State representative indicted by grand jury
State Rep. Marc J. Gergely, D-White Oak, has been indicted by a state grand jury on charges stemming from an investigation called “Operation Pork Chop” that focused on a longtime friend of Gergely.
In turn, he has stepped aside as minority chairman of the state House Labor and Industry Committee “as required by House rules,” said House Minority Leader Frank Dermody, D-Oakmont.
A preliminary arraignment was scheduled for Gergely this morning before Gibsonia Magisterial District Judge Tom Swan on two felony counts of corrupt organization and one of dealing in the proceeds of illegal activity.
Gergely, 46, is to be arraigned as well on misdemeanor counts of criminal attempt and conspiracy involving illegal gambling devices and an election code violation involving contributions from Ronald “Porky” Melocchi.
Melocchi, 57, of West Newton was indicted along with 15 others in September 2013 on numerous gambling-related charges.
In October 2014, Melocchi pleaded guilty in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court to a felony count of corrupt organizations and misdemeanor counts of gambling devices and bookmaking and was sentenced by Judge Joseph K. Williams III to 10 years of probation.
It was the last of a series of pleas entered by defendants, none of which resulted in prison time.
In a statement issued by her office Tuesday morning, Attorney General Kathleen Kane said that Melocchi “relied heavily on his relationships, including with Mr. Gergely, to conduct his illegal business.”
That business centered around Melocchi’s Back Alley Vending in Glassport.
According to the grand jury presentment, Gergely assisted Melocchi in efforts to place illegal video poker machines in McKeesport area establishments.
Louis F. Caputo, an attorney who specializes in liquor licenses with offices in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, is mentioned as well in the presentment, with Melocchi allegedly referring to Caputo and Gergely as a “Super PAC.”
According to his website, Caputo practices in other areas of the law as well, including a role as “special counsel to the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority.”
The presentment said Melocchi, in lieu of any offer of “large amounts of money” to would-be recipients of his gambling devices, “could introduce Gergely and Caputo as a show of strength in terms of the people with whom he had a connection.”
In at least one case in October 2012 involving a McKeesport restaurant, according to the presentment Gergely and Melocchi were turned down because of past raids there and the owner’s fear for her liquor license.
That was despite “discussion with Caputo and Melocchi about ‘ways around this issue,'” investigators told the grand jury.
Neither Gergely nor Caputo could be reached for comment.
“This is surprising and disconcerting,” Dermody said. “I want to know more about what’s alleged to have taken place. Marc Gergely is a longtime member of the House, and I know him to be a strong voice for improving Pennsylvania’s schools and the lives of working people.”
Gergely was the target of a sting by law enforcement agents in November 2012, when a letter purportedly from a constituent asked for his help with her husband’s “very bad gambling problem” that allegedly cost the couple “all of our savings.”
That letter received by Gergely’s staff led to a telephone conversation between Gergely and Melocchi that was picked up by a court-approved wiretap on Nov. 9, 2012.
“She obviously has no idea that we have a connection,” Gergely was quoted as telling Melocchi. “Maybe you can identify who the guy is and get him stopped … before something becomes a problem, okay?”
Melocchi thanked Gergely for that information.
One month after that conversation agents from the attorney general’s office joined state police in raids on 70 locations, seizing more than 350 devices as well as approximately $1 million in cash.
The grand jury presentment names Gergely and his chief of staff Thomas Maglicco, a former McKeesport Area school board member now serving as McKeesport’s city controller, as recipients of contributions Melocchi gave to numerous McKeesport area politicians.
Neither Caputo nor Maglicco are charged according to state court records. Maglicco declined comment and referred inquiries to his attorney.
The presentment cited testimony Maglicco and another Gergely aide gave in the grand jury proceedings, including an admission that he voted to hire a nephew of Melocchi to a janitorial position in the school district.
After Melocchi and others were indicted, Gergely turned over $4,000 in campaign contributions to Positive Pathways, a Pittsburgh organization known for helping those with gambling addictions.
Kane said this is an ongoing investigation and additional charges are expected.
Gergely first was elected to the state House in 2002 from the 35th Legislative District, which includes McKeesport, Duquesne, Munhall and other lower Mon Valley communities.
Reapportionment in recent years moved the district’s boundaries north from Elizabeth Township but across the river into Clairton, in a swap with the 39th Legislative District of state Rep. Rick Saccone, R-Elizabeth Township.
In addition to his committee chairmanship, Gergely served as co-chairman of legislative natural gas vehicle, sportsmen’s and oil and gas caucuses.
Gergely is running for an eighth term. He has no opponent in the spring Democratic primary, but McKeesport city Councilwoman V. Fawn Walker-Montgomery has filed as a Republican to take on Gergely in the fall.
In an emailed statement, Walker-Montgomery said Gergely’s indictment was “another sad day for the hardworking people of the Mon Valley.
“Our elected officials are supposed to be fighting to make our communities better places to live, work and raise a family. Instead the felony corruption and misdemeanor gambling charges facing state Rep. Marc Gergely are just more unfortunate examples of the level of political corruption permeating the Mon Valley and Pennsylvania state government.”