Lansford’s former mayor says he’s not the reason the borough was denied insurance coverage for a federal lawsuit involving a part-time officer.

Borough council approved a $230,000 settlement proposal in the lawsuit filed by part-time officer Gilbert Diaz, but the borough was not covered by insurance for the costs involved.

Back in May, Councilwoman Michele Bartek stated publicly that the borough didn’t submit the paperwork into the insurance company in a timely manner and pointed to former Mayor Hugh Vrablic.

“I was told that the reason why the insurance company did not cover this was because paperwork was not handed in in a timely fashion by Hugh Vrablic, who was the mayor at that time,” Bartek had said, “And the insurance company refused to cover it.”

An insurance denial dated Oct. 16, 2025 — a little more than month after the Diaz lawsuit was filed — states the borough knew as of June 19, 2025, about Diaz’s allegations and did not disclose them.

“As the conditions in the insuring agreement have not been met, there is no coverage for this matter under the policy,” the letter states.

Vrablic shared an image of the June 19, 2025, email from Diaz’s attorney, Gerald J. Hanchulak, to him, which references an attached correspondence, which he said was the notice of the allegations. He did not share the attachment.

“It is public record of who the notice was sent to and the date and time it was sent,” Vrablic said. “Look and see who also was included in that same and first email?”

The June 19 email was addressed to Vrablic with CCs, or email carbon copies, addressed to Bob Yurchak, the borough solicitor; Bartek, who was chair of public safety; and Bruce Markovich, who was council president at the time.

The email address of Yurchak, however, was not correct, as letters were transposed in the domain.

“The mayor has NO power to do anything that involved filing claims with insurance companies, purchasing anything,” Vrablic said in an email Saturday.

“If the mayor wants anything, the mayor must request it from council at a public meeting,” he said.

Vrablic went on to say that most of the mayoral privileges were taken away from the position before he took office, when Bartek served as mayor.

“Shortly after the email was received an executive meeting took place and all facts presented to council,” Vrablic said. “As the mayor at that time, I kept all communication open and provided all information to the council in a timely manner.

“That’s all the mayor can do. Council is responsible to do the rest. The council president is the one who should have contacted the insurance as soon as this letter was received, NOT the mayor.”

The current council president, Joe Genits, who was not on council last year, said it was his understanding that the claim should have been filed immediately when the borough was given notice.

Last year, the borough hired another law firm, Haggerty, Goldberg, Schleifer & Kupersmith, to review the denial of insurance coverage.

Genits last week said that investigation showed that the mistake was on the borough for not filing a claim in time, likening it to having a car crash and calling the insurance company six months later.

He denied that the lack of insurance was due to the borough not disclosing the potential claim on the insurance renewal, which was completed months prior to the allegations surfacing, Genits said.

The renewed policy went into effect July 1, 2025, after the borough received the June 19 notification, he said.

Markovich believed that he and Yurchak were copied on a letter Diaz sent to Vrablic with demands, but it was not an actual intent to sue, he said on Tuesday.

“He sent a letter asking the mayor to reinstate him with back pay,” Markovich said. “The insurance company interpreted that as an intent to sue.”

He believed that was the June 19 letter, but couldn’t say for certain without seeing it, and that both he and Yurchak were copied on the letter.

Markovich explained that Yurchak didn’t see the letter as an intent to sue, and neither did attorney Michael Miller, who has represented the borough in labor matters.

“The insurance company can interpret whatever they want,” Markovich said. “They were looking for a reason to get out of it, and that’s what they did.”

Bartek, who was being released from the hospital on Tuesday when contacted for comment, wasn’t clear on the letter, but said she was aware of the situation regarding Diaz.

However, she said she wasn’t advised on how the borough arrived at a settlement from January to April, or of the terms when approved in May.

Bartek along with Markovich and Councilwoman Gwyneth Collevechio voted against the settlement. The borough has already made its first payment of $100,000, as agreed upon.

The Times News has submitted Right to Know requests for correspondence, applications and renewals related to the insurance coverage related to the Diaz lawsuit, as well as legal bills related to defending the case.