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Prevent Bob Mellow’s self-published book about his days in the state Senate – and, later, in federal prison – from climbing any best-seller list.
Don’t buy it.
If you’re curious about the contents of the newly released “Used, Abused & Forgotten – Bob Mellow: A Targeted Senator,” avoid the temptation to plunk down $13.95 for the paperback or nearly $20 more for the hardcover. Instead, wait until a worn copy surfaces one day at a yard sale. Or visit your local public library and borrow the book for free.
Mellow, 73, who held the distinction of being Pennsylvania’s longest-serving senator, collected enough of the public’s money during his 40-year political career. The Democrat from Peckville retired in 2010, becoming eligible for a taxpayer-supported pension of about $11,500 per month.
He lost that income stream and his standing in the community after pleading guilty in May 2012 to tax evasion and mail fraud charges. Prosecutors argued that the Lackawanna County bigwig illegally had used Senate staffers, while on the clock, to do campaign work for him and other politicians, essentially cheating the public out of $120,000. “I’m embarrassed … I’m ashamed,” Mellow said on the day he was sentenced to spend 16 months in prison.
Media outlets this week received promotional material describing Mellow’s “Used, Abused & Forgotten” as a “tell-all book.” The ex-convict spoke to Times Leader reporter Jerry Lynott, essentially suggesting that he was the victim of a witch hunt who was left with no choice but to relent to prosecutors’ pressure and plead guilty. “I don’t believe I did a thing wrong,” Mellow said.
He also spoke about a profound sense of alienation from former friends and acquaintances in the 22nd Senatorial District, which includes the Luzerne County boroughs of Avoca, Duryea and Dupont.
No one should begrudge Mellow for putting pencil to paper last year (yes, he wrote the book longhand). Having paid his debt to society, the man cannot be faulted for wanting to preserve his recollections of a long life in the political arena. And the process of revealing his version of events probably was cathartic.
But if you’re stuck for summer reading material, leave Mellow’s book on the shelf and reach for another title – any other title.
May we suggest these alternatives?
“Fool Me Once,” “The Innocent Have Nothing to Fear,” “Great Hikes in the Poconos and Northeast Pennsylvania,” “I Heard You Paint Houses,” “The Quiet Don: The Untold Story of Mafia Kingpin Russell Bufalino,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood,” “The Mine-O-Saur,” “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to World History,” “War and Peace,” the entire “Harry Potter” series, the collected works of Stephen King, the Encyclopaedia Britannica’s 32-volume set …