Conti claims unfair treatment

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Conti said a HUD spokesman said he wouldn't be suspended from the board.

By LAURE CIOFFI

VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — Donald Conti Jr. told a judge he's been unfairly singled out because of his friendship with Lawrence County's treasurer.

Conti, also known as Ducky, appeared without an attorney Monday in Lawrence County Common Pleas Court to answer a civil lawsuit brought by county commissioners to have him removed from the county housing authority.

A prior board of commissioners appointed Conti to the housing authority board in 2004, but he came under scrutiny by the current commissioners after pleading guilty to violating the state's gambling device law this past March.

Police contend that Conti paid out on an illegal poker machine at the now defunct Vita Nuova Club on East Washington Street. Police raided the club in July 2004 and took four video poker machines. A liquor code violation was dropped in exchange for the plea.

Conti was sentenced to 24 months' probation and a $500 fine.

County commissioners have sought his removal since his sentencing.

"The bottom line is this board of commissioners does not want people on the authority who have broken the law. That is why we have implemented criminal background checks," said Commissioner Dan Vogler after Monday's hearing.

But Conti contends he's a scapegoat because of his former friendship with embattled county Treasurer Gary Felasco.

"I was not the owner of Vita Nuova. I was one of nine officers, and the club had 275 members. I feel this is guilt by association with the ongoing saga of Gary Felasco," he said.

Felasco scandal

Felasco, 39, was found guilty in May of taking more than $40,000 from the county treasury for personal use. He was to be sentenced today in Venango County Common Pleas Court, where the case was moved because of extensive pretrial publicity.

Conti said he hasn't spoken to Felasco since last October when it became apparent that Conti's estranged wife, Gloria, who is a county deputy treasurer, would testify against her boss at his trial.

Prosecutors also called Donald Conti and his two adult children to testify at Felasco's trial.

Conti told Judge J. Craig Cox of Lawrence County Common Pleas Court on Monday that a representative from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which provides funding for the authority, told him they would not suspend him from the board because his charge was a misdemeanor.

Judge Cox assured Conti that any association with Felasco would not weigh into his decision.

Atty. Tom Bashara, hired by the commissioners to handle the case because of a conflict with county solicitor Tom Leslie, agreed that any association with Felasco was irrelevant.

"What is germane is Mr. Conti is in an organization seeking nonprofit status that then engages in the illegal sale of alcohol and pay off of gambling devices. It brings discredit to the office he holds and it engenders distrust by the public," Bashara said.

cioffi@vindy.com

Tuesday, August 1, 2006