CITIZENS VOICE 11/30/06
County argues for reinstatement of escape charges against Selenski
BY MICHAEL RACE, CV HARRISBURG BUREAU CHIEF

HARRISBURG — The state Superior Court heard arguments Wednesday on whether prison escape charges should be reinstated against accused murderer Hugo Selenski, who fled the Luzerne County Correctional Facility three years ago using a rope fashioned from bedsheets.

Luzerne County District Attorney David Lupas argues county Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. erred earlier this year when he decided to toss out the escape charges on grounds prosecutors missed a one-year deadline for bringing Selenski to trial.

Selenski escaped from the county jail in October 2003 after being charged in the murders of Frank James and Adeiye Keiler and was on the lam for three days before turning himself in. He was acquitted on those murder charges earlier this year.

He is still awaiting trial in connection with the 2002 killings of Michael J. Kerkowski and Tammy Fassett.

While his earlier murder and escape charges were filed as separate cases, prosecutors said they planned to try to cases jointly.

Lupas contends the one-year time frame for trying Selenski on the escape charges was on hold while prosecutors awaited word from the state Supreme Court in an appeal regarding the evidence that could be used against Selenski in the related murder case.

"Everyone seemed to acknowledge that the cases were together," Lupas told the Superior Court judges. If Judge Olszewski did not consider the two cases to be consolidated, he said, "a jury should've been convened and (Selenski) should've been tried on the escape charges."

Selenski's attorney, Michael Senape, questioned whether there was ever a formal acknowledgement by the court that the cases were consolidated, or if such consolidation was just assumed. Such an assumption should not pass muster with trial attorneys whom he said "live and die by rules."

He suggested prosecutors are simply looking for a second chance to try Selenski to make up for missing a crucial deadline.

"(Prosecutors) didn't proceed under the rules they are supposed to follow, it's as simple as that," he told reporters after the hearing.

A panel of three Superior Court judges heard about 15 minutes of arguments in the case, but did not immediately rule.

A decision may not come until next year, according to Senape.

mrace@timesshamrock.com
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comments?????????? hey, here's mine, short but sweet: what's gonna take so long? how 'bout no!! N. O. That's it. Ya took too long, ya lost. Na-na na na, na-na na na, hey hey hey, good bye.... If they say yes, then they need to go back to law school!!!

Wed, Nov. 29, 2006
TL ARTICLE
Lupas says dismissing Selenski escape charges 'defies logic'
By MARK SCOLFORO
Associated Press Writer

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A prosecutor told an appeals court Wednesday that speedy-trial requirements weren't violated by the delay in trying Hugo M. Selenski on escape charges.

Luzerne County District Attorney David W. Lupas wants Superior Court to reinstate charges against Selenski, a murder suspect who shimmied down a rope fashioned from sheets to escape from a seventh-floor cell in the Luzerne County Prison in October 2003.

Selenski, 33, spent three days on the lam before he turned himself in.

Lupas wants Superior Court to overturn county Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr.'s decision to throw out the escape case because Selenski was not tried within a year of being charged. Lupas argued Wednesday that the clock had stopped while prosecutors pursued a state Supreme Court appeal regarding the evidence that would be allowed against him.

Selenski was also accused of two counts of homicide at the time, and the appeal centers on whether the speedy-trial requirements had been halted in regard only to the homicide cases, or to the separate escape case as well.

"As attorneys practicing in this commonwealth, we live and die by the rules, civil and criminal," Selenski attorney Michael Senape told the three-judge panel.

But Lupas said Olszewski had treated the two cases as one, even listing them for trial on the same day.

"It defies logic, if you look at his court orders, to say they weren't consolidated," Lupas said after the oral argument session.

Selenski was acquitted in March of killing Frank James and Adeiye Keiler, two suspected drug dealers, but received a two-to-four-year sentence for abusing their corpses. He is currently awaiting trial on murder charges in the deaths of pharmacist Michael Kerkowski and his girlfriend Tammy Lynn Fassett, and Lupas said a status conference in that case will be held in a few months.

The remains of all four victims, along at least one other person whose identity has not been publicly disclosed, were unearthed on Selenski's property north of Wilkes-Barre in June 2003.

Selenski also is accused of burglary in Monroe County.
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what's up with the repetitious articles, TL???? and why are so one-sided, hmmm??? i thought newspapers were supposed to be NEUTRAL? and i'm not talking about the op-eds, either. i'm speaking on these "news" articles....

wooooo never thought i'd be this excited about my federal student loan consolidation!!! :-p

fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinally!!!!!!!!

but a lot sooner than i expected...

i know, that so didn't make any sense, loooong story! so i'm going to be saving around $400 every month on my student loan payments so yay for me woo hoo!

