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By Patrick Sweet | Staff Writer
NOXEN TWP. Harry Traverand Doug Brody glanced at eachother,
stood up and followed theirneighbors lead.
We didnt drive all the way outhere to make changes, neighborJoel
Field reactedwhen Carrizo Oil& Gas proposedamendmentsto
themulti-million-dollar deal the threecameto finalize.
Beforethe men made it very far,the company reeled them back
tothe bargaining table at its Pitts-burgh office and hammered out
anatural gas deal that includes themineral rights to roughly
8,500acres.
The three men, willing to walkawayfrom a deal worth more than$4
million with the potential tobecome much more than $40 mil-lion,
exemplify theroughly 135fam-ilies theyrepresent.
They share the ideals of a com-munity that came together
andprotested the closing of its postoffice on a bitterDecember
morn-ing. They embrace the camarade-rieof a community that
answeredthe call when its historic train
station was threatened withdemolition and raised funds toprotect
it.
So,when gas company landmenapproached residentsin ruralNox-en
Township, they demonstratedperhaps their greatest skill:
theirabilityto unite.
Ninety-five percent of the peo-ple that signed live here,
Brodysaid. I mean, this is our home Its beenour groups homefor
yearsandgenerationsin somecases. Wetookour time and I think wedid
itright.
A gas group is bornResidents gathered under the
pavilion behind Noxen UnitedMethodist Church to formulatetheir
plan of action. Across thestreet from his Whistle Pig Pump-
kin Patch, Field found himself responsiblefor preservingthe
hopesof his family, friendsand neighborsfor a lucrativegas lease.
The NoxenArea GasGroupwas born.
I kind of stood up and said,Well, we ought to try this and
weought to try that, and everybodysaid, OK. Great. Go do that,
the47-year-old farmer said. Theresponsibility was awesome.
Over a 2
-year span, thoseresponsibilities included innumer-able hours of
courthouseresearch,days studying the natural gasindustryand
negotiating deals thatneversucceeded.
See NOXEN , page A9
Online: View a database of more than 6,000 gas leases inLuzerne,
Lackawanna andWyoming counties atcitizensvoice.com/drilling .
MARK MORAN / THE SUNDAY VOICE
Joel Field, left, and Harry Traver, along with Doug Brody, took
on much of the responsibility in forging an agreement withCarrizo
Oil & Gas for the mineral rights to about 8,500 acres in Noxen
Township, Wyoming County.
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www.citizensvoice.com
Pittston
nativesoughtby fedsBy Dave JanoskiStaff Writer
In 1982,Pittston AreaHighSchool graduate RosemarySauter-Frett
landed in thesunnyU.S.VirginIslandsandestablished an accountingfirm
on St. Thomas, one of the four main islands in thepopular tourist
mecca and afavorite stop for Caribbean
cruise ships.Overthe next 28 years, she
establishedthe l a rges tr e a l - e s t a t ef i rm in theU.S.
t erritory,branched outinto the res-taurant busi-n e ss a n dg a i
n e d ap r o m i n e n tperchin theislandsbusinesscommunity.
But in February, Sauter-Frett fled paradise with $2.5million
placed in hercarebyher real estate customers,investigators say,
leavingbehind questions about herrole in a police corruptioncase
and an alleged murder-for-hire plot aimedat herhus-band.
Sauter-Frett, a graduate of Penn State Erie in her 50swho isa
motherof six,is thesubject of arrest warrantsissued by the Virgin
IslandsDepartment of Justice andtheFBI.
We believe that she hasfledthe jurisdictionof theU.S.Virgin
Islands, saidFBI Spe-cial Agent Harry Rodriguez,stationedin
SanJuan,PuertoRico, about 40 miles west of St.Thomas.We
arefollowingup some leads, but I cant getinto anydetails of
theinvesti-
gation.Sauter-Fretts excellent
island adventure began tosour last year when shebecame embroiled
in a seriesof financialdisputeswithoth-er real estate agents,
accord-ing to published reports,andhername surfaced in a
high-profilepolice corruptioncase.
In December, Sauter-Frettwas a witness in the trial of three
men, includingtwo Vir-gin Islands police officers,accused of trying
to extort$5,000 from a maintenanceworkerwith oneof
hercom-panies.
The maintenance worker,RichardMotta,left a kilogramof
fakecocainein a carrentedunder Sauter-Fretts namethatwas
impoundedby policeina St.Thomasneighborhoodin December 2008. A
policecaptainand sergeant,workingwith a civilian accomplice,sought
$5,000 from Motta,promisingnot to turnoverthefake cocaine, which
theyclaimed tested positive fordrugs, to federal
narcoticsagents.
