Source: http://citizensvoice.com, October 7, 2014
By: Bob Kalinowski
Salem Township on Monday filed a lawsuit against former township engineer Michael Pasonick claiming a sewer project his firm designed is deeply flawed and will cost at least $1 million to repair.

The municipality’s lawsuit claimed the project, designed and overseen by Pasonick, was plagued with nearly 70 deficiencies that continue to be corrected by new contractors.

Pasonick’s designs were faulty, he failed to supervise sub-contractors properly, and he didn’t get required pre-approval for costly change orders, according to the lawsuit, filed by Salem Township solicitor Anthony McDonald.

The lawsuit alleged breach of contract and negligence, noting Pasonick’s contract said he agreed to “protect against defects and deficiencies in construction on the part of contractors.”

“Defendant, Pasonick, is in breach of the duties and obligations of the agreement,” the lawsuit said.

The Citizens’ Voice first reported in April on Salem Township’s dissatisfaction with Pasonick’s work and the controversial way the project was funded.

Salem Township received an $11 million low-interest loan through the state-run authority PENNVEST on Oct. 24, 2006, just days after a “person affiliated with the township” paid a $1,000 cash bribe to then state Sen. Raphael Musto for his support and vote as a PENNVEST board member, according to federal court documents filed in November 2013. The person, identified in court papers only as “Participant No. 2,” had been paying bribes and kickbacks to the Pittston Township Democrat for political favors for decades as part of a “stream of benefits,” the indictment against Musto claimed. After the allegations broke, Salem Township officials identified Pasonick as the person who controlled the process to secure the $11 million loan and McDonald said Pasonick would be the only “common denominator” between the loan, Musto and the FBI investigation. A judge ruled Musto not competent to stand trial on the bribe allegations and he died in April without the issue ever being resolved in court.

Pasonick, founder of a once prominent Wilkes-Barre engineering firm that restructured and changed names after he was implicated in Luzerne County’s corruption scandal in 2009, served a year in jail on an unrelated charge for bribing an elected official.

Calls placed to phone numbers listed for Pasonick were not returned.

In Salem Township’s lawsuit, officials said PENNVEST has refused to release $305,944 in funding for change orders that Pasonick approved without getting prior authorization from PENNVEST and the state Department of Environmental Protection. In addition, Salem Township had to pay $241,892 out of its general fund for repairs, the lawsuit said.

Salem Township paid Pasonick’s firm $600,000 for its work on the sewer project, court documents show.

The sanitary sewer system in question serves 3,800 residents in the East Berwick and Beach Haven sections of the township. Prior to the project, no sewer system existed in the township near the Columbia County border and people relied on either cesspools or septic systems for sewage disposal. DEP imposed a construction ban until the township invested in a sewage system.

In September 2007, Michael J. Pasonick Jr. and Associates drew up the plans and initiated the process to obtain a loan from PENNVEST, a state-run authority that funds sewer, storm water and drinking water projects around the state. After the project was completed in 2009, DEP inspectors found nearly 70 defects. They discovered that manhole covers were not airtight, steel used was not made in the United States as required, and leaks were prevalent, along with other various design flaws that would have compromised the system, according to DEP documents obtained by The Citizens’ Voice.

Salem Township said new contractors continue to make repairs and the overall cost to fix problems will exceed $1 million.

“The damages alleged are damages of a continuing and progressive nature,” the lawsuit said.