Contractor Files Lawsuit Against Harveys Lake Borough

The Dallas-based contractor filed a lawsuit against Harveys Lake Borough, alleging his rights were violated in August 2022 when he was arrested on false charges, court documents show.

Jerry Brown of Maple Tree Road, Dallas Township, filed a civil lawsuit in August against Harveys Lake Borough, Mayor Michael Rush, Police Chief Charles Musial, individually, Officer Greg Johnson, individually, and Luzerne resident Manny Santayana, who owns property in the borough.

The lawsuit alleges the defendants “conspired” to deprive Brown of his rights when he was arrested in August 2022 for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars worth of construction materials from Santayana, who hired Brown in February 2021 to build a dock and house on his lakefront property.

Santayana ended his employment with Brown in December 2021. The termination letter, the lawsuit said, said Brown was fired because his contract had expired and a retaining wall he built on the property failed a third inspection.

Brown claims that these materials had either already been installed or Santayana had not paid for them and they did not belong to him, and their contract did not contain any provisions regarding the materials.

Charges against Brown were ultimately dropped in December 2022.

According to the lawsuit, Brown claims Santayana filed a false police report as “revenge” against former Harveys Lake Zoning Supervisor Maureen Oremus, who issued a stop-work order on Santayana’s property in April 2022 after Brown’s employment was terminated.

Oremus is Brown’s girlfriend and has been at the center of much controversy in Harveys Lake in recent years when, at several city council meetings, residents, including Santayana, accused her of giving Brown special treatment when it comes to construction projects in the neighborhood.

In December 2022, Santayana filed a lawsuit against Oremus, accusing her of closing the construction site on his property, unjustifiably interfering with construction work and intentionally withholding the issuance of a piling certificate for personal reasons.

Ultimately, the case was settled by the municipal insurance company.

In January of this year, Oremus was removed from her position as Zoning Officer after a state ethics investigation found she had violated the state’s Public Officials and Employees Ethics Act by failing to file several years of Statements of Financial Interests (SFIs) and by backdating those forms to make it appear they were filed on time.

Oremus has consistently denied the allegations against her, telling the Times Leader in January that her conduct was “100 percent ethical” and that she had not lied or acted against the residents of Harveys Lake.

The lawsuit accused Mayor Rush and Chief Musial of seeking to “punish” Brown for his alleged conduct and Oremus’ alleged conduct, and to avoid further scandal.

Chief Musial failed to conduct a thorough investigation of Santayana’s claims, the lawsuit said, and the probable cause statement contained “several significant omissions and fabrications.”

According to previous reporting by the Times Leader, the original criminal complaint against Brown said the contract signed by both parties stated that the contractor could not substitute materials without the owner’s written consent, and that any additional or surplus materials not needed to complete the job belonged to the owner unless prior written agreements were made.

Moreover, the lawsuit claims, Mayor Rush showed “complete and utter disregard” for Brown’s constitutional rights.

Brown suffered “enormous harm” as a result of the defendants’ alleged actions, and his reputation and business were tarnished, according to court documents.

Brown is seeking, at a minimum, general damages, special damages, consequential damages, lost profits, interest and default damages.

On August 27, Harveys Lake responded to the civil lawsuit, seeking a jury trial.

The neighborhood was the subject of an FBI investigation last October, but the results of that investigation are unclear at this time.