TRUMBULL COUNTY Former health chief appeals for job back

The former administrator wants back pay and assurances his old job is his to keep.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The fired administrator of the Trumbull County Health Department is appealing to the State Personnel Board of Review to get his job back.
In a letter to the board, George Buccella called his termination "illegal and improper" because he was fired by Dr. James Enyeart, the health commissioner, and not by a majority of the county board of health.
Buccella says he should get his job back, with back pay and a promise that the job is his until he chooses to retire.
"I'm taking care of what I need to take care of," said Buccella, 61.
Fired in October
Buccella was fired by Enyeart in October, soon after the doctor took over as health commissioner. Enyeart said he wanted to hire someone for the second-in-command position who had the education and skills to do the job.
Buccella is a high school graduate and former Weathersfield Township trustee and pizza shop owner.
In May 2000, he left a position on former congressman James Traficant Jr.'s staff to take the $41,600-a-year health department job.
During Traficant's bribery trial, Buccella testified he was forced to work on Traficant's Greenford farm.
The State Personnel Board of Review's decision will likely revolve around whether Buccella was an at-will employee of the health commissioner, or if he was eligible for certain civil service protections, said Jim Sprague, executive director of the board.