A recently retired Schuylkill County 911 dispatcher took his own life in his Minersville home Thursday afternoon, officials confirm.

Kenneth “Scott” Lipsett retired from his job as of Dec. 2. His retirement was made public during a county commissioners’ meeting Wednesday.

“He was an excellent employee. Scott served the entire community well. He was an excellent dispatcher, and he did an excellent job in his 29 years here,” 911 Director Scott Krater said hours after the incident.

Lipsett was under investigation as of last month after a video was made public showing him being confronted for allegedly soliciting a 15-year old boy on online. The “boy” was, in fact, a man posing as a teenager.

Schuylkill County District Attorney Michael A. O’Pake said Thursday that he referred the investigation to state police to avoid a conflict of interest.

Lipsett had not been charged with any crime.

On Wednesday, commissioner candidate Jeffrey J. Dunkel of Palo Alto identified Lipsett publicly as he spoke at the meeting, criticizing commissioners for allowing him to retire with his pension and benefits intact.

Dunkel chided commissioners for not investigating Lipsett as they did two of four women who in March 2021 sued Commissioner George F. Halcovage in federal court for sexually harassing them since he was first elected in 2012.

The two women, Angela D. Toomey, Tax Claim Director, and Assistant Tax Claim Director Denise McGinley-Gerchak, whose names were made public at a commissioners meeting, filed a second suit in October 2021 contending they were retaliated against for filing the original lawsuit.

The second suit was filed a month after the women were accused of performing unauthorized searches on county software that allegedly compromised the privacy of thousands of people.

Commissioners twice unsuccessfully attempted to fire them.

The women were placed on unpaid suspension in September of 2021 pending the results of an internal investigation.

Those results were never made public, and the women were awarded 26 weeks of unemployment compensation, which has since run out.

Their lawsuit is being heard in U.S. District Court, Scranton.