MIDDLEBURG — Tom Marino, Republican candidate for Congress, has changed his story six months after he told a Wilkes-Barre talk radio reporter that he had gotten permission from his superiors in the U.S. Department of Justice before lending his name as a reference for a convicted felon who was seeking a casino license.
Marino on Monday said he never asked for permission from the federal agency because it was understood he would be allowed to provide personal references to anyone as long as he didn’t use his job title or attempt to promote individuals on his staff.
He also denied that he had ever claimed that he received, or could provide, written authorization from the Justice Department allowing him to give a personal reference to former casino operator Louis DeNaples.
“I did it all the time,” he said, of providing personal references.
His comments this week contradict comments Marino made in an April interview with WILK Radio host Steve Corbett in which Marino said he received permission before serving as a reference for Denaples.
A recording of the interview is posted on the radio station’s Web site at: http://audio.wilknewsradio.com/m/audio/30617147/tom-marino-10th-district-congressional-candidate-talks-to-corbett.htm.
In that interview, Corbett asks:“Did you have to tell any of your supervisors that you were acting as a reference?” “Yes,” Marino said.
“And did you?” “Yes,” Marino said.
Corbett then asked Marino what the response was from the Department of Justice, and Marino replied that “it was nothing out of the ordinary.”
Following that exchange, Corbett said he followed up the interview by asking Marino’s staff for written documentation that Marino had received permission to serve as a reference. Corbett said a Marino staffer promised to get him that documentation but never did.
On Monday, Marino said there was never written authorization from the Department of Justice.
“The radio personality made it up. There is no letter,” Marino said.
Corbett stands behind his reporting.
The controversy erupted two weeks ago when the Associated Press reported that Department of Justice sources indicated that Marino had never gotten permission to be a reference for DeNaples, who was convicted in 1978 of cheating the federal government of more than $500,000.
At the time, Marino was serving as a U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
He is running against incumbent Democrat Chris Carney, of Dimock, in the 10th Congressional District. The district includes Montour, Northumberland, Union and Snyder counties.
News
Marino changes story
- News
-
-
Masked robber hits McClure bank
McCLURE — Police said a man with a handgun entered the MCS bank at 1 E. Specht St. just after 9 a.m., Tuesday and demanded money from a teller before making off with an undisclosed amount of cash.
-
Union County deputy excels at academy
LEWISBURG — Feel safer, Union County: A deputy sheriff received the Michael VanKuren Memorial Award for Defensive Tactics during his recent graduation from the Pennsylvania Deputy Sheriff’s Academy.
-
Shoch too good to lose, Point supervisors say
NORTHUMBERLAND — Point Township Supervisors Randy Yoxheimer and Montie Peters credit attorney Rick Shoch with helping them weather difficult years as they fended off a slew of lawsuits from developers, disgruntled former employees and residents.
-
Two firemen face trial in arsons
DANVILLE — A firefighter said “it kind of hit me hard” after two fellow firemen were charged with setting fires in Montour and Northumberland counties and calling in false alarms in Union County.
-
Lewisburg high school back on drawing board
LEWISBURG — The Lewisburg Area School District is moving forward with a flexible version of its master facilities plan with the possibility that construction, including a new Lewisburg Area High School, could begin as soon as 2015 or as late as 2018.
-
Storms knock out power to more than 700 this afternoon
SUNBURY - More than 700 homes and businesses lost electrical service this afternoon when a line of heavy thunderstorms rolled through the region.
-
Masked gunman robs McClure bank
McCLURE - Police said a man displaying a handgun entered the MCS bank in Mcclure Borough just after 9 a.m., Tuesday and demanded money from a teller before making off with an undisclosed amount of cash.
-
'To Do': Carnival
MILTON -The Lions Carnival held from 6 to 9 p.m. May 30 at Brown Avenue Park.
-
Electronic fingerprinting soon needed to provide long-term elder care
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Department of Aging will soon begin using an electronic fingerprinting process to screen people applying to work in a long-term care facility or home health care agency.
-
Buggy driver falls asleep in Lancaster County; collides with bus
NEW PROVIDENCE — Pennsylvania State Police say the 15-year-old driver of a horse and buggy fell asleep at the reins and collided with a school bus.
-
17-year-old New Columbia boy in critical condition after Sunday crash
WATSONTOWN -- State police said a 17-year-old New Columbia boy is in the hospital in critical condition after the car he was driving crossed the center line on Route 405 and slammed into an oncoming car.
-
60 and Counting
The singer John Prine wrote these lines in a song titled ‘The Late John Garfield Blues: “An old man sleeps with his conscience at night. Young kids sleep with their dreams.”
- More News Headlines
-
