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Resident raises concerns about coroner hiring and potential conflict of interest
Summary
A funeral director and county resident urged county council to re-examine the vetting of the newly hired county coroner and raised possible conflict-of-interest concerns because of the coroner's employment ties to a funeral home.
During the public-comment period of the Luzerne County Council meeting on April 22, 2025, Thomas Weidlick, a Sawyersville resident and licensed funeral director, urged council to re-review the hiring process for the county coroner and raised questions about vetting and a potential conflict of interest.
Weidlick said the newly hired coroner had prior personnel issues reported in the press and that the coroner "is not a licensed funeral director" despite serving as president of a funeral home. He told the council: "The county coroner should not be a funeral director, nor should the coroner have or had any affiliation or employment with the funeral home. It leads to a potential conflict of interest."
Weidlick also said the coroner had not completed formal mortuary science education at Luzerne County Community College and that a press release by the county manager describing educational credentials was imprecise; he noted the college offers pre-mortuary coursework rather than a mortuary science degree.
Weidlick concluded by requesting that council members meet with the county manager to review the hiring decisions; the meeting record shows no council action or vote in response to the public comment during the session.
Council procedure during the meeting limited public-comment time; Weidlick's remarks were made in the public-comment portion of the agenda and were not acted on as formal council business at that time.
