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The real crime: Continuing to look other way MARK GUYDISH OPINION

Thursday March 11, 2010 | 12:00 AM

The news that former Wilkes-Barre Area School Board President James Height whittled his corruption sentence by admitting guilt quickly and singing like a church soloist at high Mass rankled some readers.

One anonymous caller pointed out that, like Height, most of the crooks copping deals have conceded doing only one wrong act, while they probably committed quite a few. If they were in office for years, how likely is it they only took a payoff once?

There’s also a valid argument about the line between “cooperation” and covering your butt. Of course Height cooperated, one caller argued; he was desperate to stay out of jail.

Another anonymous caller suggested I use this space to rip into the whole deal-making process used by the U.S. Attorney’s office. It seems to be letting corrupt officials get off light in order to catch more corrupt officials. At some point, it’s fair to ask if everyone is really getting their just desserts.

But I’m not sure we’ve reached that point. The fact is, in just over a year since the first charges, the feds have nabbed 26 people. They took down three county judges, a school district superintendent, and a county commissioner. It sounds like the FBI and U.S. attorney have devised a pretty effective way to clean up the rats hiding behind a fa�ade of public service.

There are still some pretty big fish – bloated with ill-gotten goodies – in the pond, and the FBI is still trawling.

Height always accessible

The most disturbing thing that came out of Height’s case wasn’t that his cooperation begat a brief sentence. Frankly, the guy was always accessible and cooperative during his tenure on the board, easy to reach and usually willing to answer tough questions.

Heck, he was answering questions and admitting what many would agree were moral shortcomings almost up to the day he was charged.

The man had been contacted by the FBI on April 17, yet on April 25 he admitted to reporter Jennifer Learn-Andes that he was friends with Richard Emanski and had traveled to Vegas with him. Emanski had already been targeted by the FBI when Height said this, and would later plead guilty.

Height was also willing to admit a few weeks earlier that Wilkes-Barre Area School Board members take turns recommending who should be hired in what they nicknamed the “Pick System.”

So it’s easy to believe Height’s cooperation with the feds wasn’t just a self-serving effort to save his skin. It seems just as likely that he did it because it was part of his nature. The fact that he spilled his beans and admitted guilt before contacting a lawyer bolsters that suspicion.

From where I sit, Height’s sentence seems fair. As his attorney pointed out, he lost a high-paying job he held for 32 years. His career as an elected official is over for good. The stigma of his scandal stains not only him but his family.

It’s not the leniency that’s troubling in this case. What hangs heavy is the fact that Height had so much to offer the feds. He had useful info on Emanski, on Brian Dunn, on Joseph Oliveri, and on Judge Michael Toole, all of whom have pleaded guilty to corruption charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Houser also said Height provided info on others he couldn’t name without jeopardizing the investigation, and he said Height told the FBI about things they didn’t even know.

That’s the disturbing bit in all this. If he knew so much was wrong, why hadn’t he contacted the FBI long ago?

How did it ever seem right to look the other way when he saw something wrong?

About the Author

Mark Guydish covers education for the Times Leader. Reach him at (570) 970-7161 or mguydish@timesleader.com.

A West Hazleton native, I worked as a service technician repairing electronic mailing and shipping systems, a bike shop owner and an Emergency Medical Technician (among other jobs) before landing a reporter job at the Times Leader Hazleton Bureau in 1995. I started by covering primarily politics in Hazleton City and outlying municipalities, eventually became "social issues" team leader in the Wilkes-Barre office with the accent on education, and headed the Hazleton Bureau for a spell before returning to full-time reporting, my preferred position. I'm an avid cyclist and rode across the country in 1990, a trip of more than 5,000 miles from New Jersey to Seattle and down the coast to San Francisco. Years in the Boy Scouts made me a life long backpacker and camper, and I've yet to find a better way to enjoy the quiet lure of winter snow than cross country skiing.

Mark also writes a regular blog for timesleader.com.