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Whispers: Rendell threatens to walk during deposition
Rendell appeared at times angry, frustrated and incredulous over some of the questions asked during the June 14 deposition in Philadelphia. More than once, he threatened to walk out of the proceedings.
Rendell is among those being sued by Don Adams and Teri Adams, who were beaten at an October 1998 rally for then-President Bill Clinton in Philadelphia. The brother and sister were there protesting Clinton's presence.
Five Teamsters pleaded guilty to the assaults and were placed on probation. The civil lawsuit the Adamses filed alleges that Rendell, who was Philadelphia mayor at the time, arranged for the Teamsters' presence at the pro-Clinton rally.
Things started poorly even before the Adamses' attorney, Larry Klayman of the Washington, D.C.-based public interest firm Judicial Watch, asked the first question. Rendell would not agree to stay for the entire three hours the court was allowing Klayman to question him.
It was all downhill from there. Rendell, who had characterized some of the slogans of the anti-Clinton protesters as "disgusting," was asked by Klayman if he considered Clinton's adulterous behavior with former intern Monica Lewinsky disgusting.
"It's not relevant. I'm not answering that," Rendell said, slamming his hand on the table. Turning to his attorney, Rendell said, "If (Klayman) keeps this up, I'm getting up and walking out. No federal judge is going to order me back to answer this crap."
Responding to a Klayman inquiry as to whether the Teamsters have a significant history with organized crime, Rendell said, "This is insane. What are you doing? ... This is a waste of my time and your time."
Rendell reacted similarly when Klayman asked if he had ever heard the hypothesis that the Teamsters had played a role in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. At this point, Rendell cradled his head in his hands and said, "This whole thing boggles my mind."
Admitting he had read that theory, Rendell then added, "I think I've also read that aliens were responsible for the death of President Kennedy. What in God's name does that have to do with why we're here?"
Rendell at one point also objected to what he considered Klayman's repetitive questioning. "You have got to have something better to do than this," he told Klayman. "Don't you have a life? What do you do for fun?"
It was pretty obvious Rendell didn't have much fun that day.
ROOKIE COP. Westmoreland County Chief Deputy Sheriff Chuck Moore, known more for his political skills rather than his law enforcement background, is undergoing basic training for deputy sheriffs.
Moore, who has no prior law enforcement experience, finally got around to taking the course at Penn State 2 1/2 years after being appointed to the post by Sheriff Chris Scherer.
Deputies must "complete the same type of training that is required of police officers throughout the Commonwealth," reads the Deputy Sheriffs Education & Training Act. Deputies must take a minimum of 560 hours of training within a year of being hired.
His boss said Moore has never been able to undergo the training until now.
Scherer said the training of deputies who are on patrol and responsible for other court-related duties took priority over Moore's training. Moore also had knee surgery that prevented him from attending training, which includes physical conditioning, marksmanship and lectures on the law.
Moore was deputy clerk of courts and worked in the county's Domestic Relations Office before joining the sheriff's staff. He also has owned a beer distributorship.
Some courthouse officials are curious about the timing of Moore's training. They speculate he may have decided to get certified in case he wants to run for Scherer's job if Scherer should ever run for district attorney.
Not so, said Scherer.
"I don't even know if Chucky would run," he said. "I'm running again next year."
SPEAKING OF JUDGES. A nominating commission will begin interviewing applicants June 24 to fill the seat on the Westmoreland County bench left vacant by the retirement of Judge Charles Loughran.
So far, interviews have been scheduled with District Attorney John Peck and attorneys Michelle Bononi, Harry Smail Jr. and Gary Falatovich. Other attorneys also are expected to seek the post.
The commission will forward three names to Gov. Mark Schweiker. The governor's appointee, if confirmed by the state Senate, would serve only until the end of 2003. Anyone interested in a full 10-year term will have to campaign next year.
Despite the scheduled interviews, don't expect the slot to be filled too soon.
Traditionally, governors won't appoint anyone to the county bench without the blessing of the state senators who represent that county. And Democratic Sen. Allen Kukovich of Manor is unlikely to vote to approve a Republican, such as Bononi, unless some other deal or political accommodation can be reached.
IT'S WHO YOU KNOW (OR ARE RELATED TO) When it comes to summer jobs in Hempfield Township, you better hire the right person. Two officials who didn't are no longer employed by the township.
Hempfield Township Manager Rob Ritson told the Parks & Recreation Department last month in a memo that the children of township employees should be given "careful consideration" for jobs.
Seems that a daughter of township road crew member Joe Svetkovich Jr. wasn't put on the job list even though she had listed the executive director of the Recreation Board and Supervisor Robert Regola Jr. as a reference.
"I believe that a recommendation like that should have been weighed in favor" of the applicant, Ritson wrote, adding, "It apparently wasn't and she was sent a letter indicating that the positions were all filled."
"I am instructing you to place Ms. Svetkovich's name on the list as an additional hire to perform work in the office and assist in subbing where needed this summer....I am hopeful that this situation does not occur again."
Ritson addressed the memo to Tric Skiavo, superintendent of recreation, with a copy to Cheryl Kemerer, director of Parks & Recreation.
Both lost their jobs shortly after they received the memo.
He also warned them they shouldn't tell prospective employees they're hired until the supervisors vote at a public meeting.
"...I expect future letters to omit language that would give the perception to a potential employee that an offer has been made before a vote was taken," he wrote.
Ritson had no comment on his memo.
ONORATO INVESTS IN HIS FUTURE? Curious that Allegheny County Controller Dan Onorato was the only county retirement board member to recently vote against terminating RRZ Investment Management Inc. for poorly handling the county pension fund.
The retirement board had asked its fund manager, Yanni Partners, to study the records of the various firms that invest county retirement dollars and recommend action. Yanni advised the board to fire RRZ, citing lack of confidence in the firm, loss of key personnel and significant loss of retirement funds. The firm somehow turned $75 million into $44 million during the past 18 months.
The board logically accepted the recommendation by a 6-1 vote, with Onorato the only dissenter. The controller's vote probably had nothing to do with the fact that Charles Zappala, a RRZ founder and partner, is expected to play a key role in Onorato's expected run for county executive next year.
PENNILESS PENGUINS. Sure didn't take Lemieux Group President Ken Sawyer long last week to dismiss an entirely reasonable funding plan for a new $248 million hockey arena for the Penguins.
The Allegheny Institute for Public Policy, a local think tank, proposed the state’s contributing $30 million up front. The bulk of the funding to float bonds for the project, however, would come from revenues from tickets, luxury boxes, concessions, etc.
Sawyer immediately derided the institute plan as unworkable.
"Realistically, we believe that based on the experience of other markets like Pittsburgh, a team cannot be viable without significant public investment in a new arena," Sawyer sniffed.
Uh, Ken? To most real people, $30 million probably qualifies as a "significant" amount of money. Realistically, based on the experience of how things work in markets such as the real world, a team that can't be viable with a $30 million public investment probably can't be viable at all.
HUNGRY FOR POLITICS. Care to venture a guess as to the best political wining and dining establishments in Pittsburgh? PoliticsPA did just that last week. The Internet site for political junkies listed its top choices for select Pennsylvania cities.
Local establishments making the cut, followed by the Web site's review:
Dr. Whispers is surprised no one thought to mention the Common Plea on Ross Street. And he's certain the late Allegheny County Commissioner Tom Foerster would be disappointed that Mitchell's, a few doors down from the Common Plea, did not make the cut.
