Eagen's fate in hands of jurors

Jurors at Mr. Eagen's trial on bribery and obstruction of justice charges were to begin deliberations today after hearing closing arguments and receiving final instructions from specially presiding Senior Judge Barry Feudale of Northumberland County.

A verdict was expected by the end of the day.

As the final witness at the trial, an unapologetic Mr. Eagen admitted Tuesday he deceived Lackawanna County District Attorney Michael Barrasse in an attempt to save his judgeship from an investigation he described as "out of control." The April 1997 lie consisted of instructing attorney Paul Walker, his counsel at the time, to tell Mr. Barrasse he would accept his offer to resign in exchange for not being prosecuted.

Mr. Eagen said he wanted to head off the release of a letter informing him he was the target of a grand jury investigation, something he felt would put him in legal limbo and lead to his defeat in an election seven months later.

Mr. Eagen made the concession during his cross-examination by Deputy Attorney General Patrick Blessington. It came after defense attorney William Costopoulos led Mr. Eagen through a direct examination that covered his life as well as the case.

Mr. Blessington hammered at Mr. Eagen's lies, but the former judge maintained it was his only chance.

"I knew once I got the target letter, he would never take it back," he said.

The exchange captured the main question that will have to be answered by the jurors: Is Mr. Eagen guilty of taking bribes as charged or is he the victim of a plot by Mr. Barrasse to drive him from office so he could run for the vacancy? Charges that he obstructed the investigation into his activities are considered secondary.

Mr. Eagen also conceded he lied to reporters for the Times-Tribune newspapers when he denied he had been visited by two investigators who told him on April 2, 1997, that he was the target of the investigation. His hoodwinking of Mr. Barrasse occurred the next day.

The strategy worked temporarily because James Rusnock emerged a few days after the April developments to say Phillip Bosha, the man who says he paid Mr. Eagen $1,850 for appointing him to guardianships, told him he was lying about the judge's involvement. Mr. Bosha pleaded guilty in state and federal courts to looting estates of incapacitated people.

Mr. Rusnock's statement blunted the investigation's progress for months. But Mr. Barrasse did issue a target letter Oct. 21, 1997, and it is widely believed to have caused Mr. Eagen's defeat in a retention election two weeks later.

Mr. Barrasse is a candidate for one of two open judgeships on Nov. 2, but maintains he is not seeking Mr. Eagen's seat.

Mr. Blessington pointed out the Oct. 21, 1997, letter offered Mr. Eagen a chance to appear before the Lackawanna County grand jury that later recommended his arrest.

The defendant said the offer was hardly considered.

"(Mr. Barrasse) wanted to drag me before a grand jury ... days before an election," he testified. "It was a charade to embarrass Frank Eagen." Mr. Eagen pointed out Mr. Barrasse even offered not to prosecute him in December 1997, after he lost his judgeship.

"If I accepted," he said, "I wouldn't be here." The animosity Mr. Eagen holds for Mr. Barrasse was evident. He termed the entire experience that started in February 1996 "an episode from 'The Twilight Zone.'" He also said, "This wasn't an investigation, it was a sieve," because of the "never-ending" negative news stories about him.

He said Mr. Barrasse also tried to deceive him on April 3 by saying he had a witness to a payoff that took place at a home in Archbald.

"I knew it was a bluff to set me up to get me out of office," he said, because he was never on the property. No such testimony was offered at the trial.

Mr. Eagen insisted Mr. Barrasse committed perjury at his preliminary hearing when he replied, "Absolutely not," to a question about offering a no-prosecution deal. He did not back down when Mr. Blessington contended the wording of the question was confusing.

Mr. Eagen agreed with Mr. Blessington that he has fought back hard by holding news conferences, passing out fliers and complaining about Mr. Barrasse to the state disciplinary board that polices attorneys and the U.S. Department of Justice.

"I will get a pickup truck with a bull horn to tell what happened," Mr. Eagen said, "and when the pickup runs out of gas, I will walk." He did not disagree when Mr. Blessington declared, "You're still running for office."

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