Commissioner Cerilli to donate campaign money from man tied to human trafficking case

Westmoreland County Commissioner Gina Cerilli said she will donate money given to her campaign by a man investigators contend was linked to a human trafficking and prostitution ring before he committed suicide last year.

In a post made on her private Facebook page late Tuesday, Cerilli said she was “outraged and offended” by the public criticism leveled at her this week by Doug Chew, a Republican commissioner candidate. On Monday, Chew called on Cerilli to return donations made to her campaign committee from Henry “Sonny” Caruso.

Cerilli now says she will donate $2,000 from her campaign account to the Westmoreland County Human Trafficking Task Force.

According to campaign finance records, Caruso gave Cerilli’s campaign four donations totaling $1,900 dating to 2015, including a $500 gift in August. Caruso killed himself in November, weeks after he was suspended with pay from his job as a guard at Westmoreland County Prison.

On Monday, Cerilli declined to comment on Caruso’s campaign donations when asked about them by the Tribune-Review. In a Facebook post issued a day later, Cerilli blasted Chew for attempting to make a political issue of Caruso’s donations.

“The idea that a political foe would use a dead man to promote a campaign that is otherwise stagnant, sadly tells you alot (sic) about the individual,” Cerilli wrote. “People wonder why voters are disgusted with politics, this will serve as a prime example of candidates who will do anything to advance their agendas when it is their only chance of ‘trying’ to make a name for themselves. Sadly, individuals like him will continue to grab at any attention they can because they have nothing positive to offer on their own.”

Authorities last week filed charges against Caruso’s wife, Hui Xu, 44, and four others involving allegations of prostitution and human trafficking at five businesses in Monroeville and Murrysville. Caruso’s wife is the owner of four Tokyo Massage parlors where investigators said women were bused in from New York to work as prostitutes.

Investigators said Caruso’s bank accounts were used to launder proceeds from the massage parlors, that he drove women from bus stops to work at the businesses and money from the criminal enterprise was used to pay for Caruso’s vehicles and his daughter’s college tuition.

Cerilli has declined to discuss her relationship with Caruso. In an email Wednesday, she referred to him as “a supporter of my campaign, like hundreds of others.”

Cerilli has served on the county Human Trafficking Task Force since it formed in 2017. She also called on Chew to make a similar donation.

In an email, Chew indicated he would not donate and called on Cerilli to resign from the task force.

“With respect to her challenge, I’ll say that this isn’t a contest with Ms. Cerilli. This is about doing the right thing. I’d be happy to join her in returning dirty money, but I don’t have any in my account,” Chew wrote.

Ann Emmerling, executive director for the Blackburn Center, said the task force has about 30 members. Cerilli is its lone elected official.

“The task force takes on the issue of human trafficking, and its mission is to build public awareness that it does happen in Westmoreland County,” Emmerling said. There is no dedicated funding to the task force, according to Emmerling, who said money could be donated to the Blackburn Center and will be earmarked for any activities or programs initiated by the task force.

“We’ll put it to good use,” Emmerling said.