Motta, who has multiplefelony convictions, and Sau-ter-Frett
sought the help of the Virgin Islands police com-missioner, who
referred themto the FBI. Motta, 51, wore arecordingdevice in a
meetingwith thethreemen in which
the $5,000 was exchanged,according to federal prosecu-tors.
See ON THE RUN , page A11
Sauter-Frett
Cap holds, butfor how long? A8
Anatomyof Noxens
BIGDEAL
Marcellus ShaleMarcellus Shale Northeastern Pennsylvanias New
FrontierNortheastern Pennsylvanias New Frontier
Communitystaystightascompaniescomecalling
By Patrick Sweet | Staff Writer
Nobodyin theWyoming CountyRecorderof Deeds Office is
familiarwith e-mail or knows how to use aflash drive.
At least, that is what the officeargues as it fights The
CitizensVoices appeal for public records.
The newspaper has appealed theoffices refusal to providethe
news-paper records of natural gas leasesin an electronicformat.
Myofficestaff,includingmyself,are not trained or familiar
withloading information on a flashdrive as suggested by the
request-er, Recorder of Deeds Dennis Mon-tross wrote in an
affidavit inresponse to the newspaper sappeal.
The newspaper made its initial
request on June 15. In a June 23 e-mail to Wyoming County
SolicitorJames Davis, the newspaper sug-gestedthe office e-mailthe
records
but would drive from Wilkes-BarretoTunkhannock if necessary
toputthefileson a disc or portable mem-ory card such as a flash
drive. Thee-mailsuggestion is ignored in theoffices response.
The newspaper requested therecords to update its online
data-base of oil and gas leases for the
public.Under the state Right-to-Knowlaw, thelaw that
establishesthe peo-ples rights to public records, the
Recorderof Deeds office is requiredto provideits records in
theformatit maintains them. Because theoffice stores its records
electroni-cally, it mustprovide them electron-ically.
The office, though, doesnt wantto lose the ability to charge
forpaper copies and said it will fight
tooth and nail to protect itsrecords.
See RECORDS , page A11
Gas leaserecordsatcenterof right-to-knowcontroversy
KRISTEN MULLEN / THE SUNDAY VOICE
Cyclists pass the Whistle Pig Farm on Route 29 in Noxen
Township.
Nanticoke Little League rolls to tournament final. B1
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LOCAL / STATE
FROM PAGE A1
We have to protect ourrecords, Nancy Kilmas, adeputyin
therecordersoffice,said after refusing to providetherecords onJune
15.
A reporter attempted toobtain therecords in person.An employee
withthe record-ers officeshowed thereportera list of gas lease
records onhercomputer monitor, exactlywhat the newspaper
request-ed. When the reporter askedthe employee to transfer
theinformation to a flash drive,the employee refused, sayingthe
transfer violated officepolicy. Montross would haveto OK the
transfer but wasout-of-town,she said.
A writtenrequestwasfiled.OnJune21, Davissaidin an
e-mailthat theofficewasenti-tled to an extension of thenormal
five business daysallowed by law to respond totherequest
forrecords.
Under the open recordslawsection 902(65P.S. section902), when
legalreview isnec-essaryto determine whetheryour request is subject
toaccess,the agency is entitled
to 30 days to respond as towhether the request can begranted as
stated, Daviswrote.
In itsresponse tothe news-papers appeal, Montrossretracted,
though, and wrote:All records in the WyomingCounty Recorder of
DeedsOffice are considered publicrecords. The admissionnegated any
need for the ini-tiallegal review.
Montross also wrote in hisresponse to the newspapersappealthat
therecordrequest-ed is a special report. Thespecial report, he
wrote, isalso an internal report, notnormally produced for
thepublic.
According to employeesinhis own office, though, thereport is
produced for areabanks, not for internal use.The office charges $15
for amonthsworthof data,Kilmassaid June 15.
Because the records arestored electronically and theofficedoes
notincur a costforproducingthe record, the$15charge violates state
law, thenewspapermaintains.
Under section 1307 of theRight-to-Knowlaw,except asotherwise
providedbystatute,no otherfeesmaybe imposedunless theagency
necessarilyincurs costs for complyingwith the request, and such
feesmust bereasonable.The state Office of OpenRecords is
reviewing theappeal.
[email protected]
FROM PAGE A1
During the corruptiontrial, defense attorneysarguedthe
policewereactu-ally investigating a murder-for-hire conspiracy
involv-ing Sauter-Frett and Mottaaimed at Sauter-Fretts hus-band,
Jacob. The officerswere only pretending to becorrupt in order to
gainMottas confidence, theysaid.
