Luzerne County Manager C. David Pedri praised county Chief Public Defender Steven Greenwald Wednesday for identifying an untapped revenue stream that generated $4,439 for the county.
Greenwald discovered state law allows counties to be reimbursed for prosecutions stemming from state correctional institutions within their boundaries.
In a Wednesday email to council, Pedri said the $4,439 state reimbursement is for the county’s handling of the prosecution, defense and trial of Joel Perez, who was sentenced to up to 23 years in prison in November for slashing prison guard Francis William Petroski in the face in 2014 at the State Correctional Institution at Dallas.
The county solicitor’s office helped to prepare documents and submit them to the state to obtain the reimbursement, he said.
“In short, this reimbursement was the result of a great team effort, and the county will continue to utilize this method of reimbursement for other prosecutions stemming from state institutions,” said Pedri.
The revenue will be deposited in three department budgetary accounts, he said: Public Defender, $3,006; District Attorney, $908; and court administration, $525.
Perez, 42, was convicted Oct. 5 of three counts of aggravated assault, assault by prisoner and procuring a weapon as an inmate. He had been serving a life sentence for a first-degree murder conviction in Lancaster County 20 years ago.
Along with his prison sentence, Perez was ordered to pay over $130,000 in restitution to Petroski, who was left with a visible scar on the right side of his face from the slashing.
The county plans to seek reimbursement for expenses in another case involving the April 2010 “Dallas Six” riot at the State Correctional Institution at Dallas, Pedri said.
“County administration will continue to seek any and all new revenue streams as we proceed through 2017,” Pedri wrote.
Additional revenue is needed to clear a $9.4 million deficit from the county’s financial records and start building a cash reserve.
