SUNBURY - District Attorney Tony Rosini said the plan to cut a secretary position in his office is an act of retaliation by Commissioner Vinny Clausi that could jeopardize public safety.
The commissioners' decision also may have violated the Sunshine Act, the DA said Tuesday, a claim Clausi and his two fellow commissioners dispute.
News of the DA office layoff raised tension in the county a week ahead of an April 17 salary board meeting at which a vote on three layoffs - the others in the sheriff's department and prothonotary/clerk of courts office - are expected.
Rosini issued a press release late Monday after Clausi announced a letter had been sent to the union as required about the layoff plan. The DA said it "makes no sense economically or in considering our ever-increasing workload, and it is only explained as a vindictive act of retribution by Clausi."
Rosini said when he convinced the other two commissioners, Chairman Rick Shoch and Stephen Bridy, to not go through with the layoff of two senior staff members at the county prison earlier this year, Clausi was upset. During an executive session, Clausi told Rosini he "owed me one," the DA said.
"Other people told me that he said that he 'lost face' when the commissioners backed off their original position and that he would get back at me for that," Rosini's statement said.
Asked to respond Tuesday, Clausi said he was talking about a "candy bar" and joking around when he said those words. He declined to elaborate.
Rosini fought against the commissioners when they voted earlier this year to eliminate one of five assistant district attorneys (ADAs). Clausi said Monday the cut in a secretary's position correlates to the loss of one of the ADAs, and that the commissioners weren't targeting the DA's office. He said the county continues to address rising costs by trimming employees in various departments.
Letter confusion
The letter announcing the layoff, signed by Joseph Picarelli, director of human resources, orders the DA to inform the commissioners of the position he decides to cut within 15 days or they will cut the lowest paid person.
The language prompted Rosini to suggest the commissioners violated the Sunshine Act.
"This is the second time the commissioners, or at least two of them, as my information is that this action was ordered by commissioners Clausi and Bridy, have met privately behind closed doors and away from the press and public, and agreed to take action to terminate a county employee. Clausi and Bridy often tout that they want an open administration and are against corruption, but this act shows their willingness to flaunt the law and act outside of the public eye," he said.
The commissioners said what they have done is legal because no meeting was held and no vote was cast.
Bridy did acknowledged Tuesday that the letter sent to the union notifying of the layoff was the wrong one. He said it's a version of the letter that typically goes out after the salary board vote, not before it. The one that should have been sent would only notify of the intention to cut the position and invite discussion of that plan at the salary board meeting.
Shoch does not believe the commissioners did anything wrong.
"If we got together and decided this and took a vote, yeah, it would be a violation. It did not happen," he said.
But Rosini said he believes the action is illegal, and so he will not follow it.
"Several of the commissioners think they can act on their whim, but their power is to vote at public meetings after discussing the issue," he said.
He said he will seek court intervention to prevent the cut from being enforced, if necessary.
Public 'endangered'
Rosini said eliminating one of three secretaries will "prevent us from processing our cases." He said those employees make less then $25,000 and are hard-working individuals.
"They process all of the paperwork for about 1,500 criminal cases and a total of around 2,500 total case filings and handle all of the people that come in or call the office," he said. "They have been having difficulty keeping up with the increased workload, and losing a secretary on top of the cut of an ADA will slow the process down even more," he said.
He said Clausi and Bridy's attempt to "handicap" the DA's office is an affront to all law enforcement officers and "endangers the safety of all of our citizens."
"I have never dealt with commissioners who are so anti-law enforcement and who seem to want to make it easier for criminals to get away with their crimes," he said.
Clausi said he is insulted by those accusations, noting he never charges any law enforcement officer who comes into his restaurant in Coal Township.
"Mr. Rosini is out of order," he said.
Bridy called the accusation "crazy."
"I wouldn't want to do anything from impeding law enforcement to incarcerate criminals. I don't take this lightly by any stretch," he said. "We need to maintain public safety."