MS: Good evening, Mr. Vizcarrondo. Thank you for doing another interview.
Pablo: I’m glad to be back. I’ve just been working on my music lately and a few screenplays. I recently signed to Amurco Music and Maori Music, and I just landed a soft partnership with Elements4music. So, I’m basically signed to three record labels now, and I hope to be signed to several more as we near 2025. I posted my SoundCloud here ( https://soundcloud.com/user-683405988) for anyone wants to give a listen to my music. I’ve also been working part-time here and there. That sort of thing.
MS: Nice. Now, before we get started, if you can just quickly state your full name for the record and the type of work you did for the local government in Lackawanna County.
Pablo: My full name is Pablo E. Vizcarrondo III. I was born in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1988, and I moved to Scranton a little before my senior year of high school. I graduated from Scranton high in 2006, and I was then hired by Lackawanna County in 2007, mainly to work in the Family Court department of the Clerk of Judicial Records to help with scanning, data entry/docketing, the front counter, and about a dozen other jobs, which I enjoyed them all by the way. The main software program I utilized was called InfoCon. They used to be called InfoCon Technologies, but I think they just go by InfoCon today. I also utilized AOPC and CPCMS. It was all in a type of clerical, scanning, data entry, customer service atmosphere mixed with politics. I decided to do this interview because I felt it was time to apologize to my first boss. I also want to keep things fair by explaining how I was hired during a time when corruption was at an all-time high.
MS: So, what will we be discussing today?
Pablo: Again, very apologetic to my boss at the time, the world renown Mary F. Rinaldi. Between 2009-2012, every time I was asked by a legal representative to keep a divorce complaint out of the Scranton Times with no court order, I would get a couple bucks out of it for myself.
MS: Ok. Now, for all the parents who just tucked in their children and decided to read this, for all the legal representatives, attorneys, and other people reading this, repeat the subject we will be discussing today one more time please. And, I would like the information explained so that anyone reading along can understand it.
Pablo: So, between 2009-2012, anytime a legal representative would ask me to keep a divorce complaint out of the Scranton Times with no court order, which we used to call an order to seal, I would get a couple bucks out of it for myself.
MS: Let’s get into it.
Pablo: For starters, I’m not a lawyer. All the information I provide is from an ex-clerical standpoint. So… I’m going to mark two documents as Exhibit A and Exhibit B for the people of Lackawanna County and readers everywhere. Exhibit A is a picture of a yard sign for Munchak and Cordaro (county commissioners from that time), just to show where I got my start. The picture is upside down and a bit blurry. I apologize. I used to answer phones on the campaign here and there, and then eventually I got hired by the county, also with the help of CareerLink. And, Exhibit B is a picture of Mary F. Rinaldi. She’s the second from the last. She’ standing with other office holders from that time period, and she’s wearing a white over coat with a red shirt underneath.
MS: She looks like a very nice lady. Ok. Go on.
Pablo: I’m going to take you back to 2008, which was the ribbon cutting at the Family Court Building at 200 Adams Ave in Scranton, PA. That day and every day after that, at 3:30 p.m. someone from the Scranton Times would show up in the office and say, “give me all the divorces filed today.” The individual from the Times makes a copy of the first page of each divorce complaint, and that information is put into the Newspaper. Now, I don’t know the law as far as 3.9.6.1., but I know you’re supposed to hand over every divorce unless it has a court order attached to it saying you do not have to. My trick was… I had a pile to shred, but it would always be a pile of divorces I would keep out of the newspaper. It just looked like a pile to shred. Sometimes I would then take the divorce complaints home and bring them back 24-48 hours later; if it was like a high-profile case or whatever.
MS: Why would you take the divorce complaints home?
Pablo: It was this 24-48 hour thing, where if you keep a divorce complaint un-scanned and away from the press for one to two days, they will likely never get it. In Lackawanna County, one or two days is really like 100 or 200 days. Everyday there are new subjects for the press to cover, so yesterday’s divorces are no longer an issue.
MS: Ok. I think I understand the divorce system, now let’s get to how the chips were stolen, which you claim the amount is $1,800.
