Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis said county Controller Walter Griffith is under criminal investigation for illegally recording multiple conversations.
Salavantis said Griffith supplied the recordings to a grand jury investigating the nonprofit CityVest, which owns the Hotel Sterling property in downtown Wilkes-Barre.
CityVest board member Y. Judd Shoval filed a civil suit against Griffith in county court Monday over the wiretaps and privacy invasion, Salavantis said.
Griffith said he spoke to Shoval once and denies making illegal recordings.
I'm baffled, he said.
Salavantis said she forwarded the investigation to the state Attorney General's office because it involves another elected county official.
Wiretap law violations carry maximum sentences of seven years in prison for each illegal recording, she said.