Friday, April 22, 2005
The new superintendent started his corrections career in Mercer.
MERCER, Pa. -- Paul Stowitzky has been named superintendent of the State Regional Correctional Facility at Mercer.
Stowitzky replaces 33-year corrections veteran Joseph Desuta, who retired in March.
"Paul Stowitzky is an experienced corrections professional who has risen through the ranks within the Department of Corrections," said Pennsylvania Corrections Secretary Jeffrey A. Beard, who made the appointment.
Background
Stowitzky has 27 years of experience with the department, having begun his career as a corrections officer at the Mercer prison in 1978. While at the facility, Stowitzky attained the rank of captain until his transfer to the State Correctional Institution Waynesburg in 1989, where he was promoted to deputy superintendent for facility management.
He also has held the position of deputy superintendent at both Graterford and Greene prisons until his assignment as deputy superintendent at Mercer in March 2004.
Stowitzky attended Pittsburgh School of Technology, Allegheny County Community College, and Pennsylvania State University.
The Mercer prison originally opened in September 1978 to offer programs to county prisoners with six-month to two-year sentences.
When the prison's mission changed in the mid-1980s, it began to serve as a minimum-security institution for men, currently housing an average of 900 inmates, the department of corrections said.