New superintendent appointed at state prison in Mercer County

MERCER, Pa. -- The deputy superintendent of centralized services at the state prison in Findley Township has been named superintendent of the institution.
Joseph F. Desuta, who has worked at the State Regional Correctional Facility at Mercer since 1986, is succeeding Gilbert A. Walters, who retired in January after 34 years with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.
Jeffrey A. Beard, secretary of corrections, announced the appointment.
Desuta has 31 years with the department of corrections, starting as a corrections counselor at the prison at Dallas, Pa., in 1972.
He was promoted to center director at the Community Service Center in Johnstown in 1973 and later became regional director of the then-Central Region IV, Community Services Division.
He came to Mercer in 1986 as deputy superintendent of treatment and later became deputy superintendent of centralized services.
DeSuta has a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's in rehabilitation counseling from the University of Scranton. He also has a master's degree in political science/ public affairs from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
He is a 1970-72 Army veteran and served in Korea.