Luzerne County Retirement Board rejects pension for former Children and Youth director

Luzerne County’s Retirement Board unanimously voted Wednesday afternoon to deny former county Children and Youth director Joanne Van Saun’s pension.

The 59-year-old Dallas woman was sentenced in December to 34 months of probation for misdemeanor child endangerment and obstruction offenses, with the first nine months on house arrest, related to her failure to investigate at least 217 reports alleging child abuse and neglect in 2017.

Van Saun’s potential pension had been calculated at $4,467.23 per month based largely on her approximately 35 years of county employment, according to the board.

Under the state pension forfeiture act, former employees are not eligible for a pension or interest on their contributions toward a pension if they are convicted of certain crimes related to their employment, officials have said.

Board Solicitor Donald Karpowich has not publicly discussed any legal positions on how the forfeiture act may apply in this situation.

The board briefly held a closed-door executive session during Wednesday’s meeting to discuss potential litigation involving Van Saun.

Retirement board members did not publicly deliberate before their unanimous vote to reject Van Saun’s pension. Council members Kendra Radle and Brian Thornton, County Acting Manager Romilda Crocamo, county Budget/Finance Division Head Brian Swetz and pension employee/retiree representative John Evanchick Jr. serve on the board.

Following the charges against Van Saun, the county retained Philadelphia law firm Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP to conduct an internal investigation of the agency to determine if there is any evidence of possible wrongdoing.

Crocamo said the Philadelphia firm is wrapping up its investigation and that she will work with council on coordinating an executive session for the firm to present its findings.

Van Saun’s attorney, Suzanne Conaboy, could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday evening.

During public comment Wednesday, several citizens urged the board to either reject the pension or provide Van Saun with only a return of the payments she had made into the fund without interest. The latter option was not discussed by the board.

“She’s hurt the most vulnerable and precious citizens of our county by her actions,” county Controller Walter Griffith said of Van Saun.

Beth Hartman, of Hanover Township, told the board it would be “premature” to grant any pension to Van Saun because Troutman Pepper’s investigation is still pending.

She pointed to the 217 cases linked to the charges against Van Saun and said the former Children and Youth director “basically threw them in the garbage” and concluded they “weren’t worth anything.”

The county must show the public there are ramifications for unethical behavior and send a message that nobody is “going to mess with our kids,” Hartman said.

Other citizens expressed agreement with Griffith and Hartman.

A woman from Plains Township asserted she had personal involvement in one of the cases that was “tossed out.”

“She let our children down in many ways,” the woman said of Van Saun.