Felasco's pay heads for a safe

County commissioners say they don't want to go to court on the matter.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA STAFF
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Lawrence County commissioners are taking a more common-sense approach to withholding the pay of county Treasurer Gary Felasco.
They intend to lock up Felasco's paycheck in a safe this week to prevent him from getting paid.
Commissioners have been wrangling over how not to pay the treasurer since his Sept. 7 arrest by the Pennsylvania State Police on theft and embezzlement charges.
Commissioners voted the day after his arrest to put Felasco's paychecks into an escrow account until the criminal charges are resolved, but they were forced into action two weeks ago when the county Controller Mary Ann Reiter told commissioners they could stop issuing Felasco's paychecks only with a court order.
Felasco had threatened a civil rights lawsuit against the county and the controller if he was not paid.
Tried to join suit
Commissioners then attempted to join a civil lawsuit filed by county District Attorney Matthew Mangino. Mangino contends that Felasco has abandoned his office and is now living in Ashtabula with his wife and children. He is trying to have Felasco removed from office.
The county petitioned the court to become a party to the suit with the intention of asking the court to withhold Felasco's pay until it is resolved. But a judge ruled that the county has no standing to join the lawsuit.
The commissioners met Wednesday morning with Mangino and Reiter to talk about the problem.
"I would very much like to withhold his pay, but it has to be done in legal parameters," Reiter said.
"We recognize you have that opinion, but we are willing to take that risk," Commissioner Ed Fosnaught replied.
Commissioner Steve Craig said he did not want to go to court to ask for an order to withhold the check.
"We don't want to fight Gary Felasco's battles for him. If there's an issue with Gary Felasco not being paid, then Gary Felasco should bring it to court, not the commissioners," he said.
Into a safe
Instead, commissioners suggested they just not sign Felasco's checks and then put them into a safe.
The district attorney agreed with the commissioners.
"What I think is appropriate is that Gary Felasco not get paid while these cases are pending. It seems to me if Gary Felasco's check ends up in the safe, then he's not getting paid," Mangino said.
cioffi@vindy.com