If commissioners oust him, Conti will contest

Conti says the charges and his pending removal are related to his friendship with the county treasurer.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Ducky Conti says he's ready to fight Lawrence County commissioners over their attempt to oust him from the county housing authority.
The county filed a motion Thursday morning in common pleas court to have Conti removed because of his recent guilty plea to a gambling charge.
Judge J. Craig Cox has scheduled a hearing on the matter for 9:30 a.m. April 24.
Conti, who appeared in court Thursday, said he doesn't understand why commissioners are so adamant about his removal.
"I pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. I didn't do nothing wrong. I pleaded guilty [to paying out] on poker machines and that has nothing to do with the housing authority," he said.
It's personal
Conti went on to say that the gambling charges were his personal life and should not affect his service on the housing authority. He said it has not affected his status as the county's elected Democratic Party Committeeman -- a nonpaying position.
"I got a raw deal on that anyway," Conti said of the gambling charges. "All I was an officer of the club. I was financial secretary. Usually when something like that [a club is caught paying on poker machines] happens, they just fine the club. This was all politics. It was all because I'm friends with Gary Felasco."
Felasco, the county's elected treasurer, has been charged with taking more than $40,000 from the treasurer's office for personal use, as well as Ethics Act violations. He was removed as the county's appointed tax claim director in 2004 shortly after The Vindicator first revealed that he had not paid real estate taxes on his Cunningham Avenue home since 2000 and improper court stays were placed on the files to prevent the property from being sold at a tax sale.
An investigation was started after he was removed from the tax claim office and Felasco was charged with theft from office and embezzlement Sept. 7.
Gloria Conti, Ducky Conti's estranged wife and deputy county treasurer, testified at Felasco's preliminary hearing that Felasco took cash from the county safe to pay personal bills and buy a van. She was given immunity from prosecution in exchange for her testimony.
Felasco was then suspended from his position on the housing authority board by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development pending the outcome of his criminal charges.
Conti's contention
Conti contends police started investigating the Vita Nuovo Club on East Washington Street because they thought Felasco was involved in its operation.
"He was a member, but just one of 275," Conti said. "We had county commissioners, city council members and lawyers in that club. We had all walks of life."
Conti said the club was trying to get a charter from the Sons of Italy, but noted that an existing Sons of Italy chapter on South Mill Street was "causing problems."
Conti said he joined the club after seeing a newspaper advertisement that a new Sons of Italy chapter was forming in New Castle.
He said they rented the East Washington Street building and were in the process of applying for a liquor license when the police raided the club and he and others were arrested. He said members brought their own bottles of alcohol that would be kept on a shelf with their names, and the club had beer, but those drinking it would get it themselves and then just put money in a box.
The club folded after the police raid when authorities took their journal books listing the members and their small games of chance license, which was issued by Felasco's office.
Conti said he feels his involvement with the club doesn't warrant his removal from the housing authority board.
"I don't feel I did anything wrong. They're saying I'm a criminal, but it's almost like getting a DUI or a traffic ticket. They are making like I murdered someone or embezzled $100,000," he said.
cioffi@vindy.com