Richard Corkery, retired from a long career as an accountant at Penn State University, chose the tiny town of Coaldale to spend his golden years, moving there from Philadelphia in 2005.

Now, he sits in Gratorford state prison, convicted of possession of vast amounts of child pornography.Corkery, who turned 76 on Dec. 14, quickly became immersed in the community and was elected mayor in November 2009, urging council members at his Jan. 4, 2010, swearing-in to resolve their disagreements in a civil manner.Corkery, his palms together and his head bowed, led council and audience members in reciting the Lord's Prayer at the start of public meetings. He adopted a policy of opening his door to the public on Tuesdays, to listen to their concerns and offer advice. He spoke at Memorial Day services of the need for a return to morality.He often spoke fondly of his decades of involvement with children's sports teams.But his pious image tarnished in July 2011 when Nesquehoning police Chief Sean Smith filed the charges against him.According to court documents and testimony, on six days between Feb. 15 and March 28, Corkery logged on to his work computer at radio station WLSH, searched for teenage boys and downloaded 34 images of young men engaged in sexual acts, 28 of whom were determined to be teenagers. Corkery insisted the files popped up on their own.The case wound through the system for years, with Corkery's lawyer filing for delay after delay. At his trial, FBI agent John Bates said Corkery admitted viewing the child pornography, and a state police computer expert testified he examined the computer in question and found "thousands" of porn sites.Finally, on June 12, a jury found Corkery guilty of 27 counts on possession of child pornogrpahy, and sentenced to nine to 36 months in prison, followed by three years of probation. He appealed his conviction, and lost. He remained free on $50,000 unsecured bail until Dec. 12, when Carbon County Judge Steven Serfass ordered him to jail after learning he had failed to pay $16,485 in electronic monitoring fees.Shubeck sentencedLansford police officer Robert J. Shubeck, 41, of Nesquehoning, was sentenced to 36 months probation in Carbon County court on Sept. 16 on a charge of corruption of a minor. Shubeck was charged in October 2013.Shubeck was originally charged with five criminal counts. He admitted supplying alcohol to the minor teen, who was between 17 and 18 at the time. The section of the corruption charge that alleged to sexual activity and viewing pornography with the teen was dropped in the plea bargain.He was an officer with Lansford since 2007 before he resigned shortly before his sentencing. After he was arrested by state police at Lehighton, borough council suspended him in December 2013 pending the outcome.Schuylkill inmate inquestSchuylkill County officials in April chipped away at testimony from a March 31 coroner's inquest into the death of a prison inmate.The inmate, Matthew Koncsler, 21, died in his cell on March 31, 2013, of "mixed substance toxicity," according to medical professionals. The jury also determined he had ingested heroin within hours of his death.Koncsler had been in the prison on drug charges for about five days.The inquest jury determined that Koncsler's death was by accidental overdose, with negligence as a contributing factor.But county officials in April rebutted the fundings, saying inmates are well-supervised.Grandpa pulls gunon intruderAt 3:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, retired truck driver Dave Knittle was watching television in the front room of his Lansford home. Less than half an hour later, the two intruders who had pushed their way into the neighboring house where his 16-year-old grandson was home alone, were staring down the barrel of Knittle's 9 mm handgun."I didn't do anything any other grandfather wouldn't have done," Knittle said.The handgun is one of several he owns. Knittle, who has a license to carry permit, bought the gun less than a year before the incident. By the end of March, the intruders, Joseph R. Becker, 31, of Coaldale, and Brian Kehl, 30, of Summit Hill, were behind bars.