Public servant Olasz's long career included controversies
West Mifflin Councilman Richard D. Olasz Sr., a former state representative, died from a head injury he suffered while watching his grandson play in a high school baseball game.
Olasz, 79, died at 10:47 p.m. Thursday in UPMC Presbyterian in Oakland, where he was flown after his injury from a fall the night before during the game at Ringgold High School field in Washington County. A security guard for the school district said Olasz lost his balance and fell while trying either to catch or dodge a foul ball during the game between the West Mifflin Area Titans, for whom his grandson plays, and the Ringgold Rams.
"Selfishly, we will miss him, but we know in our hearts that he's the happiest he's been in the past four and a half years," said his son, District Judge Richard D. Olasz Jr., who said his father had mourned since the December 2005 death of his wife, Marie Dugan Olasz.
Olasz became a borough councilman in 2002, a position he held before becoming a member of the state House from 1981 to 1998. In 1999, he was elected as a founding member of Allegheny County Council. In 2001, county council policy required him to resign in order to run for West Mifflin Council.
Former state Rep. Thomas A. Michlovic said Olasz was a man devoted to his wife and proud of his son's career. Publicly, he was outspoken on issues about which he was passionate, Michlovic and other former colleagues said.
"Dick was certainly a fireballer," said Michlovic. "He let you know where he stood on whatever issue was confronting you."
"He was certainly no shrinking violet," said state Rep. David Levdansky, D-Forward, who spent 14 years in the Legislature with Olasz. "What we shared ... is a common core value, a belief that government exists to serve people, to give opportunity to help the less fortunate, and to do so with some degree of efficiency and effectiveness."
A 1992 controversy dogged Olasz. The State Ethics Commission ordered him to repay $6,288 to the state after finding that he violated two ethics laws connected with his state vehicle leases. One car was sold in 1990 through third parties to his daughter and son-in-law. The other car was purchased in May 1982 by borough Democratic Chairman John Donis but used by Olasz, who sought state reimbursement for it.
"He was not controversial for controversy's sake, but he always pushed the envelope, to get things done," said Rob Austin, a former state representative who became a political consultant.
When the accident happened, Olasz was watching his grandson Ricky play in a game that ended with a 14-1 victory for West Mifflin. Earlier that day, Olasz watched granddaughter Amie, a high school sophomore, in a pole vaulting event at a track meet in West Mifflin. Another of the district judge's sons, A.J., is on the high school's freshman baseball team.
"He got to see at least two of his (grand)kids," the judge said.
Theirs was a close-knit family, he said. "For 38 years we vacationed together. We looked forward to spending time together, whether it was in West Mifflin or on the Jersey Shore."
As a borough councilman, Olasz gained supporters -- and detractors -- on a variety of issues.
In an October 2006 letter to the editor of The Daily News in McKeesport, Olasz rebutted a charge that he was "for Kennywood, not the taxpayers" leveled by a council majority led by then-President William Welsh Jr. in a dispute over the amusement tax.
"Rest assured nothing could be further from the truth," Olasz wrote. "Not only helping businesses locate in our great community, but helping those established here is in the interest of all our citizens and eases taxes placed upon you and me."
In 2004, Olasz was thrown out of two council meetings and charged with disorderly conduct. District Judge Robert C. Wyda dismissed the charges, prompting Olasz to file a federal lawsuit against borough officials alleging violation of his right to free speech. In October 2008, an appeals court upheld a judge's rejection of his lawsuit.
Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. today and Sunday in Savolskis Wasik Glenn Funeral Home, 3501 Main St., Munhall. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by the Rev. W. David Schorr at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Resurrection Church, One Majka Drive, West Mifflin.
