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Row officers defend political hires
Monday, June 19, 2000 By Jeffrey Cohan and Mark Belko, Post-Gazette Staff Writers
Among Friends
The Allegheny County row offices pride themselves on the service they provide to the public, whether it's recording deeds, issuing marriage licenses, probating wills or serving warrants.
In many cases, the employees providing those services are Democratic Party activists or relatives of party or elected officials.
Here is an office-by-office breakdown of political ties, based on the Post-Gazette's findings.
Treasurer
The prize for political patronage among the county row offices goes to the treasurer.
The Post-Gazette confirmed the political connections of 32 of the treasurer's 102 employees, easily the greatest number found in any of the 10 row offices. The actual number most likely is higher. Some of the workers' links could not be readily identified or confirmed.
"I didn't say none of the hirings were political," Treasurer John Weinstein said when confronted with the list of 32. "The issue that someone needs to explain to me is: What isn't being done in this office? Someone is going to be hard-pressed to explain that. This office is more productive than it's ever been."
The producers include computer operator Heather DeFazio, daughter of County Council President John DeFazio; executive assistant Diane Nelson, daughter of former Treasurer Mary Alice McDonough; grants administrator Timothy Joyce, son of the late John P. Joyce, former county prothonotary; computer operator Donna Marie Parrilla, a Stowe committeewoman and wife of Louis "Robin" Parrilla, chief deputy in the register of wills office; supervisor Terri Valicenti, daughter of the late A. Joseph "Speedo" Valicenti, a four-term member of the state House of Representatives; and supervisory clerk Randall Taylor, a Pittsburgh school board member.
"There is nothing wrong with being involved with politics, as far as I'm concerned," Weinstein said.
"As long as they're qualified, I don't care who they are or who they are related to."
Weinstein hired DeFazio, Joyce and Parrilla. The others worked in the office before he became treasurer. Many of the other politically connected employees were on the payroll before Weinstein was elected last year. He also had served as acting treasurer and deputy treasurer.
He insisted that he based his decisions on qualifications, not politics. DeFazio, for instance, has been a teacher and is working toward her master's degree, he said.
"She certainly is very qualified for the position she has," he said.
Joyce, who had been an aide to former Commissioner Mike Dawida, has a master's degree in public administration and nearly 20 years in county government. Weinstein said he was hired to go after and keep track of grants for the county.
He said he knew Parrilla was related to Louis Parrilla when he hired her full time. But he said she had earned the job by performing well as a temporary employee.
"I believe she was qualified for the position. She's doing an excellent job," he said. "She's a very dedicated and committed worker."
Valicenti said her late father "probably" had something to do with her getting hired in 1976. But she quickly added that she was qualified to do the work. She started as a cashier and worked her way up to her present job as supervisor of the tax lien and bankruptcy department.
Well-connected employees would appear to give row officers a convenient supply of dedicated volunteers for re-election campaigns. But Weinstein, for one, says his workers provide little campaign help.
"I don't rely on my staff to do the political responsibilities I have as an elected official," he said. "That's my responsibility, not my staff's."
The treasurer said he is trying to reach out to job seekers who don't have political ties. For example, he said he is recruiting computer programmers at Computer Tech and the ICM School of Business & Medical Careers.
"I didn't call five committee chairmen who I know personally and say, 'Hey, I have an opening for this job.' "
Prothonotary
Michael Coyne won election to the post of county prothonotary in 1991 with a little campaign help from his friends in the Cusick family.
"I honestly believe that without the Cusick family, Michael would never have won the prothonotary's race," Deputy Prothonotary Michael Lamb told the Post-Gazette in 1994.
Coyne has expressed his gratitude by putting at least three Cusicks on the prothonotary's payroll:
Joseph Cusick served as a top aide in the office before winning a City Council seat. His father, Bernard Cusick Sr., has worked as a clerk since 1993. And his sister-in-law, Jerilyn Cusick, obtained a clerical job last year.
Meanwhile, Christopher Cox couldn't rely on his surname to obtain a job in the prothonotary's office. Cox got his position the old-fashioned way: through a political connection.
A committeeman from Mt. Lebanon, Cox was looking for work about three years ago when, on his behalf, the chairman of his town's Democratic committee phoned Coyne.
"The chairman called and said, 'Do you have an opening?' " Coyne recalled. "I said, 'If he can pass a typing test, we'll give him a shot.' I don't see anything wrong with that."
