BCT Editorial – 10/9/06

This page was last updated on October 9, 2006.

Good riddance; Editorial; Beaver County Times; October 9, 2006.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“One thing is certain about Allegheny County Sheriff Pete DeFazio, he sure knows how to hand off a football, or should we say pass a buck.

“In announcing his retirement recently, DeFazio complained about being held responsible for the scandal that has plagued his office over the past few years.

“‘This post is a little like being a quarterback of a football team,’ DeFazio said. ‘Maybe you get too much credit when things go right, but when one thing goes wrong, you get all the blame.’

“One thing?

“In the past year, three of DeFazio’s top lieutenants have been sentenced for various crimes, including perjury, money laundering, bribery and illegally demanding political donations for the sheriff. The Associated Press reported that a federal probe of the office continues.

“DeFazio at least had the good sense to retire. He will be well taken care of. He leaves with 36 years of service and a hefty pension.

“But there is a silver lining to this dark cloud over the sheriff’s office.

“Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, who is in favor of eliminating archaic county row offices, now has a golden opportunity to rid the county of an elected sheriff’s position and all the expensive trappings that come with it.

“DeFazio, who has resisted all attempts to make the office an appointed post, now says he would like voters to decide the issue.

“Last year, Allegheny County voters approved a reduction in row offices from 10 to four. Now they can make that three.”

[RWC] Did you notice a missing piece of information? Why it was Mr. DeFazio’s political affiliation, of course. Had Mr. DeFazio been a Republican instead of a Democrat, I think it’s fair to assume that fact would have appeared frequently in the editorial.

For example, the Mark Foley editorial made sure we knew Mr. Foley is a Republican and used GOP/Republican at least seven more times.