The arrest last week of a Monongahela police officer on corruption and drug charges is just the beginning of a countywide cleanup of local government, Washington County District Attorney Steven Toprani said this week.
Mr. Toprani, who took office a year and a half ago after defeating longtime District Attorney John C. Pettit, Tuesday said his campaign promise to halt corruption wherever he finds it wasn't an empty gesture.
"This is the opening salvo. We have a long way to go," Mr. Toprani said of the arrest Friday of Monongahela patrol officer George Langan.
Mr. Toprani said the 23-member grand jury that indicted Officer Langan on 34 counts of corruption and violating the drug act last week will continue investigating allegations of corruption throughout the county.
"I expect many more cases to come forward," he said.
The indictment capped a four-month investigation into corruption and drug dealing in the Mon Valley, and there could be more arrests, Mr. Toprani said. The grand jury is expected to continue meeting at least once a month for 14 more months.
"I don't think we have widespread corruption," he said. "But, we have pockets of it that need to be ferreted out."
Mr. Toprani said his phone hasn't stopped ringing since Friday, when Officer Langan, 45, was pulled from his early-morning shift and arrested. He remains in the county jail on a $500,000 straight cash bond.
Officer Langan, an 18-year veteran officer, has been accused of dealing and possessing cocaine, tipping off drug dealers to upcoming raids and threatening witnesses. More specific information about the charges is expected to be released during a preliminary hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
Mr. Toprani said more people now have faith in his administration and have been calling him to report similar crimes.
"We have people coming forward now," he said. "We need to show people that they can trust law enforcement and their local government."
Monongahela Police Chief Brian Tempest said he's also been hearing from residents since Friday's arrest, and although the comments aren't always flattering, the message that corruption will no longer be tolerated is getting out.
"I was surprised" by the number of comments, he said.
While most of the reaction has been positive, Chief Tempest said some blamed him and the department in general for the corruption, which he believes has been going on for about 10 years.
Though Chief Tempest only became chief in January 2008, he worked alongside Officer Langan for a number of years and suspected him of wrongdoing. Chief Tempest said he forwarded concerns to then-chief Dennis Mendicino, and Officer Langan was targeted for investigation by the state police, the state attorney general's office and the FBI.
Officer Langan is the fifth police officer to be arrested on corruption and related charges since Mr. Toprani took office.
Mr. Toprani said charges, including burglary, robbery, perjury, assault, official oppression, false swearing and drug possession, have been waived to court for Smith police officers Derek Dayoub and Michael A. North, who were arrested in January.
A deal is being ironed out for a third Smith police officer, Amber Price, who was charged with helping Mr. North lie on an affidavit, Mr. Toprani said.
Former Fallowfield police officer Allen E. Pettit was arrested in October and charged with stealing thousands of dollars worth of cocaine and marijuana seized as part of a 2006 case he investigated. He is currently serving a one- to two-year prison sentence.
Mr. Toprani sought to empanel the county's first investigative grand jury in April, saying that a confidential jury, with the power to investigate, grant immunity and compel testimony, would be key to cutting down corruption.
So far, it's working, he said.
"The use of the grand jury illustrates our commitment to drive corruption from this county," he said.
First Published: September 10, 2009, 10:00 a.m.
