Pocono Review Investigative Index

An editorially curated directory of Pocono Review’s investigative and accountability reporting, organized by county — so you can follow an entire series in one place instead of searching for the pieces.

Monroe County — 20 articles

Core5 & Data Centers

Pocono / Stroudsburg Township. Whether the Core5 “warehouse” is a disguised data center, and how commissioners (Velardi, Keppler, Long, Gnandt) and LERTA tax breaks figure in.

• Pocono Township Approves Core5’s Massive Warner Road Warehouse After Three-Year Battle — Approval after a three-year fight. 2025-12-03
• Five Months After Court Defeat, Monroe County’s Economic Development Agency Still Hasn’t Built Its Coolbaugh Warehouse — A stalled MCIDC project. 2025-12-03
• Charles Keppler and Matt Long Close the Door on Data Centers — Are Your Officials Leaving It Open? — Two officials’ stance. 2026-05-20
• Are Your Local Officials Fighting Data Center Development — Or Just Pretending To? — Tests officials’ opposition. 2026-05-22
• Commissioner Ellen Gnandt Was Right All Along — Vindication of Gnandt’s warnings. 2026-05-24
• Pro-Data Center Candidates Garrity and Bresnahan Appear on ‘Stop Data Centers’ Campaign Signs — A signage contradiction. 2026-05-26
• Built to Convert: The Case That Core5 at Stroudsburg Is a Data Center Disguised as a Warehouse — The core argument of the thread. 2026-05-30
• The LERTA Loophole: How Tax Breaks Meant for Jobs Could End Up Subsidizing Buildings That Don’t Need Workers — A tax-incentive analysis. 2026-06-01
• Is Commissioner Velardi Admitting Core5 Is a DataCenter? And Lying About Water Consumption? — Velardi’s water claims. 2026-06-05
• Commissioner Velardi Throws Tantrum After Board Pushes Back on His Plan to Regulate Away Voters Rights — A board confrontation. 2026-06-06
• Mike Velardi Calls the “Idiots” “Cowards” and Resigns His Seat as Commissioner — Velardi resigns. 2026-06-16
• Core5 — What’s Really At Stake — A stakes summary. 2026-06-16

HOA & Municipal Lawsuits and Conflicts

Mass-lawsuit filings and official self-dealing in HOAs and townships.

• Stroudsburg HOA Legal Blotter: Penn Estates Files 37 Lawsuits Against Residents in 2025 — Mass HOA litigation. 2025-11-24
• Price Township Sues Oregon Couple for $40K in Cleanup Costs — A municipal cost-recovery suit. 2025-12-17
• Tannersville Church Sale Raises Questions Over Developer Ties — Sale-to-developer scrutiny. 2025-12-18
• Winona Lakes HOA Sues 8 Homeowners Days Before Christmas, Seeks $51,000 in Unpaid Dues — Holiday-timed suits. 2025-12-27
• Winot Voted on His Own Business Deals. Then Sued Keppler for Calling It Out. — Official self-dealing and a retaliation suit. 2026-05-11
• Tobyhanna Township Sues Pocono Summit Volunteer Fire Company — A township-vs-fire-company suit. 2026-04-19
• Middle Smithfield Township April 2026 Sewer Lien Blotter: 30 Properties Hit in a Single-Day Filing — A municipal lien blotter. 2026-04-22

More Monroe County

Standalone Monroe County accountability pieces.

• EXCLUSIVE: Pocono Township Officer With History of Excessive Force Allegations Sues Department and Union Over Discipline — The officer’s lawsuit. 2025-12-06

Pike County — 6 articles

Pike County Governance

Including Hemlock Farms. Quiet ordinances, privatized public functions, and an unelected private police force.

• Pike County Passed a Protest Zone Resolution. They Didn’t Tell Anyone. — A quiet resolution. 2026-05-26
• The Private Police Force in Pike County That Nobody Voted For — The Hemlock Farms private police. 2026-05-26
• Pike County Passed a Permanent Protest Ordinance | Part II — Follow-up on the ordinance. 2026-05-26
• Pike County Sheriff’s Sales Handed to Private Vendors Without a Public Vote — Privatized sheriff sales. 2026-06-10

More Pike County

Standalone Pike County justice and accountability pieces.