Oh puh-leeeze Loooooooooooopuss just stooooooooooooooooooooop it pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase!!!!!!!!!!! Mm-kay??? Hee hee!! Wasn't that irritating?? Ok, on to the article.. (thought I'd switch it up a bit with my comments at the beginning this time!)

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TL ARTICLE 11-29-06
Hugo Selenski escape case set to be challenged today

HARRISBURG – A hearing is scheduled this morning before the Pennsylvania Superior Court regarding a challenge by Luzerne County prosecutors attempting to reinstate escape charges against double-homicide suspect Hugo Selenski.
Selenski, who is currently awaiting trial in Luzerne County in connection with the slayings of pharmacist Michael Kerkowski and Tammy Fassett, escaped from the Luzerne County Correctional Facility on Oct. 10, 2003 by climbing out a window using a rope made from bedsheets. He surrendered to authorities three days after the escape.

Luzerne County Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. threw out the escape charges, saying prosecutors did not bring Selenski to trial within 365 days, as prescribed by law.

When the ruling came down, District Attorney David W. Lupas immediately appealed to the Superior Court.

Selenski was charged with two counts of homicide a few days before the escape; Police said he killed Frank James and Adeiye Keiler at his Kingston Township home before burning their bodies. Earlier this year, a jury cleared him of those homicide charges.

The homicide and escape cases were filed separately in county court but had been scheduled to go to trial at the same time. Prosecutors had 365 days to bring Selenski to trial in the cases.

An appeal in the homicide case delayed the start of the trial related to James and Keiler, and prosecutors, according to Olszewski's ruling, never consolidated the escape case with the homicide case.

But because the cases were not consolidated, the appeal did not relate to the escape case and Selenski had to be tried on the escape charges before 365 days elapsed.

For the complete story, read Thursday's edition of The Times Leader.
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Face it, you messed up. Why even appeal? You're wasting taxpayer money with this appeal, and that means it's MY money, honey! So stop. Right now. Uh huh, yeah. Because you're not going to get anywhere. You dropped the ball and you just have to man up. You can do iiiiiiiiiit!!!

TL ARTICLE 11-29-06
Aiding those less fortunate music on the menu
By Alan K. Stout Weekender Editor

I admit I do not always laugh very easily. I've got one or two friends whose wit can crack me up with relative ease, but other than that, I'm a comedian's worst nightmare. You've got to be pretty sharp to get even a chuckle out of me, and though Robin Williams and Chris Rock can usually do it - and I often laugh out loud each week when I read Jim Rising's "But Then Again" column - I admit that overall, I'm a pretty tough sell when he comes to manufactured laughter.

Jeff Walker, however, also makes me laugh, especially with his often hilarious new CD, "Dentally Challenged," which was released last week by the popular area DJ and his zany group of sidekicks, The Wackjobs. The album, Walker's sixth such release, is again another collection of witty parodies that are often set to the melody of well-known pop songs.

A recent listen to the 29-track offering - probably much to the surprise of my co-workers - had me laughing out loud in the office on several occasions and once again marveling at Walker's twisted sense of humor. Highlights of the offbeat album include "The Dummy Song," "My Space," "Steroids To Heaven" "The Movie Song," and "This Land," which pokes fun at NEPA's recent controversies surrounding illegal immigration. There's also a track titled "Hugo" which spoofs the women who supposedly swooned over the alleged local killer during his recent trial.

Walker, who has appeared on 98.5 KRZ-FM for the past 26 years, says proceeds from the first $5,000 raised from the CD will go directly to local children in need during the holiday season. I bumped into Jeff last week at The Woodlands just a few days before the CD hit stores and he said he hopes sales from the album might help prevent children from waking up on Christmas morning with no toys to open. The idea, he says, came during a recent visit to Toys R Us.

"I took my little 4-year old goddaughter Cassidy to the store," said Walker in a related press release. "Just seeing the squeals of delight and the look on her face when she saw the endless display of toys made me stop and think how sad it is that there will actually be children, right here in our area, waking up Christmas morning with nothing. That thought really bothered me, because I've always been very fortunate. Right then, this just seemed like the right thing to do."

Indeed.

"Dentally Challenged" sells for $15.99 and is available at Gallery of Sound stores and on-line at www.jumpinjeffwalker.com.

Funny album.

Terrific cause.

Pick one up if you can.

You'll laugh, too.
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Yeah, my verdict on the song's still out. The proceeds are going to a good cause, though. I never really got into Walker's parodies (I think my mom might have bought one of his CDs once...), but Hugo did hear Jeff read one of my emails on the radio once so I may just end up buying a copy as my way of "paying it forward", I don't know!