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By DAVE JANOSKI; Times Leader Staff Writer
Thursday, February 06, 1997     Page: 1A

KINGSTON — The ex-wife of Council member and mayoral candidate Richard P.
Adams claims in a suit that he used undue influence on an ailing, aged widow
to become heir to the bulk of her estate.
   
Albina Mallauskey, who died in July 1995 at the age of 89, left most of her
$50,000 estate to Adams, according to legal documents in the Luzerne County
Register of Wills Office.
    Adams’s ex-wife, Mary Ellen Petcavage, who is Mallauskey’s niece,
challenged the will dated Aug. 22, 1994. In legal documents, she argues her
aunt was physically and mentally impaired at the time and “was not a person of
sound mind, capable of disposing of her estate through her own free will.”
   
A previous will dated Jan. 23, 1990, had named Petcavage as executor and
left the estate to various family members, according to the documents.
   
Petcavage claims Adams, who was given power of attorney over Mallauskey’s
affairs on the same day the new will was signed, “substantially depleted” the
estate before her aunt’s death. Adams withdrew money from Mallauskey’s
accounts for unspecified gifts for himself, the documents claim.
   
Adams could not be reached for comment, but his attorney, Jerome Cohen,
said Petcavage’s suit contained untrue allegations.
   
“It’s not what it seems at all,” said Cohen, who declined to answer
specific questions on the case, which is awaiting a hearing in county Orphans’
Court.
   
Legal documents filed by Cohen deny that Adams exercised undue influence
over Mallauskey.
   
“Richard Adams’ relationship with the decedent goes back approximately
one-quarter century, and while not a blood relative of the decedent, Richard
Adams was closer to her than her blood relatives,” the documents say.
   
Petcavage, who was divorced from Adams in 1991, and her attorney, Mark
Pelak, failed to return several phone calls on the suit.
   
The 1994 will names Adams as the executor of Mallauskey’s estate and heir
to all but $5,000, which was to be donated to St. Mary’s Annunciation Church
in Kingston in memory of Mallauskey’s late husband, Anthony.
   
The will spells Mallauskey’s name as “Mallausky,” except for a shaky
signature at the end which includes the “e.”
   
Attorney Lewis W. Wetzel said he prepared the 1994 will at Mallauskey’s
request and had drafted earlier wills on her behalf. He said he and his
secretary were the only ones present when the new will was signed.
   
He declined further comment on the case, except to say Petcavage’s suit
contained “many inaccuracies.”
   
Mallauskey died July 25, 1995 in Nesbitt Memorial Hospital, leaving two
sisters and several nieces and nephews as her survivors, according to her
obituary. Neither of the sisters could be reached for comment.
   
Adams, as executor, filed for, and was granted, control of the estate on
July 31, 1995 by the county Register of Wills.
   
Petcavage challenged the will on Aug. 21, 1995. Court documents say she was
not aware Adams had allegedly been granted power of attorney by Mallauskey
until last October.
   
Petcavage filed a civil suit against Adams on Oct. 29, 1996, claiming that
Adams had misused money from the estate before Mallauskey’s death. The two
claims have been merged by the court into a single case.
   
No hearing date has been set.
   
Adams, a former district justice and a member of Kingston Council since
January 1996, has announced he will seek the Democratic nomination for mayor
in the May primary. Adams, 53, is the chief executive officer of Human
Services Consultants, which operates group homes for the mentally retarded.