Sauter-Frett was subpoe-naed bythe defense,but rul-ings by the
president judgebarred them from fully pur-suing the
murder-for-hire
theory during her testimo-ny. The case ended in a mis-trial in
December.
On Jan. 29, the defen-dants were convicted of extortion in a
second trialin which Sauter-Frett didnot testify.
Just days later, two real-tors in Sauter-Fretts RE/MAX
DreamProperties realestate office filed suit seek-i n g t o f r e e
z e e s c r owaccounts controlled by Sau-ter-Frett.
The suit claimed she wasus ing money f rom theaccounts, which
containeddeposits from customers,for her own use.
At the same time, the St.Thomas Board of Realtorsadvised its
members not toplace money in Sauter-Fretts accounts becausedeposit
checks had alleged-ly gone missing.
By Feb. 5, the VirginIslands Department of Jus-tice had filed an
arrest war-rant for Sauter-Frett, whocould not be found, andclosed
her real estate office.
The depar tment hasinterviewed Sauter-Frettshusband, who claimed
notto know her whereabouts,according to the VirginIslands Daily
News, a news-paper on St.Thomas,which,like The Citizens Voice,
isowned by Scranton-basedTimes-Shamrock Commu-nications.
Investigators estimatethat $2.5 million is missingfrom the
escrow accounts,according to departmentspokeswoman Sara
Leza-ma.
The story took a newtwist on July 3 when thebullet-ridden body
of thecivilian convicted in thepolicecorruption case, Lou-is
Roldan, was found in aburning SUV in an aban-doned housing project
onSt. Croix, one of the othermain islandsin theU.S. Vir-gin
Islands. Roldan, 29, wasfree on bail pending hissen-tencing.
Lezama and FBI spokes-man Rodriguez said theydid not believe the
Roldankilling had any link to Sau-ter-Fretts disappearance.
Lezama said she couldntcomment on whether Sau-ter-Frett might
have beenmotivated to flee the Virgin
Islands out of concern forher own safety.
Im not going to specu-
late on the reasons Mrs.Sauter-Frett is on the run.Obviously she
has someques t ionable bus inessprac t ices and has hadsome ties to
suspected peo-ple who have been convict-ed of wrongdoing, Leza-ma
said. As to what hermotivation is, I cant speakto that.
Sauter-Frett has severalrelatives, including at leastone sister,
who live in thePittston area. They eithercould not be reached
ordeclined comment.
[email protected]
RECORDS: Appeal under review by state
ON THE RUN:Whereabouts unknownMan charged for shooting at copThe
Philadelphia InquirerLess than two daysaftera
police officer was woundedwhenthreemen armedwithassau l t type
weaponsopened fire, a plainclothesofficer wasfired upon
intheHunting Park section earlySaturday as he chased amanon
foot.
Saturdays incidentendedwith a bare-chested manarrested and
charged withaggravated assault forshooting at the officer
andalsofor woundinga civilian.Hisshirtwassnagged onanalleyfencehe
clamoredover
duringthe pursuit.Meanwhile, a suspect in
the Thursday shooting of Officer Kevin Livewellremains in
custody. Policesay he hasnt been chargedand wont releasehis nameas
they search for his twoaccomplices. Livewell, 30,was scheduled to
undergosurgery over theweekendatTemple UniversityHospitalfor a
wound to his right legafter he was shot in Kens-ington
Thursday.
In the Saturday incident,KevinBrown, 18,of the1300of W.
HuntingPark Avenue,was in custody after policecaptured him at the
inter-section of 2700 block of
Albert Street in North Phil-adelphia.
State to limit free rides todrug clinicsAssociated Press
GREENSBURG Pennsyl-vania officials are moving tolimit free rides
for heroinaddicts to distant methadoneclinicsin more
thanone-thirdof the counties in the com-monwealth as part of a
revi-sion to state policy thatover-sees the medical
assistancetransportationprogram.
Under the change begin-ning in September, the statewill cap
payments made toreimburse addicts who drivelongdistancesfor
methadonetreatment. Only 25 cents permile, and up to 50 miles
pertrip, willbe provided forpar-ticipants todrive tooneof thetwo
closest clinics to theirhomes.
Spokeswoman Beth Myersof the Department of Public
Welfare says the change hasbeen inthe works for nearly
ayear.
Myers said 23 counties inPennsylvania will be underthe
revisedguidelinesin Sep-tember, including
Westmore-land,Fayette,Armstrong, Bea-ver, Butler and
Lawrencecounties. Indiana and Cam-bria counties were part of
apilotprogramimposingmile-age limitsin December.
Smith Hourigan Group
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SUNDAY, JULY 18, 2010 THE SUNDAY VOICEA11
