Two felony charges = six months of house arrest.
Feb 4, 2008 - Frank LaGrotta, 49, was ordered to serve six months of house arrest and 30 months on probation and to pay a $5,000 fine and $27,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to two felony conflict-of-interest charges.
His sister Ann Bartolomeo and Bartolomeo's daughter, Alissa Lemmon, pleaded no contest to lying to a grand jury and received probation and fines. His sister was appointed an education consultant.
Senior Deputy Attorney General Anthony J. Krastek said the charges and sentence were lightened by the fact that LaGrotta is cooperating with investigators. He declined to elaborate.
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Prior to his arrest, one newspaper thought LaGrotta was lucky because local controversy might take the spotlight off him. People didn't seem to think LaGrotta was a criminal. On the other hand, what do they know?
After leaving the state Legislature, LaGrotta was named to the Lawrence County Housing Authority Board, which at the time was reeling with the result of multiple ethical lapses.LaGrotta served 10 terms in the House.
One former board member, Donald “Ducky” Conti, was convicted of illegally operating gambling machines at a private club he owned. Former Lawrence County Treasurer Gary Felasco, who was convicted in 2006 of stealing tax payments, also was a housing authority board member
County Commissioner Steve Craig nominated LaGrotta to the housing authority board as part of an effort to restore credibility to that body. LaGrotta resigned in fall 2007, shortly before his indictment was handed down. The seat remains vacant.
A poster at one news story wryly noted, "Paying $27,000 for two 'no show jobs' on The State payroll is a bargain. Imagine what they would have cost the taxpayers if they did show up."
Previous TT coverage of LaGrotta and why we followed the case.
