District attorney names new first assistant
Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone on Friday afternoon announced that Dennis R. Paluso, 50, of Charleroi, will be his new first assistant district attorney.
“When I learned that we had an opening, it took me all of about five seconds to make the decision to ask Mr. Paluso to fill the first assistant district attorney opening,” Vittone said in a news release. “The work that Dennis has done and the accomplishments that he has made on behalf of the office in the year he has been with us as deputy district attorney is nothing short of phenomenal. Dennis has earned the respect of the staff, fellow lawyers and the judiciary. He is dedicated to making sure that in everything that we do here the interests of justice are served.
“I appreciate the service which (Chad) Schneider gave to Washington County, and I have no doubt that Mr. Paluso will continue that excellent work.”
Paluso will be responsible for managing the trial list for the office, assisting in major crime prosecutions and assisting with managerial operations of the office.
“Statutorily, the role of the first assistant is to administer the office,” Paluso said. “I believe the office is best served to have the first assistant district attorney be the administrator.”
Paluso is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the Syracuse (N.Y.) University College of Law. An assistant district attorney for several years, he was in private practice from 1995 until 2014, concentrating on criminal law. He also served for eight years as juvenile court master, handling criminal juvenile delinquency and dependency matters for Washington County Court.
Vittone appointed him deputy district attorney in January 2015.
He and his wife, Becky, have two children.
Schneider resigned earlier this month from the $81,000 position to join the Pittsburgh law firm Caputo & Caputo P.C. Its website says the firm focuses on the legalities of alcoholic beverages, but also lists among its services real estate, criminal law, corporate law and estate planning.
On Thursday, the Washington County Salary Board noted a vacancy in Paluso’s position of deputy district attorney-chief of litigation, setting the salary for a yet-to-be-named replacement at $75,000.