SF commissioner has fellow board member censured
A South Fayette Township commissioner who was charged with insurance fraud Wednesday made a motion to censure a fellow board member who was seeking legal opinions without advising the rest of the board, one of them involving her.
Commissioner Jessica Cardillo-Wagenhoffer introduced a motion to censure fellow Commissioner Deron Gabriel from seeking legal opinions from the township solicitor without the rest of the board present. The motion passed, 4-0. Gabriel was out of town on business and absent from the meeting.
“Any time a formal legal opinion is needed or asked for, the board needs to be present or at least aware of it,” Cardillo-Wagenhoffer said. “He has twice asked for opinions regarding my personal life and plans for the Watson Institute.”
Cardillo-Wagenhoffer entered the Accelerated Rehabilitative Program for first offenders in February in Washington County court that could have her insurance fraud charges expunged after two years. She did not plead guilty, which allows her to keep her government seat, according to state law.
Prosecutors in the case said she lied about living with a friend in McDonald after a home she owned in Oakdale caught fire in 2012, and submitted false receipts totaling $1,500.
“I don’t know why there has been no issue or question about her ability to serve,” said Gabriel.
“As for the legal issues (directed at me), I’m on a legal committee, and I’m of the opinion that I can ask for an opinion when it’s needed … I was asking for clarification of the Watson Institute’s plans and if we were going to see possible sale of the property (at 214 Hickory Grade Road) because the township has been paying real estate taxes and maintaining the property for nearby youth sports leagues,” he said. “But we should always follow the law. If there are issues there, I’ll be following the law.”
The Watson Institute, a school for children with disabilities, is planning to build a satellite campus at the site.
The organization’s conditional use request was approved by the township.
The board also voted to pass township zoning maps to the planning commission to determine requested reclassifications and updates.
The biggest reclassification is being sought by John and Stacy Kosky, who are seeking to have 243 acres of their nearly 800-acre plot along Cecil-Sturgeon Road in Gladden to be rezoned from residential to PED, or potential development, which would allow lease or sale of the property to developers.