Celebrations last week rang in a new year and a new face in Washington County politics.

On Wednesday, new District Attorney Steve Toprani was sworn into office by county President Judge Debbie O'Dell Seneca. He officially takes office tomorrow, after defeating incumbent John C. Pettit by a nearly two-to-one margin in November.

It will be the first time in 24 years that the county has seen a new chief law enforcement officer, and 44 years since a Republican has held that office.

Although news reports indicated Mr. Pettit was planning to ensure a smooth transition for Mr. Toprani, the county is investigating why everything but a few items of furniture was removed from Mr. Pettit's private office in recent days.

"All Pettit left was the couch and two lamps without bulbs," said county Commissioner Diana Irey of Mr. Pettit's corner office in the district attorney's suite of the county courthouse.

County employees are reviewing inventory lists kept for insurance purposes to determine if any county property was removed. Mrs. Irey said there was no desk, chairs or other furniture left.

Mr. Pettit, 72, the subject of a federal probe, has not been available for comment recently. He did not concede defeat to Mr. Toprani and has not spoken to him.

Officials from the FBI and state police removed a large iron safe and its contents, along with a computer, from the district attorney's office late in November. Later this month, county officials are expected to testify before a federal grand jury about the contents of the safe, along with jail and county inmate records.

Mr. Toprani, who turned 29 on Monday, said he plans to keep office staff and most of the nine assistant district attorneys in place for now, especially since a new trial term begins tomorrow. After he transitions into office, Mr. Toprani said changes may be made and more staff members likely will be added.

First Assistant District Attorney Michael Lucas is being replaced by former assistant U.S. Attorney Craig McKay, although Mr. Lucas will remain on staff at least temporarily, Mr. Toprani said.

Local police have raised concerns over the handling of current cases, but Mr. Toprani said the transition should be smooth with no big changes anytime soon. Mr. Toprani said he plans to try cases shortly after he takes office.

He has argued cases -- civil and criminal -- in front of judges, but never before a jury.

Mr. Pettit scoffed at Mr. Toprani's youth and relative inexperience during the campaign, but Mr. Toprani and his election team believe Mr. Toprani's age and lack of savoir-faire worked to their favor.

"Age was more of a liability for [Petti] than it was for Steve," said Steven Fischer, 32, of Washington, Mr. Toprani's campaign manager, who will take over as the new district attorney's chief of staff.

Assistant District Attorney Paul Petro, 74, of Donora, retired last week after 35 years in the office. Other staff members are worrying about their jobs in the new administration. Mr. Toprani has received more than 100 resumes for various positions since he won the election.

Mr. Toprani said much of the criticism he's heard about the office wasn't directed at the staff, but at the "rudderless ship" that the office became over the last four years.

Mr. Toprani said he's been trying to avoid stepping on Mr. Pettit's toes during the past several weeks, visiting the district attorney's office only when necessary. When he does enter the courthouse, it becomes "an event," he said.

"We've been met with a lot of good will since the election," said Mr. Toprani, who is often stopped on the street by well-wishers.

He said many changes will be in store for the office, and the public will notice the difference.

"I believe in fundamental change," he said.

So far, Mr. Toprani and his transition staff have been making an effort to streamline the office with standard operating procedures governing office duties, ethics and other considerations -- a directive he said was lacking in the Pettit administration.

"It's a very important exercise for any large organization," said Mr. Fischer.

The two friends chaired each other's campaign committees last year Mr. Fischer unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for county commissioner.

Coming on board as chief of detectives will be seasoned detective J. Michael Aaron, a former Cecil police officer who became a county detective in Camden, N.J.

Mr. Aaron investigated more than 400 murders during his 12 years in Camden, statistically one of the most dangerous cities in America.

Heading up a completely re-vamped drug task force is expected to be retired state trooper Ron Levi, 58, who organized and led the task force at its inception. Goals for the new task force are self-funding within a year, and new members, including state police, agents from the state attorney general's office and the FBI.

Already, residents have been passing intelligence on to Mr. Toprani's team, and a billboard campaign is in the works. "This drug task force will be something the county will be very proud of," Mr. Toprani said.

Staff appointments will depend on cooperation from the county salary board, expected to meet tomorrow.

Perhaps the most noticeable change will be more visibility and accountability of the office, Mr. Toprani said. The public will be frequently updated on cases and initiatives, and the office will unveil a new interactive Web site, along with public outreach efforts, especially for juveniles and seniors.

The practice of using jailhouse informants to testify in murder trials will be severely restricted, Mr. Toprani said. He won't rule out the use of informants in special cases, but, like other district attorneys in the region, plans to use them sparingly if at all.

"We will work with real evidence," he said, noting that jailhouse informant testimony during trials shows a lack of credibility and evidence.

Such testimony during Mr. Pettit's tenure led to new trials and acquittals for some defendants and raised questions over the reliability of such testimony.

Capital changes include a new telephone system with voice mail, along with Internet access, computers, scanners, and a new case management system. For now, the office must work within its $1.54 million budget, unchanged from last year. If more funds are needed, they can be added to the budget, Mrs. Irey said.

Typewriters, which most of the staff had been using, will be removed from the office. The lack of office technology was one of the issues raised in the campaign against Mr. Pettit, who dismissed Mr. Toprani's criticism that the office was still part of the "typewriter era."

Plans to relocate the office elsewhere in the county system are on hold for now, said Mrs. Irey. The county has renewed a lease with the city of Washington for outside office space the district attorney's office uses, and the county is looking for ways to move the cramped primary offices from the courthouse to a more spacious area.

During Mr. Toprani's inauguration ceremony Wednesday, former District Attorney Herman Bigi spoke to the crowd of more than 100 supporters, saying Mr. Toprani was an honorable person.

He characterized the election between Mr. Toprani and Mr. Pettit as "good versus evil," and said he believed from the beginning that Mr. Toprani could defeat Mr. Pettit.

Mr. Pettit lost his first bid as district attorney to Mr. Bigi, who served one term. Disputes over the election led to decades of bitter feelings, topped off in the 1980s when the two wound up in a fistfight in front of the courthouse.

Judge O'Dell Seneca also commented on Mr. Toprani, saying when she met him on the campaign trail last summer she had a sense of his appeal and promise.

"As soon as you meet him, you have to like him," she said of the fellow Duquesne University School of Law graduate.

The son of Jerry and Darla Toprani, of Carroll, Mr. Toprani graduated from Ringgold High School in 1997, and received a degree in history and political science from California University of Pennsylvania in 2001 before entering law school.

County Assistant Public Defender Charles Carpinelli said his office is not apprehensive about the transition, saying Mr. Toprani has surrounded himself with talented staff. His office was at odds at times with the previous administration over private meetings Mr. Pettit had with defendants without their attorneys present.

"He has a lot of good, experienced attorneys there that know the work and the cases," Mr. Carpinelli said. "I think that everything will go smoothly."

Local lawyer Noah Geary said he was looking forward to the change of guard, calling Mr. Pettit "a disgrace to the bench and the bar."

Mrs. Irey said Mr. Toprani has generated a lot of energy and excitement and high expectations.

"People are hopeful that this will mean a better Washington County," she said.

After being sworn in with wife, Jen, at his side, Mr. Toprani assured the public he would bring a blue-collar work ethic to the office, along with virtue and honesty.

And, possibly a new desk.

"The burden of this office is mine to shoulder," he said. "I will not violate your sacred trust."