Background
Tony is a graduate of Penn State University and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law Enforcement and Corrections. He also earned a Master of Public Administration degree from Marywood College. Tony began his career in law enforcement in 1977 in the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office as the first work release coordinator at the Carbon County Prison. In January 1980, he accepted a position as a probation officer in the Carbon County Adult Probation Office. In May 1980, Tony was promoted to Chief Adult Probation Officer.
In 1989, Tony was recruited by the United States Courts and accepted a position as a federal probation officer in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. For approximately 21 years, he held a variety of positions including U.S. Probation Officer, Senior U.S. Probation Officer, Special Offender Specialist, and Officer-In-Charge. During this time, Tony conducted pretrial and presentence investigation reports and provided federal judges with specific sentencing recommendations based on the law and sentencing guidelines. As a special offender specialist, he was responsible for supervising high risk federally convicted offenders in the community to ensure their compliance with court ordered conditions, some of whom were protected witnesses, organized crime figures, violent offenders, gang members and sex offenders. Tony held positions of Chairman of the Standing Policy Committee, Member of the Probation Office Search and Enforcement Team, Member of the Probation Office and District Information Technology Committee, and Member of the Continuity of Operations Team.
In 2010, Tony was selected as the sixth Chief U.S. Probation Officer in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. His responsibilities included the oversight of 57 employees in four divisional offices in Scranton, Harrisburg, Williamsport, and Wilkes-Barre. Tony’s office covered 33 counties in the eastern half of Pennsylvania and provided services to seventeen federal judges. He administered an annual budget of five million dollars. As Chief, Tony received training in Executive Procurement Oversight, Budget Fundamentals, Workload Measurement, Evidence-Based Practices, Appropriations Law, Leave Tracking Systems, and Internal Controls Evaluation. Accomplishments included: The implementation of a cognitive behavioral therapy program, electronic reporting system, law enforcement notification system, staff training aimed at reducing re-arrest program, electronic disclosure of presentence reports, telecommute and flextime policies, grievance and location monitoring policies, and a law clerk/probation office training program. Team building and annual employee retreats were also initiated.
The initiative that brought Tony the most notoriety was the offender re-entry program in the Middle District. The nationally recognized program, named CARE for Court Assisted Re-Entry, was developed for high-risk federal offenders in their reintegration to the community after lengthy prison terms. In an effort to educate offenders, the community, and correctional institutions, he partnered with the Bucknell University Film Studies program to create a short documentary about the program. Tony received an award from Chief U.S. District Court Judge Yvette Kane for his efforts.
During his employment with the federal courts, Tony had been a member of the Carbon County Criminal Justice Advisory Board for several years as a representative of the federal courts. In 2014, he was re-appointed as a part-time deputy sheriff by Sheriff Dwight Nothstein. He now represents the Sheriff’s Office on the board and chairs the Countywide Security Plan Committee and the Re-Entry Strategic Plan Committee. He also serves on the Executive Committee, the By-Laws Committee, and the Strategic Plan Committee of the Board.
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