Hogan suggests actions against Romaniello may ‘undermine’ him as witness
By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times
Tensions between law enforcement officials and the Coatesville Area School District (CASD), its Board of Education and its solicitor are escalating, according to District Attorney Tom Hogan, who issued a statement Thursday that disputed the district’s contention that it is “cooperating with authorities.”
Hogan took strong issue with comments in a district release issued Tuesday about CASD Assistant Superintendent Angelo Romaniello, who was placed on administrative leave this week, and the district referred the matter to law enforcement. Hogan said he and his office reviewed the incident in question, deemed it non-criminal and notified the district of the finding.
It was Tuesday’s statement, written by district solicitor James Ellision, that Hogan said he objected to, including “the appearance of attempting to undermine a witness [Romaniello] who is cooperating with the Commonwealth” and the continuing use of Ellison as counsel when Ellison is one of the people under investigation by the District Attorney’s Office.
This is the second time that Hogan has publicly accused the board and its solicitor of obstructing the ongoing criminal investigation. In October, Hogan made similar allegations, urging the board to appoint special counsel to avoid Ellison’s apparent conflicts of interest.
Ellison said that he would comment after consulting with all of the members of the school board. CASD Board of Education President Neil Campbell did not return an email seeking comment.
Hogan said that Romaniello is providing information regarding multiple issues that impact Ellison; therefore, Ellison has “a clear conflict of interest” and must be screened from the internal Romaniello probe. Hogan suggested that the appropriate counsel is Conrad O’Brien – or one of the multiple other lawyers being used by the Coatesville Area School Board (CASB).
“Interestingly, based on the way that the investigation of Romaniello was communicated to the District Attorney’s Office, it appears that the CASB initially did not even inform Conrad O’Brien that Ellison had started this internal investigation,” Hogan said in the statement. “Ellison’s conflicted involvement again appears to be an attempt to undermine the overall investigation.”
Hogan said CASD might take appropriate supervisory actions against Romaniello, but “is not permitted to retaliate against whistleblowers and cooperating witnesses.”
He added that attorney Samuel C. Stretton raised similar concerns about two of his clients, Theresa Powell and Abdallah Hawa, the original whistleblowers in the text-messaging scandal.
“In addition, it is curious that Ellison would rush to put out a press release on Romaniello after choosing to remain silent on the abhorrent emails exchanged by former Superintendent Richard Como and former Athletic Director James Donato,” Hogan said in the statement.
Hogan said a CASD claim in the Tuesday statement that it is “cooperating fully with the authorities” is not true.
“Attorney Matthew Haverstick, special counsel from Conrad O’Brien, has been cooperating with the District Attorney’s Office,” Hogan wrote. “However, CASB then retained attorney Sharon Alexander to represent specific CASB members. In interviews with those CASB members, apparently at the behest of the board and upon the advice of Ms. Alexander, these board members have repeatedly refused to answer certain questions.”
Hogan said the questions center on Ellison and whether the district attempted to cover up the text messages between Como and Donato.
“Again, this has the appearance of coordinated obstructionism,” Hogan said in the statement. “Whether the CASB and Ellison like it or not, this investigation will keep moving forward. Attempts to slow the investigation down will raise costs for the district, but will not stop the investigation.”
Hogan said the district’s recent actions raise numerous questions: Why is the board continuing to spend enormous amounts of money on its solicitor, “given what the CASB already knows from published reports?”
Hogan said he still has many questions about the conduct of the district and its board of education.
“Are CASB members attempting to obstruct justice or are they receiving bad legal advice?,” Hogan asked in his statement. “Given the fact that the District Attorney’s Office is investigating Ellison’s billing and his conduct in the Como/Donato texting matter, will the CASB members finally answer the investigator’s questions regarding these issues and waive the attorney-client privilege, which appears to be in the best interests of both the board and the public? As a public body, what is the CASB doing with taxpayers’ money? When special counsel for the CASB issues a report on its internal investigation, will the CASB be transparent by disclosing that report to the District Attorney’s Office and eventually to the public?”
Hogan noted that some board members are trying to cooperate and “deserve credit for their courage.” Others need to begin to act in good faith or will face the legal consequences of their bad decisions, he said, echoing a recent statement from the NAACP, which suggested taxpayers have recourse at the ballot box.
Expressing hope for change, Hogan said that the district’s new superintendent would have a chance to rectify the situation.
“To date, the CASB has demonstrated an unswerving instinct to do exactly the wrong thing at nearly every step of this investigation,” Hogan said. “Hopefully, Ms. Taschner can change this troubling pattern. The children and taxpayers of the Coatesville Area School District deserve better.”
Hogan urged anyone with information related to this case, which has been assigned to prosecutors Andrea Cardamone and Brian Burack, to contact Chester County Detective Ed Nolan at 610-344-6866.