• Pike County DA Moves to Dismiss Eric Frein Death Sentence Appeal — The Pike DA’s move on the Blooming Grove trooper-shooting death-sentence appeal. 2025-12-19
• From Milford to Manhattan: The Jake Lang Terror Plot Has a NEPA Zip Code and a Whole Lot of Unanswered Questions — Unanswered questions about a terror plot with a Milford / Pike County connection. 2026-04-22

Wayne County — 57 articles

Honesdale Power Network — Williams / Glover / PPP / WCAA

Honesdale Borough. The flagship investigation: Mayor Derek Williams, his employer, his girlfriend Lisa Glover, the People’s Playground Project (PPP), the Wayne County Arts Alliance (WCAA), Canaltown, and the money and influence connecting them.

• Honesdale Central Park & The Bookstore Soil Scientist — PPP: Part 1 — Opens the PPP series on who’s behind the Central Park redesign. 2026-04-29
• The People Behind PPP – Part 2 — Maps the individuals running the People’s Playground Project. 2026-04-29
• River Reporter & PPP: 6 Months, 7 Articles, No Disclosure — Local paper covered PPP repeatedly without disclosing ties. 2026-05-01
• The Reporter Who Became the Mayor: Derek Williams — Williams’ path from journalist to Honesdale mayor. 2026-05-02
• The Money Circle (Honesdale) — Diagram of the interlocking money relationships. 2026-05-03
• An Open Letter to Mayor Derek Williams — A public list of unanswered questions. 2026-05-04
• Lisa Glover and Derek Williams Don’t Call Canaltown a Business. Pennsylvania Does. — State records contradict their characterization of Canaltown. 2026-05-04
• Kendra Nelson, PPP Co-Founder, Now Runs Honesdale — A PPP co-founder’s role in borough governance. 2026-05-05
• Timber Mill Commons, Part II: Honesdale Mayor Derek Williams’ Role — Williams’ connection to the 42-apartment development. 2026-05-08
• Honesdale Mayor’s Employer Sent $171,500 to His Girlfriend’s Arts Organization — Follows the money from employer to WCAA. 2026-05-11
• Is People’s Playground Project Soliciting Your Money in Violation of Pennsylvania Law? — A charitable-solicitation compliance question. 2026-05-14
• Lisa Glover Worked for a Google-Founded Nonprofit. Now She’s Redesigning Honesdale. — Glover’s background and current influence. 2026-05-15
• Who Killed Honesdale’s Parks Commission? — How the parks oversight body was dissolved. 2026-05-19
• Who Paid for the WCAA Building? Start With the Donor Wall. — Traces WCAA building funders. 2026-05-19
• The Silence of Honesdale — What 10,000 views and two loud voices reveal about fear in a small town. 2026-05-19
• Did Honesdale WCAA Illegally Solicit Donations for a Decade? — A decade-long solicitation legality question. 2026-05-21
• James Hamill Says He Killed the Parks Commission. — A named official takes responsibility. 2026-05-22
• “You’re Stupid.” That’s What the Book on His Bed Says. — Williams’ messaging tactics. 2026-05-25
• Can You Identify This Object on Honesdale Mayor’s Bookshelf? — Crowdsourcing a detail from Williams’ shelf. 2026-05-26
• The RICO Question: Does the Williams-Glover Network Meet the Federal Definition of a Racketeering Enterprise? — A legal framing of the network. 2026-05-29
• PPP Affiliate Harassed Journalists, Threatened a Politician, and Hid Her Connection to All of It — Documents the intimidation. 2026-05-29
• PPP Affiliate Sends Cease and Desist. Did She Just Admit Premeditation? — A legal threat backfires. 2026-05-30
• Before You Donate to People’s Playground Project — A donor-caution summary of the investigation. 2026-06-04
• A Correction, a Crusade, and a Question of Motive — Follow-up on a correction and motive. 2026-06-11
• Mayor’s Facebook Post Sparks Outrage. Then His Yes-Men Show Up to Set Everyone Straight. — Online reaction and defenders. 2026-06-16
• Mayor Derek Williams and the $72,500 Steered Towards His Employer — Another money-flow toward Williams’ employer. 2026-06-17
• Honesdale Residents Take Charge of Central Park Playground Redesign — The first Central Park / playground piece, pre-dating the PPP series. 2025-12-20

Wayne County Justice System — DA Howell / Ellis Law / Judge Meagher

Prosecutorial and judicial accountability: District Attorney Alfred J. Howell, the Ellis Law Group and Brendan Ellis, Judge Matthew Meagher, and allegations of manufactured pleas and debt-collection-via-charges.

