Westmoreland jail warden resigns, cites 'harassment' by Commissioner Cerilli

Westmoreland County Prison Warden John Walton submitted his resignation and retirement Monday to the prison board as a result of what he described as a “public character assassination and campaign of harassment” by Commissioner Gina Cerilli.

Walton, 61, of Mt. Pleasant Township will work until Nov. 6. The board approved the measure.

“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 letter to the board.

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 have worked remotely.

“I wish him well in his retirement,” Cerilli said Monday, declining further comment.

Commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew did not comment when asked by a reporter about Walton’s departure.

Controller Jeff Balzer, a member of the prison board, said Cerilli’s feelings toward the warden are “well known,” adding he thought Walton has done a good job at the jail.

“People can only take so much when they’re not respected by the people they work for,” he said. “I’m sad to see him go.”

District Attorney John Peck, also a board member, said Walton was proactive, well-prepared and capable in addressing issues at the jail and running it daily.

“I thought he’s done an excellent, if not outstanding, job as the warden,” Peck said.

Cerilli has called for the warden to be fired twice in 2016 and two more times in 2018. She said in 2016 that jail employees reported misconduct and inefficiency of jail management as well as sexual activity and harassment. Two years later, she tried again and blamed Walton for the suicide of a suspended veteran guard.

Former guard Henry “Sonny” Caruso III, 49, of Mt. Pleasant Borough shot himself Nov. 6, 2018, in front of a neighbor’s home several weeks after he was suspended with pay after county officials learned he had become a potential target in an ongoing human trafficking investigation at his wife’s massage parlors in Monroeville and Murrysville. His wife and three others were later arrested.

Caruso’s father Henry Caruso said Tuesday that he was happy the warden is leaving. He claimed his son didn’t know the full extent of the situation at the parlors. A grand jury said Sonny Caruso often picked up female workers at bus stops and took them to the parlors. He was not charged at the time of his death.

“He couldn’t speak Chinese, how would he deal with that?” Henry Caruso said.

Walton last year filed a written complaint with the prison board against Cerilli and demanded a public apology.

In his resignation letter to the prison board, Walton said he decided earlier this year to stay in his position to maintain continuity of leadership at the Hempfield lockup during the pandemic. But more recently, he decided the stress wasn’t worth it, he said.

“The work environment created by Commissioner Cerilli’s harassment has adversely impacted my physical and emotional well-being,” Walton wrote in the letter. “The commissioner’s actions have caused immeasurable stress, tension and even fear for my safety and the safety of my family. I cannot and will not subject myself and/or my family to these unbearable working conditions any longer.”

Walton has been warden at the jail since 2003. Sheriff James Albert said state law allows for him to take over after Walton’s departure if a new warden isn’t appointed by Nov. 6.