Public corruption trial of Westmoreland sheriff gets under way

Westmoreland County’s two-term sheriff is an ego-driven elected official who believes he doesn’t have to follow the law, a state prosecutor told jurors Tuesday in the first day of Jonathan Held’s public corruption trial.

Deputy Attorney General Bobbi Jo Wagner outlined the criminal case against the Republican sheriff during a brief opening statement in which she said Held directed staff to illegally perform campaign chores while on duty and punished those who did not comply or who later spoke to investigators about the alleged activities.

Held, 44, of Hempfield, is charged with two counts of theft and a single count of conflict of interest for allegedly diverting public money for his personal use.

“What this case is about is the defendant’s ego, his belief as an elected official that he is above the law,” Wagner told jurors.

Prosecutors said Held directed deputies and office staff to solicit campaign donations for fundraisers in 2015 and 2016. Uniformed deputies drove county-issued cars while on duty to local businesses seeking guns, prizes and food for the events, Wagner said.

Five witnesses testified Tuesday, including now retired sheriff’s department Lt. Vince Izzo, who told jurors he spent as many as 28 hours of on-duty time in 2015 and again in 2016 gathering supplies and prizes for Held’s campaign fundraisers.

Izzo said he had daily meetings at the courthouse with Held to discuss the campaign chores and that the sheriff did not dissuade him from seeking donations while on the job.

“I would go out and bring gift certificates and turn them over to the sheriff and the chief. The majority of the time I was on duty,” Izzo testified. Other items for the campaign events were routinely brought into the sheriff’s office in a Walmart bag so they would not be seen, he told jurors.

A video from a Youngwood gun range was played for jurors showing Izzo, in uniform, driving a sheriff’s department vehicle before he enters the business. Store employees testified Izzo demanded a donation of a gun for Held’s fundraiser and that eventually a gift certificate was given to be awarded as a prize.

Izzo testified sheriff’s department staff used county equipment and computers for planning the campaign activities.

Cpl. Steven Felder, a sheriff’s department employee since 1994 and an unsuccessful candidate against Held in the 2015 Republican primary, testified he and other deputies were routinely assigned punishment jobs for opposing Held.

Felder, under questioning from the defense, conceded that during his campaign he made public statements that were critical of Held’s leadership. Felder also told jurors he served as president of the union representing deputies and has filed four grievances against the department.

In her opening statement to the jury, Wagner said deputies who objected to campaign work were assigned to less desirable positions within the department.

“The culture of the office was punishment,” Wagner said.

Defense attorney Ryan Tutera in his opening statement said the allegations against Held stemmed from objections to a political outsider winning the office and then attempting to change the focus of the sheriff’s department.

Tutera said Held was opposed by county and political leaders — as well as his own staff — as he tried to move the department to more traditional police activities in addition to its mandated role as a courtroom security force, prisoner transfers and warrant service.

“He tried to implement changes in the office and that angered some people in the county,” Tutera said.

He said the allegations against Held were a betrayal by his staff and union members who sought to take control of the office and served as political adversaries.

Tutera told jurors while it appears some within the sheriff’s department did perform campaign duties while on the clock, they did so without direction from Held.

“This is a good man whose reputation in the community has come into question, a man who has worked to keep drugs off the street, to make the office more efficient and to keep order in the courthouse,” Tutera said.

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

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