Former Lackawanna County Commissioner Bob Cordaro is 50 years old. He should be in the prime of his personal and professional life. Instead, he's going to jail for 11 years.
Former Lackawanna County Commissioner AJ Munchak is 65 years old. He should be enjoying his retirement. Instead, he's going to jail for 7 years.
Both were convicted of taking bribes and kickbacks.
It wasn't supposed to be this way. Munchak and Cordaro rode in to office on their white horses, promising things would be better. They would be different. Old style politics was dead. It turns out they lied to the voters. Things weren't better. They weren't different.
I always say that I get over anger rather quickly. Hurt takes a while. Cordaro and Munchak hurt a lot of people, and they're paying the price. It's as it should be.
I'll never understand why. Both seemed to be financially comfortable. Was it greed? Arrogance? Stupidity? You had to know that when you're throwing around big wads of cash, that knock was going to come to the door eventually. People ask questions. There are no secrets in this town.
It's a question I've asked many times before: Was it worth it?
