More Felasco questions arise

PAT LITOWITZ
plitowitz@ncnewsonline.com

More than 900 calls were either made or received the past year on a cell phone assigned to the Lawrence County treasurer's office. Few, if any, of the calls related to county business, the New Castle News has determined.

An examination of cell phone records, along with expense and mileage reports, cast doubt on county Treasurer Gary F. Felasco's contention that the phone - (724) 651-4277 - was used primarily for county business.

Highlights of The News' findings include:

*311 calls were made or received after business hours.

*218 calls were made or received on weekends and holidays.

*Calls were placed to California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Ohio and Texas.

*Calls were made from Butler, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas and Weirton, W.Va.

*Of the people contacted by The News, only three could recall having some contact with the treasurer's office. Of those three, only one person could document a conversation with Felasco.

*The cell phone was used to set up play dates for Gary and Jeannine Felasco's children.

*According to one person, Jeannine Felasco had possession of the cell phone in question.
Since February 2002, the county has paid $3,706.26 for cell phone usage for the treasurer's office. Felasco has reimbursed the county $140.62 for personal calls.

Felasco turned in both cell phones to the county on March 30. He then had the two phone numbers placed on his personal account. As of April 21, those numbers remained in service.

"Oh, my" was county Commissioner Ed Fosnaught's reaction April 21 to The News investigation. "I didn't know he had two cell phones."

Fosnaught was in office at the time Felasco originally obtained the cell phones.

Calls to Gary and Jeannine Felasco seeking comment on this story were not returned.

In previous interviews with The News, Gary Felasco had continued to stress the need for two cell phones in the treasurer's office. A three-week investigation by The News shows otherwise.

FAMILY MATTERS

"That was her cell phone," said Helen Iorio, regarding her sister Jeannine Felasco. "She used it."
Iorio, a Kennerdell, Pa., resident, received five calls from (724) 651-4277 in 2003.

"Jeannie is my sister, and I had her kids at the time. They were up there, and they called their mom."

Jeannine Felasco figures prominently in the use of the second county cell phone. Her husband, Gary, has refused to disclose who had possession of the phone, saying only it was with a county employee.

Three calls were made last year to Jeannine Felasco's parents, Fred and Jo Ann Spor of Tidioute, Pa. Jo Ann Spor confirmed she was Jeannine Felasco's mother but refused additional comment.

The phone also was used to conduct personal business. Roye Ellen Miller, whose number was listed seven times on cell phone records, said neither she nor her husband, John R. Jr., had dealings with the county treasurer's office.

"Jeannie Felasco rented space from us in West Middlesex," Roye Ellen Miller, a Farrell resident, noted.

Amy McConnell of the M&M Insurance Group in New Castle said her company insures the Felasco family. The company's number was called on Oct. 25. McConnell said she deals primarily with Jeannine Felasco.

A Youngstown man, whose phone number was called three times, said Jeannine Felasco was a student in his nursing class. He refused to provide his name or give the location of the school.

PLAY TIME

The cell phone also was used by Jeannine Felasco and her children to schedule play dates and meetings, according to several people.

Becky Debelak of Erie said her 13-year-old son called (724) 651-4277 to schedule get-togethers with one of the Felasco children.

"I know them because my son and Gary's son are good buddies."

A New Castle woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said that at one time her daughter and the Felascos' children were friends.

"(The) Felascos' children have called the house constantly last year," she said. "The children called to say they were staying at a hotel with their parents.

"They would go to hotels in the winter for a winter retreat and stayed in hotels with pools."

Another New Castle woman, who also did not want to be identified, said her son and the Felasco children were friends. When the children were away, they would call the house.

OTHER CALLS

Phone usage extended beyond the circle of family and friends. Hotels, restaurants and businesses also were called from the county-owned phone.

