The Scranton newspapers also won three awards in the annual competition conducted by the Pennsylvania Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, including second place in the top category: The 1998 Spotlight Award.

The APME award, symbolic of the best example of public service among Pennsylvania newspapers with a circulation between 20,000 and 75,000, was won by staff writers Frank Scholz, Marita Lowman, Ray Flanagan and David Slade.

As a direct result of the investigative series entitled Estates Under Scrutiny, three people are in federal prisons and a grand jury has recommended that criminal charges be filed against former Lackawanna County Judge Frank Eagen, who was driven from office largely as a result of his alleged role in the scandal.

The APME judges also gave honorable mention to Times-Tribune Art Director Michael J. Mullen in the spot news category for Moment of Disbelief, a photo of a motorist who moments earlier was involved in a fatal car crash.

Second place in the SPJs Spotlight Award competition went to Mr. Scholz, Ms. Lowman and Thomas K. Staff for their investigative stories about the Scranton Sewer Authority stories that led to the resignation of the SSA board chairman and an audit of the authoritys travel expenses.

The SPJ judges also awarded:

Second place for headline writing to Tribune wire editor Pete Banko.

Third place for photography to Tim Butler for photography for Boxing at Whistles, a picture taken from several stories above an outdoor boxing event in Central City Scranton.

The APME and SPJ prizes are the latest in a series won by The Times-Tribune recently.

It was announced two months ago that The Times-Tribune tied for the Sweepstakes Award for overall excellence among newspapers in the 50,000-to-100,000-circulation category in the 1998 Keystone Press Awards.

The Scranton newspapers shared the Sweepstakes Award, symbolic of the best newspaper in Pennsylvania in its circulation category, with The York Daily Record and The Bucks County Courier Times.

In addition, Times-Tribune staffers won seven individual Keystone awards, including two first-place prizes.

Heres a rundown on the individual winners:

First place for a news series to Mr. Scholz, Mr. Slade and Vince Coveleskie for Tax Roulette, a five-day series on Lackawanna Countys antiquated system of property tax assessments.

First place in the sports column competition to Scott Reinardy for a collection of work.

Second place in the sports story competition to Mr. Reinardy for Facing the Challenge, a story about physically and developmentally disabled children who are given the opportunity to play baseball at the East Scranton Little League field.

Second place in the public service category to Mr. Scholz for his stories about the SSA.

Second place in the feature photo category to Tim Butler for Blue Heron and Deer.

Second place in the photo story category to Mr. Butler for a full-page spread about a veterinarian who makes the rounds of local farms treating horses.

Second place in the sports photo competition to Mr. Butler for Boxing at Whistles.

The AMPE Public Service Award will be presented to the winning team at an awards banquet in Harrisburg on Aug. 15.