Former jail warden hired to consult in pending legal issues
Former Westmoreland County Prison Warden John Walton could earn nearly $51,000 this year to testify in pending lawsuits and other court hearings under a contract approved by the county’s salary board.
Walton resigned in October after serving 18 years as the jail’s top administrator.
Commissioners Doug Chew and Gina Cerilli created a part-time consultant position for Walton to compensate him for attending court-ordered hearings involving as many as six pending lawsuits and internal grievance hearings in which his testimony is required. Commissioner Sean Kertes did not participate in Monday’s meeting.
Commissioners previously approved similar part-time contracts with other top administrators after they left county employment.
Melissa Guiddy, county solicitor, said most of the pending litigation against the jail was filed by inmates without the assistance of a lawyer.
Walton will be paid nearly $51 an hour and can work no more than 1,000 hours in 2021.
When he announced his resignation last year, Walton claimed he was driven from the job over what he called “baseless attacks” and “relentless harassment” from Cerilli, who four times since 2016 called for him to be fired. Walton in 2019 demanded a written apology from Cerilli and has threatened to sue the county.
Commissioners continue to search for Walton’s replacement.
Officials said three local finalists for the job were interviewed in late December, and an additional five candidates who recently responded to a national advertisement for the position could be considered in coming weeks.
“We interviewed three great candidates, but one of us wanted to post the position to the national warden’s association,” Cerilli said. “We’re just crossing our Ts and dotting our Is. It’s something we want to get done in a month.”
Commissioners in November named Walton’s top deputy, George Lowther, as interim warden.
Before he left the job, Walton lobbied members of the county prison board to hire Lowther as his replacement.
Rich Cholodofsky is a TribLive reporter covering Westmoreland County government, politics and courts. He can be reached at rcholodofsky@triblive.com.
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