The Wayne County Bar Association is the professional association for attorneys practicing in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, and the umbrella for related bodies like Pro Bono Partnerships Inc. This page tracks this outlet’s ongoing coverage of the organization.
That coverage has included the bar association deleting 15 years of public legal-journal records in 19 minutes and losing its own tax-exempt status, apparently for the second time, along with disclosure questions around Pro Bono Partnerships Inc., including $109,841 in IOLTA grants tied to the group.
If it happens with Wayne County’s Bar Association and it’s of public interest, we’ll cover it — check back here to stay current.
The association’s sitting president also surfaced in this outlet’s procedural audit of DA A.G. Howell’s prosecution of Joseph Cordaro, where his firm’s connections appear on both sides of the case record.
On June 7, 2026, Pocono Review published “Procedural Audit: Commonwealth v. Kaitlin White” and “Commonwealth v. Kaitlin White: How a Plea Gets Manufactured in Wayne County.” They are the most widely read stories this outlet has ever run. Two days later, someone at the Wayne County Bar Association spent 19 minutes deleting 15 years of...
Pro Bono Partnerships Inc. received $109,841 in IOLTA grants over seven years. Three years of checks went to a private residence in Gouldsboro. Seven years of federal filings disclosed nothing. The grants manager who helped design the program also manages the funding stream that pays for it. Carl and Tobey Oxholm are the same person.
Brendan Ellis. Oressa Campbell. Carl Oxholm III. Christine Rechner. Five names on one tax filing connecting Pro Bono Partnerships to the WCBA, Wayne County CYS, and the DA's office. PBP's first contract went to "Mike Parley" — a nickname and misspelling for an attorney since convicted in four criminal cases. Then the WCBA deleted the pages that named them.
Pro Bono Partnerships Inc. has no staff, no office, and seven years of empty federal filings. Treasurer Christine Rechner is also Wayne County CYS Solicitor. Brendan Ellis went from PBP Treasurer to ADA. Joseph Rydzewski was disbarred for stealing $157,000 from clients. Board member Oressa Campbell serves as a Guardian ad Litem. No public record shows how a dollar of IOLTA grant money has been spent.
Jeanine Edwards ran it as DA. Matthew Meagher was her VP. Brendan Ellis was his law partner and the Treasurer. Now Edwards and Meagher are the only two judges in Wayne County, Ellis prosecutes before both of them, and his wife Jessica sits as MDJ. The Wayne County Bar Association lost its tax exempt status, bled cash for six years, and sent $50,000 to a foundation with a Meagher on its board. A Pocono Review investigation.