Officials hire attorney to help remove Conti

A second attorney was hired to handle an unrelated county lawsuit.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Lawrence County commissioners have hired an attorney to help oust a member of the county housing authority.
Tom Bashera II has been added to the county payroll as special counsel. His pay rate has not been negotiated yet, commissioners said.
Bashera's primary duty will be to petition Lawrence County Common Pleas Court to remove Donald Conti from the county housing authority. Conti, known as "Ducky," pleaded guilty Jan. 18 to a gambling charge after his arrest two years ago when police confiscated poker machines from the Vita Nuova Club on East Washington Street. The club has since closed.
Commissioners, who appoint authority members, have said they wanted to remove Conti since his arrest, but were waiting for a conviction or a plea.
Also charged
He is the second member of the housing authority to be criminally charged. Gary Felasco, who also is the county treasurer, was suspended from the county housing authority last year by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development after his arrest on theft and embezzlement charges.
Commissioners said Bashera was instructed to start working on ousting Conti this past weekend. According to Bashera, nothing had been filed in court as of Tuesday.
Bashera was hired after county commissioners learned th
eir newly appointed county solicitor, Tom Leslie, could not represent them in the matter because he initially served as Conti's attorney when Conti was arrested. Leslie no longer represents Conti.
Commissioners also moved in a 2-1 vote to hire Atty. Frank Verterano to represent the county in a cellular-tower tax case that is pending. Verterano's pay rate also has not been negotiated, commissioners said.
Leslie also could not participate in that lawsuit because he initially represented the plaintiff in the case.
cioffi@vindy.com