Upon the recommendation of a countywide investigating grand jury, commissioners Dick Shellenberger and Pete Shaub each were cited twice and Molly Henderson was cited once.

The commissioners’ citations were the only punitive actions recommended by a grand jury that spent the past year investigating both the sale of the county nursing home in 2005 and the hiring of Gary Heinke, the county’s former chief human services officer, according to District Attorney Donald Totaro.

Both investigations are now concluded, Totaro said.

The commissioners are the county’s first elected officials in memory to be charged with Sunshine Act violations.

Each citation carried with it a fine of $100, plus $49.50 in court-related costs, which the commissioners paid upon entering their guilty pleas.

The citations were issued by county Detective Jan Walters. The commissioners pleaded guilty and paid their fines before District Judge Richard Simms at his office.

“From the very beginning, I have admitted attending two meetings; therefore I am not surprised with the citation, and I think it speaks for itself,” Shaub said. “I now realize there is a legal difference between selling and purchasing real estate as it pertains to the Sunshine Law, and I will conduct myself accordingly.”

In a prepared statement, Shellenberger said he accepted responsibility for violating the Sunshine Act, but he blamed his actions on former county solicitor John Espenshade.

“I would never have participated in any meeting that violated the Sunshine Act had I been advised by the county’s attorney that my involvement would constitute a violation,” he said in the statement.

“Indeed, one of the meetings in question was with the former solicitor at his office, and I understand members of his law firm were fully aware that all three commissioners were to attend the second meeting.

“Nonetheless, I was never advised that my involvement in either meeting would lead to a Sunshine Act violation.”

Espenshade, who quit as county solicitor in December 2005 after 17 years on the job, could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.

Henderson said in an e-mail she believed the April 1, 2005, meeting regarding the pending sale of Conestoga View she attended in violation of the Sunshine Act was “an informational presentation presented by staff, but I understand that others believe deliberations occurred, and I signed the citation and accepted the $100 fine with that in mind.

“Although the April 2005 meeting was not publicly advertised, the meeting took place in the courthouse with staff and was in no way concealed.”

Former city Mayor Arthur Morris, a leading critic of the sale of the county nursing home, said Thursday he was pleased the commissioners were cited for violating the Sunshine Act, but he was disappointed with the punishment.

“The damage done to the public as a result of these closed-door sessions is irreparable,” he said. “The criminal act they committed far outweighs the penalty they paid.”

According to the citations, Shaub and Shellenberger and attorneys from the Stevens & Lee law firm, where Espenshade is a partner, met at the law firm’s office at 25 N. Queen St. March 23, 2004, to discuss the sale of Conestoga View.

“Official action was taken” at the meeting when Shaub and Shellenberger “directed that the potential sale of Conestoga View be further investigated,” according to the citations.

The meeting was not advertised, nor was it open to the public.

The Stevens & Lee firm ultimately was hired by the commissioners to orchestrate the sale.

Shaub and Shellenberger admitted in March that they did not invite Henderson to that initial meeting. They also admitted they did not even tell her about it.

Another meeting, which was attended by all three commissioners in the courthouse, was held April 1, 2005, according to the citations.

The citations state that this meeting also was not advertised and was not open to the public.

“Official action was taken by the board of commissioners” at this meeting, the citation states, when former county administrator Don Elliott and Heinke were “directed to commence negotiations with Complete HealthCare Resources for the sale of Conestoga View nursing home.”

The commissioners voted July 6, 2005, to sell the county nursing home to Complete HealthCare Resources for $8.5 million, after publicly announcing the sale just a week earlier.

Morris was one of the first and most vocal critics of the sale, alleging early on that he suspected work on it had been done at closed meetings.

In October, Morris began researching Heinke’s background because he wanted to check Heinke’s qualifications to oversee the sale of Conestoga View.

Heinke resigned later that month amid allegations he falsified information on the résumé he submitted when applying for the chief of human services job in 2004.

Within a month, an internal investigation by the county’s human resources department of Heinke’s résumé and his hiring found several fabrications of previous work experience.

Shortly after the investigation was completed, Totaro said he was launching an investigation into whether Heinke committed a crime by falsifying his résumé.

In November 2005, courthouse sources said several county employees and elected officials, including the commissioners, had been issued subpoenas to testify before a grand jury investigating Heinke’s hiring and the sale of Conestoga View.

Totaro Thursday declined to say why the Sunshine Act citations were the only punitive actions taken as a result of the grand jury’s investigations.

He said the grand jury has issued a report that “identified the findings of the grand jury.” He said the report will be released to the public once “the supervising judge issues an order accepting the report and filing it as public record.”

Totaro said he did not know when the report will be released.

Shellenberger said in his statement he hopes to move on, now that he has pleaded guilty to the two citations and paid his fines.

“By accepting this agreement, I hope to continue a lessening of the bitterness and rancor that seems to dominate local politics,” he said.

“My goal now is to move on, to work through the issues facing our county and to continue advancing and protecting the best interests of county residents.”

Shellenberger also said in his statement, “Good government takes dedication and hard work, and I commit to work even harder as I serve in this capacity in local government.”

The commissioners still face a lawsuit filed by Lancaster City and County Medical Society to have the sale of Conestoga View overturned. The society alleges the nursing home was illegally sold by the commissioners.


Successful prosecution of Sunshine violations rare


P.J. Reilly’s e-mail address is preilly@lnpnews.com.