Eagen testimony set to start

The 12 jurors and two alternates are scheduled to begin hearing opening statements today at 9 a.m. before Senior Judge Barry Feudale of Northumberland County in a Dauphin County courtroom.

The jurors were picked following private questioning involving the judge, Mr. Eagen and his attorney William Costopoulos and the prosecutors -- Deputy Attorneys General Patrick Blessington and Christopher Abruzzo.

If Mr. Eagen, who was ousted from office by the voters after being muddied by the probe, has his way the jury will be hearing two trials -- his and that of Lackawanna County District Attorney Michael Barrasse, who Mr. Eagen contends mishandled his investigation and committed perjury.

The jurors learned the bare outline of the case from Judge Feudale during an open meeting before individual questioning. The judge said it involved the handling of estate guardianships in Lackawanna County. He also mentioned several times that Mr. Eagen was a former judge.

Mr. Blessington then listed the names of 20 witnesses he may call to paint the picture of Mr. Eagen as a corrupt judge who profited by appointing a crony to oversee the administration of estates belonging to persons who were declared incompetent.

Phillip Bosha, the man Mr. Eagen appointed as guardian of 27 estates, has testified previously that he made five payments, totaling $1,850, to the judge during 1993 and 1994. State charges against Mr. Bosha indicate as much as $196,000 was taken from the estates.

While Mr. Bosha will be the key witness, ex-attorney Ronald Worobey and Gregory Walker -- the other two men snared in the estates scandal -- also may testify. All three pleaded guilty to both federal and state charges. Mr. Eagen was never charged federally.

The obstruction charges will be built through the testimony of Mr. Barrasse, several of his assistants and other law-enforcement officers. They will depict Mr. Eagen as a man searching for inside information about what was happening before the county grand jury that eventually recommended his arrest.

It is still not clear how much latitude Judge Feudale will allow Mr. Costopoulos in attacking Mr. Barrasse. Mr. Eagen desperately wants to prove his claim that the district attorney perjured himself at a preliminary hearing. He contends Mr. Barrasse had offered not to bring any charges against Mr. Eagen if the judge agreed to step down from the bench, an allegation Mr. Barrasse denied at the hearing.

Mr. Eagen claims Mr. Barrasse wanted to create a judgeship vacancy so he could run for the position. Mr. Barrasse is a candidate for judge in November, but he stresses he is not seeking the vacancy left by Mr. Eagen.

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