From Crystal Club Soda to Gertrude Hawk Chocolate

Old school Scranton.  Photo by .Ward.

Lackawanna County District Attorney Andy Jarbola was the subject of a murder-for-hire plot by a Scranton man who accused Mr. Jarbola of keeping him in prison too long, authorities and Mr. Jarbola said Wednesday.  Kevin Michael McDermott, 27, who lives at 1032 Crown Ave., allegedly solicited at least two people to stab or seriously wound Mr. Jarbola. Mr. McDermott allegedly offered $10,000 to one man, asking him to stab Mr. Jarbola. When the man — whom police declined to identify — refused the request, Mr. McDermott threatened to burn down the would-be hit man’s mother’s house, Scranton Detective Captain Al Leoncini said.  Continue reading.

The signs of Louis DeNaples’ generosity to his hometown are evident throughout the borough, from the police station he donated to the ladder truck he bought for the Fire Department.  Most of his contributions were made anonymously, but it’s an open secret that Mr. DeNaples has often quietly stepped in to help the chronically cash-strapped borough.  It was Mr. DeNaples’ charitable side many borough residents focused on Wednesday as word spread of his indictment on perjury charges.  Continue reading.

In a stunning development that reverberated across the state, Dunmore businessman and casino owner Louis A. DeNaples was charged with perjury Wednesday, accused of lying to state gambling regulators when asked whether he had ties to organized crime figures. Continue reading.

Electric City Renaissance contributor Rob Watts comes to the defense of the Electric City in this article about worst places to live in America.

The Orange County Register recently published an article detailing the Scranton sites featured in The Office.

Rumor has it that Tink’s has permanently closed it’s doors.  While I haven’t stepped foot in the place since college, a lot of good times were had there. It always was a great place to catch a live show and one of the only local venues to attract national acts.

Photo by tomdobb.

A Dunmore man arrested and jailed last week for allegedly extorting money from the company that cleaned pigeon droppings from the Lackawanna County Courthouse has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Florida with racketeering, money laundering and fraud. n a 42-count indictment that also names a man identified by prosecutors as a member of the Gambino crime family, prosecutors say Philip Forgione, 65, 1315 N. Webster Ave., and others participated in a scam that bilked at least $7 million from ADT Security. Continue reading. Editor’s Note: Is it just me, or has there been an awful lot of local “mob” stories in the news lately?

A two-alarm blaze erupted in a downtown building under renovation at 317 Linden St. this morning. The building is owned by developer Jerry Joyce and was slated to house the local Merrill Lynch operation.

View map of fire.