Cox, 42, passed the test and has been working as a clerk ever since.
"Anybody can do that. Anybody can call here and say, 'My nephew, my niece, my son or daughter is looking for a job,' " Coyne said.
In all, 17 of the office's 79 employees had some type of political connection, the Post-Gazette study found. While Coyne doesn't deny that, he says they are all competent.
"If someone is good, who cares who their relative is?" he said.
For instance, Eric Feder, second deputy prothonotary and a Democratic committeeman in the city's 1st Ward, is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. Coyne said Feder wasn't a committeeman when he was hired in 1992.
"He's smarter than you and me," Coyne said.
Michael Della Vecchia
"Everybody I hire has to do the job. If they can't do the job, I don't hire them."
Recorder of Deeds
Recorder of Deeds Michael Della Vecchia has hired several politically active Democrats, and he has used his power to help someone get a job in another row office.
That someone is his sister, Christine Reis, an assistant supervisory clerk for the register of wills.
Reis obtained her job in 1985, when Rita Wilson Kane held the office.
"I asked Rita if she had an opening," Della Vecchia said. "She said she did. She interviewed [Reis] and she qualified."
For his own office, Della Vecchia says he likes to maintain a geographically diverse work force. In at least one respect, he has succeeded.
On board, for instance, are North Braddock Mayor Ray McDonough, Glassport committeeman James Uziel, Dormont committeeman Joseph Costanzo and Mt. Lebanon Democratic Chairman Robert Johnston.
Almost all the politicos working in the row office deny that their party ties helped them land their jobs. McDonough, who is not related to former county Treasurer Mary Alice McDonough, is no exception.
"I had applications all over the place," he said. "I had no relations or anybody down in the [recorder of deeds office], nobody."
Della Vecchia said McDonough wasn't even involved in politics when he was hired.
"He was downsized out of the mill. He turned out to be one of my best employees," he said.
Kitty Kotvas, chief clerk for Della Vecchia and daughter of Penn Hills committeewoman Katherine Kotvas, similarly discounts the role her political connections played in her successful job search.
"I got it on merit," she said. "I took a test. I did everything I was supposed to do."
Della Vecchia said Costanzo, formerly of the controller's office, came to him about a job. He said he was able to do the work. Uziel, he said, had been a teacher.
"Everybody I hire has to do the job. If they can't do the job, I don't hire them," he said.
Della Vecchia says having a political connection is not a requirement for a job in his office. But he adds that it is not unusual for people who work in his office or other offices to get involved in politics.
"Government and politics are intertwined. If they aren't in politics when they come down here, they want to get in because government and politics are so intertwined," he said. "The issue to me was, are they competent for the job they're applying for?"
Out of the 59 employees in the office, the Post-Gazette was able to readily identify 14 who had political ties.
Pete DeFazio
"If someone's brother is a committeeman or if they're from a political family, we don't punish them for that." Michael Mullen, DeFazio's executive assistant; DeFazio declined to be interviewed.
Sheriff
The county's last two sheriffs, Eugene Coon and current officeholder Pete DeFazio, have staffed the department with a stable of politically connected deputies and office workers.
The sheriff's payroll includes deputies Janel Diven, daughter of District Justice Daniel Diven; Richard L. Manning, son of Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey A. Manning; Nadine Zeleznik, the daughter of Senior Common Pleas Judge Richard G. Zeleznik; Armand Martin, the son of Clairton District Justice Armand Martin; and Bernard Cusick Jr., brother of former Pittsburgh City Councilman Joseph Cusick. Cusick was hired by Coon, the rest by DeFazio.
Several Democratic committee members and their relatives also have landed jobs in the sheriff's office.
Michael Mullen, DeFazio's executive assistant, acknowledged that the sheriff's office, like many other row offices, has a high concentration of employees with political pedigrees.
"If someone's brother is a committeeman or if they're from a political family, we don't punish them for that," Mullen said.
DeFazio declined to be interviewed for this story, but in the past he has insisted that his hires are "totally qualified." For instance, he has said Diven and Martin came from "good stock" -- he held their fathers in high regard.
Nonetheless, the sheriff is putting together his own merit-based hiring system that will limit the pool of eligible job applicants to those scoring in the top 20 percent of the civil service exam, Mullen said.
