North Charleroi sees mass resignations
CHARLEROI, Pa. (KDKA) — A mysterious letter is said to be the reason for mass resignations in the small Washington County borough of North Charleroi.
Residents woke up to the news that they no longer have a mayor, along with a few other key positions in the borough.
"I don't know who's running what now," Mayor Steve Hega said.
Chrissy Cardinale, who has served as the solicitor for 27 years, was the first to resign. Then Haga resigned, followed by council member Cynthia Randall, then council president Carrie Zeletski and finally councilman Dave Diess.
Diess stepped down as he is no longer a resident of the borough. As for the others? No reason was given for their abrupt departure, but an anonymous letter may be partially to blame.
When the mayor was asked if he could explain the mysterious letter he replied, " No. I'm sorry" Hega was tight-lipped on Tuesday, but he was quoted at Monday night's meeting saying the letter was so vulgar that he was uncomfortable repeating it.
A councilman even went a step further, saying the three women who resigned took a beating in the letter.
"Somebody had sent a letter and really went after the solicitor, and she's a really nice person. I don't know what that was all about. The contents of the letter weren't discussed other than she was very upset about the context of it," resident Jim Buccianeri said Tuesday.
News of the resignations is all the buzz in the small community. Many people say they understand why the officials stepped down if there's truth in the letter, but added they're worried about the future.
"It's really sad because they're really nice people, all the people I heard resigned. I lived here for 10 years, and they're really good neighbors. If somebody's threatening them it's terrible," resident Tammy Panza said.
All resignations take effect on Jan. 31.
