Scott Binsack is back in the Keystone State after one month on the lam from authorities and two weeks in a jail cell in New York. Binsack was transported Monday night from Stueben County (N.Y.) Jail to the State Correctional Institution at Rockview in Centre County to await two hearings on alleged parole violations, said Leo Dunn, a spokesman with the State Department of Probation and Parole.
The Shamokin man and former Lackawanna County homebuilder was found by U.S. Marshals after spending a month as a parole absconder, during which time he taunted critics and law enforcement via the Internet and social networking sites such as Facebook. On the day he was found in a budget motel room in Bath, N.Y., a civil lawsuit was filed on his behalf against elected officials and the police chief in Shamokin.
Binsack will have a hearing, known as a first-level hearing, Dec. 13 at 9:15 a.m. to determine
whether authorities had probable cause to continue holding Mr. Binsack. The hearing will be held in Rockview before a hearing examiner.
Within four months, Binsack will face a second-level hearing, an evidentiary hearing that will determine whether he violated his parole. Binsack failed to show up for a scheduled meeting with a hearing officer and fled the state, actions that are typically considered violations. Also, he may have engaged in financial or business dealing prohibited by the terms of his release. Binsack has been involved in real estate related businesses in Shamokin that sought investors. He contended he was acting as a consultant in these endeavors and that his involvement did not constitute a violation.
If he is found in violation, he could be put back in jail until he completes his sentence on his bad check conviction in Lackawanna County, which would keep him behind bars until May 2014, with the possibility of additional time.