Photos: Current Lycoming County District Attorney Thomas A. Marino (left) and
Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry (right)
By Todd Bartley, TalkWilliamsport.com
News@TalkWilliamsport.com
History remembers the speech President Franklin D. Roosevelt made to Congress on December 8, 1941, following the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan when he said in part; “Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy.”
For Lycoming County District Attorney Thomas A. Marino; September 8, 2023 may be that day.
This story will focus on the “Motion to Disqualify and Recuse the Lycoming County District Attorney’s Office from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. Kenneth R. Michaels case currently in the Lycoming County Court of Common Pleas.”
In order to gain a broader understanding and grasp the full context of the potential conflict of interest in the case; the following numbered paragraphs are taken from the Omnibus Motion filed by defense counsel Michael J. Rudinski and Edward J. Rymsza on March 29, 2024 on behalf of Defendant Kenneth Michaels.
From See Def.’s Ex. 2 (Erin) Turner Declaration:
3. “On or about September 8, 2023, I was asked by my father-in-law,
former Lycoming County Detective Donald Turner,
if I would talk to Tom Marino.
I was told Mr. Marino was “talking to people”
about the investigation into the shooting
that resulted in the death of John Roskowski
by Kenneth Michaels, CEO of Cable Services,
and that Mr. Marino was looking for information “to help Ken.”
I agreed.”
According to the Turner Declaration, Marino told a fact witness he was “looking for information to help Ken.” The Ken referenced is the Defendant charged with homicide in this case.
As a private citizen and unelected Lycoming County District Attorney; Marino sat in on an interview with Lycoming County Detective Steven Sorage of a potential fact witness in a high-profile homicide case under the guise of “looking for information to help Ken.”
More on that interview later in the story.
From the Omnibus Motion filed be defense counsel Michael J. Rudinski and Edward J. Rymsza on March 29, 2024 on behalf of Defendant Kenneth Michaels.
I. Motion to Disqualify and Recuse the Lycoming County District Attorney’s Office from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. Kenneth R. Michaels case currently in the Lycoming County Court of Common Pleas.
15. A Preliminary hearing was held on September 22, 2023 before Magistrate Judge William Solomon and the charges were held for court.
16. Upon information and belief, at the time of the incident, then-district attorney candidate Thomas Marino was a close personal friend with the Decedent, and continues to maintain a friendly relationship with the Decedent’s family.
17. Upon information and belief, on at least one occasion, Mr. Marino assisted driving the Decedent to an inpatient drug treatment facility.
18. Upon information and belief, Mr. Marino and his friends and family were frequent social guests of the Decedent in the early to mid-2000’s on the Decedent’s corporate plane while he was CEO of Cable Services Company Inc. See Def.’s Ex. 1 (sample of flight records of Cable Services Company).
The flight records indicate multiple flights to Florida locations including Boca Raton and Kissimmee.
After reviewing the flight records from Def.’s Ex. 1 (sample of flight records of Cable Services Company); the dates in 2005 – 2007 coincide with Thomas Marino serving as United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
From an online search: Marino served as a Lycoming County District Attorney from 1992 to 2002. In 2002, Marino was appointed the United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania by President George W. Bush; in office 2002 – October 12, 2007; preceded by David Barasch and succeeded by Martin Carlson.
The last flight documented with a day, month and year occurred on April 13, 2007. Several date ranges in the Def. Ex. 1 do not reflect a year.
EDITOR’S NOTE: A message has been left with the Department of Justice, Justice Management Division, Ethics Office in Washington D.C. seeking guidance for gifts of travel being received by a U.S. Attorney and what financial disclosure forms and or federal forms (if any) that need to be filed.
Marino subsequently purchased a condominium in Vero Beach, Florida where he obtained a Florida Drivers License, Florida voter registration and became a member of the Indian River County Republican Party Executive Committee as recently as February 2023.
The facts surrounding the Florida residency are currently under investigation by the Office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Michele Henry.
More from the Omnibus filing:
19. Furthermore, the discovery received in this case reveals at least one phone voice mail on the Decedent’s personal cell phone from Mr. Marino on June 6, 2023 requesting the Decedent’s financial support for his campaign for district attorney.
Editor’s Note: Marino ran unopposed for Lycoming County District Attorney.
22. At the time the chargers were filed in August 2023, the Lycoming County District Attorney was Ryan C. Gardner.
23. At the time of the preliminary hearing, the Commonwealth was represented by First Assistant Martin Wade.
24. However, District Attorney Gardner was not present at the preliminary hearing; instead, sitting with ADA Wade at counsel table for the Commonwealth, for reasons unknown, was then candidate for District Attorney, Thomas Marino.
25. Likewise, at the subsequent bail evidentiary hearing held on November 8, 2023, candidate-elect Marino again appeared and sat at counsel table for the prosecution.
EDITOR’S NOTE: On background from one year prior: Based on the exclusive reporting of TalkWilliamsport.com on his (Marino) residency status, and according to Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles documentation the Driver License that was issued to Tom Marino at 2:17 p.m. on November 7, 2022 with an Expiration date of August 13, 2031 inexplicably expired on February 15, 2023.
According to voter records obtained from Lycoming County Voter Services through a formal Request for Public Information, Tom Marino had an absentee ballot counted in the 2022 election on Tuesday, November 8, 2022.
26. Furthermore, upon information and belief, in early-September 2023, then candidate Marino and Lycoming County Detective Sorage engaged in a joint interview of Cable Services Company employee, Erin Turner at her residence. 1 (footnote from the filing)
- Mr. Marino’s personal involvement in at least one interview in the official investigation indicates he may have had input into the charging decisions in this case.
