Mar 31, 2017 4 min read

The decision on whether District Judge Mark Wilson will be sanctioned over allegations he violated rules governing his court and the state Constitution are expected to move quickly through Pennsylvania’s Court of Judicial Discipline.

The president judge of that court, Jack A. Panella, has 10 days from when the charges were handed down Thursday against Wilson to appoint a conference judge to conduct pretrial motions and other matters before he notifies Panella that the case is ready for trial, court records show.

“The process is expedited,” said Christopher Carusone, a Harrisburg attorney who is representing Wilson in the case.

The charges against Wilson stem, in part, from his sending Monongahela Mayor Bob Kepics to Washington County jail on $5,000 bond in December 2012 on a theft charge filed over a small debt in a private criminal complaint approved by an assistant Washington County district attorney. The Judicial Conduct Board questioned Wilson’s impartiality over his decision to tell the assistant district attorney he wanted to help the couple who were owed the money because they were good people.

A state constable, Walter Fronzaglio, also told the court Wilson used profanity when he said he wanted to teach Kepics a lesson and to bring the mayor to his court immediately, court records show. The board also found a pattern of Wilson setting high bonds for petty crimes, the report outlining the charges claims.

Washington County President Judge Katherine B. Emery responded to the charges by barring Wilson from hearing criminal cases, including nontraffic violations, and reassigning them to district judges Larry Hopkins in Charleroi and James Ellis in Peters Township. Hopkins will be adding cases from Carroll Township and Donora to his docket, while Monongahela police will redirect their criminal complaints to Ellis.

Emery said she has no authority to sanction Wilson, but that she has “complete power over what he hears.”

Carusone said Wilson “adamantly denies making the statements” to Fronzaglio that are described in the complaint against him. He said Wilson maintains his innocence in the case.

“Judge Mark Wilson is a no-nonsense judge who takes allegations of theft from the elderly and welfare fraud along with other criminal offenses very seriously,” Carusone said.

He said Wilson has a good reputation and is fair and tough on crime.

“However, like the criminal justice system in which he serves, he is not perfect,” he added.

Carusone declined Friday to discuss the strategy for how he will defend Wilson, saying he expected the proceedings before the court will be held in Harrisburg.

They will be open to the public.

Robert A. Graci, chief counsel for the board, said it is conceivable Wilson’s hearings will take place in the western part of Pennsylvania, since his court is in this area. He said Wilson has 20 days to respond to the allegations.

Wilson has two months to complete the discovery phase before the conference judge. Panella also is expected to hold a pretrial conference shortly before the trial begins.

The potential sanctions on the table before Wilson include censure, suspension, fine or removal from office.

Kepics said he was glad to learn Fronzaglio “stood up and told the truth.”

“I’m just glad the judicial board found negligence in what was going on down there,” Kepics said Friday.

District Attorney Gene Vittone quickly withdrew the criminal case against Kepic, and the mayor’s record in that case was expunged.

Wilson is running for re-election in the May primary and has one opponent, Pete Seth Hoosac.

The Monongahela magisterial district office has had a history of problems.

The judge who preceded Wilson, Ron Amati, was sentenced in June 2001 to spend 3 1/2 years in a federal prison for operating an illegal video gambling operation in a coffee shop in Finleyville. Former Judge James Brady resigned from that office in August 1987, three months after the windows of his car were shot out while it was parked behind the court’s offices, newspaper archives show.