On the eve of a civil trial for damages, convicted streetlight scam artist P.J. McLaine has filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 7, effectively halting all litigation. McLaine and fellow Scranton-area businessman Robert Kearns were convicted earlier this year of defrauding Bethlehem Township after they funneled $832,000 for a streetlight purchase into their personal accounts. Both were sentenced to six months in jail.

In addition to hoodwinking Bethlehem Township officials, municipal officials in Lackawanna, Lehigh, Carbon, Luzerne and Schuylkill counties have all lost money from similar streetlight deals, and have called on asked the state Attorney General http://golackawanna.com/stories/More-woes-for-MEM-owners-as-theft-charges-filed-in-Lehigh-County,258270 to intervene.

Kearns and McLaine both face theft charges in Lehigh County http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/CPReport.ashx?docketNumber=CP-39-CR-0001673-2013 as a result a deal with in which Coplay officials entrusted them with $160,182 for a streetlight purchase.

The Scranton duo have insisted that PPL interfered with their business model when it became too successful.