27. According to Ms. Turner, she was asked questions about the shooting incident and related details. See Def’s Ex. 2 (Turner declaration)
28. The interview was conducted by Detective Sorage and after about fifteen minutes he turned off the recorder even though more questions were being asked. (Id. at PP 6.)
29. According to Ms. Turner, the interview concluded by Mr. Marino telling her, among other things, that their conversation was “just between us” and that “we were never here.” (Id. at PP 8.)
30. These events aptly demonstrate that then candidate Marino was personally invested in the process and ultimate outcome of this case.
31. A district attorney is not only subject to the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct but also the American Bar Association Standards of Criminal Justice Relating to the Prosecution Function (“ABA Standard”), which Pennsylvania has adopted. See Pa. R. Prof. Cond. 3.8; Commonwealth v. Starks, 387 A. 2d 829, 831 (Pa. 1978) (court acknowledging Pennsylvania adoption of ABA Standards of Criminal Justice Relating to the Prosecution Function).
34. As a result of the foregoing, there exists at a minimum an appearance of a conflict, if not an actual conflict.
35. Given the Turner interview conducted by then candidate Marino with Detective Sorage , which has never been disclosed by the prosecution, Mr. Marino has independent information about facts in controversy and therefore may be faced with the possibility of testifying at trial.
37. Moreover, the objectivity of the Lycoming County District Attorney’s
office must be called into question
by even permitting Mr. Marino’s personal involvement in the case
before he had any legitimate and lawful reason
to be involved in the case.
39. Consequently, the Court must disqualify the entire Lycoming County District Attorney’s Office from prosecuting Mr. Michaels and order the matter be referred to the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General.
WHEREFORE, prior to any evidentiary hearing, the Commonwealth should be ordered to file an answer and after an evidentiary hearing, Mr. Michaels requests that the Court grant his Motion to Disqualify and Recuse the Lycoming County District Attorney’s Office and order that the case be transferred to the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General.
Attached to the Omnibus Motion is a document titled: “Turner Declaration”:
I, Erin Turner, state as follows:
- I have been employed at Cable Services Company, Inc. since June 12, 2023.
- I was at work on August 17, 2023, but did not hear or see anything connected to the shooting that took place at the Company office that day.
- On or about September 8, 2023, I was asked by my father-in-law, former Lycoming County Detective Donald Turner, if I would talk to Tom Marino. I was told Mr. Marino was “talking to people” about the investigation into the shooting that resulted in the death of John Roskowski by Kenneth Michaels, CEO of Cable Services, and that Mr. Marino was looking for information “to help Ken.” I agreed.
- On September 8, 2023, Mr. Marino came to my home. He was accompanied by Lycoming County Detective Steven Sorage. Detective Sorage interviewed me and recorded the interview.
- From Detective Sorage’s questions, it did not seem that he was looking for information “to help Ken.” Instead, he was asking questions that seemed to favor John Roskowski. He also, asked questions about where Jeremy Michaels, President of Cable Services, and son of Ken Michaels, was during the shooting. He also asked whether Ken Michaels carried a firearm at the office. With each of my answers, Detective Sorage made facial expressions that he did not agree with my answers.
- After about 15 minutes, Detective Sorage turned the recorder off. Mr. Marino then asked if the employees at the Company like both John and Ken.
- I asked if the recorder should be on for those questions. Detective Sorage asked Mr. Marino if the recorder should be on. Mr. Marino answered, “No.” Detective Sorage said if there were more questions he wanted recorded he would turn the recorder on or jot down notes.
- The interview ended with Mr. Marino saying, “This is just between us. It doesn’t leave the room. We were never here.”
- The facts set forth above are true and correct to the best of my personal knowledge, information, and belief, subject to 19 Pa. CSA 4904.
- I have made the foregoing statements freely, voluntarily, and intelligently.
Signed Erin Turner, March 28, 2024.
On February 5, 2023, after announcing his run for Lycoming County District Attorney from his home in Vero Beach, Florida he told PennLive.com; “I have to get back to work,” he said. “He recently became associated with a Williamsport law firm but he said he has left to avoid potential conflicts if elected.”
Having been sworn in last December, as Lycoming County District Attorney by his former fellow Assistant District Attorney and now Lycoming County President Judge Nancy Butts; a mere three months after sitting in on an interview with Erin Turner in her home. From another PennLive.com article on December 29, 2023.
“County Judge Nancy L. Butts, who administered the oath in her chambers, explained it had to be done in advance of Tuesday’s swearing in of other county officeholders to ensure there was a district attorney at the beginning of the new year.”
“He (Marino) resigned as a federal prosecutor on Oct. 12, 2007, and later was in-house counsel for Scranton-area businessman and casino owner Louis DeNaples for three years.”
“Trump in 2017 nominated Marino as director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the nation’s drug czar.
He withdrew his name citing his mother’s health issues and what he called false allegations about the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016 he authored.
Critics claimed the bill that was passed in the House and Senate by unanimous consent weakened efforts to block excessive distribution of opioid-based painkillers.”
From the Omnibus Motion:
17. Upon information and belief, on at least one occasion, Mr. Marino assisted driving the Decedent to an inpatient drug treatment facility.
Democrat candidate for Lycoming County Commissioner, Denitra Moffett was brave enough on the campaign trail last year to publicly state she would not vote in favor of funding the Office of the Lycoming County District Attorney so long as Tom Marino was the D.A.
It appears her instincts were spot on.
For Lycoming County taxpayers, if the coin of the realm is trust; how can District Attorney Tom Marino be trusted with anything?
With all of the allegations outlined in the Omnibus Motion; how is he to be believed about anything or anything or anyone coming from the Office of the Lycoming County District Attorney?
In conclusion, based on previous experience, nothing will come of this either.
This is a developing story on TalkWilliamsport.com.
