Eighteen properties have been removed from Thursday’s Luzerne County free-and-clear delinquent tax auction because land banks have exercised their authority to acquire them through “trump bids,” the listing shows. The North East Pennsylvania Land Bank Authority covering Pittston area communities has been in operation for years. More recently, Hazleton City created a land bank, followed by formation of the Lower South Valley Land Bank that includes Ashley, Nanticoke, Wilkes-Barre, Kingston and the townships of Newport and Hanover. Thursday’s auction, formally known as a judicial sale, sells properties cleared of liens and back taxes because they were not purchased at a first-stage upset sale.