Allegheny County Sheriff Pete DeFazio held off a relatively unknown Republican challenger to win re-election, despite a federal grand jury investigation targeting the Sheriff’s Office. With 98 percent of the vote reported, DeFazio, a Baldwin Borough Democrat, led Republican Herb Ohlinger by 56 percent of the vote to 44 percent, according to unofficial results. DeFazio, 56, won the job in 1997 with 60 percent of the vote over Republican Wayne Babish. In his first re-election bid in 2001, DeFazio trounced Republican Thomas A. Portante by 68 percent to 32 percent. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in the county by about 2-to-1. DeFazio, who has kept a low profile in recent weeks, blamed his slippage at the polls Tuesday night on “implications” resulting from the investigation that led to a conviction of one of his top deputies and the indictment of a second. DeFazio is believed to be a target of federal prosecutors. “I never did anything wrong,” DeFazio said. “I wish him the best,” said Ohlinger, 46, a former Scott commissioner. “With any election, you hope that issues that get raised, such as reform issues — regardless of who wins — you hope they take a look at those issues and address them.” In his third four-year term, DeFazio has work to do beyond routine duties of the office. At best, the sheriff faces a monumental job of damage control to repair his office’s tainted image. At worst, he could be busy defending himself against an indictment, according to an attorney involved in the case. “In the next four years, I’ll work as hard as I did the previous eight years,” DeFazio said. “I’m not going to slack off because I made a statement that after the next term I’ll be 61 and I’m thinking about retiring. I’m not going to be a lame duck.” The investigation centers on alleged pressure tactics to raise money for the sheriff’s campaigns. A captain was convicted of perjury, and a second high-ranking officer, Lt. Cmdr. Richard Stewart, is awaiting trial on charges of lying to the grand jury. Some voters interviewed at polling places yesterday said they gave DeFazio the benefit of the doubt. Marshall Jackson, 52, of the North Side, said he voted “straight Democrat,” and doesn’t believe the investigation will implicate DeFazio. “I think it will blow over,” he said. Outside a polling place in Mt. Washington, David Reisdorf, 52, said he also voted for DeFazio. “I personally know him and I believe in him,” he said. But Linda Friel, 48, of Carnegie, said she voted for Ohlinger because “I’m not crazy about DeFazio.” “I’ve seen some TV coverage that swayed me against him,” she said. “I think (the Sheriff’s Office) is a little bit too much of a good-old-boy network.” A defense attorney for now-retired sheriff’s Capt. Frank Schiralli, convicted of perjury Sept. 2, has said indictments against DeFazio and Chief Deputy Dennis Skosnik are likely. During Schiralli’s trial, DeFazio refused to testify, invoking his Fifth Amendment right to protect himself from self-incrimination. The Sheriff’s Office has 187 employees and a budget of $11.4 million. DeFazio earns $64,000 a year.

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