WITF Public Media Center
Whistleblower lawsuit linked to Pennon’s past acquisition of LNP
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Karen Hendricks/WITF
WITF Public Media Center
A senior executive is filing a whistleblower lawsuit against WITF’s parent company, Pennon, in Lancaster County Court.
The suit by Cassie Farrelly, Pennon’s senior vice president and chief impact officer, alleges misuse of funds related to its 2023 acquisition of LNP Lancaster Online.
The merger of the two media companies ended in January 2026 and the Lancaster newspaper is now owned by the nonprofit Always Lancaster.
Ron Hetrick, who facilitated the merger as Pennon’s president and CEO, resigned in the fall of 2025.
Farrelly contends she faced retaliation and reassignment of her duties at Pennon after she raised financial questions about terms of the agreement. She also voiced concerns about Pennon’s use of endowment funds to cover millions of dollars in losses related to operating the newspaper.
Farrelly is asking for reinstatement of corporate responsibilities she said she lost after her objections were raised.
She also wants Pennon to acknowledge that Pennsylvania’s Whistleblower Law was violated, among other demands.
A written statement issued by Pennon denied Farrelly’s allegations and called its actions regarding LNP lawful and appropriate.
Pennon’s interim president and CEO Tom Baldrige said the organization would not comment further since the case is active.
This story was produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
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