Report on fired Fairview Twp. police chief posted online by election rival [York Daily Record, Pa.]

Nov. 01--A Fairview Township supervisor running for re-election has brought the firing of former police chief Scott Hockenberry, his opponent, into the campaign by posting on the Internet what had been a confidential report.

The investigation report alleges Hockenberry engaged in "inappropriate conduct" during a prostitution sting and accuses him of accepting free items from area businesses, among other allegations of misconduct. The supervisors fired him last November, citing in its termination letter "unacceptable and unprofessional behavior."

Hockenberry's attorney, Peter Daley, says the former chief was never given a hearing and was not provided due process when he was terminated.

In a written statement, Jacqueline Goodwin, a spokeswoman for Daley's office, said, "Mr. Hockenberry will not be commenting nor will he dignify the malicious lies and other falsehoods, including slanderous statements and potentially libelous statements, which have been made by individuals ... . Mr. Hockenberry intends to fully address these totally erroneous and unfounded allegations... ."

In October 2012, supervisors hired an attorney to investigate an anonymous tip they received about Hockenberry.

A report detailing the investigation was filed earlier this year, and on Sept. 30, the township supervisors voted 3-2 to release it. Supervisor Robert Stanley, who is running against Hockenberry for a seat on the board, created a website and posted the report. Daley said he believes the website was created for political reasons, but Stanley said it was information the public deserved to know.

Daley, of California, Pa., and a member of the state House of Representatives, sent a letter to the township requesting that it cease and desist distributing the report. The township, which had given a copy to The Patriot-News in response to a Right-to-Know request, is no longer talking about the report or about Hockenberry's case.

Daley added that his office had filed a writ of summons, the first legal step required in filing a lawsuit. He said he plans to sue for wrongful termination, defamation, libel, slander and hindering of Hockenberry's ability to gain future employment. Hockenberry could not be reached for comment.

Hockenberry is running for two supervisor seats in the upcoming election. He is filed as both a Republican and Democrat for an uncontested six-year term. In addition, he is running as a Democrat for the two-year term against supervisor Robert Stanley.

Stanley voted in favor of releasing the documents and then uploaded them to the website truthabouthockenberry.com.

Stanley's name is on the website, as is that of John Jones, who is running as a write-in candidate for the six-year term. The website says it is "Paid for by Stanley and Jones for Supervisor" and has a link to the political website stanleyandjones.com.

Stanley said he created the website as a candidate, not because of his position as township supervisor.

Daley said, "There is such a thing as political process, but you don't pull government into that political process. They've (supervisors) really blurred the lines here."

What's in the report?

Fairview Township supervisors hired attorney Anne Zerbe with CGA Law Firm in October 2012 to investigate complaints about Hockenberry in an anonymous letter they received.

In early November, Zerbe discovered an arrest report in which a Fairview Township police officer describes Hockenberry's role in an undercover prostitution sting led by the department.

The supervisors notified Hockenberry by letter on Nov. 9 that his actions amounted to misconduct, and he was fired.

The nearly 50-page report alleges that Hockenberry broke the police department's code of conduct numerous times, including his alleged actions during the prostitution sting. The report states that he shared a Facebook photo of himself with a topless woman and that he made sexual and crude comments to staff in township buildings.

A criminal complaint from Aug. 3, 2012, included in the report, describes the prostitution sting. The complaint says that Hockenberry, working undercover, made arrangements online and by phone to meet a woman for sex at a Fairview Township hotel.

According to the complaint, the woman told Hockenberry to disrobe, and she removed his shirt. They agreed on a price for her services, and she kissed Hockenberry's chest, the documents state. The woman removed his pants, took off the rest of her clothing, applied lubricant to herself and tried to place a condom on Hockenberry before he opened the door and halted the investigation, court documents say.

Zerbe included other arrest affidavits for prostitution stings that describe police making an arrest as soon as a price was agreed upon. She wrote in the report that Hockenberry's alleged actions beyond that were not necessary.

Daley said Hockenberry says he was in the hotel room "for one minute" and couldn't have done all those things in that time.

The report includes an email from District Attorney Tom Kearney, written to Zerbe and attorney Ed Paskey, who represented Hockenberry at the time. In the email, Kearney said the complaint was brought to his attention shortly after it was filed.

"The view of the executive staff was that what had occurred was inappropriate as it went beyond what we consider necessary to establish the elements of the offense, but it was not illegal," Kearney wrote.

