Embattled treasurer vows he won't heed calls to resign

Most county officials have signed a petition asking the treasurer to resign.
& lt;a href=mailto:cioffi@vindy.com & gt;By LAURE CIOFFI & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Despite a growing sentiment that Lawrence County Treasurer Gary Felasco must resign, Felasco says he's here to stay.
"I was elected to serve four years," Felasco said Thursday. He was elected to his third, four-year term last year.
The county treasurer has come under fire since February when it was revealed that he hadn't paid property taxes on his Cunningham Avenue home since 2000. The property was improperly marked "stayed," keeping it from the yearly tax sale.
Lawrence County commissioners removed Felasco from his appointed job as county tax claim bureau director after learning the treasurer had not paid his taxes. He remains the elected treasurer and holds a seat on the Lawrence County Housing Authority.
Felasco said he doesn't believe there is a large contingent of people who want him out of office, despite a growing group of people attending the weekly Lawrence County Commissioners meetings asking for his removal.
"It's the same 10 people every week," he said.
Petition
Felasco said he's also not bothered by a petition signed by nearly every other elected county official asking for his resignation.
Lawrence County Jury Commissioner A. Wayne Yoho started circulating the petition two weeks ago in the courthouse after it was revealed that Felasco was using his county-issued cellular telephone to give details and directions to adult-oriented parties. The parties are advertised on a Web site that has links to sexually explicit photographs.
Yoho said Thursday that all elected officials except District Attorney Matthew Mangino have signed the petition asking Felasco to resign. Mangino had come out on his own after the telephone misuse was revealed and called for Felasco's resignation.
"What they say publicly and what they say privately to me are two different things," Felasco said of his fellow elected officials.
Felasco said his lawyers have advised him that he cannot talk about any ongoing investigations.
State investigation
Mangino announced earlier this week that he has turned over investigations of the tax claim bureau and Felasco's cell phones to the Pennsylvania Attorney General. Lawrence County commissioners have also hired a forensic auditing firm to investigate the tax claim bureau and treasurer's office.
"I'm aware that people are upset. I don't feel I've done anything illegal," Felasco said. "I've had audits done in my office and the tax claim office and they have always been perfect."
Felasco would not respond when asked why auditors didn't catch the fact that he hadn't paid his property taxes in four years.
He also noted that he will not resign from the county housing authority.
"Why would I resign from a board where no one has accused me of doing anything, but my job," he said.