The local airport’s new public safety director never retired from his top state police management post as expected and held both jobs the last 3½ months.
Instead of leaving the state police, Capt. Gary Vogue, 56, of Pittston Twp., resigned from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport job by giving notice in a letter dated last Tuesday. Sunday was his last day working for the airport, according to the letter.
State police spokesman Trooper Brent Miller said the police agency “has opened an internal investigation into the matter,” but said Vogue received the agency’s approval in March to take the airport job as long as it did not interfere with his state police duties. In emails, Miller declined to say if Vogue’s state police status has changed. Vogue, a 30-year state police veteran, was director of the state police tactical operations division when the airport hired him and Miller referred to him by that title in his email about the internal investigation.
“No PSP (Pennsylvania state police) personnel ordered him to quit (the airport job),” Miller said.
Neither did airport director Carl Beardsley Jr., who said Vogue was expected to retire from the state police if the airport hired him. Beardsley said he was unaware Vogue stayed on with the state police until he resigned from the airport.
“He was here all the time. He was working a lot,” Beardsley said. “He was coming to work and doing his job. In fact, he did a very good job.”
Vogue started at the airport April 3. The airport board hired him Feb. 27 at a salary of $70,000 a year. His state police job pays $146,883. Online state records confirm he has continued getting paid to work for the state police since April.
Repeated efforts to reach Vogue were unsuccessful. Airport board members Debi Domenick, Jerry Notarianni, Chris Chermak, Tim McGinley and David Pedri said they were unaware Vogue never gave up his state police job until Beardsley told them.
Domenick declined to comment specifically on Vogue, but was unhappy the board must search for a replacement so soon again.
“You just get somebody hired and acclimated and then have to go and do it again,” Domenick said.
McGinley, the board vice chairman, said board members believed Vogue would retire from the state police when they hired him. McGinley said airport security did not suffer under Vogue, but he would not have allowed him to work both jobs.
“My position would have been you have to make a decision,” McGinley said.
Board member Chris Chermak echoed McGinley in saying security did not suffer.
“As far I know he was retiring from the state police and was going to take the new position with us,” Chermak said.
Pedri said that was his impression, too.
Chermak lamented the departure because the airport picked Vogue over another well-qualified candidate, David Baker, a veteran Secret Service agent with years of experience protecting presidents and others. The day the board chose Vogue, Baker said he felt more qualified, but did not disparage Vogue’s qualifications.
Efforts to reach board member Lee Ann McDermott were unsuccessful.
Beardsley said the airport will advertise for a replacement. The board will likely name a temporary successor at its meeting Thursday, he said. Vogue replaced longtime director of public safety George Bieber, who retired Jan. 31.
Contact the writer: [email protected]; 570-348-9147; @BorysBlogTT on Twitter.
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