He later met with Hockenberry and said, "I suggested to him that while not illegal, I thought he went beyond what was necessary during his investigation. He responded that there was a language barrier and he believed his conduct was necessary to insure that the elements of the offense were established," according to the email.

Kearney confirmed last week that he sent the email.

The report also cites interviews with up to 18 people who were not named in the documents. Some of those interviews focus on allegations that Hockenberry took long lunch breaks and didn't pay for his meals at area restaurants, according to the report.

He also allegedly made sexual comments to staff in the police station and other township buildings, the report states. It was considered conduct that could lead to sexual harassment cases, according to the report.

Why release it now?

During executive session on Sept. 30, township supervisors voted 3-2 to release the documents related to Hockenberry's termination.

Supervisor chair William Brown and vice chair Mario Pirritano, who voted against the release, could not be reached for comment.

Stanley said he thought it was "in the best interest of the community" to release the information before the election.

"When you have someone running for office, people need to know," Stanley said.

When asked if Stanley wanted to release the information to help his own campaign, he said he was more concerned with the impact on the township should Hockenberry be elected.

"He was fired as police chief for a reason," said Stanley, who is the only supervisor running against Hockenberry.

Jones, the write-in candidate, said he decided to run about two months ago.

"Not everything about my decision was to keep Scott Hockenberry out of office," Jones said. "I think the township needs new blood."

Jones said he puts much of the blame for Hockenberry's alleged behavior on the current supervisors.

"People have a tendency to get out of hand, and that's why we need supervision," Jones said.

Stanley and his supporters recently put up a billboard and signs saying "More than just a photo," a reference to the photo of Hockenberry with a topless woman made public earlier this year. The billboard and signs give the web address to truthabouthockenberry.com.

Hockenberry's attorney thinks the release of the report, the signs and the billboard are all for political gain.

The only explanation that Hockenberry got for his termination was a letter dated Nov. 9, Daley said. The noted reason for his dismissal, according to the letter, was that "publicly available documents . . . demonstrate unacceptable and unprofessional behavior that violates the Mission Statement of the Fairview Township Police Department."

Following Hockenberry's termination, numerous supporters attended township meetings and created an online signature campaign to reinstate him as police chief. As of Thursday, 99 people "liked" a Facebook page titled "Scott Hockenberry for Township Supervisor."

"A lot of people in the community still want (Hockenberry)," Daley said. "Many of them have approached me to articulate their concerns."

Contact Rebecca LeFever at 717-771-2088.

Scott Hockenberry's lawyer, Peter Daley, has filed the initial paperwork for a lawsuit he plans to file related to the Fairview Township supervisors releasing a formerly confidential report on his client.

Seven people have been served with complaints, according to the York County Prothonotary's Office.

Those named in the complaint were: Fairview Township manager Stephen Smith, supervisor chairman William Brown, vice chairman Mario Pirritano, supervisors Christopher AllenJohn Minito and Robert Stanley, and write-in supervisor candidate John Jones.

Jacqueline Goodwin, a spokeswoman with Scott Hockenberry's attorney, Peter Daley, released this statement recently.

"Mr. Hockenberry intends to fully address the totally erroneous and unfounded allegations and will be instituting a lawsuit against all individuals responsible for his illegal and wrongful termination. Mr. Hockenberry will not be commenting nor will he dignify the malicious lies and other falsehoods, including slanderous statements and potentially libelous statements, which have been made by individuals to castigate, caricature, insult, and tarnish his professional reputation, public image, and Internet image.

"In addition, Mr. Hockenberry intends to fully address these totally erroneous and unfounded allegations, and will be instituting a lawsuit against all individuals responsible for perpetrating such statements on Facebook and the Internet."

Supporters of former Fairview Township Police Chief Scott Hockenberry created an online petition earlier this year on change.org.

As of Oct. 31, there were 271 supporters who had signed the petition that was to be handed to township supervisor chairman William Brown. The most recent post was made three months ago. Before that, a post had been made 11 months ago. The petition goal was to reach 500 signatures.

In addition, a group created a Facebook page called Scott Hockenberry for Township Supervisor, which had 99 likes as of Thursday afternoon.

To see the report on Hockenberry's termination, visit truthabouthockenberry.com.

___

(c)2013 York Daily Record (York, Pa.)

Visit York Daily Record (York, Pa.) at www.ydr.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services