SUNBURY - Shamokin landlord Barry Getchey was matter-of-fact in his refusal to accept a guilty plea during a brief pre-trial conference Friday morning before Northumberland County Judge Charles H. Saylor.
"I'm not guilty of anything, your honor."
Getchey, 69, will now face trial Thursday morning on a felony offense of bribery and misdemeanor of obstructing administration of the law.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Seward said the commonwealth was willing to accept a guilty plea to the misdemeanor and withdraw the felony. Under the proposed agreement, Seward said Getchey would only have to pay a fine set by the court instead of taking a chance at serving prison time if convicted at trial.
But Getchey refused to take the offer.
Saylor told the defendant it was his constitutional right to seek a trial, but recommended he secure an attorney to represent him. Getchey replied, "I can't afford an attorney. If I go to jail, that's the way it's going to be."
Getchey said he was denied a public defender at no cost because he owns properties in Shamokin, which are considered assets.
Jury selection in his trial begins at 9:15 a.m. Monday. Saylor will preside over the trial.
The defendant was charged by Trooper Kevin Kearney of state police at Stonington on April 16, 2012, with bribery and obstructing administration of the law in official and political matters. The charges relate to an incident on Nov. 16, 2011, in which Getchey allegedly offered $300 to Shamokin Housing Authority board chairman Raymond G. Splane if he would help the landlord get back federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) money withheld from him by the authority.
Getchey has maintained the money offered to Splane was not a bribe, but a thank-you gift if Splane agreed to help.
The Shamokin landlord has accused the authority of withholding more than $10,000 in federal rental assistance funds between November 2011 and January 2012. However, the authority claims Getchey violated his HUD contact by not having a functioning heating system in September and October 2011 and not remediating a mold problem and other safety issues in his North Sixth Street apartment building.
Getchey initially sought acceptance into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program in hopes of having the bribery charge expunged. But in October, he withdrew his application for the ARD program and decided to take the case to trial following a last-minute objection to his participation in the program by authority members.