Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone remembered for dedication to service

By CHRISTINE HAINES
chaines@yourmvi.com

Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone, 61, lost his battle with lung cancer Saturday, leaving a void being felt across the county and statewide.
Just a month ago Vittone was named president of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association.
“Humble and unassuming, Gene worked tirelessly to make Washington County and Pennsylvania safer. He was forward thinking in developing policy initiatives related to elder abuse and to mitigate the horrors of the opioid epidemic. To that end, Gene was a pioneer in utilizing prescription drug drop off boxes and Narcan to save lives. He brought those initiatives to PDAA’s attention, which the association took to heart, prioritized, and helped implement statewide. The lives he helped save are now part of his legacy,” the PDAA said in a release Saturday.
Vittone served as Washington County’s district attorney since January 2012 and had worked as an assistant district attorney for former District Attorneys John Pettit and Steve Toprani.
Toprani said Vittone had left the DA’s office for private practice for a period of time during Pettit’s term.
“He left in 2005 or 2005. When I was running in 2007 I ran into him at the Washington County Fair and said ‘Gene, if I win, you need to come back to the DA’s office.’ He was my first hire,” Toprani said. “I was a 29-year-old elected DA and to have his experience and friendship meant a lot to me.”
Toprani said that when he decided not to seek re-election, Vittone was the obvious choice to fill the office and the voters agreed.
“It was his character and his confidence. Gene was probably the least assuming public official I’ve ever met,” Toprani said. “He was recognized statewide for his work creating the elder abuse unit.”
Vittone was a member of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Advisory Council on Elder Justice in the Courts. He previously served as a member of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s Elder Law Task Force, which issued more than 130 recommendations to enhance the way Pennsylvania elders interact with the commonwealth’s judiciary.
Vittone had a background in emergency medical services, previously serving as the operations manager of Ambulance and Chair EMS prior to attending Duquesne University law School. He worked throughout law school as a paramedic and continued to maintain his paramedic certification. Toprani said that background uniquely qualified Vittone to deal with the current opioid crisis.
“Gene was in the position to bring in the clinical view. He saved countless lives as a result,” Toprani said.
First Assistant District Attorney Jason Walsh will be assuming the duties of district attorney for the remainder of Vittone’s term, under state law.
“We’ll have a continuation of Mr. Vittone’s themes and policies,” Walsh said.
Walsh has worked with Vittone for the past four years.
“I learned a lot from him — being compassionate and being more giving of yourself toward the community. He was dedicated to the residents of Washington County. I talked to him Friday afternoon and he gave me instructions for how to run the office.”
Walsh said Vittone will be greatly missed in the office.
“He was a terrific district attorney and an even greater human being,” Walsh said. “My heart goes out to his family and I hope everyone will keep them in their thoughts and prayers.”
Washington County Commissioners’ chair Diana Irey Vaughan said she met Vittone first in his EMS role when she was first seeking office in 1995.
“He did a lot to serve the community. He spent his life helping others. He’s leaving a legacy of service and compassion,” Irey Vaughan said.
Post after post on Facebook over the weekend showed the depth of Vittone’s commitment to community, reaching far beyond the county and his duties as district attorney.
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s office offered condolences to the family and these words of recognition: “Gene was a genuinely good, gentle and decent man and a dedicated and passionate public servant. The people of Washington County and the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will miss him.”
Lisa Stout-Bashioum, daughter of the late state Sen. Barry Stout, posted a photo of Vittone playing “Taps” along with his son Micheal at the Bentleyville Bicentennial Tribute to Veterans.’
“He was one of those people who jumped in wherever needed and said, ‘What can I do to help?’ He has touched many lives and will be greatly missed in our Bentworth community,” Stout-Bashioum posted.
Vittone, of Bentleyville, kept an office on Main Street in the small borough for years. He was a member of the Ave Maria Parish Choir there, as well as an assistant scout leader for Troop 1419 in Bentleyville. He coached baseball each year for the Bentworth Baseball Association.
Chuck Balieu, a member of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Health Services Board of Directors, posted a photo of Vittone helping clean up planters in Charleroi.
“He was always giving back to the community in any way that was needed,” Balieu posted.
The feelings of the broader community are perhaps best summed up by the PDAA statement.
“To many of us, he was simply the most decent person,” the release states. “We are all better professionally and personally to have known him.”
Friends will be received from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m Wednesday in the Warco-Falvo Funeral Home, Inc., 336 Wilson Ave.,
Washington, Pa. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Thursday in the Immaculate Conception Church, St. James Parish. Interment will follow in Monongahela Cemetery.