Local engineer Michael Pasonick is fighting back against a lawsuit filed against him by Salem Township over a municipal sewer project.
Attorneys for Pasonick have responded to the suit, claiming allegations about shoddy work are not specific enough to allow for a proper response.
“Through its complaint, the plaintiff made use of general, vague and speculative language …,” attorneys for Pasonick wrote. “As such, the defendant is unable to prepare a proper and adequate defense to the open-ended claims.”
The municipality’s lawsuit, filed in October, claimed the 2007 sewer project, designed and overseen by Pasonick, was plagued with nearly 70 deficiencies that continue to be corrected by new contractors. Pasonick’s designs were faulty, he failed to supervise sub-contractors properly and he didn’t get required pre-approval for costly change orders, according to the lawsuit. In the lawsuit, Salem Township said it is seeking damages in excess of $1 million.
Pasonick’s attorneys James Doherty and Kevin Hayes say Salem Township has failed to meet the requirements for the suit to move forward.
Furthermore, the attorneys are asking a judge to strike Salem Township’s demand for “excessive damages.”
Pasonick is the founder of a once prominent Wilkes-Barre engineering firm that restructured and changed names after he was implicated in Luzerne County’s corruption scandal in 2009.
The sanitary sewer system in question, funded by an $11 million low-interest loan from a state agency, serves 3,800 residents in the East Berwick and Beach Haven sections of the township. Salem Township received the loan through the state-run authority PENNVEST on Oct. 24, 2006, just days after a “person affiliated with the township” paid a $1,000 cash bribe to then state Sen. Raphael Musto for his support and vote as a PENNVEST board member, according to federal court documents filed in November 2013. The person, identified in court papers only as “Participant No. 2,” had been paying bribes and kickbacks to the Pittston Township Democrat for political favors for decades as part of a “stream of benefits,” the indictment against Musto claimed.
After the allegations broke, Salem Township officials identified Pasonick as the only person who controlled the process to secure the $11 million loan.
bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com
570-821-2055, @cvbobkal