Pablo: So, it’s Cinco De Mayo 2009. I spent all night at my Tia’s house making all sorts of Spanish foods and cakes, which I brought in for everyone that morning. At some point that day I hear him call me “taco”. I said, “why don’t I smack your fuckin’ teeth out of your mouth and let your buddy Joey Colarusso pick them back up for you.” It was back and forth like that all day every day; this is with people filing for divorce and custody, sometimes even with their children. He’d say, “Don’t go to Waverly or anywhere out that way or they’ll get the sheets out.” I would say something like, “You’re a racist motherfucker with a hard-on for the Spanish.”
MS: When you say him, who are you referring to?
Pablo: The administrative assistant from that time. I do not want to say his name. He does not like me, and I do not like him. We both just took things to another level with our words all the time. But, for whatever reason, that day I just had enough. I went to bed that night thinking of all the good I’ve done bringing Spanish culture to the office, and how it was tarnished so easily. I popped up out of bed around 3:00 a.m. and shouted, “I’m gonna start stealing money you fat motherfucker!” After that day I vowed to take $6 out of the register every time I kept a divorce complaint out of the newspaper. I can show 300 divorces, so that equals $1,800. Here is what I’m going classify as Exhibit C. This is the cover page to a divorce where I actually wrote in the case number, so I helped the customer at the counter. You can see “11 FC” that’s my handwriting. I do not believe this divorce was kept out of the newspaper, but I wanted to provide more evidence that I actually worked within this facility.
MS: So, if this was kept out of the paper, what am I looking for?
Pablo: The first thing you’re looking for is the time stamp. The time stamp should indicate between 3:40 and 3:55. Even if I received the complaint at 1 p.m., I would not stamp the original complaint until 3:40ish or so. This gives the illusion that the person filing missed the paper on accident.
MS: Ok.
Pablo: The next thing you do is pull up the Scranton Times for the next business day after the divorce was filed. As an example, if you file you divorce Monday morning, you’re divorce information will appear in the Scranton Times Tuesday morning. If you file your divorce on Tuesday morning, your divorce information will appear in the Scranton Times Wednesday morning. Anyone can check if their divorce made the paper or not; all they need is the date of filing.
Pablo: And I just want to clear one thing up. I mentioned the named Colarusso earlier, for the record, there was an issue at the restaurant on State Street right around this time period. Basically, someone called me on the phone and said people were at the restaurant talking sh*t about me. Not that it matters. It’s petty. I think you should let stuff like that go. But, anyway, I went up there that night. I threw a few rocks at the window and I was talking sh*t in the parking lot. But, no one ever came outside. Actually, I thought I was standing in a foot of snow. I thought it was a ghost town.
MS: This is the restaurant on State Street?
Pablo: That’s correct. It’s right after like Moe’s and Starbucks and stuff, but it’s before the State Street Grille. And, I just want to say, I do love the people of Clarks Summit and the Abingtons. One of my favorite things to do, besides going to Starbucks, is to go up State Street, make a left on Willow and a right on the Morgan Highway, and I just drive for a half-hour or so into pure nothingness. A gorgeous rural area.
MS: Duly noted. Now, back to these divorces. Who’s filing? What are they saying to you? That sort of thing.
Pablo: So, I’ll give you an example from around 2010. An attorney walks into the office and he says to me, “I’m filing this divorce on behalf of my client. My client is a doctor at the local hospital. The doctor doesn’t want the whole hospital knowing he’s having marital problems. The Scranton Times gets delivered there every morning. I just explained this to the judge, but the judge told me that’s not a strong enough reason to sign my order to seal. Can you keep the damn thing out of the Scranton Times for me anyway?” Something along those lines. Some type of dialogue like that.
MS: So, I’m assuming that one was kept out of the Times?
Pablo: That’s correct, and I would’ve taken $6 out of the register, too. I apologize again to my boss at the time. I just want to show keeping documentation from the press is one way a clerk can steal from the county, and it’s also a gateway crime to further criminal activity. I’m hoping this will help both current office holders and new office holders throughout Lackawanna County. For the record, including the 300 divorces mentioned here, I would publicly say I kept approximately 1,600 divorces out of the Newspaper under Mary F. Rinaldi. That gives you roughly one to two a day. Again, deeply regrettable. I apologize greatly, but it’s important to note stealing money from the county doesn’t start with taking money out of a register; it starts with keeping documents out of the newspaper, and then you end up taking money out of the register. I am convinced if I never started keeping divorce complaints out of the Scranton Times I would have never stolen a dime from either Mary Rinaldi or Mauri Kelly.