The hotels include the Sheraton Station Square in Pittsburgh, the Radisson in Sharon, Country Inn and Suites in Erie, Homewood Suites, also in Erie, and the Super 8 Motel in West Middlesex.
In addition, the Indian Creek Camping Resort in Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio, was listed three times on cell phone records for (724) 651-4277. The owner of the resort said Gary Felasco and his family are seasonal members.

Restaurants featured include Pittsburgh Rare and Augustine's Italian Village and Mr. Pizza, both in New Castle.

Saundra Farr, an area bridal consultant with Augusta Jones, was called in September but does not recall "talking to anyone from the Lawrence County treasurer's office."

The Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in Sharon was called on May 29, 2003. A representative was unaware of any business the firm may have had with the county.

Other businesses called include Wee Care Day Care and Learning, Sam's Club and Sofas Plus, all in Boardman; Yahoo! customer care, Sunnyvale, Calif.; a Burbank, Calif., furniture company; Wal-Mart in Butler and in Hermitage; Pioneer Drive-in Theatres, Butler; Hobby Express, Mars; Fantastic Tan, New Castle; Nick's Auto Body, New Castle; Jameson Hospital; Burns Industrial Roofing, Mercer; Grove City Motor Sports, Grove City; Hobby Depot, Cranberry; Phoenix Glass Maintenance, Monaca; and Kmart, Hermitage.

Calls originating from (724) 651-4277 also were made to Las Vegas, Jacksonville, Fla., and Hilliard, Fla. A News staff member called those numbers but could not obtain additional information.

OUTSIDE THE COUNTY

In addition to tracking outgoing calls, Cellular One's phone bill also lists the location where the call was made or received. If the call was made or received within the Cellular One's local network, no origin is listed. Calls made or received outside the network provide a location.

The 2003 calls from (724) 651-4277 that were made from outside the network were:

*Butler - Two calls (June 20 and Aug. 21)

*Cleveland - Six calls (Nov. 23)

*Las Vegas - Five calls (June 8 and June 10)

*Pittsburgh - 29 calls (June 18 to 20, July 30, Aug. 21, Sept. 2, Oct. 5, Nov. 30 and Dec. 21)

*Weirton, W.Va. - Two calls (Aug. 1)

COUNTY BUSINESS

Three people, whose numbers were listed on phone records, acknowledged they had dealings with the treasurer's office. But in each case they were unfamiliar with the (724) 651-4277 cell phone number.

One of those is David Domenick, owner of David Domenick Insurance & Investments at 312 N. Jefferson St.

The county has been a client of Domenick's since 1997. He handled the county's liquid fuel funds investments during that time.

Domenick said he would speak to Gary Felasco or his assistant, Catherine Baker, on a weekly basis to discuss fund performance.

Two calls were placed from (724) 651-4277 to Domenick's office at 11:32 a.m. and 11:46 a.m. July 2, 2003. After reviewing his records for that day, Domenick said he had an appointment with Felasco at 10:30 a.m. However, Felasco did not show up.

Domenick believes the two calls were Felasco calling in to check on the value of funds invested with his company.

Nick DeRosa, assistant superintendent of the New Castle Area School District, also was called twice on July 2 - 11:13 a.m. on one phone and 11:14 a.m. on another line.

DeRosa noted that during the course of a business day, he will talk to city residents regarding their tax bills. He directs those call to the city and county tax departments. DeRosa said he mainly deals with the county treasurer's staff and not Felasco.

Jeff Dane, a Windom, Texas, resident, was called twice on July 28. Dane said that at one time, he wanted to obtain a Pennsylvania sales tax permit and called the treasurer's office for information. However, he said he does not remember ever being called by a member of the treasurer's staff.

BACKGROUND

Gary Felasco had stated his office uses two cell phones. One was assigned to him, he said, and the other was for staff use involving the Ellwood City tax office, satellite license sales locations and other county matters.

"I don't remember signing for a cell phone or having a discussion about one," Fosnaught said April 21. "I don't have a good answer for you."

