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Schuylkill County News

Jane Doe Lawyer Asks Judge to Compel Halcovage, Former Schuylkill Employee to Testify About Funeral Convo

This lawsuit continues to slog along.

The lawyer representing the 4 Jane Doe plaintiffs in the sexual harassment and employee retaliation lawsuit against Schuylkill County government officials and Commissioner George Halcovage wants the Commissioner and a former County employee to testify about an alleged conversation had at a funeral.

We previously reported that Catherine Smith, the attorney representing the 4 Jane Doe plaintiffs, wants US Magistrate Judge Martin Carlson to hold Halcovage in contempt over a conversation she alleges happened at a funeral in Pottsville back in January.

In that alleged conversation, according to court records, Smith says Halcovage approached former Schuylkill County employee Paul Straka about deposition testimony related to the Commissioner’s alleged use of County property for his personal business.

Smith says that conversation is tantamount to witness intimidation. Halcovage, through his attorney, denies that the conversation with Straka went down as the plaintiffs are suggesting. They also called the statements they attributed to Straka as hearsay.

To settle the matter, Smith is now asking Carlson to compel Halcovage and Straka to testify on the record about that funeral conversation.

Smith alleges that Straka backed away from putting any statement about that conversation on the record with her after he purportedly consulted with an attorney.

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