• When Honesdale’s New Judge Takes the Bench, Will Her Husband Still Be Prosecuting Cases There? — A conflict-of-interest question. 2025-12-09
• Incoming Wayne County Judge’s Comments Raise Ex Parte Questions — Ex parte communication concerns. 2025-12-10
• Wayne County DA Howell Silent on Cases Handled by PSP Trooper Convicted of Evidence Tampering — Howell won’t address tainted cases. 2025-12-19
• DA Howell Denied Rickard Records to Inmate He’d Prosecuted — A records denial to a man Howell prosecuted. 2025-12-20
• Ellis Law Group: A Pocono Review Investigative Report — Part 1, explicitly labeled investigative. 2026-06-03
• Ellis Law Group — Part 2: The Record — The firm’s record. 2026-06-03
• Ellis Law Group: District Attorney Alfred J. Howell — Ties Ellis Law to Howell. 2026-06-05
• TIPS WANTED: Judge Meagher and Brendan Ellis — We’re looking for defendants. — A tip solicitation from affected defendants. 2026-06-05
• Procedural Audit: Commonwealth v. Kaitlin White (Wayne County, PA) — A case-file audit. 2026-06-07
• Commonwealth v. Kaitlin White: How a Plea Gets Manufactured in Wayne County — The anatomy of a manufactured plea. 2026-06-07
• Federal Lawsuit Accuses Wayne County DA of Using Criminal Charges to Collect His Father’s Legal Bills — The Cordaro federal suit. 2026-06-13
• Commonwealth v. Joseph Cordaro: The Extraction — A narrative of the Cordaro case. 2026-06-13
• Supporting Documents: Commonwealth v. Joseph Cordaro — A document dump. 2026-06-13
• Procedural Audit: Commonwealth v. Joseph Cordaro, CP-64-CR-0000272-2024 — A procedural audit. 2026-06-13

Wayne County Public Services — CYS & Addiction Treatment

Child-welfare and county-funded social-services accountability.

• Wayne County Commissioners Smith, Cramer, and Shook Named on Provisional License After Years of Child Welfare Failures — CYS placed on a provisional license. 2026-06-02
• Tips Wanted: Wayne County, PA — A tip solicitation. 2026-06-03
• How Wayne County CYS Lost Its Workforce in Fourteen Months — A staffing collapse. 2026-06-08
• Wayne County Has Four Licensed Addiction Providers. It Pays Two. — County addiction-provider funding. 2026-06-21
• The Nonprofit Wayne County Pays to Treat Its Addicts Has $34,000 Left — PATH near insolvency. 2026-06-21

Hideout HOA & Slain Officer Memorial Fund

The Hideout, Lake Ariel. The memorial-fund and HOA-governance controversy around a slain Hideout officer (distinct from the criminal shooting case).

• Widow of Slain Hideout Officer Demands Answers on Memorial Fund — The widow questions the fund’s handling. 2025-12-06
• Slain Officer’s Widow Says HOA President Knew About Court Changes Before She Did — The HOA president’s foreknowledge. 2025-12-06
• New Details Emerge in Slain Officer’s Memorial Fund Controversy — Follow-up details. 2025-12-18
• Three Hideout Board Members Quit After Investigation — But $5,000 Doesn’t Explain Why — Board resignations. 2025-12-20

State Police (PSP) Accountability

Troop R. Botched investigations and whistleblower retaliation within the Pennsylvania State Police.

