Portraits of Eagen emerge

A prosecutor told a Dauphin County jury Wednesday the former Lackawanna County judge is a dishonorable official who accepted money-stuffed envelopes as kickbacks from the man he appointed to watch over the assets of incapacitated people.

Attorney William Costopoulos, Mr. Eagen's counsel, countered that his client -- a man so sensitive about his integrity that he returned Christmas gifts from lawyers -- is the victim of a political plot that has opened up a judgeship for Lackawanna County District Attorney Michael Barrasse.

The differing views were presented both in opening statements and through the examinations of six scene-setting prosecution witnesses as the much-anticipated trial opened before Senior Judge Barry Feudale of Northumberland County.

Both Mr. Costopoulos and Deputy Attorney General Patrick Blessington, the prosecutor, did agree on one thing -- Scranton politics are not pretty.

Mr. Blessington said 'duking' -- paying money for favors -- is a way of life in the city where "you can't do anything ... that doesn't show up in the newspaper."

Mr. Costopoulos depicted a city where political parties cut deals over a fallen judge so there would be no contest for two vacancies on the bench. Mr. Barrasse, a Republican, and Judge Terrence Nealon, a Democrat, are the only candidates on the ballot in November.

The attorneys agreed the case has two parts -- the bribery-based charges centering on Phillip Bosha's dealings with Mr. Eagen and the obstruction component in which Mr. Eagen allegedly tried to monkey-wrench the investigation that led to his arrest.

Mr. Blessington sees them as equals. Mr. Costopoulos described the obstruction counts as a "red herring" thrown in because Mr. Bosha, an admitted thief and accused liar, will be a poor witness.

The prosecutor used his first two witnesses -- Assistant District Attorney Kathleen Granahan and former Assistant District Attorney Michael Brier -- to tell how Mr. Eagen approached them, seeking details on the grand-jury information.

Ms. Granahan, who was heading the estates probe, said she was "concerned, very concerned" about constant questioning by Mr. Eagen because she still had to appear before him on other criminal matters. "What do I do?" she said she kept asking herself. "I have to appear before him."

Mr. Costopoulos maintained Mr. Eagen had a right to be concerned. "Every call he made was to find out what was going on in his life" because he was about to go before the voters amid an avalanche of negative publicity. Mr. Eagen eventually lost his retention election in November 1997 after a newspaper story revealed he was a "target" of the grand-jury probe.

The defense attorney had Ms. Granahan read headlines, implicating Mr. Eagen in the estates scandal, from a black binder that is his number-one exhibit. He characterized the publicity as "horrible" for his client.

He asked her more than once whether she knew how the newspaper got the information. "I have no idea," she replied to his first inquiry, adding "anybody can see who is walking into the grand-jury room." Later questions made it clear that the information contained in the stories could not be gleaned by watching the room.

MORE ON THE FRANK EAGEN TRIAL online at www.nepanews.com

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