As your District Attorney…

When I decided to enter public life and run for District Attorney, I knew I could build a stronger and safer community, a community in which you and your family would be safe, a community which your children would want to return to and raise their families. We had an opioid crisis that was raging. Opioids deaths were out of control and lethal fentanyl was everywhere. I knew I could make a difference. After years in private practice, I knew we had to have experts from different specialties work together to fix the problem.

Under my leadership, the District Attorney’s Office developed a 2-part plan on opioids. We had to stop the supply and the demand. I am all for treating addicts who were sincere about their recovery. But, if we didn’t focus on the supply, we were never going to fix the problem. I couldn’t simply stand by on the sidelines any longer. We had to take a different approach. We had to deter drug dealers by delivering higher sentences for drug pushers who targeted our towns because we had developed a reputation as an easy place to do business. We had to stop the revolving door. Folks with use disorders were going to be given the opportunity to get sober. But, I was not going to let those who brought drugs into our community for profit to get a slap on the wrist.

I made the opioid crisis one of my top priorities, taking a multifaceted approach to combating the problem by instituting aggressive drug enforcement efforts against traffickers and street-level dealers. I created a Fresh Start Program similar to Drug Court, designed to get lower-level offenders into treatment. I aggressively investigated overdose deaths and prosecuted those responsible for supplying deadly drugs. I prosecuted pill-pushing doctors and worked with the medical society to incorporate checks and balances when prescribing opioids. I applied for and secured money from the U.S. Department of Justice to study the root causes of overdose deaths in Lackawanna County and implemented effective solutions. I also co-chaired Lackawanna Recovery Coalition, a multidisciplinary community group that provides community awareness, education, treatment, prevention and harm reduction programs to better address the drug problem.

In my second term, I secured additional grant funding and expanded our efforts to Youths Affected by Opiates. I secured additional Federal dollars and invested in the local economy to set up a gang task force because drugs were being funneled in our county by gangs, and violent assaults were on the rise. Through these efforts, we devoted resources to combat crime and make our county safer.

Expanding the scope to make effective change came easily because it was based on similar principles that I had put in place to achieve my vision. My office worked hard, put the right people in place and implemented uniformed policies to ensure my plan was working. Read more about Mark’s professional profile. 

PROTECTING OUR SENIORS

The Elder Abuse Unit was not organized to protect our senior population from fraud and abuse. As a society, I believe that we have an obligation to protect our seniors. Lackawanna County has an aging population that deserves respect. These individuals are the ones who coached us in sports, taught us in schools and were the leaders in our community. I am aware that there are those who prey upon our seniors and I’m committed to aggressively prosecute crimes against our aging population.

KEEP OUR CHILDREN SAFE 

As a father of 4, I was very concerned with the well-being of families. I pledged to have zero tolerance for child predators. The risk of recidivism is too high and there is only one thing that I know will protect our children and that is to ensure that someone cannot commit these types of crimes again.