Still, such a limit would give DeFazio more freedom than Allegheny County Executive Jim Roddey's proposed system, which would restrict the pool to the top 10 percent.
The Post-Gazette reported last year that of the 50 deputies DeFazio has hired since taking office in January 1998, only one finished in the top 10 in the written civil service test, only three finished in the top 25 and only 12 in the top 100.
All of those hired passed the test, making them eligible for employment, but a high score seemed to do little to improve an applicant's chances.
Overall, the Post-Gazette confirmed political connections for 20 of the office's 202 employees.
George Matta
"We based our employment record on merit, but that doesn't mean we excluded people with political connections."
Clerk of courts
George Matta, the clerk of courts and former Duquesne mayor, makes no apologies for the choices he has made in his first five months in office.
Among his hires have been Phil Martell, his campaign adviser and longtime friend, as chief of staff; Robert M. Falce, the son of West Mifflin Mayor Joe Falce, as finance director; Matt Zeleznik, son of Senior Judge Richard G. Zeleznik, as finance director; and Tom Carter, a McKeesport school board member, as expungement clerk.
In each instance, he said, the employees were qualified to do the job, regardless of their connections.
"It's not business as usual. I think business as usual meant we hired incompetent people," he said. "Business as usual means we were hiring strictly political hacks.
"We based our employment record on merit, but that doesn't mean we excluded people with political connections."
The Post-Gazette found 12 of the 53 employees in the clerk of courts office with political connections, some predating Matta.
Matta, who knows Falce's family, said Falce had been a collections manager for Mellon Bank before he was laid off. He said none of the other applicants for the job, which was not advertised, came close to matching his credentials.
"I will weigh his credentials against anyone in the office in the last two terms," he said.
He said Carter, former McKeesport police chief, has made great strides in coordinating expungements with the district attorney's office in the short time he has been employed.
Martell, he said, not only is a good administrator but "understands George Matta. I think that's important. I think it's important to have someone you can trust" as chief of staff.
Others in the office with political pedigrees include Sheila Tibbs, the wife of District Justice Edward Tibbs, and Michelle Owens, a clerk and Democratic committeewoman. Both were hired last year by former Clerk of Courts Joyce Lee Itkin.
"I'm qualified. I put in an application and I was lucky enough to get a job," Owens said, noting that she had worked as a legislative liaison in the district office of state Sen. and county Democratic Party Chairman Leonard Bodack, D-Lawrenceville.
District Justice Tibbs said he had nothing to do with his wife's hiring.
Stephen A. Zappala Jr.
"I never had any problem with someone being a committee person. I think that shows interest in your community."
District attorney
In mid-April, just three weeks after row officers announced that they would formulate their own merit-based hiring plans, District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. hired Gary Matta, the brother of newly elected Clerk of Courts George Matta.
Zappala said he hesitated to hire Matta because of the controversy generated when the row officers rejected Roddey's merit-based hiring plan, but in the end, he decided to bring Matta on board because he was qualified.
He said Matta, former Duquesne City School District business manager, is preparing for a career as a prosecutor by working two jobs and going to law school at night. Although listed as a clerk typist, Matta interviews people for placement in alternative sentencing programs.
"He's going to be a lawyer," Zappala said. "What I'm telling you is that he is bright, articulate. I think he has tremendous potential."
Gary Matta, his brother and the Matta family supported Zappala during the district attorney campaign last year. But Zappala said that had nothing to do with hiring him.
Nonetheless, had Roddey gotten his way, Zappala would not have been able to put Matta on the payroll. Roddey's proposed administrative code, which was not adopted by County Council, would have banned the hiring of county elected officials' relatives.
Matta, who makes $21,840 a year, is not the only person with political connections Zappala has brought on board since taking office.
He also hired Lynn Ricciardi, the wife of City Councilman Gene Ricciardi, who transferred to the row office after more than a decade in other county departments. She coordinates the office's senior citizens programs.
Zappala said Ricciardi, who makes $35,000 a year, worked with him when he was in private practice more than 10 years ago. That was before she married the councilman and before Gene Ricciardi was elected to that job.
Another he has hired is W. Richard Booth, an attorney who is a Democratic committeeman in the city's 7th Ward. Zappala said he met Booth at a political event. He said he did not know if Booth supported his election.
