Pulling one over on a longtime detective takes some savvy scheming, but the top brass in the Chester County District Attorney’s Office managed to ambush former Chief County Detective James Vito on Friday, Feb. 5.
Vito, who was named 2015 Detective of the Year, was one of numerous honorees at the Chester County District Attorney’s Awards Ceremony at the Chester County Justice Center – and the only one who didn’t know exactly why he was there.
To what lengths did his former colleagues go to ensure his presence without divulging the reason? They told him that another detective was receiving the recognition. “I congratulated that person in the elevator on the way up here,” Vito said later.
Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan called Vito “the backbone of law enforcement for three decades” as well as someone who espoused teamwork and shunned the limelight. Chester County Chief Detective Kevin Dykes described his former boss as someone who is “as honest, compassionate and loyal as they come.”
Vito said that he was honored and that he would put the award in a place where it would remind him to salute the great work that his former co-workers do every day.
Hogan presented a special commendation to Sen. Pat Toomey for his work on several issues this past year. Toomey pushed legislation to keep sex offenders out of schools, protected funds for crime victims, and stood up for embattled law enforcers, Hogan said.
Surveying Courtroom One, which was filled with men and women in blue, Toomey said that although it has been a difficult year for police officers, citizens value them. “I know because I speak to Pennsylvanians every day,” he said. “The vast majority of Pennsylvanians are grateful to you … My main message to you today is to say thank you for the great work that you do.”
District Attorney Chief of Staff Charles Gaza extended the praise, presenting commendations to departments and individuals involved in five events. Department of Emergency Services (DES) Executive Director Robert Kagel, Safe Schools Planning Coordinator Chrissy DePaolantonio, and Pat Davis, deputy director for law enforcement services at DES, were cited for coordinating a multi-department active-shooter drill, and members of the Sheriff’s Office garnered praise for their handling of a knife-wielding attacker at the Justice Center in August.
Former Pennsylvania State Police Capt. William White accepted honors for the role his department played in a high-profile child-abuse case. Hogan pointed out that White was recently promoted to major and would be leaving Troop J to work in Hershey.
During White’s supervision of the Avondale and Embreeville barracks, his investigators succeeded in bringing Warren Yerger Sr. to trial, where he was convicted and received a prison term of 339 to 690 years – the longest jail sentence in county history, Hogan said.
The Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department garnered accolades for bringing the last of six defendants, who had been on the lam for more than a decade, to justice for a terrifying robbery of a Genuardi’s supermarket in 2000. And the West Goshen Police Department was lauded for its work on the case involving Edward Charsha and Stephanie Matusky, who embezzled $200,000 from their employer, an electrical contractor.
The Prosecutor of the Year Award went to Deputy District Attorney Carlos Barraza. First Assistant District Attorney Michael G. Noone said Barraza had adeptly filled a variety of roles in the office, including mentoring new hires, handling grand-jury investigations, and heading the drug unit.
“Carlos is skilled in many areas. Just ask him; he’ll tell you,” Noone joked.
Barraza insisted that many others “could and should be here” receiving this award: his wife, for example. “Let’s be real. She’s married to me so she should be the one up here receiving this award,” he suggested.
He expressed profuse praise for a host of people, referencing numerous colleagues and insisting that his support staff stand and be recognized. “You’re overworked, you’re underpaid. But the one thing you’re not is underappreciated,” he said.
Barraza delivered his tribute to his family in Spanish. Besides his wife and two of their three children, Barraza’s father, Luciano; his mother, Martha; his brother Luciano; his sister Alejandra; a niece, and two nephews all attended the ceremony.
Finally, Hogan presented Downingtown Det. Andy Trautmann with the Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award. Hogan noted that Trautmann possesses police skills that normally don’t coexist. He works fearlessly as a SWAT officer and tenaciously as a white-collar crime investigator, but also excels as a resource officer for the Downingtown school district, a position that requires a very different demeanor, Hogan said.
“I am truly humbled. I am truly honored; This is not what I do my job for,” Trautmann said. “One thing I try to remember is that I work for those who can’t work for themselves.”
Hogan ended the program on a somber note. “We have a solemn duty to remember fallen officers,” he said, a prelude to an evocative song from Deputy Sheriff Wayne Johnson, who also opened the ceremony with an a cappella version “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
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