Cain to serve as acting chief

Pitcairn officials Tuesday tabbed police Cpl. Russ Cain as acting police chief for the second time, and voted to advertise the permanent job, just four months after Robert Payne started work in the post.

Cain's appointment was approved unanimously during council's regular meeting yesterday.

Council also decided yesterday to present Payne a resolution thanking him for his service to Pitcairn. He will become Plum's new police chief next Monday.

Neither Payne nor Cain attended the council meeting.

"We wanted to say thank you (to Payne) for the great job he did," said Council President Orelio Vecchio. "(Cain) will be acting chief until we hire a permanent chief."

Cain served in the same role for nearly a year while the borough was mired in a legal tangle with former Penn Hills police Sgt. Ben Westwood -- who sued Pitcairn after he was hired as chief by a lame-duck council and then fired a month later.

Borough Manager Domenic Curinga served as safety director during that time and again will assume those duties until council hires a permanent police chief.

Payne, a former police chief at Carlow College and Carnegie Mellon University and a high-profile Allegheny County detective, is getting a $16,000 salary boost to take over the embattled Plum Police Department. He will earn $60,000 a year.

Payne quickly became popular in Pitcairn among residents and borough officials. He hosted a town meeting to introduce himself to residents and walked the streets to meet others.

Westwood was tabbed as chief in December 2001 but was fired less than a week after he started the job. He then sued, claiming he had been wrongfully removed. A judge eventually backed the borough, clearing the way for Payne's hiring.

Solicitor Craig Alexander said Westwood's case, now in Commonwealth Court, has been referred to mediation. A settlement conference is being scheduled for next month. If mediation fails, the case would return to Commonwealth Court.

Cain was one of the three candidates considered for the police chief's job after Westwood was fired. The other two were Payne and Eugene Riazzi.