Pozonsky-gate. The Plot Thickens.
But wait, there’s more! Not only did the hiring scandal of former Pennsylvania Judge Paul Pozonsky into the Parnell administration touch strange corners of Alaska politics, it seems that the Judge’s checkered history in Pennsylvania is not just limited to destruction of evidence in 17 drug cases, but it now appears he’s been doing some inappropriate favors for frackers in the name of keeping information from the press and the public by inappropriately sealing records. Are we shocked? No, we are not. Alaska politics are such that it takes a lot to consider something scandalous, let alone a soap opera….
Pozonsky-Gate Demands Answers
I hate messy breakups, and boy did we have one this week. Former Pennsylvania Judge Paul Pozonsky resigned as a workers’ compensation hearing officer for the State of Alaska Thursday, just days after I started asking exactly how he got hired. Pozonsky apparently got the job after a closed application process was reopened just long enough for him to apply. For some reason, the fact that the former judge was under investigation by a Pennsylvania grand jury for ordering the destruction of evidence in 17 court cases, and that he resigned from the job last June after being stripped of…
BREAKING: Pozonsky Resigns…Again.
The embattled Paul Pozonsky has resigned as hearing officer for the State of Alaska. This news confirmed by the Department of Labor this afternoon. His resignation came yesterday. I asked if it was under pressure from the governor and was told his resignation was for “personal reasons”. This story broke my column for the Anchorage Daily News last Sunday and was followed up by posts from Jeanne Devon and Linda Kellen Biegel. I will link more information as it comes in.
Is Pozonsky Eligible for AK Bar?
This past weekend, Shannyn Moore broke an important story in the Opnion Section of the Anchorage Daily News. She revealed that Governor Sean Parnell hired a new hearing officer for the Workers’ Compensation Board…Paul Pozonsky, a former judge from Pennsylvania. …a “former judge” who was stripped of his ability to hear criminal cases in Pennsylvania this past June and immediately resigned. Jeanne Devon followed-up with a fascinating back-story showing the family connections that give the Pozonsky’s influence over some of the most powerful individuals in Alaska, past and present. Both articles raise many questions as to the circumstances surrounding Mr….
Parnell Hiring Scandal leads back to Dyson, Kopp, Palin
Chuck Kopp, Chief of Staff to Republican State Senator Fred Dyson, and a two-week Palin administration official, dismissed over a sex scandal is now at the center of another firestorm – the controversial hiring of his brother-in-law Paul Pozonsky by the Parnell administration. Pozonsky, a Pennsylvania judge under investigation for destroying evidence (including crack cocaine and cash) in 17 criminal cases was hired by the Parnell administration as an Alaska hearings officer. He was given the job despite his late application, the fact that the current investigation has stripped him of his ability to hear cases, and that he was…
Connecting the Dots from PA to AK
~Paul Pozonsky, right I try to give people the benefit of the doubt. When someone does something that looks bad, I usually assume incompetence rather than conspiracy. That said, follow along with me and see what you make of this. The job of Hearing Officer for the state of Alaska is a pretty important job. In other states, hearing officers are called judges and wear black robes. Talis Colberg, a former Alaska attorney general, went on to serve as a Hearing Officer for the Department of Labor after leaving the AG job. Hearing Officers decide the fates of Alaskans every…