Shaner pleads guilty, sentenced to probation for hindering prosecution

HARRISBURG — A former Fayette County magistrate charged with fixing a drunken driving case for the nephew of a former prosecutor was sentenced to 18 months on probation after pleading guilty to hindering prosecution on Monday in Dauphin County Court.
In exchange for the plea, Senior Deputy Attorney General L. Todd Goodwin withdrew felony charges of perjury and obstruction of justice that had been filed against Dwight Shaner, 71, of Dunbar, in September.
Shaner’s attorney, George Matangos, told President Judge Richard Lewis that Shaner had a distinguished career in Fayette County, adding, “This was an instance out of the ordinary, your honor.”
Lewis asked Shaner if he had anything to say before the plea and sentence were entered and Shaner replied, “No, your honor.”
Shaner and Matangos declined to comment following the hearing.
Goodwin said the deal offered to Shaner by the commonwealth only pertained to the dismissal of the obstruction and perjury charges. He said the sentence was ultimately up to the judge.
According to Goodwin, there’s a possibility that Shaner, a magisterial district judge for nearly three decades, could lose his pension after pleading guilty to the misdemeanor charge.
In addition to serving probation under Fayette County supervision, Shaner must pay a $2,500 fine and perform 150 hours of community service.
The charges against Shaner were filed by the state Attorney General’s office following a statewide grand jury investigation.
According to the grand jury presentment that led to the charges, Shaner dismissed a drunken driving case for the nephew of Fayette County Common Pleas Judge Linda Cordaro in 2011.
The suspect in the case, Robert Rudnik, had struck a mailbox and a guide rail near his home.
Cordaro at that time served as the assistant district attorney assigned to Shaner’s office. She recused herself from hearing the case, but not until the morning of the hearing.
Cordaro has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
The state trooper who filed the drunken driving charge testified before the grand jury that Cordaro and Shaner both asked him if he had witnesses, throwing up a “red flag.” The trooper asked for a continuance of the hearing, but Shaner denied it, according to court records.
Shaner told the grand jury the trooper never asked for a delay, but that statement was contradicted by the testimony not only of the trooper, but by Rudnik’s attorney and his mother.
Shaner’s long-time secretary testified the she could not recall a similar incident in the 17 years she worked with him that Shaner, who retired in 2013, did not grant a continuance when asked.
After he dismissed the case, Shaner called the trooper into his office, the presentment stated.
“Hey trooper, I hope you understand…I’m catching some heat from Linda (Cordaro) because that is her nephew,” Shaner said, according to Trooper Joseph Ross’ testimony before the grand jury.
Ross asked District Attorney Jack R. Heneks Jr. to refile the charges against Rudnik, but Heneks declined, according to court records.
When a complaint about the case was field with the attorney general’s office in 2013, Heneks asked that office to handle the matter. State prosecutors refiled the charges against Rudnik.
He pleaded guilty to drunken driving and accidents involving damage to property, and was sentenced to six months of intermediate punishment.
Goodwin would not say whether any other criminal charges related to the case would be filed.
After Shaner was charged, the state’s Judicial Conduct Board filed a petition to suspend him and denied him senior judge status, meaning he could not fill in to hear cases.