Jury selection in Westmoreland Sheriff Held's trial to begin Monday

Jury selection is slated to begin Monday in the public corruption trial of Westmoreland County Sheriff Jonathan Held.

The two-term Republican sheriff was charged by state agents in February with three criminal counts alleging he forced on-duty staff members to perform chores for his re-election bid.

Held, 44, of Hempfield is charged with two counts of theft and a felony charge of conflict of interest.

Prospective jurors will be called into a Westmoreland County courtroom for the trial that is expected to take up to a week to complete.

Held has maintained his innocence, claiming the charges stem from a group of disgruntled current and former sheriff deputies.

“We’re hopeful. This has been a really long and drawn-out prosecution,” defense attorney Ryan Tutera said. “This prosecution is going to test the perceptions of political office, of this idea of brotherhood and the thin blue line. The trial is also about management and unionized labor issues as well.”

Senior visiting Common Pleas Judge Timothy Creany of Cambria County was appointed earlier this year to oversee the trial after Westmoreland County’s criminal court judges recused themselves from presiding over the sheriff’s case.

Two witnesses, one former deputy and a current member of the sheriff’s department, testified during a preliminary hearing in March that Held directed them to work on his re-election bid in 2014 and 2015. Specifically, the witnesses said they were directed to seek out donations for a campaign fundraiser.

State agents have said there is video that supports the allegations against the sheriff of at least one uniformed deputy at a local gun shop.

Investigators have also suggested that Held had his staff use county equipment and computers to assist in coordination of the fundraising activities.

The two theft charges against Held could be graded as felonies if prosecutors are able to prove the amount of the thefts, including personnel costs and the use of county equipment, exceeded $2,000.

Held’s lawyer has unsuccessfully attempted to limit the prosecution’s case against the sheriff. The judge last week denied a motion from Tutera asking him to bar all but the two witnesses who testified during the preliminary hearing from presenting evidence at the trial. Dozens of possible witnesses are listed to potential testify during the trial.

The defense also filed a motion to Creany last week under seal. Creany’s response was also sealed from public viewing.

Rich Cholodofsky is a
Tribune-Review staff writer.
You can contact Rich at 724-830-6293 or rcholodofsky@tribweb.com.