Debate over NewsLanc Letter in Sunday News

(Editor's Note: Letters are reproduced from a NewsLanc private list of concerned citizens)

Letter #1:

"We do believe that then-District Attorney Donald Totaro (who conducted a year long witch hunt), President Judge Louis Farina (who allowed Totaro to run amok), Lancaster Newspapers, and various members of a power elite tacitly acted together to politically destroy Shellenberger and Henderson due to their reservations about the convention center/hotel project." [Excerpt from NewsLanc's publisher Robert Edwin Field's "Letter to the Editor," Sunday News, March 2.]

That sounds so conspiratorial to me. This, I think, is what Marv Adams means when he says "NewsLanc" "sees a conspiracy at every turn." Who is this "we"? I'm curious as to whether there's anyone else who agrees with you on that... What do Totaro and Farina have to do with the convention center project? I mean I certainly agree that the Lancaster Newspapers go easy on their pet project in their coverage... but... I'm not so sure I buy this "power elite" everybody in bed with everybody else business.

I mean I understand what you're saying as far as... this Conestoga View business was an opportunity for Lancaster Newspapers to nail Henderson and Shellenberger if they had it out for them. Though Commissioners pleading guilty to violating the Sunshine Act is a big story... and it was perceived as very high-stakes because a lot of people were very passionate about Conestoga View... it was a big decision.

What you're doing is linking two (I think unconnected) (connected only in the sense that they are both unfavorable for opponents of the project) events - Lancaster Newspapers' investment in the project, and Totaro's investigation... by conjuring up this conspiracy... saying everyone must have been in on it. That's the step I have a hard time taking.


Letter #2 in Response:

[Former District Attorney Donald] Totaro empaneled his second grand jury - only the third in Lancaster County history - SUPPOSEDLY to investigate the hiring of one individual. Since when is this justification to seat a grand jury? It APPEARS the only reason this grand jury existed was to investigate the County Commissioners.

Why would ANYONE want to investigate the County Commissioners, especially with only the third Grand Jury in Lancaster County history? Because THEY DARED TO ASK QUESTIONS. At the time the grand jury was empaneled, the Lancaster Newspapers were already in full attack mode against Dick and Molly, who were asking questions about a project from which LNP stands to earn millions of dollars of profit on the investment of TAXPAYER dollars.

It gets even deeper: the grand jury was unable to substantiate the allegations of the improper hiring of that individual. So Totaro expanded their orders to include the sale of Conestoga View, including possible violations of the "Sunshine Act." When the grand jury found no violation of the law, Totaro threatened to charge the County Commissioners with violations of the "Sunshine Act" - even though he didn't have enough evidence to make the charges stick. They could have beaten the charges, but it would have cost each one of them over $100,000 and several years in court.

If Totaro was not in collusion with Lancaster Newspapers (or at least with the Establishment of Lancaster City and/or County), how can his illogical (some might say irrational) actions be explained?