The Westmoreland County Prison Board will accept applications through Friday for a new warden to succeed John Walton, who announced last month he was resigning and retiring.

Walton, 61, of Mt. Pleasant Township, submitted his resignation Sept. 28, claiming it was the result of “a public character assassination and campaign of harassment” by Commissioner Gina Cerilli.

Walton has been warden at the prison for 17 years. His resignation is effective Nov. 6.

Prison board Chairman James Albert, who is county sheriff, said Monday the job was posted in mid-October and he remains “hopeful the prison board will be able to sort through the applicants after Friday and name a replacement by Nov. 6.”

According to the county posting, candidates are required to possess a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice or a related field and have six to nine years of correctional experience as a “warden or deputy warden or any combination of education and experience that provides equivalent knowledge, skills, and abilities.”

The jail has a capacity of 723 inmates and the posting suggests applicants have the ability to operate a correctional institution with a daily population of more than 500 inmates.

The county asks that applicants submit resume, cover letter, county application and salary requirements by Friday to Alexis Bevan, Westmoreland County Associate Director of Human Resources at the courthouse at 2 N. Main Street, Suite 108, in Greensburg or via email at abevan@co.westmoreland.pa.us.

The notice states applicants who do not specify a salary will not be considered. It also states that candidates must be willing to meet county residency requirements.

Cerilli and Walton have been at odds for the past few years over his management at the jail. Walton, who in July was denied a $6,200 pay raise in part by Cerilli, said he has been working at the jail throughout the pandemic while others in county government who received raises worked remotely.

Walton earns $86,037 annually, according to the county controller’s office.

“The commissioner’s relentless harassment and baseless attacks on my character and professional performance have simply become intolerable and more than I am willing to bear,” Walton said in his resignation letter to the board.

If the county is unable to reach a decision on a new hire by Nov. 6, Albert said state law provides for the sheriff to oversee the county prison until a full-time warden is hired.

That happened once before in December 2000 through February 2001 when then county sheriff, Chris Scherer, who is now a judge, was forced to operate the county jail for 90 days after the prison board fired then Warden Kurt Scalzott.

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