$45,000 agreement helps Southmoreland recoup costs

A settlement has been reached in the lawsuit filed by Southmoreland School District over what it claimed were overpriced cleaning supplies.

The district sued former building and grounds supervisor Earl Cramer Jr., Eugene Ciafre, General Products and Supply Inc., other companies owned by Ciafre, and Tony Lizza, who has since won a seat on the school board.

The district alleged Cramer bypassed the state-mandated purchasing process to buy overpriced supplies from General Products and Supply Inc. and other companies owned by Ciafre, who employed Lizza as a sales associate. Lizza solicited the purchases from Cramer, according to the suit.

District Solicitor Dave Petonic said the original lawsuit sought about $35,000, along with attorney and legal fees.

The board approved a $45,000 settlement from the defendants.

As part of the settlement, Ciafre and Cramer agreed to drop their lawsuits against the district.

Ciafre claimed the district owed more than $5,000 in payments for supplies that were delivered.

Cramer claimed he should be paid an early-retirement incentive of $25,000, as well as about $10,000 worth of health insurance per year for 10 years.

Throughout the legal process, third-party complaints were filed against district Business Manager Bill Porter related to the handling of business records. His attorney, Anthony Sanchez, said those complaints were withdrawn.

"Bill (Porter) did not enter into any settlement agreement with those people and no money was exchanged on his part," Sanchez said.

"I did my job in the best interest of the district, and if I had to do it over again, I would make the same choices in the best interest of the school district," Porter said.