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SWOYERSVILLE — Retired Coughlin High School principal Frank J. Michaels was arraigned today on perjury and child endangerment charges related to his testimony in the corruption of minors case against convicted former Coughlin dean and wrestling coach Stephen Stahl.
Michaels, 67, of Filbert Street, Forty Fort, where he is serving his second term as a borough councilman, was arraigned before District Judge David Barilla on charges of perjury, false swearing and endangering the welfare of children.
Michaels’ attorney, Joseph Sklarosky, said his client waived the reading of the charges as well as his preliminary hearing, and indicated Michaels would be pleading not guilty. He was released on $20,000 unsecured bail.
Barilla set a preliminary hearing date for 9:30 a.m. before District Judge Martin Kane in Wilkes-Barre, should Sklarosky change his mind about waiving the hearing, and Barilla informed him that he could do so up until the date of the hearing
According to court papers, Michaels testified on behalf of Stahl in a case in which prosecutors alleged that Stahl had a sexual relationship with a minor student from March 2004 to November 2005.
Michaels testified that at no time during the 2003-04 and 2004-05 school years did receive any type of information, rumor, conjecture or accusations by anyone that Stahl was having an inappropriate relationship with anyone.
Stahl was convicted of corruption of minors on Jan. 16 this year. In March, he was sentenced to serve six to 23 months in Luzerne County Correctional Facility.
The investigation
On Jan. 20, it came to the attention of the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office that a person, referred to as “cooperating witness 1” in a criminal complaint, made statements in the White House Café regarding Michaels’ testimony being false. The DA’s office was provided a list of names of people to whom the cooperating witness may have made the statements, according to court papers.
On Jan. 28, a second cooperating witness told prosecutors that a newspaper with Stahl’s picture in it sparked a conversation at work with the first cooperating witness, who allegedly said that while Michaels was principal, he went to Stahl’s classroom, delivered a paycheck and told Stahl that if he wanted to keep his check, that Stahl would stop what he was doing, court papers state.
A third witness told prosecutors on Jan. 28 that while at the White House Café the morning following Stahl’s conviction, the first witness stated something to the effect that while Michaels was principal, Michaels called Stahl into his office, told Stahl to open his paycheck and tape the stub to his desk and asked him if “a piece of a**” was worth his salary and pension, court papers state.
A fourth cooperating allegedly witness told prosecutors a similar story.
When interviewed in April, court papers state, the first cooperating witness told prosecutors that the witness was friends with Stahl and the two would go on motorcycle rides together. The witness also stated that he and Michaels talked about the case and that Michaels swore he had known nothing about Stahl’s relationship with a student.
Teacher says he knew
On April 1 and 9, the DA’s office interviewed Valley View High School Vice Principal Tresa Malligo, who told prosecutors that while she was a teacher at Coughlin, students told her they had seen a student in Stahl’s truck, that she had been in Stahl’s house and that Stahl would take the student out, according to court papers.
Malligo said she informed Michaels right after the class that students were talking about Stahl “hooking up” with the student, that something was going on between the two of them and that Michaels needed to look into it. She said Michaels thanked her and advised her that he would “take care of it,” court papers state.
Malligo also told prosecutors, according to court papers, that Michaels’ secretary, Diane Lorenzotti, might have overheard the conversation because Michaels’ door was open and Lorenzotti was sitting right outside.
Malligo further told prosecutors that she saw Stahl in the hall after leaving Michaels’ office, told him that students were talking about him and the female student, and told him “as a friend” to stay away from the student. She said Stahl told her not to worry about it, and she told him she “wanted him to know first hand” that she had just reported the information to Michaels, court papers state.
Prosecutors interviewed the first cooperating witness again on April 9, and the witness told them he spoke with the third cooperating witness about the alleged conversation regarding Stahl’s paycheck and started to remember the conversation.
The first witness then allegedly told prosecutors that Michaels told the witness about the alleged incident with Stahl’s paycheck and that Michaels said he told Stahl, “Any time you get the temptation, to look at his pay stub and think is that piece of a** worth your paycheck.”
A ‘vigorous’ defense
Following the preliminary hearing, Michaels declined comment, but his attorney provided a short statement.
“Mr. Michaels is not guilty and we will vigorously defend these charges,” Sklarosky, his lawyer, said.
Assistant District Attorney Nancy Violi said “the facts as outlined in the complaint are why we’re here today. … We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t feel confident.”
According to his biography on the Forty Fort Borough website, Michaels worked at Coughlin for 35 years teaching math and physics, and coached track and cross country for the school. Upon retiring in 2005, he worked with autistic children at Milestones Academy and left there to start the F.J. Michaels Education Service, an educational firm that does inservices, motivational speeches and consulting work for school districts and education related businesses.
Michaels is also employed by Wilkes University and King’s College as an adjunct instructor in the education department.