Luzerne County Manager C. David Pedri has selected nominees for three vacant county division head positions, naming Romilda Crocamo as his pick for chief solicitor, Edmund O’Neill for operational services and Mark Rockovich for correctional services.
The county council must vote to confirm the manager’s division head nominees for the hirings to take effect under the county’s home rule government.
Pedri previously served as chief solicitor and was appointed county manager in May. Tanis Manseau resigned as operational division head in October, and prior correctional division head J. Allen Nesbitt left in March.
Crocamo and Rockovich already work in county government.
Pedri’s agenda submission to the council summarized the nominees’ backgrounds:
• Crocamo has a bachelor’s and master’s degree from New York University and earned her law degree and a master’s of law degree from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York.
She worked at two law firms in New York City before returning to Northeastern Pennsylvania to accept a position as managing attorney at the Barbara J. Hart Justice Center. She was hired as a law clerk for county Court of Common Pleas Judge Tina Polachek Gartley in 2010 and served as a master of juvenile delinquency and dependency court from 2012 through 2014, resuming her position as Polachek Gartley’s law clerk in 2015.
Crocamo would be paid $90,000.
• O’Neill graduated from Wilkes University, where he majored in engineering management, and later received a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Scranton.
After working as Kingston Township manager, he was employed at Kuharchik Construction Inc. in Exeter. At Kuharchik, O’Neill was promoted from purchasing/logistics manager to office manager and controller.
“In this role, Mr. O’Neill handles many of the day-to-day operations for a very busy construction agency of 65 employees with projects in numerous counties,” Pedri wrote.
O’Neill would be paid $85,000.
Pedri opted to re-advertise the operational division head position at a higher salary without a past requirement for applicants to hold a Pennsylvania professional engineer license.
The operational services head oversees engineering, roads and bridges, planning and zoning, 911, emergency management, buildings and grounds and security, in addition to any county environmental or recreation projects.
• Rockovich has a business administration degree from Albright College and has worked at the county correctional facility since 1991.
During his county employment, Rockovich has held various positions, including correctional counselor, correctional counselor/treatment supervisor and, most recently, records captain.
He also was West Hazleton mayor from 2005 to 2009.
“Mr. Rockovich is an example of a hard-working and dedicated county employee, and his experience would greatly benefit the Division of Corrections,” Pedri wrote.
Rockovich would be paid $80,000.
Pedri had originally nominated Johnstown resident Gregory Briggs for the correctional services position in June at a salary of $85,000, an increase from Nesbitt’s compensation of $75,000, but Briggs withdrew his name from consideration before the council voted.
