Clout: New jury commish guilty of contempt?
PHILLYCLOUT pop-quiz time! Who can name the city's jury commissioner? OK, that's a trick question. Few people even know that the job exists or that a new guy just took over.
PHILLYCLOUT pop-quiz time!
Who can name the city's jury commissioner?
OK, that's a trick question. Few people even know that the job exists or that a new guy just took over.
Meet Gerard Shotzbarger, a longtime court clerk, attorney and one-time judicial candidate.
Shotzbarger is wrapping up his second week on the job, which pays $81,000 per year to supervise 15 employees who mail jury-duty notices to city residents.
"It's an important job," said Shotzbarger, who was selected for the post by the city Board of Judges. "Every day, just imagine 500 citizens showing up."
Ignore a jury-duty notice and a judge might find you in contempt of court and issue a fine.
On these aspects of the job, PhillyClout finds Shotzbarger to be uniquely experienced.
Municipal Court Judge Karen Simmons found Shotzbarger in contempt of court four times in one day last November, fining him $250 for each offense. Court records show delinquency notices filed against him in April and July for failure to pay the fines.
Shotzbarger calls it a mix-up that tracks back to his brief representation of a 15-year-old accused of participating in a robbery spree in Roxborough. The teen's family quickly dropped him as the attorney, Shotzbarger explained, so he sent a letter notifying the judge handling the case.
That judge, James DeLeon, had the case in September. He was suspended in January for three months for misconduct.
Simmons picked up the case in November and two other judges dealt with it before it was sent to juvenile court. A court employee told us this week that Simmons declined to comment because the teen's case is still active.
Shotzbarger said that he didn't know about the contempt charges or fines until the clerk of Quarter Sessions alerted him in April that the case was being assigned to collections for lack of payment.
"I got a couple of kids in college," Shotzbarger added. "I'm not paying that fine."
City pays big Pa. Society bills
While digging through city paperwork this week, PhillyClout stumbled on the official mayoral credit-card bills. One charge that jumped out at us was $3,075 for hotel rooms in New York City last December.
Those charges stem from the annual Pennsylvania Society weekend gathering of politicians and influence-makers in Manhattan. But the bill wasn't for Mayor Nutter. His room was paid for by his political committee.
Nope, the charges were for the two police officers on the mayor's security detail. The bill was high because there was one male and one female officer, so two rooms were needed for two nights.
Given the city's tough financial times, we asked if the city plans to do anything different at this year's Pa. Society. A mayoral spokeswoman said that the city would try to send officers of the same gender to NYC with the mayor, so that only one room would be necessary.
Still, PhillyClout feels that maybe the city could do more.
So we went to the trouble of seeking out some cheaper rooms for the mayor and his team. And, contrary to popular belief, there are some options in and around New York City. For example, the New Yorker Hotel in midtown Manhattan has rooms listed for that weekend at $279.20, according to www.hotels.com.
And if Nutter would stay just outside the city, he could save even more. The Hilton Newark Penn Station, right next to the PATH train into Manhattan, is a mere $117 a night, according to www.hotels.com. The Days Inn at John F. Kennedy Airport is just $93 a night.
Come on, Mayor, it's belt-tightening time.
New job for Schwartz staffer
Political talent Daniel F. McElhatton has left his job with U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz to join a communications firm, the Echo Group.
McElhatton, son of the former councilman and one-time district attorney candidate, started with the firm Monday as a partner to president Dan Fee. He will focus on starting up a government-affairs component.
"It's a great time to build something," McElhatton said. McElhatton was Schwartz's chief of staff. He worked for the congresswoman for five years.
Quotable
"I've been standing in the way of this project for far too long. And I'm willing to admit that."
- City Councilman Frank DiCicco, at groundbreaking yesterday for SugarHouse casino.
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