Rostraver commissioner found guilty of harassment for actions at Halloween party

A Rostraver commissioner who appears to have won reelection during Tuesday’s primary was found guilty of three counts of harassment Thursday in a marathon summary trial.

John Lorenzo, 43, was found guilty of making harassing statements toward the township manager and two fellow commissioners, slapping one in the face, at a township Halloween event. He was acquitted of a disorderly conduct count. His attorney Jeffrey Ries said he and his client are considering an appeal in the case he suggested was politically motivated.

“It just clearly comes down to what I believe is a political issue between the commissioners,” Ries said.

Three hours of sometimes contentious testimony Thursday from 10 total witnesses painted opposing pictures of what happened Oct. 31 at the DiVirgilio Sports Complex.

Five prosecution witnesses described conversations during which Lorenzo used expletives and indicated his displeasure with the person or the handling of the well-attended Halloween event.

Township manager Jeffrey Keffer said Lorenzo was agitated with him during phone calls earlier in the day when Keffer did not have details about the planned event. Keffer said he was flustered after the conversation and felt he and his employment were being threatened.

When Lorenzo arrived at the event later with his family, Keffer testified, he felt Lorenzo might hit him because the commissioner stood 3 to 4 inches away with his fists clenched, swearing at him. Commissioner Justin Kosanko testified he was helping hand out hot chocolate in a concession stand when Lorenzo grabbed his shoulder and said “you’re (expletive) dead to me” several times.

“It was physical discomfort as well as mental and emotional discomfort,” Kosanko said.

Police Sgt. Scott Sokol, who was off-duty and volunteering at the event, testified he broke up the incident and went outside with Lorenzo.

There, Lorenzo found Commissioner Jeffrey Johnson and put an arm around him, gripping Johnson’s shoulder, according to testimony.

“I winced a little bit,” Johnson said. “As he did that, he was saying this was a real nice event like in a sarcastic tone. Then he said you’re (expletive) dead to me, the line has been drawn in the sand.”

After a back-and-forth, Lorenzo hit him in the face — “the ‘Godfather’ double slap,” Johnson said, referring to “The Godfather” mafia film trilogy.

“It instantly angered me,” he said.

But, according to the defense witnesses, none of that happened.

Lorenzo, a Republican, testified he has been frustrated with feelings of being shut out of township business by his fellow commissioners and hoped to discuss the issue with them during the event. He was ordered in June to spend two years in a probationary Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition Program on charges that he created fake social media accounts and used “burner” phones to harass political opponents and rivals. If the program is successfully completed, his record could be wiped clean.

As part of that case, Lorenzo’s in-person attendance at some board meetings is restricted.

“The guys have really kind of been avoiding me, not wanting to address some of the political issues that have been going on,” Lorenzo testified.

He denied the allegations involving Keffer, Kosanko and Johnson.

“Did you slap (Johnson)?” Ries asked Lorenzo.

“I did not,” he responded.

“Did you touch his face at all?” Ries continued.

“I did not,” Lorenzo testified.

His wife Toni Lorenzo testified the conversations he had with the men were brief, and she never saw him grab or hit any of the three. Three other defense witnesses said no members of the public appeared to be alarmed during the event.

“It’s definitely a ‘he said, he said,’ ” Ries argued.

Trooper Charles Hassenfeldt, who handled questioning of witnesses during the trial, said it is reasonable to assume that grabbing someone in the way testimony indicated Lorenzo did would cause alarm.

Lorenzo was ordered to pay $600 in fines.

He was the top vote-getter on the Republican ticket during Tuesday’s primary with 23.35% of the vote in a field of five candidates, according to unofficial results. Lorenzo first joined the board in 2019 and, afterward, switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican. He is the son of former township commissioner Nick Lorenzo, a Democrat who served in office for nearly 30 years before he was defeated for reelection in 2011. The elder Lorenzo died in 2014.