, the office was very small until Reibman took over.
Additional personal attacks will be deleted withoput comment. Be civil or go somewhere else.
First off Chris Perrucci is an excellent lawyer and gentleman. Yes his father is a developer, but he too is an excellent lawyer and gentleman. Since when is hard work and success a bad thing?
As for the mext Solicitor to that group oif individuals, good luck whomever you are.
Bernie-finally agreed with you. Spirk is smart sound man. It is absurd for him to have been 2 solicitorships so Council should not even think it. Why not spadoni if he gives up bethlehem?
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