Berks lawyer in secret DUI case had donated to judge’s campaign

by Steve Reinbrecht

The Berks County lawyer whose DUI hearing was improperly held in secret Feb. 8 had donated to the election campaign of the judge who heard his case.

“Zachary A. Morey was accepted into a court-approved program Monday that allows first-time offenders to avoid jail and probation sentences. But the proceeding was held in a back room off of Judge Eleni Dimitriou Geishauser's courtroom instead of in public view in open court,” the Reading Eagle reported Thursday, Feb. 11.

State records show that Zachary Morey, 29, donated $25 to Geishauser’s campaign last year. Geishauser was elected in November and joined the bench at the beginning of the year. She handles DUI cases.

She also received campaign a $250 contribution from Susan Morey, who records show lives at the same Spring Township address as Zachary, and $103.49 from James Polyak, the name of the lawyer who represented Zachary Morey in his out-of-view DUI case.

Sure – lots of people gave Geishauser money for her campaign [including a few people from whom I wouldn’t take $1 million, if I expected to be an elected official, such as Frank McCracken, Kevin Timochenko and Gene LaManna].

And the amount Morey and Morey and Polyak contributed is the tiniest fraction of the nearly $80,000 Geishauser raised.

But aren’t these people smart enough to realize even APPEARANCES matter, especially in the fifth-most corrupt state in America and in the corrupt city of Reading?

It’s more evidence that in Berks, it’s who you do favors for, not the rules, that matter.

I’m glad reporter Stephanie Weaver was so alert and curious and persistent that she uncovered this for publication.

But I blame the Reading Eagle for generally, over the years, training elected officials that they don’t have to worry much about pesky reporters asking embarrassing questions, leveraging sources, poking through finances or pissing off powerful people.