Washington County DA Gene Vittone remembered as devoted father who always had a kind word

Gene Vittone, Washington County’s district attorney, a Pitt fan, a choir member and a lover of good Italian dinners, died Saturday after a relatively private battle with lung cancer. He was 61.

“He was humble that way,” said Steve Toprani, a friend and predecessor in the district attorney’s office. “He didn’t want the attention or, worse, the sympathy.”

He spent 12 years as an assistant district attorney before he was elected top prosecutor in 2011. He took office in January 2012 as the burgeoning opioid crisis was just starting to unfold. He worked with the Washington Drug and Alcohol Commission, and he co-chaired the Washington Opioid Overdose Coalition. He was a champion for victims of domestic violence and those suffering from substance-use disorder.

“He would say, ‘We cannot arrest our way out of this problem,’ and he meant it,” said Cheryl Andrews, executive director of the commission and Vittone’s co-chair of the overdose coalition.

She said that as news of his death has spread, she has seen an outpouring from people in recovery sharing fond memories and gratefulness for his compassion. Andrews said he was a pioneer in terms of working to get people with substance use disorder into treatment.

Vittone, of Bentleyville, kept an office on Main Street in the small borough for years. He was a member of the Ave Maria Parish Choir there, as well as an assistant Scout leader for Troop 1419 in Bentleyville. He coached baseball each year for the Bentworth Baseball Association.

His election win in 2011 did the town proud, said Lisa Stout-Bashioum of Bentleyville. She knew Vittone through the community and the school district — they had children in the same grade, and Vittone was active in Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts.

“He was such a big part of this community,” she said.

Stout-Bashioum, a Democrat and active in politics, said party affiliation was never an issue when working with Vittone, a Republican.

“We always helped and supported one another,” she said. “He was just a good guy. He was someone you were always glad to run into. He always had a kind thing to say.”

He was the first person Toprani called in 2007 when he was elected district attorney, and he asked Vittone, who was in private practice at that point, to come back to the prosecutor’s office.

“He brought with him part of his personality and ability,” Toprani said. “He brought such a network of people and such knowledge. He served with me my whole term, and he was my first call when I decided not to run for reelection.”

Vittone, though, took up the mantle. Toprani said he brought compassion to the criminal justice system.

“He was criticized for starting the Narcan program,” he said. “During a very difficult time when a lot of young lives were being lost, Gene was putting aside some of those traditional views of a prosecutor, the ‘lock them up and throw away the key’ mentality.”

That was his vision, he said.

Earlier this summer, Vittone was elected president of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association.

“We were all better for knowing him,” Greg Rowe, the association’s executive director, wrote on social media.

He called Vittone a gracious and affable man who was humble, unassuming and known for his big heart and kind soul.

“He was forward-thinking in developing policy initiatives related to elder abuse and to mitigate the horrors of the opioid epidemic,” Rowe wrote. “To that end, Gene was a pioneer in utilizing prescription drug drop-off boxes and Narcan to save lives.”

Washington County Commissioner Nick Sherman said he was shocked and saddened by Vittone’s death, calling him a pioneer in victim advocacy.

“Gene was a friend, mentor and role model for me not only politically — but professionally,” he said. “He will be missed by all who knew him and worked with him.”

Vittone graduated from Peters Township High School in 1977 and from the University of Pittsburgh four years later with a degree in biological science. He received his law degree from Duquesne University in 1997, but prior to that he managed Ambulance and Chair EMS in Washington and worked as a paramedic throughout law school. He had maintained his paramedic certification ever since.

“He was kind of a plain, ordinary guy, and he just kept going to school and getting better — he had such a desire to make a difference,” Andrews said. “And he did that. He made a difference in people’s lives just by being kind, and once he got in positions of leadership, it didn’t stop his heart from being so big.”

She said she is a better person having known him.

“It’s not often you meet someone as genuine as him,” she said. “When he did something, he did it with his whole being behind it.”

Toprani spoke of how Vittone showed up at his home after his first son was born, armed with hundreds of “Thomas the Tank Engine” videos and a set of youth golf clubs.

“He said, ‘These videos should get you through the first year, the clubs will hopefully get you through the rest of your lives,’ ” he said. “They don’t make people like Gene anymore.”