MS: Thank you. Now, why $6?
Pablo: It’s just something I started. I guess.
MS: Now, how can someone combat this in the future?
Pablo: The best way is to hire some sort of review team. The employees leave at 4, and this review team will arrive a bit later and go through all the divorces from that day. Any and all divorces illegally kept from the Scranton Times should be handed over and employees should be held accountable. Additionally, there was no over-and-under, just a simple thing like that allows employees to take $5-$10 out of the register without anyone noticing. As an example, let’s say the office made $550 on Monday. On Tuesday morning I would walk into the office and take $550 out of the register and bring it to the bank, but there would still be a general $100 or so left in the register that no one counted. This made it easy to get my hands on a few bucks every day. I just want to be as technical as possible for our readers.
MS: Why do you think it’s so important to come out with this information?
Pablo: I’ve already stated a few reasons above. I would just add… they’re are so many stories that need to be told by people who worked within the walls of 200 Adams Ave when it was the Family Court Building. People like Nancy McHale, and many others, who passed away partly from the burden of the building. I hope I encourage more people, as well as their family members, to speak out about their experiences within that building. For me, it ended up to be a place where illegal favors were done all day long. Yes, we worked hard and got everything done on time, but it was basically a place where illegal favors were done all day.
MS: Can you give me one or two more instances of someone asking you to keep a divorce complaint out of the newspaper?
Pablo: I can give you two more instances… So, this one paralegal and I had a weather condition system. He would call in, and I would say, “it’s raining cats and dogs, or it’s like a monsoon today,” and that meant now is not a good time to ask me to keep something out of the paper. Other times I would say, “I haven’t seen the sun shining this bright in months,” that meant, of course, the coast was clear. Here’s the second instance. So, I’m at my desk. Mary Rinaldi comes over and starts busting my balls about how I scanned a document into a wrong file. An attorney walks in and sees her talking to me, so the lawyer will go to someone in a totally different office and say, “I want to make sure this divorce misses the paper, but Pablo’s boss is there. Here’s the complaint and the check. Can you bring this to Pablo around 3:50 so it misses the paper?” That county employee would then come to me at 3:50, hand me the complaint and the check and explain the situation. Just wanted to provide two instances to add some cushion, so you know what I’m saying is true.
MS: Thank you for your honesty. Any additional words for Mary F. Rinaldi?
Pablo: Just want to say I apologize once more. No government employee should steal, but we need to make sure we have a local government that does not put employees in positions that would make them want to steal.
MS: Ok… Now… concerning your previous article.
Pablo: The link for that is posted here: https://www.newedgetimes.com/ex-employee-breaks-silence-on-200-adams-ave-post-jury-duty/
MS: Anything you want to say to your former boss Mauri Kelly regarding the fake forma pauperis (waiver form) article?
Pablo: I would say I apologize once again to my former boss, who I worked for from 2013-2019. I’m going to mark this picture as Exhibit D for the people of Lackawanna County and readers everywhere. This is a picture of me and my former boss, along with one or two other co-workers. She’s the one in the greenish dress. I’d like to also apologize to her family.
MS: Now, you stated you stole money from Mary Rinaldi, but why did you steal money from Mauri Kelly?
Pablo: It was just bad timing. There are certain times in the year when it’s busier than others, and it just happened to be a busy time of the year, and I was by myself a lot. There was also a brand new few that was implemented in Family Court, and that new fee is one of the main reasons the fake waiver surfaced.
MS: What was the fee?
Pablo: It was $31. It’s called petition for custody modification.
MS: Petition for what?
Pablo: Petition for custody modification.
MS: What the hell is a petition for custody modification?
Pablo: So, basically someone would file a petition for custody and then go to a hearing where they would receive a standing order. Should they ever want to make changes to that order, they would file a petition for custody modification to get a new standing order with those changes added in.
MS: So, all of this started with a simple $31 fee?
