Danville area resident alleges township failed to notify him of an inspection

Anna Wiest, The Daily Item, Sunbury, Pa.
·1 min read

May 13—MAHONING TOWNSHIP — A Danville area resident claimed he was not notified of an upcoming inspection before Mahoning Township officials allegedly trespassed on his private property.

Michael Conti, who owns property on River Drive, said township officials were on his property on March 27 without notifying him.

Conti said he then received a letter on which Mahoning Township Zoning Officer Dean VonBlohn printed his home phone number, which Conti called. Conti said VonBlohn yelled at him using expletives and threatened him with arrest.

"He has a vendetta against me," Conti said. "This is an ongoing thing."

Conti said VonBlohn called him on May 4 and apologized. "I was good with it," Conti said. "I was told that letter was withdrawn and it was a misunderstanding."

The resident alleged he was taking his son to Geisinger on May 9 when he saw a car and four people on his property again. "I asked if I could help them and Dean responded, 'Didn't you get my letter?' I said 'no.'"

According to the resident, he has permits for everything on his property and there has been no construction since 2015.

Township Supervisor John Whelan said officials are in the process of verifying the zoning officer has the authority to do inspections on properties.

Conti submitted a complaint letter which will be handed to the township solicitor, Jonathan DeWald, who will handle the matter, according to Supervisor Bill Lynn.