Dominick P. Pannunzio, an attorney for the Wilkes-Barre CityEmployees Federal Credit Union, spoke over the phone with thecooperative's manager Jim Payne at about 10 a.m. Monday.

Six hours later, the 50-year-old Payne fatally shot himself athis Bear Creek, Pa., home after public reports that he waspotentially being targeted in an FBI investigation of the $41million, 2,626-member credit union.

“About 4 o'clock in the afternoon, they found him (at hishome),” Pannunzio said Wednesday in an interview with CUTimes. “I was absolutely shocked.”

Pannunzio said he and other credit union officials were informedof Payne's suicide by Pennsylvania State Police on Tuesday.

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During an emergency meeting of the Wilkes-Barre City EmployeesFCU board of directors on Tuesday evening, Pannunzio was appointedto temporarily oversee the credit union's operations, comply withFBI and NCUA requests for information and be the cooperative'sspokesperson.

Pannunzio confirmed that the FBI is conducting an investigation.He assisted federal agents who reviewed and collected documentsTuesday from the credit union's Wilkes-Barre office. The attorneyalso said there were four NCUA officials at the credit union'soffice finishing an audit Wednesday.

“Obviously, there is an (FBI) investigation but I can't discussit,” he said.

Carrie Adamowski, an FBI spokesperson in Philadelphia, confirmeda statement reported by the local media that Sean Quinn, directorof the FBI's Scranton office, said he “considered the credit unionas a witness and a victim in an ongoing criminal investigation.Individual employees of the credit union were potential targets ofthe investigation.”

Although Quinn declined to say Payne was a target of theinvestigation, he did say that arrests would be forthcoming but hewould not specify who might be arrested, according toAdamowski.

However, Adamowski confirmed that Quinn told a local news site,citizensvoice.com, that he believed what he called “corruption”led to Payne's death.

In addition to Payne, there were two other Wilkes-Barre CityEmployees FCU employees. Payne was appointed manager 10 years ago,according to Pannunzio.

“At this point I don't think there is any indication of any(monetary) losses, according to my knowledge at this time,” saidPannunzio, adding that the credit union has been open for businessand that no members have closed their accounts.

“We are complying with everything we have to do,” he said.“We are working full time on this. The credit union is runningsmoothly.”

Next Page: Financial Performance

NCUA financial performance reports show Wilkes-Barre CityEmployees FCU posted a net worth of 12% over the past five years,equal to its peer average.

From 2009 to 2013, the credit union's total loans have remainedsteady averaging about $4.2 million annually. In the same years,its loan income has averaged about $790,000 annually, NCUAfinancial reports show.

However, the cooperative's net income has plummeted from$218,425 in 2009 to $81,091, according to NCUA financialperformance reports.

The Payne incident is the second such suicide reported in lessthan a year.

John C. DuPree Jr., volunteer manager of the $2.4 millionShiloh of Alexandria Federal Credit Union, committed suicide onApril 4, 2013 – just one day before the co-op was closed by theNCUA, which determined the credit union was insolvent and had noprospect for restoring viable operations.

An NCUA investigation discovered a suicide note on DuPree'scredit union computer, which stated that he had been “stealingmoney from Shiloh Credit Union for several years now” and “betrayedthe trust that everyone placed in me.”

It is unknown whether Payne left a suicide note.

When Pannunzio spoke with Payne Monday morning, he had noindication that Payne was despondent, Pannunzio said.

The board of directors issued a public statement Tuesday sayingthat they were deeply saddened by Payne's death.

“The board members would like to extend their heartfelt sympathyand condolences to Jim's wife and family,” the board statementread. “Jim's colleagues in the Pennsylvania credit union movementwill greatly miss Jim's dedication, fervor and commitment to thecredit union philosophy.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, details on memorial services forPayne were not available.