At last night's meeting of Northampton County Council, member Dave Holland asked Executive Tara Zrinski why she tried to suppress the Grand Jury Report concerning Gracedales made public by NorCo DA Steve Baratta on September 10. He did so in accordance with an Order of Court obtained from President Judge Craig Dally, which was issued after Zrinski had asked that the report be kept from the public and was given an opportunity to make her case.
Zrinski had argued that an investigative grand jury can be convened only to investigate crimes, but as President Judge Dally observed, an investigating grand jury can also "propose recommendations for legislative, executive, or administrative action in the public interest based upon stated findings." Those findings included "sluggish emergency response times, the inconsistent presence of law enforcement, medicare inspection deficiencies, derelictions in resident care, troubling resident conduct, elopements, staffing shortages, and a reliance on outside nursing agencies."
Although Zrinski had earlier stated that she took the Grand Jury Report seriously, the opposite was apparent.
She told Holland she tried to suppress the report because ...
"There were lies in testimony. There were people in that report that committed perjury, and there was no one holding them accountable."
Holland: "That's a pretty serious allegation."
Zrinski: "And I made it right here."
Holland: "Testimony is testimony, right?"
Zrinski: "I get it. I have made testimony under oath. I understand what it means."
She sure does. In a custody dispute from a long time ago, it was Zrinski herself who was sanctioned $2,750 by then Judge Emil Giordano for "perjury." (See NorCo Docket 2007-9468, Court Order dated 12/16/08, Paragraph 14). Ironically, the attorney who sought and obtained that sanction was Melissa Rudas, who is now the county Solicitor.
Now she's accusing others of what she did.
What were the lies and perjury? The numerous DOH deficiency reports issued in 2025, for which the county was fined? The testimony of several police officers, including an officer who testified that she saw supervising nurses sleeping at their desks when called to the home at night?
What I also find interesting is that, though Zrinski told Holland that she attempted to suppress the work of the Grand Jury because it's full of lies and perjury, she at no time made that argument to the court. The argument that she did make, i.e. a grand jury can only investigate crimes, is legally frivolous.
She said that "[j]ustice should do no harm. And therefore, that is why I asked for it to be quashed."
In addition to being full of lies and perjury, Zrinski added that the unwashed masses would be unable to judge for themselves how much weight to attach to a Grand Jury Report. "[I]t wasn't to hide the report per se, but just like anything else, the public doesn't have the capacity or the knowledge to discern what was true and what was not in those narrative statements. So, to them, everything was true."
Now you know. She thinks you're stupid, and she was only trying to hide the report to keep you from falling for Barfatta's bullshit.
After claiming the report was full of lies and perjury and that you're too stupid to distinguish fact from fiction, she took a passive aggressive shot at Baratta: "I'm not going to speculate what the DA's objective was, but he got his headlines."
Holland thanked Zrinski for her explanation, saying he was asking them on behalf of the public. "I have to say, those questions were better than Bernie O'Hare's," she answered.
I agree. At at the time of her news conference, I was unaware that she actually had really tried to keep the report from the public. I discovered that later in the day, when I was able to read her full reply. So Holland's questions needed to be answered, and they were probably better coming from him than me. But whether Zrinski knows it or not, and apparently, she does not, they have made her look worse
Typical politician answer.
ReplyDeleteHer words and actions have finally revealed how shallow and
ReplyDeletestubborn she really is. She has placed herself in an awkward
and indefensible situation. The truth was her best possible route but she chose not to use it.
Grand jury or Baratta grandstanding? I say it was the latter.
ReplyDeleteBernie, from the outside it appears that there is a pissing match going on where Gracedale is concerned and my worry is that if I or anyone I love ever needs the services at Gracedale that they won't be the best that they can be for Northampton County residents. That's the bottom line for me as a resident. It seems to have become a political football with some fumbling going on. I think elected officials generally care about the clientele who use the facility and the employees who serve them, but all of this upset doesn't send particularly positive feelings about the situation out into the community.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to Baratta’s rebuttal. Tara may be the darling of some, but she is proving to others they were right to question her qualifications for the job. She didn’t win, rather her opponent didn’t campaign.
ReplyDeleteBaratta warned about pushback when he released the report. "Read the report," was his admonition.
DeleteGive it a rest. Tara won because she was the Democratic nominee in a county where her party has many more registered voters that cast ballots. So long as Democrats have a 3-1 MIB advantage and MAGA only voting when Trump is on the ballot, a Republican cannot win in Northampton County.
