Lawsuit alleges malicious prosecution, Constitutional rights violations by Mt. Carmel officials

MOUNT CARMEL – This borough, it’s police department, chief, and ex-Lieutenant are all named in a federal lawsuit, accused of malicious prosecution and first amendment violations, among others.

The suit was filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania by Carmen Scicchitano against James Williams, Sr., former police Lt. David Donkochik, Chief Christopher Buhay, the borough, and unknown officers involved in the investigation.

According to the complaint, it stems from felony wiretapping charges filed against Scicchitano and his son, Don Phillipo Scicchitano, a local freelance photographer.

At the time, Don Scicchitano was accused of recording a private conversation with Williams, a captain at the Anthracite Fire Co. in Mount Carmel and Carmen Scicchitano was accused of disseminating the alleged illegal wiretap by providing a portion of it to the Governor’s Office.

Those charges were filed by Donkochik, who pleaded guilty last month to unrelated federal charges.

They were dismissed six years later, on Dec. 2, 2024.

Carmen Scicchitano’s lawsuit alleges that the charges were brought “without probable cause and based upon manufactured evidence,” cutting out portions of the audio recording that showed the tape was made in public, relating to a public official.

“Donkochik acknowledged to [Carmen Scicchitano] that the charges were without any reasonable merit in the afternoon of Nov. 15, 2018, but Defendant Donkochik said to Plaintiff that Defendant Donkochik did not give a f— and that the judge was in his pocket,” the complaint reads.

The suit alleges violations of Carmen Scicchitano’s First and Fourth amendment rights and that the actions caused emotional and economic injury.

The suit seeks at least $50,000 in compensatory damages, as well as punitive damages and court costs.

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