In a county that has been rocked by corruption there are now questions as to how attorneys bill Luzerne County for their services and who is supposed to look over those bills.
The scrutiny comes after an attorney from Kingston admitted she double billed the county to the tune of almost $145,000 in 2011.
As of Thursday, the attorney at the center of the controversy, Angela Stevens, no longer works for Luzerne County.
"They'll charge us for leaving messages, they'll charge us for opening mail they'll charge us for reading documents for the Children and Youth Services. They'll charge us for just about anything they can get away with charging because they can," said Luzerne County Controller Walter Griffith.
The controversy revolves around attorney Angela Stevens, a court-appointed juvenile attorney for indigent parents. According to a Times Leader newspaper investigation, she raked in $140,000 in 2011 and double billed the county on numerous dates for travel expenses.
"These are all of her paperwork, all of Angela Stevens. Everything that she did she got $140,000. Out of all of those over there, there`s probably (another) $140,000 of all the other 16 attorneys," said Griffith.
According to the documents, attorney Stevens signed the invoices as accurate and then Judge Tina Polachek Gartley ordered the bills paid. Griffith blames it all on the lack of protocol set by the courts.
"The kids for cash scandal is clearly the courts fault. They had no oversight. This is clearly the courts fault. They have no oversight, and they won`t respond to the county to tell us why there is no oversight if there is in fact oversight," added Griffith.
According to the invoices, attorney Stevens billed the county on average of 45 minutes in travel time to drop off those bills to the Luzerne County Courthouse, which just so happens to be right across the Susquehanna River from her office.
On July 15, 2011, for example, according to the invoices, attorney Stevens made trip after trip after trip to drop off bills. According to Griffith, she dropped them all off at once.
Newswatch 16 stopped by Stevens' office in Kingston. A spokesperson said the office realizes billing mistakes were made, is doing its own audit, and promises to payback any documented overcharges.
Attorney Mike Cefalo called this a black eye for other Luzerne County attorneys.
"It's something that we don't need at this point. We had a lot of problems and it's something that we don't need," said Cefalo.
President Judge Thomas Burke said the courts are now looking at updating the guidelines on what exactly the court appointed attorneys can charge the county.
Controller Walter Griffith has also ordered an audit of all bills from court-appointed attorneys. He will also be contacting federal investigators and the state attorney general's office to see if any criminal activity took place.
