Bolus was 82 years old.<\/p>\n
SCRANTON, Pa. \u2014 Scranton businessman Bob Bolus has died, according to a close family friend.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Many know Bolus from his trucking and towing business that he operated for decades.<\/p>\n
There were many sides to Bob Bolus, some controversial, some charitable.<\/p>\n
He was charged with insurance fraud in 2009, found guilty in a jury trial three years later, and sent to the Lackawanna County jail. He always denied the charges.<\/p>\n
One of the ways we will always remember Bolus comes from politics. He ran for mayor of Scranton a handful of times. Sometimes, he was on the ballot, sometimes, a write-in campaign. He was never successful. Judges knocked Bolus off the ballot, ruling he couldn’t serve as Scranton mayor because of the insurance fraud conviction.<\/p>\n
In 2019, Bolus, at a Scranton City Council meeting, railed against the sexual orientation of a woman running for council. She won the election.<\/p>\n
Bolus also protested the raising of the LGBTQ flag in front of Scranton City Hall as part of Pride Month.<\/p>\n
Bolus staunchly supported Donald Trump and his policies, and his so-called Trump trucks were frequent sights around Lackawanna County. Bolus even had one drive past a Black Lives Matter Rally on Courthouse Square in Scranton in June of 2020. The truck was then parked just feet away from the demonstration.<\/p>\n
The Trump trucks were not limited to Lackawanna County. Bolus and his truck were part of a convoy that headed to Washington in February of 2022. The convoy was part of a protest of President, and Scranton native, Joe Biden, and his political agenda.<\/p>\n
One cannot sum up the life of Bob Bolus without mentioning the Christmas dinner he hosted for more than 30 years. The locations changed, but the mission did not: feed anyone who was in need, offer company to anyone who felt lonely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bolus and his fellow volunteers even delivered, providing meals to hundreds every Christmas, and thousands over the decades, never charging, always relying on donations.<\/p>\n