Guilty plea entered in Luzerne County bribe case

SCRANTON - A former Northeastern Pennsylvania school board member has pleaded guilty to accepting a bribe from a contractor.

Joseph Oliveri, 51, entered the plea Tuesday in federal court in Scranton. He is scheduled for sentencing in late November and faces a maximum of 10 years, but a one- to two-year term is likely under his plea agreement.

Oliveri resigned earlier this month from the Pittston Area school board and from his job as a sheriff's deputy for Luzerne County, where the county courthouse is also the focus of a corruption scandal. Prosecutors said he was paid $1,500 in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant after he voted to award a contract worth more than $100,000.

Oliveri declined comment after the hearing, but defense attorney Paul Walker said the payment was actually $1,000, and his client used the money to pay for a holiday party for employees at a career center. - AP