Easton School Wiretapping Case Coming to a Close

A former Easton school official accused of illegally recording his colleagues in a meeting wants to enter the first-time offenders program.

Thomas Drago, who had been the Easton Area School District's director of technology, wants to join the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (also known as ARD) program, his attorney said Tuesday.

Drago, 54, of Bushkill Township had been scheduled to have a preliminary hearing Tuesday morning. Instead, defense attorney Phil Lauer said Drago would waive his hearing and apply for ARD.

ARD is essentially a conviction that still lets first-time, non-violent offenders keep their records clean. Assuming Drago is allowed into the program and stays out of trouble with the law, his record will be expunged.

Drago is accused of using his iPhone to record a private meeting at about 4 p.m. March 30, 2012.

The event was a "meet and discuss" session involving certain employees of the Easton Area School District regarding the negotiation of salaries, budgets and other concerns for Act 93 employees, court records state.

Drago admitted to downloading the recording from his phone to his work computer and then to his iTunes account, court records say.

Prosecutors say Drago told investigators he intentionally concealed his iPhone in his pocket, knowing it was wrong to audio tape the meeting without consent.

The employees from that meeting were in court Tuesday. After the hearing, Drago could be seen chatting and shaking hands with Easton school officials. He remains free on bail.