County records show three separate payments totaling $402.39 were made on Feb. 7, 2002, to Nextel Communications, with a notation indicating the phones were for the treasurer's office.

This is the county's first documentation of cell phones assigned to that office.

"I knew about the one - 5772," Fosnaught said. "I had talked to him on that cell phone on a lot of occasions. I didn't know he had the other one."

According to an employee in the county controller's department, Felasco's office was assigned two phones as part of the contract with Nextel. Carriers were switched later that year when Cellular One took over the county contract in Felasco's department.

From January 2003 through January 2004, the period of time The News examined cell phone bills, Cellular One was paid $1,287.88 for (724) 651-5772 and $311.34 for (724) 651-4277.

To date, the county has paid $3,706.26 to the two carriers for the two cell phones for the treasurer's office.

"As far as one cell phone, I wouldn't have an argument about him having one," Fosnaught said. "As far as him having two, I can't think of a good reason for that to happen."

OFFICE USAGE

The Ellwood City office, located at 307 Fifth St., opened on June 7, 2001. At the time, Felasco and other county officials touted the location as a convenience to residents in the southern part of the county.

The office is scheduled to be open Tuesdays and Thursdays and staffed by one county employee. Felasco's mother, Helen, had operated the office until February when she took a leave to recover from foot surgery.

The phone number for the office is (724) 758-2500. That is not a cell phone.

Because portions of Ellwood City are part of the local Cellular One network, calls originating from the satellite tax office are designated as local. Therefore, individual calls cannot be tracked to that office.

The News confirmed that the tax office's phone, (724) 758-2500, can be used to place calls - in addition to receiving them.

The News contacted Helen Felasco April 21 to discuss phone usage in the Ellwood City office.

She refused to comment.

She also was asked about cell phone usage. Again, she refused comment.

In the past two years, the treasurer's office designated seven days to sell dog licenses at various sites throughout the county. At least one employee staffing the sites was not provided with a cell phone.

Mileage records from 2003 show Marguerite Mooney sold licenses in Bessemer and Enon Valley on Jan. 16, Wampum on Jan. 22, Pulaski and New Wilmington on Jan. 23, and Shenango Township on Jan. 24.

Mooney confirmed the above dates, and said she was never provided with a county cell phone.
This year, Helen Felasco sold dog licenses on Jan. 5, 7 and 12 in the same locations, except Shenango Township. She would neither confirm those dates nor say if she had been provided with a cell phone.

CALLS TO FELASCO

The cell phone assigned to (724) 651-4277 was used to call the treasurer's office only four times from Dec. 20, 2002, to Feb. 18, 2004 - once on April 13, 2003, and three times on July 2, 2003.

While the cell phone may have been used sparingly to contact the treasurer's office, it is a different matter regarding calls to the county treasurer's cell phone.

Thirty-five percent of the phone usage by (724) 651-4277 was calls to Gary Felasco's county-owned cell phone, (724) 651-5772 - 317 of the 904 calls The News reviewed.

There were 155 calls made during the Lawrence County Government Center's regular business hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Ninety-four calls were after 4 p.m. weekdays, and 68 calls were made on weekends or holidays.

Late-night calls also were a common occurrence. Following are a few examples.

*12:40 a.m. Dec. 5, 2002

*10:45 p.m. Jan. 18, 2003

*10:49 p.m. April 3, 2003

*11:29 p.m. April 3, 2003

*12:34 a.m. Aug. 22, 2003

*10:02 p.m. Dec. 23, 2003

*10:37 p.m. Jan. 5, 2004.

WHAT NEXT

To date, Lawrence County has no policy governing the use of cell phones.

"This whole thing has been a tragedy for the people of the county," Fosnaught said. "As far as the treasurer's office, he has to be held accountable.

"I think we need to do something different. This whole situation is unacceptable. But it still boils down to elected officials holding themselves to a high standard.

"When people don't do that, I don't know what policies you could write to force them to do that."
Copyright (c) 2004, New Castle News