Booth, he said, was interviewed and recommended by others in the district attorney's office. He works in appeals, which Zappala considers "the strength of this office."
"He's a pretty sharp lawyer. He's a bright guy," he said.
Zappala said he knows the public wants some form of merit hiring. To that end, he has pitched a plan to county Manager Robert Webb to create a centralized pool of candidates based on merit to fill clerical jobs in county departments and row offices.
But, he added, a person should not be disqualified from being hired because he holds a party committee position.
"I never had any problem with someone being a committee person. I think that shows interest in your community," he said.
Overall, the Post-Gazette readily identified nine of 203 employees in the district attorney's office who held committee positions or had some other political connection, some of whom were hired before Zappala took office.
David Wecht
"I'll stack the professionalism of this office against any other in county government."
Register of wills
When David Wecht first ran for register of wills in 1997, he vowed to be guided by merit in hiring decisions.
"The office should serve the public rather than the ward leaders," he said then.
The commitment hasn't stopped Wecht from putting people with political ties on the payroll, though he insists all are qualified.
Among those he has hired are Bonnie Brimmeier, solicitor and sister of Joe Brimmeier, chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Ron Klink; Faith Stipanovich, chief administrative assistant and a Mt. Lebanon committeewoman; Tom Jargiello, a former county Department of Aviation deputy director who was active in Wecht's campaign; Michael Galovich, court liaison officer and a city committeeman; and Louis "Robin" Parrilla, his chief deputy and a Stowe committeeman.
Wecht also has hired Robert Laffey, an assistant supervisor who went to Shady Side Academy with him.
In all, the Post-Gazette found 19 of 64 employees in the register of wills office with political connections. Many of them predate Wecht, including Christine Reis, the sister of Recorder of Deeds Michael Della Vecchia, who was hired in 1985.
Wecht said those he added to the payroll got the jobs on merit, not politics.
Brimmeier, he said, was one of the "finest municipal solicitors in Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania." He said he did not know Stipanovich was a committeewoman.
"There is no better employee in this office," he said, adding that Stipanovich has a doctorate. "She's so overqualified for this job I can't even express it."
Jargiello, an inheritance tax clerk, fits the same bill, he said.
"If the Post-Gazette can find me someone with Tom Jargiello's experience and his law degree who is willing to work for $19,000 a year, let me know," he said. "I'm proud to have him and honored that he's here."
Wecht acknowledged that Galovich provided some volunteer help during his campaign, but he said that was not the reason he was hired.
"He was hired because he was an outstanding person and was extremely qualified for the job," he said. "Michael Galovich would be an asset to any company or any employer that he would work for."
Wecht also had high praise for Parrilla, who worked as a county stationary engineer before joining Wecht's staff as chief deputy.
"He's my most trusted and closest assistant. I can't say enough about the good work he has done as chief deputy," he said.
Wecht calls Laffey an "acquaintance" who applied for a job. He said Laffey has won commendations from lawyers and the public for his work in the register of wills office.
Wecht also said he's tired of the row officers being portrayed as "ridiculous buffoons and party hacks."
"I'll stack the professionalism of this office against any other in county government," he said.
Dan Onorato
"Just because they're active in their community politically doesn't mean they're not qualified."
Controller
For years, the county controller's office, the independent watchdog of county government, has been regarded as one of the most professional and well-run row offices.
According to Controller Dan Onorato, 50 of the office's 89 employees have bachelor's degrees, 11 have postgraduate degrees and 10 have associate's degrees. There are 12 certified public accountants in the office.
The Post-Gazette examination also found seven of the 89 employees are Democratic committee members or are related to one. All of the hires predate Onorato, who was elected in November.
The seven include Cesare Riccelli, an assistant payroll manager who is a Hampton committeeman; and James F. McKnight, a construction inspection superintendent and a committeeman in the city's 10th Ward.
Onorato said all of the employees are "extremely competent."
Riccelli has a bachelor's degree in philosophy and psychology and a business certificate from Dale Carnegie Business Institute, Onorato said. McKnight has worked in the controller's office since 1980.
"Just because they're active in their community politically doesn't mean they're not qualified," Onorato said.
Elsewhere
In the coroner's office, run by David Wecht's father, Dr. Cyril Wecht, the Post-Gazette found three of 116 employees to have political ties.
The newspaper could not establish any connections in the jury commission, which has been gutted by layoffs. It has 11 employees.
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