Court Briefs

Sunday, September 12, 2004 Page: 2A

$5,000 IN DAMAGE.








harles William Mathewson, 64, of
New Jersey, was sentenced Thursday to one year probation for molesting a
teenage girl.

Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mark Ciavarella sentenced
Mathewson on single counts of indecent assault and corruption of minors. An
additional charge was dropped.
State police at Hazleton said Mathewson fondled the girl while the two were
driving from New York to New Jersey. Police said the girl told them that
Mathewson sexually assaulted her near Exit 145 of Interstate 81 in the
Hazleton area.

WILKES-BARRE Three people pleaded guilty Wednesday to their roles in a
$2-million cocaine ring.

Anthony Vetter, 19, of East Cranberry Avenue in West Hazleton, pleaded
guilty to charges of corrupt organizations, criminal conspiracy, and delivery
of a controlled substance.

Richard Zakutney, 24, of Tamarack Street in West Hazleton, pleaded guilty
to charges of criminal conspiracy and possession with intent to deliver a
controlled substance.

Erica Lawson, 19, of North Washington Street in Freeland, pleaded guilty to
charges of criminal conspiracy and delivery of a controlled substance.

Additional charges against all three defendants were dropped.

Police said the three were part of a cocaine ring, which was based in West
Hazleton and had connections to New York City and the Caribbean island of St.
Lucia. Its members were accused of distributing more than 20 kilograms of
cocaine with a street value of $2 million.

Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Senior Judge Gifford Cappellini will
sentence the three at 9:30 am. Nov. 8.

WILKES-BARRE Gary Slick of Philadelphia was sentenced to one to two years
in a state prison for stealing a car.

Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Conahan sentenced Slick
on a single count of theft.

City police said Slick was at police headquarters after a fight in the
early morning hours of Nov. 7. Police decided not to charge Slick, and he told
them he could give them information about stolen vehicles.

Officers told him to wait in the lobby until 8 a.m. when another officer
was starting his shift.

At about 6:25 a.m., Slick told police he was going for a coffee and would
return.

Instead, he went to a North Franklin Street residence and stole a vehicle
from a woman who was unloading items from inside it.