Occasionally, I like to devote a column to taking care of some unfinished business in stories I have been relating to you during the past year.

One of the most recent involves State Sen.-elect Jarrett Coleman, R-Lehigh and Berks, whose resignation from the Parkland School Board was accepted on Dec. 15.

Coleman, who is also an airline pilot, will be sworn in to the $102,844-a-year job on Jan. 4 in Harrisburg.

Originally, Coleman said he did not plan to give up his school board position to which he was elected in 2021 and served a little more than a year. As I reported in an earlier column, under Pennsylvania law Coleman would have been able to hold both offices simultaneously, although I strongly recommended that he resign his school board position, an elective office that has no compensation associated with it.

In a statement explaining his decision, Coleman said, ``Part of being a leader involves making difficult choices at times. After consulting with my team, we determined although legal to hold both positions, it would be best for the constituents of the 16th District for me to resign as school board director as is customary when assuming higher office.’’

The board accepted Coleman’s resignation at its Dec. 20 meeting. Now the Parkland board will decide how it wants to fill the vacancy

GoFundMe scheme actors

The homeless Philadelphia man who had a key role in a $400,000 GoFundMe scam that originally touched the heartstrings of millions, has been sentenced in federal court to three years’ probation and ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Johnny Bobbitt, 39, was earlier sentenced to five years’ probation on state charges.

The others involved in the 2017 scheme also have been sentenced. GoFundMe has returned all of the donations made as a result of the scam, and the restitution by the three will go to make GoFundMe as whole financially as much as possible.

Mark D’Amico and his then-girlfriend, Katelyn McClure were accused on concocting this tale about Bobbitt, a homeless veteran, giving McClure his last $20 when she ran out of gas on a Philadelphia highway.

When the truth finally came out, according to federal and state prosecutors, it was learned that the trio had met near a Philadelphia casino in October 2017 to work out the scheme.

They publicized this “feel-good” story through national and local media interviews and created a GoFundMe account for Bobbitt that attracted more than 14,000 donors who thought they were doing a good turn for Bobbitt in return for his good turn. Originally, the fund had a goal of $10,000.

The whole plot unraveled when Bobbitt filed lawsuit against the couple, accusing them of keeping most of the money to pay for luxury items and trips to exotic locales for themselves.

For example, prosecutors said, the couple bought a BMW, recreational vehicle and made numerous trips to casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas to gamble.

Federal prosecutors said D’Amico, who was identified as the group’s ringleader, pleaded guilty to federal charges and was sentenced nine months ago to 27 months in prison and ordered to make restitution.

Then, in August, D’Amico, 43, was sentenced in a New Jersey court to five years in prison for his role in the fraud.

McClure, 33, was sentenced in federal court earlier this year to one year and one day in prison and ordered to serve three years’ probation. She still faces state charges.

By Bruce Frassinelli |

tneditor@tnonline.com