Look Back: Former sheriff deputy charged with forging miner certificates

Apr. 30—With the horrific number of mine accidents that led to multiple fatalities, certificates of competency were required for all men working in coal mines.

Boards of examiners were established to evaluate, issue and repel miner certificates.

Paul Wyoda, a Luzerne County deputy sheriff who lived in Hudson, was appointed as a board examiner joining eight other men in April 1901, tasked with measuring a man's competency and intelligence to work under ground.

Immigration was in full swing with different languages from those willing to risk their lives working in coal mines. Each miner despite language barriers had to be competent to know the basics of survival if a disaster were to happen.

It didn't take long for Wyoda to stray from his duties.

Wyoda, who was a Republican candidate for county sheriff in 1901, and three other men were arrested when miners' certificates were issued to non-union miners during the violent 1902 coal strike.

Sheriff Albert H. Jacobs, a Democrat, dismissed Wyoda due to being actively engaged in Republican campaigns throughout Luzerne County.

Wyoda's life continued to spiral out of control and nearly caused the entire Wyoming Valley mining industry to cease operations by the end of the decade.

With his knowledge of being a board examiner, Wyoda began to sell forged miners' certificates for $1 a piece.

"Sensational developments have come within the last few days owing to the arrest of Peter Spahulis at the Woodward Colliery in Edwardsville charged with attempting to use a fake certificate," the Times Leader reported Jan. 21, 1910.

With the arrest of Spahulis, mine foremen inspected and discovered hundreds of forged miner certificates.

A policemen disguised as a Polish immigrant went to the hotel of Anthony Genis on South Pennsylvania Avenue in Wilkes-Barre where Wyoda was found to be staying. Wyoda would sell the forged miner certificates at Sahva's Saloon next to the hotel.

Each certificate required the signatures of three board examiners as Wyoda would forged the names of two and add his own.

"The arrest of Wyoda was brought about having Spahulis direct investigators to the hotel. When the policemen searched the former deputy sheriff and Republican candidate for the same office, 20 blank certificates were found on his person," the Times Leader reported.

Wyoda was convicted of issuing forged miner certificates by a jury in a trial before Judge John Montgomery Garman on April 29, 1910.

Judge Garman had no mercy for Wyoda who sentenced him to 30 months at the Eastern Penitentiary in Philadelphia.

"This was the sentence passed upon Wyoda by Judge Garman after his attorneys had made a futile attempt to secure a new trial," the Evening News reported May 2, 1910.

Wyoda served just one year of his sentence. When he was released, Wyoda returned to his wife but his troubles continued and eventually left his family.

Wyoda would be arrested in December 1914, for neglecting to financially provide for his estranged wife and children.

Standing in a courtroom before Judge P. A. O'Boyle on Dec. 11, 1914, Wyoda acted as his own attorney and claimed poverty.

Wyoda brought all his clothing he pulled out of a duffel bag and displayed each tattered piece to the judge.

"Wyoda brought all the clothes he owned into the courtroom to try and convince the judge that his garments are sadly in need of mending and if he were forced to go out in the winter blasts to toil at hard manual labor, parts of his anatomy would be exposed to nor'easters and perhaps lay him open to pneumonia," the Evening News reported.

Judge O'Boyle ordered Wyoda to pay $11 every two weeks to his estranged wife.

Wyoda was sent to prison in February 1915 when he failed to comply with Judge O'Boyle's order.

Searches did not return any results when Wyoda died.