DeleteGod help us. She's a documented evil lying fraud. Who could vote for, and even endorse such a monster? Our seniors are in grave danger - worse than when McClure was ignoring/harming them.
ReplyDeleteHoly shit. She's totally out of her depth. Moreover, she illustrates the DSA's arrogant disregard for the intellectual capacity of the public
ReplyDeleteNORCO has themselves their own personal little tRUMP style exec - narcissistic, name calling, thin skinned, half-truths and lies.
ReplyDeleteZrinski is better off keeping her mouth shut. Every time she opens it she show how stupid she really is and how unqualified she is for this job. You listen to her and you think , my God, she incompetent. More word salad than Kamala Harris. The big kicker is her saying those who gave testimony lied and created perjury. So she wanted to hide that. The only time people want things surp
ReplyDeleteTZ played right into Holland's hand.
ReplyDeleteHer ego won't allow her to see that she just digs the hole deeper every time she opens her mouth.
Ah yes, another episode of the reality show "As NORCO Sinks"
ReplyDeleteWow Baratta rehashed old news. Is beating dead horses the trend now?
ReplyDeleteThis is rich coming from her considering she was found to lie and commit perjury during her Divorce/Custody hearing. She recycles her own tactics.
ReplyDeleteI have avoided that for several years. It is old news. But she somehow made it relevant again.
DeleteWow!!! If I was one of those people she accused of perjury I would sue her!
ReplyDeleteSince she made these statements during a meeting of county council, she might be absolutely privileged.
DeleteTypical liberal, thinks she’s smarter than everyone else. What an asshole.
ReplyDeleteI find that hubris and disdain for the public can apply to conservatives as easily as liberals. It is not the ideology, but the person.
DeleteBernie, since she got elected I think you have been more than fair with her. I didn’t vote for her, but I did want her to succeed. Obviously she’s in way over her head and I fear this isn’t going to end well.
ReplyDeleteI have been fair to her and actually agree with much of what she is doing. But her attempt to keep the Grand Jury Report secret betrays a mean streak and an unhealthy distrust of the public.
DeleteYou just discovered her mean streak? Anyone who has followed her from her days on Council to now, knows what a petulant child she is! The ONLY reason she responded to the report was it jeopardized her political ambitions.
DeleteIf I was one of the people who testified in front of that grand jury I would sue for damages. Now you are insulting my professional integrity which could affect my career. With no evidence! The only person known to commit perjury in the past is TARA ZRINSKI. She’s a disgrace!!
ReplyDeleteI've known Zrinski for years- she's not too smart and will do say/anything to further her political career, since she couldn't make it in the private sector. This proves it!
ReplyDeleteThose are very serious accusations! I hope Barratta responds because I wouldn’t put up with that.
ReplyDeleteQuite rich coming from a person who was sanctioned for perjury. Some things never change!
ReplyDeleteNow I more fully understand why Tara did not fire Missy Rudas as Solicitor and why McClure is an Assistant Solicitor. "Lying under oath" is one of the most unforgiveable sins of an elected official. You "swear under oath to tell the truth and nothing but the truth so help me God". Then you lie. How she can ever be trusted again? McClure has lied time and again and violated County Rules and Regulations and his reward is a job that pays $85,000.00 a year. Shame on you Tara. I'm sorry I voted for you
ReplyDeleteDid you write you can conveny a grand jury to prove staffing shortages??? PLEASE, PLEASE Mr. Barrerrta put together a grand jury on the jail. People's eyes and ears would explode.
ReplyDeleteThank you, David Holland, for displaying some courage (thought they had silenced you too). This is exactly some of what I expected would happen with Tara Zrinski as Executive but not everyone would listen. She has chosen to apparently go to war with the DA and with those residents of Northampton County who know or have known Gracedale. I agree that she basically inferred that we are stupid, Bernie. No idea why random people can just step up to the microphone without being summoned or identified (why would Morton's attorney be there?) When there's this much attempted protesting, you know there's stuff to "cover up" it appears.
ReplyDeleteEven having been disbarred, you should still realize that a grand jury will find whatever a minimally competent prosecutor asks them to find.
ReplyDeleteAnd she could have said that instead of claiming it is full of lies and perjury.
DeleteLies mean cover-up. Fire them. Unless TZ is implying Jen Stewart lied. Why would she lie? Her hands were tied by McClure. Investigate the NHA and nursing administration and Sue Wadalewski.
ReplyDeleteFree Jermaine Greene !
ReplyDeleteYou can always tell when a person is lying- what a disgrace! My only hope is that in 4 years, leaders from the private sector run for Executive.
ReplyDelete