Pablo: Basically. Deeply apologetic again to my boss at the time, Mauri Kelly. It’s so hard to see the people I used work with. What do you say? Do you say anything at all? It’s just such a bad spot for everybody. That’s all I could really say. I’m so sorry once again, but I believe coming forth with this information was the right thing to do.
MS: Now, did this sort of racism thing stop when the new boss took over?
Pablo: It did. I believe by her taking over racism decreased in the office along with a decrease in divorces kept out of the newspaper. I also joined the Freemasons, so this manager saw me as one of his own at that point.
MS: The what? The Freemasons.
Pablo: Yes. Years ago, that was a big thing in the courthouse. I’d like to mark this picture, which will be my last picture, as Exhibit E for the people of Lackawanna County and readers everywhere. This is a picture of me in a masonic lodge in 2014, just to show proof that I was in the Masons while working for the County.
MS: Anything else you would like to add?
Pablo. Again, I apologize to anyone who lost money in all of this. I apologize again to both of my bosses and my entire management staff. I know as a county and as a people we can do better than yesterday. I’m living proof that racism can push you to steal, even if you’re working in a government facility. I’m also living proof that work burdens and freedom over information is also another atmosphere that promotes stealing. I hope current and future office holders can use this information to their advantage somehow. I hope this content also opens the eyes of everyone in the community that being a clerk in the courthouse can leave an individual in such a broken and depressed state, sometimes like nothing you’ve seen before. After jury duty, I found myself again in that familiar place of brokenness. Life’s path brought me to a place that was so filthy and grotesque it’s hard to even describe it in words. Maybe someone will develop a program or something to help people who have issues from working in the court system.
MS: Anything you want to say to all the young people reading this?
Pablo: All I can say is live your life to the fullest every day, in the sense of making the most out of your life. Don’t sit around and worry about how you can steal a couple bucks or get into trouble. Instead, get an education. Find out what you like and what you really want to do in life and study every aspect of it and give it your all. Look around. Individuals who worry about things that mean nothing to their future are failing. Read the news. People are dying for absolutely nothing at all. You don’t want that to be you, right? Let every step count. Always choose to do the right thing in every situation, and never let anyone set you on the wrong path. Always reach for the stars and believe the impossible.
MS: Anything you want to say to the judge and jury or the defendant in the case you presided over as a juror?
Pablo: I would say everything happens for a reason… and I believe this was divine intervention in order for me to tell this story. Without sitting on jury duty there is absolutely no way I tell this story.
MS: Nicely put. So, what’s next?
Pablo: Back to making music, writing scripts, and going to the movies.
MS. Very well! Farewell until next time. From Downtown Scranton, PA, to New York City to Jersey City and around the world, thank you for your time.
*Bonus*
The below links are to Spotify songs that I listened to while either writing the articles or developing the ideas for them. I hope the songs provide you with more of an experience of my situation.
Senza Mamma – Connie Francis
https://open.spotify.com/track/0CilgEUYPAWAl3FdoqIIit?si=c4b652933aa848ed
Very Good Advice
https://open.spotify.com/track/0JqYb8oElGJVV5HBjkhjPe?si=986fa7dc49d74b5f
Tell Me Your Mine – Connie Francis https://open.spotify.com/track/42ANZsvuyg0oWBfFN5aG24?si=6f0ebb78e3984eb1
Highlands
https://open.spotify.com/track/5FcFZktWaHhg0BjXEtlhIf?si=be5bc2233ea14e7a
What Else Can I Do?
https://open.spotify.com/track/3XoYqtiWHhsk59frZupImG?si=a703d3bc5a6244f3
I’m Not A Hero https://open.spotify.com/track/56pKYnSA0CyayMJWcEU5kH?si=3a6a847091814cf7
The World Es M Familia
https://open.spotify.com/track/7FOS31xq9jv4cXWtp6Jnzw?si=bde1b16f92d04ddd
Just Like A Pill
https://open.spotify.com/track/1BpV8IGf4XsRRJf4Xuui9q?si=44b7b13d90364c95
What Baking Can Do
https://open.spotify.com/track/0h77yfaXxrLMLz31uNDigN?si=fa3fac6bef9f4695