• Waymart Man Admits He Framed Hawley Woman in Antisemitic Email to Honesdale Business — The framing admission. 2025-12-17
• How Did PSP Honesdale Get It So Wrong? Questions Mount Over Botched Antisemitic Email Investigation — PSP’s investigative failure. 2025-12-17
• Waymart Man Who Framed Hawley Woman in Antisemitic Email Hoax Gets Probation, No Jail Time — The sentencing outcome. 2026-04-19
• The Whistleblower Running Troop R: How PSP Punished Two Officers for Reporting Theft — Then Sent One to Police Wayne County — Whistleblower retaliation. 2026-04-19

More Wayne County

Standalone Wayne County accountability and spending pieces.

• Honesdale Rewrites Fireworks Rules, But Can the Borough Actually Enforce Them? — An enforceability question. 2025-12-18
• Wayne County’s Volunteer Ambulance Crisis: ‘We Don’t Know Where We’ll Be in Two Years’ — EMS sustainability. 2025-12-27
• Timber Mill Commons: 42 Apartments, $22 Million, and No Guarantee a Single Tenant Will Be From Wayne County — Development scrutiny (Part I; Part II is in the Honesdale Power Network above). 2026-04-23
• Honesdale Wants to Spend $80,000 on Ballistic Helmets. The Numbers Don’t Add Up. — Spending scrutiny. 2026-04-24

Lackawanna County — 4 articles

Prosecutorial Accountability — Tara Glan / Ray of Hope

Scranton / Taylor. Plea-deal and charge-dropping scrutiny in a church child-abuse case.

• Lackawanna County Prosecutors Dropped 50+ Charges in Glan Plea Deal — The dropped-charges count. 2026-05-08
• 5 Victims, 50 Dropped Charges, No Press Release — A quiet plea. 2026-05-11
• Taylor Church Van Driver Sentenced for Child Rape — The sentencing. 2026-05-11

More Lackawanna County

Standalone Lackawanna County accountability pieces.

• SilverShield: Protection or Surveillance? The Privacy Questions Lackawanna County Didn’t Answer — Anti-scam program privacy. 2025-11-20

Regional & Multi-County — 15 articles

Congressional & Campaign Finance — Meuser / Bresnahan / Cognetti

PA-8 / NEPA. The money behind regional federal politicians.

• PA 8th Congressional District Primary 2026: Bresnahan, Cognetti Unopposed in May 19 Races — The primary landscape. 2026-04-19
• 70% of Cognetti’s Campaign Cash Comes From Outside Pennsylvania — The out-of-state donor share. 2026-04-20
• ‘Very Simple’: Cognetti’s Israel Platform Has Everything — Except Palestinians — A platform analysis. 2026-04-20
• Meuser Wins Primary Unopposed. His Campaign Spent $1.5 Million Anyway. — Spending despite no opponent. 2026-05-22
• Dan Meuser Took the Money, Kept the Board Seat, Went to Congress. — Pride Mobility ties. 2026-05-26
• Dan Meuser Gave Tom Corbett $81,894. Corbett Gave Him a Cabinet Seat. — A donation-to-appointment trade. 2026-05-27
• Rep. Daniel Meuser Spent 20 Years Lobbying Congress for the Wheelchair Industry. Then He Joined It. — A revolving-door arc. 2026-06-01
• Who Funds Rob Bresnahan? Not Northeastern Pennsylvania. — Bresnahan’s donor base. 2026-06-10

Housing, Tourism & Economy

Poconos-wide. Data-driven economic accountability.

• Inside the $7.2 Billion Pocono Tourism Machine — A tourism-economy breakdown. 2025-12-05
• Monroe County Rents Up 81%: Poconos Housing Crisis Explained — A rent-spike analysis. 2025-12-18
• 6,500 Vacation Rentals. 3% Vacancy. $900 Is All a Warehouse Worker Can Afford. — Short-term rentals vs. wages. 2026-04-22
• The Airbnb Gold Rush Is Over — Is There Still Money To Be Made? — The short-term-rental market turn. 2026-05-23

Other Regional

Pieces spanning multiple Pocono counties.

• Are Private Security Guards Playing Cop in the Poconos? — Private-security overreach. 2025-12-02
• Gangs Found a Home in the Poconos. Police Can’t Touch Them. — A gang-enforcement gap. 2025-12-06
• Two Counties, One Airport, Zero Cooperation — Inter-county dysfunction (Lackawanna / Luzerne). 2025-12-28