Wilkes-Barre Gets The Shaft Again

I am so confused. I'm baffled by our legal system and how people can take total advantage of it and get away with it. I'm confused about this entire case of former WB cop George Cole and his bilking of $425,000.00 from the city of Wilkes-Barre. It all started in 1996 when while on duty, Cole's cruiser was hit by another car injuring Cole. The injuries sustained in the crash kept Cole out of work until his full recovery in 2005. He was out of work for about 9 years. During his long recuperation, Cole was paid $425,000 from the city through the Heart and Lung Act. The Heart and Lung Act pays public servants like police officers 100% of their salary while out due to injures sustained while on the job. Normal schmucks like you and I only get about 66% when we get hurt on the job. Also while Officer Cole was convalescing, a case was filed in bankruptcy court on what appears to be in his behalf. Oh, this gets better. Also during this time, the insurance company of the woman that hit him settled for $500,000.00 which normally covers medical bills, time off work and other damages. In total, Officer George Cole received close to one million dollars due to a car accident. Last week, U.S. District Judge James "Show Me The" Munley ruled that even though George Cole received an insurance settlement, he does not have to pay back the money he received from Heart and Lung.

Confusing right? NO, it appears this guy is a genius. He just bilked the city out of a half a million dollars. WHAT, ARE YOU FREAKIN ME! I have a few burning questions here. One, how can he be bankrupt? He just got close to a million dollars in 9 years! My guess is he filed for bankruptcy before he got the half a mil payout from the insurance company well knowing that he would not have to pay back the cities money. According to law, he has to satisfy his bills and then he keeps the rest. Second, how hurt was this guy? The court case states that he was severely injured. He was hurt enough to be out of work for 9 years. He did fully recover and is back on the beat full time. My guess is he milked this cash cow for as long as he could. A typical Fraternal Order Of Police move. Third question is why did Judge "Show Me The" Munley overturn the decision sent down by the Third Circuit Court Of Appeals? I'm sure there was past legal precedence for his decision.

To sum up this mess, the city is getting screwed and "The Baconator" George Cole just made a million bucks for getting into a car accident. Don't get me wrong here, Cole was injured on the job and most likely deserved the half a million bucks he got from the insurance company. He does not deserve the other half a mil and should be made to pay it back. The system just got its teats milked by a genius. The cops are pros at this stuff. They will continue to milk the taxpayers on claims like this one until our legal system wakes the hell up and stops them. I'm stunned that they actually got this guy back to work. Normally, the cops retire on disability continuing to work the udders of the broken judicial system. In other words, they are fleecing the cities and towns which of course is passed on to the taxpayers.